<p>This research aims to explore a new mobile application platform for group travel planning to improve the experience of communication and cooperation in teamwork. The inspiration was from my own travel experience. Being the leader or one of the people who managed the travel group during the past years, I realized that group travels have been full of fun. However, I also faced a variety of challenges at the stages of planning, preparing, managing, and accounting before travel, during travel, and after travel.</p> <p>According to the literature review, some general problems of group travel were found out. Dealing with the problems in planning, scheduling, packing, communicating, and cooperating with travel partners, and financial issues are defined as the most general travel stressors for travelers. Therefore, travel relieves our living stress, meanwhile, brings new stressors from the other hand. </p> <p>The research started off understanding the current market condition and main competitors through doing market research. Peer product analysis and product positioning map were done during the market research. Then the user study was conducted through an online survey, user interviews, and field research using observational study method. The design direction and target users of the research were defined afterward. The design process began with the brainstorming session, followed by going through App flow structuring, interface wireframing, and visual designing to come out with the mobile application – CooP, a group travel platform to cooperatively manage teamwork and facilitate communication.</p> <p>Thus, a map-list alternating planning platform was developed for more efficient planning in CooP. Users can switch between the map view and the list view to plan the route. Besides, the group checklists, tasks distribution, and group account features were designed to facilitate teamwork in planning. Additionally, A group chat platform was hidden in every page corners to improve group communication. The CooP can also split the group flexibly when different people want to visit different places separately. By connecting with physical devices, CooP can track the people for protection and safety.</p> <p>The usability testing of the post-travel evaluation gathered some future improvements that can be achieved later. From the perspective of technology, AI technology can be better utilized in providing suggestions and recommendations voluntarily based on the user’s data to enhance the efficiency and smoothness of the working experience. From the map perspective, providing a real route line between locations would be more preferred than the straight-line segments. The coop can recommend mid-way attractions for users to select. Overall, CooP achieved the goal of improving communication and cooperation in group travel planning. It innovated the traditional way of doing a group travel plan by combining different functions into CooP to create a multitasking platform which speeds up the process of planning.</p>

Nowadays, increasing numbers of people do travel research on their smartphones. More precisely, digital maps provide locational information, which is important during the planning process. However, smartphones are restricted by their small screen size, resulting in fragmented information delivery; also, the design of digital maps lacks features. The aims of this study are to investigate users’ travel-planning behavior on smartphones, identify the pain points and missing contexts when using digital maps on smartphones, and provide design guidelines for future digital map design. The study was done by conducting a travel-planning activity and a codesign workshop to bring users into the design process, promote in-depth discussion, and explore a new design possibility for digital maps with users. The results showed that people’s goals when planning travel include reducing their workload, improving effectiveness, and ensuring flexibility. People use digital maps to support not only information searching but also information compiling, including saving locations and routes. In addition, several difficulties have been pointed out: cross-platform planning, information hierarchy, and retrieval on digital maps.

Currently for travel planning, guests will research via hotel websites while still preferring to book through third-party sites, which leads to a disconnect between hotels and their guests. A chat widget artifact that is added onto the hotel’s website and linked through messaging applications was created by a start-up company, Bookboost, to bridge this gap. The current intuitiveness of the artifact and future improvements that may increase intuitiveness was investigated through a case study of user and expert analysis. 10 participants – 5 hotel staff users and 5 guest users – were sampled at hotel lobbies via systematic sampling and non-random sampling. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 65 years old, with 30% being millennials. Task analysis, an interview, and a questionnaire were used for user analysis. The researcher acted as an evaluator and examined the artifact for flaws and possible improvements using activity theory’s human-artifact model (HAM). Analyses suggest that current intuitiveness is fairly high, but there is room for improvement. There seems to be a difference between millennials and non-millennials, especially regarding the amount of time taken and preference for the artifact (versus more familiar methods for communicating with others). Interest and comfort in technology usage was a factor in intuitiveness. Generally, those more comfortable with technology had higher zone of proximal development (ZPD) scores. Improvements have been suggested that may increase artifact intuitiveness, although this was not tested due to the scope of the study. Future research can continue to examine if the suggested improvements have indeed increased intuitiveness in the artifact for users of all ages.

Globally, the transport system faces a paradigmatic shift where, in addition to increased local traffic problems, climate change and depletion of fossil oil reserves will foster a successive transition to renewable fuels and a need for more resource-efficient mobility management and communication alternatives. Foresighted countries, cities or companies taking the lead in adapting to these tougher conditions might well not only solve those problems, but also turn the problems into business advantages. This thesis is based on six studies that attempt to develop future strategies based on rigorous principled emission and energy efficiency targets and to modulate the impact of travel policies, technical components and behaviours in economically advantageous ways. The modelling frameworks developed throughout the thesis build on a target-orientated approach called backcasting, where the following general components are applied: (1) target description at a conceptual level i.e. the potential for sustainable energy systems, emissions, costs, behavioural patterns, preferences, etc.; (2) mapping of the current situation in relation to target description; and (3) modelling of alternative sets of policies, technologies, behaviours and economic prerequisites to arrive at target achievement. Sustainable travel strategies are analysed from two main viewpoints. The first four studies focus on company travel planning, where behavioural modelling proved to be an important tool for deriving targetorientated travel policies consistent with employee preferences. The latter two studies focus on strategies and preconditions to meet future emission targets and energy efficiency requirements at a macroscopic regional level by 2030. Backcasting’s role as a generic methodology for effective strategic planning is discussed. / QC 20100816

近來，旅遊資訊廣被旅遊者在網路上使用。雖然網路上的資訊十分豐富，但是使用者仍常常難以找尋到精準的資訊。而旅遊商品的特性為無形的，所以使用者不能實際地來評估這個服務直到他實際地體驗之後。也就是因為此種特性，所以如何讓使用者在真正體驗到之前能夠取得可信與真實的旅遊資訊變得十分重要。為了解決此問題，語意網絡的概念即出現來解決人與電腦間溝通的問題。而一個本體即是由一個正式化的、某一具有精確規格概念的領域來提供之可實行的平台來發展可信的旅遊資訊服務。 在本論文中，我們探討了旅遊推薦系統的發展、其遭遇的問題、語意網相關之技術包含了：網路本體語言、資源描述架構、和一些目前現有的旅遊本體發展的情況。此外，為了要能提供更智慧化的旅遊行程規劃推薦服務，我們將語意的想法帶入了此領域。我們會提出一個方法讓智慧型旅遊行程推薦服務能在本體論的基礎上實現。所以，一系列的旅遊本體會被建構發展，來讓我們的芻形系統能夠做出行程推薦的服務。此提出的系統能夠驗證語意網的概念在旅遊推薦領域的可行性。它亦能利用屬性與之間的關係來推薦出更智慧型的資訊，找出個人化的景點、活動與行程給旅行者。 / Nowadays, travel information is increasing to appeal the tourists on the web. Al- though there are numerous information provided on the web, the user gets puzzled in nding accurate information. The tourism product has an intangible nature in that cus- tomers cannot physically evaluate the services on oer until practically experienced. This makes access to credible and authentic information about tourism products before the actual experience very valuable. In order to solve these problems, the concept of seman- tic web comes into existence to have communication between human and computer. An Ontology being a formal, explicit specication of concepts of a domain provides a viable platform for the development of credible tourism information services. In this paper, we discuss the development of travel recommendation system, the problems it encounters, the related technology about semantic web including OWL, RD- F/RDFS, and some current circumstances of the existing tourism ontologies as well. Futhermore, in order to make more intelligent travel planning recommendation services, we bring the idea of semantic into tourism domain. We will present an approach aimed at enabling intelligent recommendation services in tourism support systems using ontolo- gies. A suite of tourism ontologies was developed and engaged to enable a prototypical tourism system with recommednation capabilities. The proposed system can verify the feasibility and concept of taking semantic web technology into tourism recommendation systems domain. It also can recommend more intelligent information using properties, relationships of travel ontology, and is responsible for nding personalized attractions, activities and a trip itinerary for travelers.

Currently for travel planning, guests will research via hotel websites while still preferring to book through third-party sites, which leads to a disconnect between hotels and their guests. A chat widget artifact that is added onto the hotel’s website and linked through messaging applications was created by a start-up company, Bookboost, to bridge this gap. The current intuitiveness of the artifact and future improvements that may increase intuitiveness was investigated through a case study of user and expert analysis. 10 participants – 5 hotel staff users and 5 guest users – were sampled at hotel lobbies via systematic sampling and non-random sampling. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 65 years old, with 30% being millennials. Task analysis, an interview, and a questionnaire were used for user analysis. The researcher acted as an evaluator and examined the artifact for flaws and possible improvements using activity theory’s human-artifact model (HAM). Analyses suggest that current intuitiveness is fairly high, but there is room for improvement. There seems to be a difference between millennials and non-millennials, especially regarding the amount of time taken and preference for the artifact (versus more familiar methods for communicating with others). Interest and comfort in technology usage was a factor in intuitiveness. Generally, those more comfortable with technology had higher zone of proximal development (ZPD) scores. Improvements have been suggested that may increase artifact intuitiveness, although this was not tested due to the scope of the study. Future research can continue to examine if the suggested improvements have indeed increased intuitiveness in the artifact for users of all ages. / Vid reseplanering brukar gäster ofta undersöka hotellwebbplatser men sedan ändå föredra att boka via tredjepartssidor, vilket leder till en klyfta mellan hotellen och deras gäster. För att överbrygga detta gap har startupföretaget Bookboost skapat en chattwidget (artefakt) som läggs till på hotellets webbplats och länkas till användarnas chattappar. Denna artefakts nuvarande intuitivitet och möjlighet till framtida intuitivitetsförbättringar undersöks genom en fallstudie av upplevelsen hos både experter och vanliga användare. 10 deltagare – 5 hotellmedarbetare och 5 gäster – rekryterades via förfrågan i hotellfoajéer utifrån ett systematiskt urval och icke-slumpmässigt urval. Deltagarna varierade i ålder från 18 till 65 år, med 30% inom milleniegenerationen. Uppgiftsanalys, intervju, och frågeformulär tillämpades i användaranalysen. Forskaren fungerade som utvärderare och undersökte artefaktens brister och möjliga förbättringar med hjälp av aktivitetsteorins human-artifact model (HAM). Analyserna tyder på att dagens intuitivitet är ganska hög, men att det finns utrymme för förbättringar. Det verkar finnas en generationsskillnad mellan äldre och yngre användare, särskilt när det gäller tidsåtgången och preferensen för artefakten (jämfört med mer välbekanta kommunikationsmetoder). Intresset för och komforten med teknologianvändning var en faktor i intuiviteten. I allmänhet uppnådde de som var mer bekväma med teknik en högre poäng i zonen för proximal utveckling (ZPD). Förbättringar som kan öka intuitiviteten för artefakten föreslås, även om prövandet av dessa inte ryms inom ramen för denna studie. Framtida forskning kan undersöka om de föreslagna förbättringarna verkligen ökar artefaktens intuitivitet för användare i alla åldrar.

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Adopting the perspective of the traveller, this thesis examines how travel plans are actually made in the everyday situation and how information is used and drawn on when planning the many, often unremarkable, trips of ordinary urban life. Ethnographical field studies in southern Stockholm, Sweden, employing a practice theory perspective showed that people use a vast mixture of different types of information when planning and making trips. Therefore, the concept of travel information should be defined broadly enough to encompass informal, formal, analogue and digital types of travel information. Then, and only then, is it possible to perceive the interactions between these and see their potential as a change factor for sustainable city travel. In relation to this, situations when travel information was not used, were also identified in the qualitative data and are acknowledged and discussed in the thesis. Travel planning is in everyday practice undertaken little by little, squeezed in between other activities of daily life. It is a process more extended in time, space and content than the limited search for information about the best way to get from A to B, assumed and facilitated in many existing travel information services. Travel planning is closely connected to the overall scheduling of activities (planning of life) and thus spans much larger time frames than the single trip. Planning travel also includes consideration of issues such as preparations needed (things to be done before departure/brought on the trip); managing vehicles and equipment in time and space (getting the bicycle/car home again or safely parked); the weather (current and forecast); social relations (the potential of different travel options for relationship building or conflict triggering); social norms (e.g. of 'good parenting' or 'proper behaviour on public transport'); and health issues (wanting exercise or inability to manage stairs/luggage). The qualitative data revealed that travel information is sometimes perceived and used as a security blanket, i.e. something to hold on to and give the traveller courage on the trip until they are safe at their destination. It also showed that travel planning, depending on life situation, can be experienced as either a house of cards, i.e. if anything changes the whole house collapses and has to be rebuilt to a different layout, or a prefab building, i.e. the same prefabricated pieces are joined together in more or less the same pattern every time. Recent decades have seen rapid growth in ICT services relating to transportation. Different types of travel information services have been proposed as a means to decrease the environmental impacts of transportation through effecting behavioural change. Taking the empirical 4 insights provided by this thesis into travel planning and travel information use in practice, it is clear that travel information services of tomorrow, if connected to other ICT systems in everyday life, could be designed in a way that broadens their horizon of assistance in supporting travel planning processes in everyday life. Although, as this thesis demonstrates, the role and potential of travel information services and ICT in the work of achieving sustainable mobility should be discussed from a perspective critical of overly linear perceptions and instrumental starting points. / Denna avhandling tar resenärens perspektiv, och undersöker från vardagslivets horisont hur resor egentligen planeras, och hur information används när de många, ofta obemärkta, vardagsresorna görs i staden. Etnografiska fältstudier i södra Stockholm, gjorda och analyserade med ett praktikteoriperspektiv, visar att människor använder sig av många olika typer av information för att planera och genomföra sina resor. Därför bör begreppet reseinformation definieras vitt nog att rymma både informella, formella, analoga och digitala typer av reseinformation. Först då är det möjligt att iaktta interaktioner mellan dessa, och också se informationens eventuella potential som förändringsfaktor för hållbart stadsresande. Även situationer när reseinformation inte används uppmärksammas och diskuteras. Reseplanering är i vardaglig praktik något som sker lite i taget, i mellanrummen mellan andra sysslor och aktiviteter. Det är en process mer förgrenad i tid, rum och innehåll än den avgränsade sökning efter information om bästa sättet att ta sig mellan A och B som många existerande IT-baserade reseplanerare verkar förutsätta och i dagsläget assisterar. Reseplanering är starkt knutet till den övergripande planeringen av aktiviteter i livet, och reseplanering har därför oftast ett vidare tidsspann än endast en resa. Planering av resor inkluderar även hänsyn till faktorer som nödvändiga förberedelser (saker att göra innan avfärd/ta med sig på resan); hantering av fordon och bagage i tid och rum (få hem cykeln/bilen igen eller få den säkert parkerad); vädret (nuvarande och prognostiserat); sociala relationer (potentialen för konflikter/positiv samvaro vid olika färdmedelsval); sociala normer (om gott föräldraskap eller hur man för sig på kollektiva färdmedel); och hälsoaspekter (vilja till motion eller oförmåga att gå i trappor). Fältarbetet gjorde tydligt att reseinformation ibland används som en snuttefilt – något att ty sig till och hålla i handen på okänt territorium tills du har kommit till målet för din resa. Reseplanering kan också, beroende på livssituation, antingen upplevas och liknas vid husbygge med prefabricerade element – samma standardiserade, välkända bitar sammanfogas på ungefär samma sätt varje gång; eller också ett korthus – om någonting ändras brakar hela huset ihop, och måste byggas upp igen med en helt annan design. Under de senaste decennierna har det skett en snabb utveckling av IT-lösningar på transportområdet. Olika typer av reseinformationstjänster har föreslagits som ett verktyg för att ändra resebeteenden och därmed minska transporters miljöpåverkan. Med utgångspunkt från studiens 6 empiriska insikter i hur reseplanering går till i praktiken, och hur reseinformation används blir det tydligt att morgondagens reseplanerartjänster, om de kopplades ihop med andra digitala system vi använder i vår vardag, skulle kunna utformas på ett sätt som utvidgar systemets "assistanshorisont" för att bättre passa ihop med reseplaneringspraktikerna i vår vardag. Potentialen och rollen för reseinformationstjänster och IT i arbetet med att minska transporters miljöpåverkan bör diskuteras från ett perspektiv som är kritiskt till alltför linjära och instrumentella utgångspunkter, vilket denna avhandling bidrar till. / <p>QC 20141030</p>