No / This volume presents state-of-the-art research from a wide area of subjects brought about by the digital convergence of computing, television, telecommunications and the World-Wide Web. It represents a unique snapshot of trends across a wide range of subjects including virtual environments; virtual reality; telepresence; human-computer interface design; interactivity; avatars; and the Internet. Both researchers and practitioners will find it an invaluable source of reference.

The overall theme of this thesis is the study of incorporating gamification design approaches in the creation of mobile educational software. The research presented in this thesis focuses on the design and testing of software created to teach introductory computer science and literacy concepts to postsecondary and adult learners. A study testing the relative effectiveness and subjective user enjoyment of different interfaces for a mobile game is also included in this thesis, as the results of the study led to the primary research objectives investigated in further studies. Our primary research objective was to investigate whether using gamification design approaches to mobile educational software could result in student engagement and learning. Our central hypothesis is that gamification design approaches can be used to create engaging and educationally effective mobile educational software. Our secondary research objective is to determine how mobile educational software can be made more or less engaging and educationally effective through gamification design approaches, by trying different approaches, testing the resulting applications, and reporting the findings. Three studies were conducted based on these objectives, one study to teach various computer science concepts to students in a first year computer science course with iPad applications, and two studies which used iPad applications to teach punctuation and homonyms, and improve reading comprehension. The studies document the design of the applications, and provide analysis and conclusions based on the results of testing. Through the results of these studies we affirm our hypothesis. We make design suggestions for software creators, such as providing corrective feedback to the user. We discuss common themes that emerged across the studies, including how to best use educational software. Finally, as avenues for future work, we suggest investigating the impromptu social effects of using tablet software in a classroom, and the development of a usability testing platform. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The overall theme of this thesis is the study of how gamification can be used to make mobile educational software engaging and effective as a learning tool. The research presented in this thesis focuses on the design and testing of software intended to teach introductory computer science and literacy concepts. The hypothesis guiding this work is that mobile educational software can be made engaging and educationally effective by incorporating game design elements. Through four studies we affirm our hypothesis, and document the relative success of various gamification techniques in different contexts. We make design suggestions for software creators, such as providing corrective feedback to the user. We discuss common themes that emerged across the studies, including how to best use educational software. Finally, as avenues for future work, we suggest investigating the impromptu social effects of using tablet software in a classroom, and the development of a usability testing platform.

För att lösa FN’s globala mål nummer 3 - god hälsa och välbefinnande - har jag skapat ensocial medie-plattform med fokus på hälsa. Med hjälp av social påverkan och andrametoder för beteendeförändring (kopplat till nudging och gamification) har jag skapat endigital miljö som främjar en hälsosam livsstil.Arbetet påbörjades med en väldigt tydlig idé om vad jag ville göra och ett företagsnamn ochanda som funnits med sedan jag kom på idén för flera år sedan. Med ungefär 2-3 veckorkvar till deadline bytte projektet riktning och namn-bytet från Push till Desone öppnade uppför nya möjligheter. En ny visuell identitet, nya värderingar och nya produkter skapades.Det här projektet samlar många områden jag intresserar mig för och det har varitspännande i allt från analyser till gestaltningsfasen. Efter många veckors hårt slit för att gemin affärsidé liv genom ett tydligt varumärkesbygge tror jag nu ännu mer på mittvarumärke; Desone. I och med det ökade intresset för hälsa och framväxten av mobila applikationer harmarknaden för kost- och träningsapplikationer växt. Tidigare forskning har visat att det finnsstor potential för dessa applikationer att förbättra människors fysiska hälsa, men att deskulle kunna förbättras genom ett användande av teoribaserade metoder kopplade tillbeteendeförändring. Ett sätt att förändra människors beteenden i valsituationer är genomnudging.Digital nudging handlar om att utforma digitala valmiljöer på ett sätt som påverkarmänniskors val på ett förutsägbart sätt utan att förbjuda några alternativ. Detta görs genomUI-design. Nudging fungerar eftersom att människan tenderar att vilja minska på denkognitiva ansträngningen i komplexa valsituationer.Genom en semiotisk analys av sex stycken mobila applikationer gjordes en undersökningmed syftet att ta reda på hur digital nudging i form av UI-design används på kost- ochträningsapplikationer. Resultatet visade att det vanligast förekommande nudgingverktygetvar målsättning som nästan uteslutande visade sig genom en kalori- eller stegräknare i formav en cirkel som fylldes med färg ju närmare användaren kom dagens mål.

In today's world, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has seamlessly integrated into ourdaily lives without us even realising it. We witness AI-driven innovations allaround us, subtly enhancing our routines and interactions. Ranging from Siri, Alexa, to Google Assistant, voice assistants have become prime examples of AI technology, assisting us with simple tasks and responding to our inquiries. As these once futuristic ideas have now become an indispensable part of our everyday reality, they also become relevant for the field of GUI. This thesis explores the views of stakeholders, such as designers, alumni, students and teachers, on the inevitable implementation of artificial intelligence(AI) into the graphical user interface (GUI) development. It aims to provide understanding on stakeholders thoughts and needs with the focus on two research questions: RQ1: What are the viewpoints of design stakeholders regarding using Artificial Intelligence tools into GUI development? And RQ2: What characteristics should be considered in including AI in GUI development? To collect data, the thesis will use A/B testing and question sessions. In the A/B testing, participants will watch two videos, one showing how to digitise asketch using an AI tool (Uizard) and the other showing how to do the samething using a traditional GUI design tool (Figma). Afterwards, the participants will answer questions about their experience regarding the two different ways to digitise a sketch. The study highlighted a generally positive outlook among the participating stakeholders. Students and alumni expressed more enthusiasm whereas experienced professionals and teachers were cautious yet open to AI integration. Concerns werevoiced regarding potential drawbacks, including limited control and issues of over-reliance. The findings underscored AI's potential to streamline tasks but also emphasised the need for manual intervention and raised questions about maintaining control and creative freedom. We hope this work serves as a valuable starting point for other researchers interested in exploring this topic.

The data generated by interconnected technologies has to be protected. Passwords are used to protect many different systems and are considered an essential part of cybersecurity. The system often permits the user to select their password, where the user becomes partly responsible for the security. Selecting a predictable, common, or easily guessed password is considered a human error that affects the security of the system. Security mechanisms are often enforced by websites to try to prevent users from creating weak passwords. However, predictable and weak passwords are still used. This study examines the security and usability of password user interfaces with a qualitative approach including a systematic literature review, where the data is analysed with thematic analysis and evaluation of websites with usability testing. The objective is to provide security and usability recommendations based on previous research and users' opinions. The result identifies successful criteria features, feedback features, and usability features that can be implemented in the user interface. In addition, the usability testing results discover usability issues present on commonly used websites. The study concludes that seven security and usability features are necessary in the password user interface when the aim is to encourage users to create secure passwords.

This paper investigates the conversational capabilities of voice-controlled virtual assistants with respect to biased questions and answers. Three commercial virtual assistants (Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri) are tested for the presence of three cognitive biases (wording, framing and confirmation) in the answers given. The results show that all assistants are susceptible to wording and framing biases to varying degrees, and have limited ability to recognise questions designed to induce cognitive biases. The paper describes the different response strategies available to voice user interfaces, the differences between them, and discusses the role of strategy in relation to biased content.

Many academic institutions are tasked with trying to improve the usability of their online educational support technologies such as ePortfolios, intelligent websites, and other interface technology to make them as efficient as possible to meet the requirements of their end users. This is particularly important for the academic institutions during times and situations when they may not have a live human presence available to respond to various inquiries from their end users about the technology. The challenges of an academic institution in making its ePortfolios viable can cost itself, its end users, as well as its other stakeholders, money, time, and confidence in the technology. This study is about usability testing for improving the user-interface for ePortfolios. This is a qualitative study using the think-aloud protocol (TAP) for data collection and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) for data analysis.

This study investigates high-performance network data transfers, focusing on Nvidia Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Direct Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) and GPUNetIO. These methods have emerged as promising strategies for improving data communication between GPUs and network interfaces, but harnessing their potential requires meticulous configuration and optimization. This research aims to clarify those architectures and achieve optimal performance in this context. The study begins with analyzing the source code for both architectures, explaining their underlying principles and what they have improved on the previous structures. A useroriented testing tool is also developed to provide users with a simplified interface for conducting tests and system configuration requirements. The research methodology consists of reviewing the literature and analyzing the source code of GPUDirect RDMA and GPUNetIO. Additionally, experiments are designed to evaluate various performance aspects, ranging from Central Processing Unit (CPU)- related factors to GPU metrics and network card performance. The results indicate a significant acceleration in data copying when based on GPUDirect RDMA technology. The introduction of GPUNetIO leads to a substantial decrease in CPU utilization. Furthermore, the user interface is designed for simple deployment on hosts and easy access by users. The interface is equipped with the recommended configuration settings. / Denna studie undersöker högpresterande nätverksdataöverföringar med fokus på Nvidia GPU Direct RDMA och GPUNetIO. GPU Direct RDMA har visat sig vara en lovande metod för att förbättra datakommunikationen mellan GPU:er och nätverksgränssnitt, men för att utnyttja dess potential krävs noggrann konfiguration och optimering. Denna forskning syftar till att klargöra komplexiteten och svårigheterna med att uppnå optimal prestanda i detta sammanhang. Studien inleds med en analys av källkoden för båda arkitekturerna, som förklarar deras underliggande principer och vad de har förbättrat jämfört med de tidigare strukturerna. Dessutom utvecklas ett användarorienterat testverktyg som syftar till att ge användarna ett förenklat gränssnitt för att utföra tester. Forskningsmetoden består av en genomgång av litteraturen och en analys av källkoden för GPUDirect RDMA och GPUNetIO. Dessutom har en uppsättning experiment utformats för att utvärdera olika prestandaaspekter, allt från CPU-relaterade faktorer till GPU-mätvärden och nätverkskortsprestanda. Resultaten indikerar en betydande acceleration av datakopieringen när den baseras på GPUDirect RDMA-teknik. Införandet av GPUNetIO leder till en betydande minskning av CPU-användningen. Dessutom är användargränssnittet utformat för enkel driftsättning på värdar och enkel åtkomst för användare. Gränssnittet är utrustat med rekommenderade konfigurationsinställningar.

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Animations in interfaces, when designed correctly, are shown to be beneficial for usability and user experience (UX). However, most designers create their animations from personal preference without knowledge of how their animated transitions affect the user experience, which increases the risk of them becoming distracting and ruining the experience. Current studies on the topic focus mostly on the usability aspects of animations while the research regarding the emotional impact and aesthetics remain sparse. By understanding how the properties of transitions impact the whole user experience of a user interface, well thought out design choices can be made for improving the experience. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how three transforms and five easing types in animated transitions affect user emotions and perceived user experience. These properties were examined and compared using the mixed method approach of semi-structured interviews, Think-Aloud and the shortened version of AttrakDiff. The results of this thesis indicate that both easings and transforms can affect the perceptions of speed, and that faster perceived transitions are generally more preferred. Also, that the transforms can be more or less suitable for communicating certain changes, and that easings can convey certain impressions suiting different contexts in mobile UIs. The insights of this study can be used for guidance in designing or choosing transitions for specific affective purposes for an improved user experience. / Animationer i gränssnitt sägs gynna användbarhet och användarupplevelse när de är utformade korrekt. De flesta designers skapar dock sina animationer utifrån personliga preferenser utan kunskap om hur deras animerade övergångar påverkar användarupplevelsen, vilket ökar risken för att distraherande animationer som kan förstöra upplevelsen istället. I dagsläget fokuserar studier inom detta område främst på användbarhet av animationer medan forskningen kring emotionell påverkan och estetik är begränsad. Genom att förstå hur egenskaperna för animerade övergångar påverkar hela användarupplevelsen för ett användargränssnitt kan mer genomtänkta designval göras för att förbättra upplevelsen. Syftet med denna avhandling var att undersöka hur tre transformationer och fem olika accelerationer i animerade övergångar påverkar användarnas känslor och användarupplevelse när de används i ett mobilt gränssnitt. Dessa egenskaper undersöktes och jämfördes med genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer, Think-Aloud metoden och den förkortade versionen av AttrakDiff. Resultaten tyder på att både accelerationer och transformationer kan påverka uppfattningen av animationens hastighet, och att snabbare upplevda övergångar i allmänhet är mer föredragna. Dessutom kan transformationerna kan vara mer eller mindre lämpliga för att kommunicera vissa förändringar i gränssnittet, och olika accelerationer kan förmedla vissa intryck som passar i olika sammanhang i mobila användargränssnitt. Resultaten av denna studie kan användas som vägledning vid utformning av övergångar för specifika affektiva ändamål och för en förbättrad användarupplevelse.