Digitalization has spread to affect many aspects of our lives but it has yet to fully engage equestrians. Many stables still extensively use the traditional whiteboard in combination with digital technologies. Is it because digital technologies are not designed with the unique needs of an equestrian? Since research in this area is lacking, this study describes the daily conventions around the traditional whiteboard and the complementary use of digital technology, while exploring equestrians’ attitudes toward digitalization. Ethnographic methods of participant observation and group interviews were conducted at two large equestrian centers in Sweden, and the informants were a mix of horse owners, stable owners, stable staff, and riding school students. The results show that whiteboards are used to communicate and collaborative planning, but there is a problem of not noticing new handwritten information. Informants are hesitant toward incorporating new digital technologies because they worry about limitations, and some are content with the current traditional conventions - even if they employ many workarounds to issues related to the traditional way. The study also contributes toward a broader understanding of how future digital technologies can be designed in the unique setting of a stable, and the importance of a thorough understanding of users.

This paper presents an exploratory work on using Large Language Models (LLM) in User Experience (UX) design. Previous research shows that UX designers struggle to envision novel designs and to prototype with AI as a design material. We set out to investigate the question of how designers can be sensitized to LLMs, and their implications for the professional role of UX designers. Using autobiographical design, we develop a prototype of a digital workspace (the “PromptBoard”) for designing and prototyping chatbots utilizing ChatGPT. A design sprint workshop with six participants is performed, in an effort to answer the research questions by working with the PromptBoard. Discussions and participant-designed artifacts are analysed using thematic analysis. Findings include that participants are able to express design ideas and successfully create chatbots using the tool but express a conflicting sense of lacking creativity or ownership of the results. Implications to the field of UX design are discussed.

The independence of children with cognitive impairments is vital for successful social integration. As emerging technological advancements, autonomous buses possess significant potential in this regard. The study aims to investigate the potential of autonomous buses to support children with mild cognitive impairments in attaining increased independence during their travels. To achieve this goal, two studies were conducted to gather comprehensive data: an analysis of videos provided by the ASALL project and a focus group study involving Skelleftea municipality workers. The study findings shed light on the challenges and needs of children with cognitive impairments during their trips and offer suggestions for how autonomous buses could provide support to increase their independence. It also highlights the importance of considering human factors while designing technology products and emphasizes the need for coordinated efforts combining technological and human support to enhance the independence of children with cognitive impairments. In addition, insights from people familiar with children with cognitive impairments can provide valuable guidance to researchers and designers when creating other technology products.

Parental control applications were introduced to regulate and avoid the negative effects of adolescents’ technology usage. However, parental control apps lack focus on promoting adolescents' autonomy and parent-adolescent collaboration. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to research how parental control apps can be designed to support adolescents’ development towards adulthood and to enhance the active participation from both parties. The research was conducted by interviewing parents (N=7) in which a provocative prototype was used to prime discussions around the topic. This study generated five design implications which are parent-adolescent collaboration, communication support for parental understanding, communication support customized for different cultures, incentivizing healthier habits, and adapting the design for different literacy levels. These implications were extracted from the results which show that parents respect their adolescent’s digital privacy and autonomy. However, there are indications that although parents value insight into their adolescent’s online activities, they are concerned about the infringement of their privacy. Our results suggest that parent-adolescent collaboration is essential for meeting the requirements of parents and adolescents. We conclude that parental control apps could be designed in alternative ways with less focus on surveillance functionality and instead strive for aspects of collaboration, communication, and autonomy.

Mainstream video games retain players' interest with dynamic updates of graphics such as game characters, levels, themes and other game inventory items. For visually impaired players, updates in graphics for player retention are not very efficient. Video games for people with serious visual impairment rely heavily on audio. The players are presented with either frequent audio instructions or 3D audio to be able to roughly judge the state of the game. In both cases, the players could either overwhelmed by frequent audio instructions or might lose interest in the game after some time. A possible reason could be that there are limited ways to evolve these games to keep the players interested as compared to games developed for sighted players. Multiplayer functionality can potentially bring a continuous stream of challenges and competitive situations in games. The research question investigated in this thesis focuses on whether the addition of multiplayer functionality in 3D audio game will increase the level of player interest. The hypothesis was evaluated by performing an experiment. The results of the study showed that multiplayer functionality can significantly increase the level of player interest and enjoyment in 3D audio based game for people with serious visual impairment.

The thesis purpose is to gather recommendations to adapt participatory design to elderly users, through the involvement of an association of elderly museum volunteers. The outcome is the result of a participatory process that included forms, interviews, cultural probes, and workshops where the volunteers and designer collaborated tightly to explore volunteers’ needs and find solutions to address them. This process led to the design of a platform that empowers volunteers' work and recognizes its value. The platform includes sections managed by the volunteers to archive information about the museum pieces, share organized activities, and receive feedback from visitors to improve their work.

Klimatförändringarna är ett ytterst aktuellt ämne i samhällsdebatten. Runt om i världen debatterar politiker och samhällsvetare om lösningar på detta omfattande problem. Ett högst populärt förslag är att fordon ska drivas på el. Frågan är om dessa elbilar är helt hållbara på ett ekonomiskt och samhälleligt plan. Hur påverkas de människor som framställer de insatsvaror som krävs till västvärldens eldrivna fordon? Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka konsekvenser en ökad efterfrågan på eldrivna fordon i Europa får på den ekonomiska och mänskliga utvecklingen i Demokratiska Republiken (DR) Kongo. Med hjälp av en tidsserieanalys undersöks hur DR Kongos BNI per capita och HDI utvecklats under en 20 årsperiod, mellan 2000-2019, till följd av den ökade efterfrågan på eldrivna fordon i Europa. Resultaten visar att den ökade efterfrågan på eldrivna fordon i Europa har inneburit en ökad ekonomisk utveckling, BNI per capita, i DR Kongo. Samtidigt visar resultaten också att det skett en minskning av den mänskliga utvecklingen, HDI, i landet. Resultaten är statistiskt signifikanta på 1% nivån.

Mänskliga rättigheter som fält har traditionellt sett adresserat fattigdomsbekämpning men från flera håll ställs nu krav på att även ekonomisk ojämlikhet måste adresseras. Skillnaden i såväl inkomst som förmögenhet, mellan världens befolkning är mycket stor. Jag använder mig av Ludvig Beckmans idéer om kritisk idéanalys för att undersöka i vilken utsträckning ekonomisk ojämlikhet är ett problem för mänskliga rättigheter. Jag redogör för två positioner, den ena med hjälp av Martha Nussbaum och David Miller, den andra med hjälp av Nancy Fraser och Margot Salomon. De ger uttryck för två olika tolkningar av mänsklig värdighet som innebär att de ser ekonomisk ojämlikhet som ett problem för mänskliga rättigheter på olika sätt. Den springande punkten är inte huruvida ekonomisk ojämlikhet är ett problem, utan på vilket sätt ekonomisk ojämlikhet är ett problem för mänskliga rättigheter.  Den ena positionen anser att skydd för mänsklig värdighet kräver att alla uppnår en tröskelnivå av vissa centrala förmågor eller behov. Ekonomisk ojämlikhet ses därmed som ett problem för mänskliga rättigheter när det hotar möjligheten för alla medborgare att komma över denna tröskel. Den andra positionen anser att skydd för mänsklig värdighet kräver att alla har möjlighet till jämlikt deltagande, det förutsätter en gemenskap med respektfulla relationer. Ekonomisk ojämlikhet hotar den mänskliga värdigheten genom att försvåra möjligheten till jämlikt deltagande. Efter att ha vägt argumenten mot varandra är min slutsats att Nussbaum och Millers position är för återhållsam eftersom den möjliggör för stora skillnader i deltagande. Förutsatt att vi värdesätter människors jämlika deltagande och att vi vill slå vakt om mänsklig värdighet bör mänskliga rättigheter - som moral och politik -  adressera stora skillnader i inkomst och förmögenhet mer än vad Miller och Nussbaum menar. Min egen slutsats på frågan i vilken utsträckning ekonomisk ojämlikhet är ett problem för mänskliga rättigheter, ligger därför närmare Fraser och Salomons positionering.

The usability of complex scientific software is often lacking as it tends to not receive a high priority in development, in addition to the fact that developers are usually engineers with a low level of knowledge in usability areas. The study examines such a software in an environment with a significant difference in terms of user skill, which creates some issues in terms of improving usability. Novice users need to have a higher degree of learnability to better understand how to operate the system, but this cannot reduce the overall level of complexity since it is required by experienced users to perform more advanced tasks. To find out how usability could be increased under these conditions, qualitative interviews were conducted with users of the software. The gathered data was applied to a thematic analysis that was used as a foundation in the development of a functional prototype for a new design, which was iteratively tested and evaluated with users. The design integrates a somewhat novel feature through a zoom-in function as an adaptable view, where the user can visualize a more complex layer of the software. The study also highlights the importance of correctly identifying central user activities in an environment with a high difference in complexity among tasks, to make more informed design decisions around visual priority.

I och med att digitalisering, användning av internet och e-tjänster har ökat finns ett stort behov av att se till att webbsidors information kan nå ut till och tillgodogöras av alla individer. Det finns ett antal lagar, riktlinjer och krav för att uppnå detta. I Sverige är det ett lagkrav för offentlig service att skapa digitala tjänster som är tillgängliga för alla individer oavsett behov och förmågor, vilket framkommer i Lag om tillgänglighet till digital offentlig service som bygger på bestämmelser från EU-direktivet och har i syfte att säkerställa att offentlig service kan nås av alla individer. I syfte att undersöka användbarhet, tillgänglighet och potentiella förbättringsmöjligheter hos Nationell Patientenkäts resultatsida har användbarhetstester med testuppgifter, think aloud, semi-strukturerade intervjuer samt SUS-enkäter tillämpats. Testerna genomfördes av sex testdeltagare för att ge insikt i potentiella användares interaktion med webbsidan. Utvärdering av tillgänglighet genomfördes genom att testa Nationell Patientenkäts resultatsida mot utvalda krav ur WCAG 2.1, dessa valdes ut utifrån resultaten från användbarhetstesterna. I analys av insamlade data utifrån Benyons 12 designprinciper och utifrån analys av hur webbsidan lever upp till kriterier ur WCAG 2.1 framkom det att resultatsidan har rätt god användbarhet samt tillgänglighet, men för att öka båda dessa skulle mindre justeringar behöva göras främst inom synlighet och tydlighet för funktionalitet.