When it comes to game design, two features that have been linked to the success of a game are playability and the subjective game experience. This is perhaps not surprising, as the main purpose of a game is to entertain. What cognitive factors that may underlie these features has, however, not been explored. This study examines the relationship between both workload and cognitive workload and player experience. The results suggest that an increase in workload, including cognitive workload, positively affect the player experience of the game as well as the player’s intrinsic motivation.

Syftet med detta arbete var att undersöka hur verksamheten vid en förlossningsavdelning fungerar med fokus på patientsäkerhet. Detta undersöktes genom att samla in data i form av intervjuer från Linköpings och Norrköpings förlossningsavdelningar. Materialet analyserades sedan genom en tematisk analys som resulterade i sex huvudteman (team, hälsa, information, träning, mål och system). Resultatet visar på att team, kommunikation och stresseliminering är de viktigaste fynden i studien. Dock är alla teman viktiga för patientsäkerheten då de tillsammans skapar ett säkrare system. För att dessa faktorer ska kunna samspela med varandra är det viktigt att systemet regelbundet utvärderas för att justeringar ska kunna göras. Detta för att systemet ska vara resilient och klara av de utmaningar som de ställs inför. Framtida studier som skulle vara intressanta att göra är att utöka insamlingen av data, undersöka hur små och stora förlossningsavdelningar i Sverige ser på patientsäkerhet och även jämföra den svenska verksamheten med exempelvis den kenyanska verksamheten.

The Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) framework is widely used by researchers for the analysis of complex systems. It, however, lacks the same impact amongst industrial practitioners. This thesis investigates possible adaptations of the framework to project and industrial constraints, and the consequences associated with such adaptations. Long haul heavy vehicle transportation is the application domain for the work presented in the thesis. The CWA framework has been applied within the Methods for Designing Future Autonomous Systems (MODAS) project. Adaptations have been made to fit the framework within the project constraints and the industrial contexts. Interviews with stakeholders in an industrial organization regarding possible use of models from the CWA framework have been made. The CWA was scaled to available resources when applied within the MODAS project. From this we realized that prioritization of work activity can have consequences on the resulting systems ability to handle unforeseen events. Further, a focus on the current system probed a rapid out-dating of the analysis due to technical development. The conclusion is that even if advantages are lost during adaptation due to practical constraints, the CWA framework could add value to practitioners within industry if adapted to the industrial context.

This thesis deals with the term 'context' and the aim has been to reason about the term in order to see whether it is possible to reach a satisfactory understanding of the concept. But the thesis is also a journey into human reasoning and conveys a certain view of human cognition. It aims to synthesise results of studies within psychology, cognitive science, anthropology, and human-computer interaction. My understanding is that context is not something we are a part of, but rather something we create mentally in relation a specific goal. Determination of something ambiguous thus comes from top-down processes related to a goal. I believe context has been wrongly interpreted in HCI as that which a user is situated in and which a product is being used in. I suggest instead a separation between the user environment and the user context.

GIS have been plagued by complicated interfaces for some time but is improving. This thesis researches whether an interface with a flattened hierarchy is better suited for a geographical information system rather than a ribbon interface. Two interfaces were built for a system used to supply geographical data to aircraft and Mission support systems. A pre-study was conducted with the existing users and developers to synthesize initial requirements and conclude what is troublesome in the existing system and the workflow process. It was found that there was a lack of consistency in the current system and that the workflow felt ad-hoc. Two prototypes were developed as add-in in Esri’s newly launched ArcGIS Pro and usability tested, one using the ribbon interface and one with the flattened hierarchal interface. Using the subjective workload NASA TLX questionnaire, time on task and a questionnaire regarding the participants’ attitude towards the interface, it was able to see how the workload, efficiency and attitude for the different interfaces were. The usability testing of these interfaces showed no significant difference in time. There was only one significantly difference for the workload, it was in the physical scale. Users that first tested the ribbon interface and later the flattened hierarchal interface found the second interface to be significantly more demanding physically. An attitude questionnaire showed also that participants felt that the flattened hierarchal interface was significantly more overwhelming and would be more discouraged to use it compared to a ribbon interface.

Projektkommunikation, det vill säga hur personerna inom projektgrupper kommunicerar med varandra, kan vara svårt och ineffektivt inom utvecklingsprojekt. Brister finns ofta vad det gäller den gemensamma grunden för kommunikationen samt kunskapen mellan medlemmarna i stora projektgrupper. Detta examensarbete undersöker explorativt hur personor kan användas, inom en version av XLPM, för att förbättra och effektivisera kommunikationen mellan personerna inom tekniska utvecklingsprojekt. Teorierna bakom forskningsfältet fokuserar på personor, gemensam grund, gränsföremål, medvetenhet uppmärksamhet och XLPM. I studien utfördes nio informella/intressent intervjuer med nio utvecklare, två semistrukturerade med en projektledare och 29 intervjuer med 29 användare av uppdragsgivarens produkter samt analys av en befintlig utvecklingsmetod hos uppdragsgivaren. Resultatet för denna undersökning är en utökad projektmodell som integrerar persona-metodiken i en version av XLPM. Modellen förväntas förbättra kommunikationen och besluten inom utvecklingsprojekten. Undersökningens resultat indikerar att det går att integrera persona-metodiken i en version av XLPM. / Project communication can be difficult and ineffective in development projects. Moreover, there are often a lack of a common ground for the communication and the knowledge among members in large project groups. This thesis is an explorative study how personas can be used in a XLPM version to improve and make the communication more effective between the individuals in technical development projects. The theories behind field of research are focused on personas, common ground, boundary object, awareness, attention and XLPM. In the study nine informal interviews were made with nine different developers, two semi- structured interviews was performed with a project leader and 29 interviews were made with the end users of the product that the outsourcer for this thesis manufacture. Finally, an analyse of existing development method at the outsourcer were made. The result of this study is an expanded project model that integrates a persona method in a version of XLPM. The model is expected to improve the communication and the solutions in development projects. The result indicates that it is possible to integrate a persona method in a XLPM version.

By making a website responsive, its layout and content will adapt to the screen size, no matter if the website is visited from a smartphone or a computer. Designing for a small screen is about compromising since it is only possible to show fairly little content at a time, but still take account for the user experience. One aspect that heavily relies on screen size is navigation on the website. Within this project, different navigation solutions for responsive web design are examined and a suitable pattern is implemented on an existing website. A usability test with seven participants measured the user experience of the implementation. The design resulted in one navigation pattern holding for the main navigation and a combination of two patterns for the sub navigation, and this design was rated 2,39 on a scale 1-7 where 1 is the best in the usability test. It is hard to measure the navigation system on a website without measuring the overall layout as well, which could influence this result. Interview questions in the end of each usability test session regarding the navigation showed on the other hand that finding the needed information was in general considered an easy task, but the tasks including the sub navigation was harder than those only requiring the main navigation.

Neural Darwinism (ND), also called the Theory of Neuronal Group Selection (TNGS) is a biological theory of brain development and function which is based on evolutionary and developmental principles. ND highlights the importance of selectionist processes underlying these principles. The aim of this literature review is to capture and summarize the essentials of both ND and its theoretical extensions, the Dynamic Core Hypothesis (TDCH) and Information Integration Theory, and reflect how ND as a theory accounts for a wide range of conscious phenomena such as general, informational and subjective conscious states. This is achieved by evaluating how 16 widely recognized properties of consciousness can be explained and accounted for with the theoretical framework of ND.

The paper elaborates on the way in which groups understand parkour at a value-based level and the influence that this mentality has on the development of a mobile application. A special attention is given to the conflict which emerges between the parkour practitioners that want to make sure that the activity keeps its structure intact and the fact that the mere introduction of a mobile application will bring changes in the way that parkour trainings take place for the practitioners. The development of a mobile application is mainly done with the purpose of supporting and reinvigorating the practice, but this can also modify its structure. It is the fear for this modification of the activity’s structure that makes parkour practitioners be very critical and reject designs that do not perfectly conform to the standards that they use when defining the activity. The small sizes of the groups makes them especially vulnerable to influences and keeping the original values of parkour intact becomes a priority for them when accepting the involvement of mobile technology in their trainings. Conclusions are developed from the research deployed with the purpose of bringing design improvements for the Traveur mobile application targeted towards parkour practitioners. The research includes a wide variety of techniques organized in different steps and layered on different levels of interest. The conflict between keeping parkour values intact and designing for the parkour community came up during the process of gaining knowledge on the phenomenon and finding a design which complies with standards of a commercial launch.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine if there where fallacies in the design solutions for the business system IFS Applications from a user perspective, and if so, correct these from a cognitive science approach.Data collection consisted of three main portions. These where; workshop, individual interviews and observations. The collected data was analyzed and resulted in identification of two main areas in the application that where found lacking.The result of the study showed that the usability for processing large amounts of data and the lack of customization where the main flaws in the application. Two low fidelity prototypes where created with the purpose of rectifying the underlying flawed design solutions that where identified from the collected data.