User experience of communication before and during rendezvous: interim results

This paper reports on a diary study of rendezvousing as performed by university students. The study compares students experience of communication before and during rendezvous. During rendezvous, students rated several aspects of the experience of communication lower than before rendezvous. This impairment of experience is attributed to the cumulative effects of the following aspects of the context of use: noise, multiple task performance, conflict with social norms, incomplete network coverage, time pressure and conflict with preferred life paths. User performance goals for context-aware communication systems are discussed.

User needs for location-aware mobile services

Mobile contexts of use vary a lot, and may even be continuously changing during use. The context is much more than location, but its other elements are still difficult to identify or measure. Location information is becoming an integral part of different mobile devices. Current mobile services can be enhanced with location-aware features, thus providing the user with a smooth transition towards context-aware services. Potential application fields can be found in areas such as travel information, shopping, entertainment, event information and different mobile professions. This paper studies location-aware mobile services from the user's point of view. The paper draws conclusions about key issues related to user needs, based on user interviews, laboratory and field evaluations with users, and expert evaluations of location-aware services. The user needs are presented under five main themes: topical and comprehensive contents, smooth user interaction, personal and user-generated contents, seamless service entities and privacy issues.     

An approach to software product testing

An approach is presented that uses the following techniques: automatic test case generation, self-checking test cases, black box test cases, random test cases, sampling, a form of exhaustive testing, correctness measurements, and the correction of defects in the test cases instead of in the product (defect circumvention). The techniques are cost-effective and have been applied to very large products     

Designing mobile technologies to support co-present collaboration

Mobile technologies offer new opportunities for childrens educational activities in that they can be used across different locations and times. Naturally, some instances of mobile technology use will necessitate, or be enhanced by, the sharing of information. Social interaction is important for sharing ideas, constructing and shaping understanding and fundamental for educational development. However the physical size of mobile technologies presents interesting challenges when designing for collaborative activities. When designing mobile technologies the importance of collaborative tasks has often been overlooked. The replacement of low-tech artefacts with digital devices, for supporting multiple users, can inhibit the shareability of information. We present three projects where mobile technologies have been used as part of a larger mixed reality experience. Novel technologies were used to support childrens collaborative activities in storytelling, an adventure game and during an outdoor field trip. Interaction with mobile devices within each project is reviewed and the authors highlight important considerations for their design and use across multiple contexts.     

An integrated model of interaction experience for information retrieval in a Web-based encyclopaedia

An experiment, using two versions of a Web site varying in usability, tested three models of user experience: an interaction experience model, a technology acceptance model and an integrated experience-acceptance model. We found that the perceptions of three product attributes (Pragmatic Quality, Hedonic Quality-stimulation and Hedonic Quality-identification) and technology acceptance variables (the beliefs of Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Enjoyment and Perceived Usefulness, and Intention to Use) are separate underlying psychological dimensions. A positive effect of usability on task performance, interaction experience and acceptance was found. In the interaction experience model, the evaluation of Goodness (overall interaction quality) was less stable and influenced by both Pragmatic Quality and Hedonic Quality, but the evaluation of Beauty was more stable and only influenced by Hedonic Quality. In the technology acceptance model, Perceived Ease of Use was a determinant of Perceived Enjoyment and Perceived Usefulness, and the latter two were independent determinants of Intention to Use. In the integrated model, perceptions of product attributes were independent determinants of beliefs, but evaluations were not independent determinants of Intention to Use. Future modelling work should address a range of interactive systems, information architecture and individual differences.     

An approach to learning mobile robot navigation

This paper describes an approach to learning an indoor robot navigation task through trial-and-error. A mobile robot, equipped with visual, ultrasonic and laser sensors, learns to servo to a designated target object. In less than ten minutes of operation time, the robot is able to navigate to a marked target object in an office environment. The central learning mechanism is the explanation-based neural network learning algorithm (EBNN). EBNN initially learns function purely inductively using neural network representations. With increasing experience, EBNN employs domain knowledge to explain and to analyze training data in order to generalize in a more knowledgeable way. Here EBNN is applied in the context of reinforcement learning, which allows the robot to learn control using dynamic programming.     

Improving video-mediated communication with orchestration

Video-mediated communication (VMC) has become a popular communication medium. However, research to date suggests that the inherent constraints of VMC impair effective and efficient communication and task performance. We propose that these negative findings could be attributed to how the technology was used and propose the novel concept of communication orchestration aimed at mitigating some of the signaled limitations. Orchestration is a selection process for displaying information that is deemed relevant for accomplishing an effective and efficient task performance and communicative experience. We report an experiment that confirmed this suggestion. The results indicate that orchestration could be an important novel feature to aid humans when communicating via VMC, but also suggest that there is potential for further improvements in orchestration.     

An algebraic verification of a mobile network

In a mobile communication network some nodes change locations, and are therefore connected to different other nodes at different points in time. We show how some important aspects of such a network can be formally defined and verified using the-calculus, which is a development of CCS (Calculus of Communicating Systems) allowing port names to be sent as parameters in communication events. As an example of a mobile network we consider the Public Land Mobile Network currently being developed by the European Telecommunication Standards Institute and concentrate on the handover procedure which controls the dynamic topology of the network.An early version of part of this material appeared inProtocol Specification, Testing, and Verification X, pages 275–291, North-Holland 1990.     

The role of spatial contextual factors in mobile personalization at large sports events

This paper presents three field studies undertaken at large sports events in UK and China, with the aim of improving the user experience at these types of events through the design of personally relevant mobile services. These field studies investigated: which aspects of spatial context were relevant within the confines of a large sporting event, how their relevance differed according to sports event and language/culture, and how they could be used to prescribe the behaviour of a personalizable/adaptive mobile device. Spatial aspects of context were found to be highly significant within the large sports arena. They can be used to maximize the relevance of information and communication services delivered to a spectator over a mobile device. A range of design implications are discussed.     

Determinants of behavioral intention to mobile banking

With the improvement of mobile technologies and devices, banking users are able to conduct banking services at anyplace and at anytime. Recently, many banks in the world have provided mobile access to financial information. The reason to understand what factors contribute to users’ intention to use mobile banking is important issue of research. The purpose of this research is to examine and validate determinants of users’ intention to mobile banking. This research used a structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the causalities in the proposed model.The results indicated strong support for the validity of proposed model with 72.2% of the variance in behavioral intention to mobile banking. This study found that self-efficiency was the strongest antecedent of perceived ease-of-use, which directly and indirectly affected behavioral intention through perceived usefulness in mobile banking. Structural assurances are the strongest antecedent of trust, which could increase behavioral intention of mobile banking. This research verified the effect of perceived usefulness, trust and perceived ease-of-use on behavioral intention in mobile banking. The results have several implications for mobile banking managers.     

A self-verification authentication mechanism for mobile satellite communication systems

In order to provide an opportunity to make personal communication as broad as possible, mobile satellite communication systems have recently drawn much attention. However, any communication system raises two major challenging issues: (1) how to determine whether actors are whom they claim to be; and (2) how to protect data against unauthorized disclosure. Although the secret-key cryptosystem (SKC) and the public-key cryptosystem (PKC) have been developed to provide well-defined security services to address these issues each has serous drawbacks while SKC-based authentication schemes have the common demerit that the server which maintains the secret-key table becomes an attractive target for numerous intrusions, PKC-based schemes suffer from the expensive complexity of the public-key infrastructure (PKI) and a high computation overhead. Therefore, in this paper, a self-verification authentication mechanism with lower computation and key management cost is introduced.     

A novel mobile device user interface with integrated social networking services

Modern mobile devices support accessing Web-based social networking services from the user interface (UI) of Web browsers, applications, and mobile widgets. While effectively accessing these services, people may find it tedious to switch between multiple user interfaces in order to be aware of the latest content. Aiming for an improved user experience, we experimented with integration of these services into mobile devices' main user interface. The integrated content is presented beyond application silos and automatically filtered to highlight the relevant elements. A mobile system called LinkedUI was developed and deployed in one lab test and one field study. Three findings emerge from these studies. Firstly, it is feasible to construct an alternative device UI that supports integration of Web content across applications and services via hyperlinking. Time, publisher (e.g., contacts), content types, and geographical locations are key dimensions for association of content. Secondly, the alternative device UI enables better usability of accessing social networking services than accessing them from individual Web sites on mobile devices. It helps people to be aware of the latest content during microbreaks. Thirdly, automatic filtering, on the basis of one user's data, is one promising approach to identifying relevant content. Given filtered content, most people using the automatic filtering approved the functionality and experienced a better sense of control that is arguably due to the reduced information volume.     

Design challenges of an in-car communication system UI

The rapid development of in-car communication systems in recent years has enabled diverse information supplies in automobiles. The advantages of these systems may be obvious, but to apply telematic applications extensively in traffic, and especially in the car environment, calls for an understanding of the possible drawbacks and the means to minimise them.The research project in Nokia investigated different methods of implementing an in-car communication system, and different user interface solutions for them. The aim of the project was to identify the Uls for an in-car communication system that offers potential and to test these with end users.In this paper I will explore the present challenges of an in-car communication system UI design. I will go through a case study of a Nokia research project, and finally I will present some design implications concerning general UI design of an in-car communication system.     

Supporting the design of mobile interactive artefacts

Current paper-based activities and practices are highly disseminated and intrinsic to our daily lives. Particular cases such as therapeutic and educational procedures, which rely strongly on paper-based artefacts (e.g., questionnaires, forms, manuals) assume special importance due to their critical content. However, their passiveness, limited interactivity, lack of adjustment, among other problems tend to obstruct personalization, hindering efficiency and limiting some users while achieving desired goals. This paper presents an environment that supports an easy and flexible design of tailored digital artefacts for mobile devices. The artefacts can be adjusted to the users’ needs, providing support to various purposes by coping with and enhancing different procedures. The environment integrates a set of configurable domain oriented guidelines that aid end-users through the creation of their personalized artefacts. It has been validated through three case studies by providing support to mobile learning, personal training and by offering means to achieve ubiquitous cognitive behavioural therapy.     

An inexpensive unstructured platform for wireless mobile peer-to-peer networks

In this paper, we propose an unstructured platform, namely I nexpensive P eer-to- P eer S ubsystem (IPPS), for wireless mobile peer-to-peer networks. The platform addresses the constraints of expensive bandwidth of wireless medium, and limited memory and computing power of mobile devices. It uses a computationally-, memory requirement- and communication- wise inexpensive gossip protocol as the main maintenance operation, and exploits location information of the wireless nodes to minimize the number of link-level messages for communication between peers. As a result, the platform is not only lightweight by itself, but also provides a low cost framework for different peer-to-peer applications. In addition, further enhancements are introduced to enrich the platform with robustness and tolerance to failures without incurring any additional computational and memory complexity, and communication between peers. In specific, we propose schemes for a peer (1) to chose a partner for a gossip iteration, (2) to maintain the neighbors, and (3) to leave the peer-to-peer network. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the performance of the platform.

Design issues encountered in the development of a mobile multimedia augmentative communication service

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems can be mounted on a range of different hardware platforms, from custom-designed units to desktop or laptop personal computers and hand-held and palmtop systems. Palmtop devices such as personal data assistants (PDAs) offer great advantages of portability. The small display size and limited storage and processing capacity of a PDA compared to larger systems are likely to impose some limitations on the range of AAC applications which can be supported, however, particularly when multimedia-based applications are considered. This paper addresses issues involved in migrating a multimedia AAC application onto a palm-top PDA and discusses the user involvement in the re-engineering of the system for that environment. Outcomes from an initial practical trial with a person who uses AAC are reported.     

Understanding mobile contexts

Mobile urban environments present a challenge for context-aware computers because they differ from fixed indoor contexts such as offices, meeting rooms, and lecture halls in many important ways. Internal factors such as tasks and goals are different—external factors such as social resources are dynamic and unpredictable. An empirical, user-centred approach is needed to understand mobile contexts. In this paper, we present insights from an ethnomethodologically inspired study of 25 adult urbanites in Helsinki. The results describe typical phenomena in mobility: how situational and planned acts intermesh in navigation, how people construct personal and group spaces, and how temporal tensions develop and dissolve. Furthermore, we provide examples of social solutions to navigation problems, examine mobile multitasking, and consider design implications for mobile and context-aware human–computer interaction.

An innovative mobile electronic tourist guide application

“Mobile tourism” represents a relatively new trend in the field of tourism and involves the use of mobile devices as electronic tourist guides. While much of the underlying technology is already available, there are still open challenges with respect to design, usability, portability, functionality and implementation aspects. Most existing “mobile tourism” solutions either represent of-the-shelf applications with rigidly defined content or involve portable devices with networking capabilities that access tourist content with the requirement of constant airtime, i.e., continuous wireless network coverage. This paper presents the design and implementation issues of a “mobile tourism” research prototype, which brings together the main assets of the two aforementioned approaches. Namely, it enables the creation of portable tourist applications with rich content that matches user preferences. The users may download these personalized applications (optimized for their specific device’s model) either directly to their mobile device or first to a PC and then to a mobile terminal (through infrared or bluetooth). Thereafter, network coverage is not further required as the applications execute in standalone mode and may be updated when the user returns online. The dynamically created tourist applications also incorporate a “push model”, wherein new tourist content is forwarded to the mobile terminal with minimal user intervention as soon as it is added or updated by the administrator. Our prototype has been developed on the top of Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) which offers an ideal platform for the development of full-fledged, interactive and portable applications tailored for resource-constrained mobile devices. The paper presents our development experiences with J2ME and highlights its main advantages and shortcomings in relation to the implementation of such kind of applications. Finally, an empirical evaluation of user experience with the mobile application prototype is presented.

Predicting the determinants of the NFC-enabled mobile credit card acceptance: A neural networks approach

The main aim of this study is to determine the factors influencing the adoption of Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled mobile credit card, an innovation in contactless payment for the future generation. Constructs from psychological science, trust-based and behavioral control theories were incorporated into the parsimonious TAM. Using empirical data and Structural Equation Modeling-Artificial Neural Networks approach together with multi group analysis, the effects of social influence, personal innovativeness in information technology, trust, perceived financial cost, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were examined. The significance of indirect effects was examined using the bias-corrected percentile with two-tailed significance through bootstrapping. Gender, age, experience and usage were introduced as the moderator variables with industry being the control variable in the research model. The scarcity in studies regarding the moderating effects of these variables warranted the needs to further investigate their impacts. The mediating effect of perceived usefulness was examined using the Baron–Kenny’s technique. The findings of this study have provided invaluable theoretical, methodological and managerial implications and will contribute to the decision making process by CEOs, managers, manufacturers and policy makers from the mobile manufacturing industry, businesses and financial institutions, mobile commerce, mobile telecommunication providers, mobile marketers, private or government practitioners and etc.     

An approach to usability evaluation of e-learning applications

Despite recent advances of electronic technologies in e-learning, a consolidated evaluation methodology for e-learning applications is not available. The evaluation of educational software must consider its usability and more in general its accessibility, as well as its didactic effectiveness. This work is a first step towards the definition of a methodology for evaluating e-learning applications. Specific usability attributes capturing the peculiar features of these applications are identified. A preliminary user study involving a group of e-students, observed during their interaction with an e-learning application in a real situation, is reported. Then, the proposal is put forward to adapt to the e-learning domain a methodology for systematic usability evaluation, called SUE. Specifically, evaluation patterns are proposed that are able to drive the evaluators in the analysis of an e-learning application.