Perception of Interactivity: Affects of Four Key Variables in Mobile Advertising

There are indications that interactivity could benefit the effectiveness of mobile advertisements. But there are few guidelines on how to design interactive mobile advertisements. This study investigated the influences of various design features of mobile advertisements on perceived interactivity and the relationship between perceived interactivity and attitude toward mobile advertisements. An experiment consisting of 2 sessions was conducted to test 5 proposed hypotheses with 40 participants. Results showed that the number of user control options and the customizability of advertisements have significant influences on users' perception of interactivity. The more options a message advertisement provides, the more interactive the participants perceive the advertisement; a customizable game advertisement is perceived as more interactive than an uncustomizable game advertisement. But no significant effects of presenting instructional information of mobile Web advertisements and including humorous elements were found. Finally, perceived interactivity was found a strong predictor of attitude toward mobile advertisement.     

A study of usability principles and interface design for mobile e-books

This study examined usability principles and interface designs in order to understand the relationship between the intentions of mobile e-book interface designs and users' perceptions. First, this study summarised 4 usability principles and 16 interface attributes, in order to conduct usability testing and questionnaire survey by referring to Nielsen (1993), Norman (2002), and Yeh (2010), who proposed the usability principles. Second, this study used the interviews to explore the perceptions and behaviours of user operations through senior users of multi-touch prototype devices. The results of this study are as follows: (1) users' behaviour of operating an interactive interface is related to user prior experience; (2) users' rating of the visibility principle is related to users' subjective perception but not related to user prior experience; however, users' ratings of the ease, efficiency, and enjoyment principles are related to user prior experience; (3) the interview survey reveals that the key attributes affecting users' behaviour of operating an interface include aesthetics, achievement, and friendliness.     

Can eye-tracking data be measured to assess product design?: Visual attention mechanism should be considered

Eye tracking probes user's perception of real-time reaction to products, while conventional methods (i.e. interviews, focus group, questionnaires and so on) have generally failed because they depend on users' willingness and competency to describe how they feel when they are exposed to a product. Two tasks were designed to explore the indexes of eye movement that can reflect user experience of product, and analyse the attention captured by product attributes and goal-oriented. In task one, participants just browsed two smart phone pictures and evaluated the whole user experience. Binary choices were used in task two to ask participants to select the smart phone picture with higher user experience and then click the mouse. The results showed that in the browsing task, participants had shorter time to first fixation for the smart phone picture with higher level of user experience than the lower. And pupil dilated significantly when participants browse smart phone picture with lower level of user experience. In goal-oriented task, participants' attentions were dominated by visual perception of task driven, mainly reflected on longer fixation time and larger pupil diameter when looking at the smart phone with higher level of user experience. These results support the notion that we cannot assess product design just by several eye-movement indexes without considering the effects of visual attention mechanism.Relevance to industryThe appearance of product plays an important role to attract user's attention and stimulate their intention to experience. And vision is the main channel for users to obtain product information. Hence a thorough research on the inherent mechanism of vision perception can provide technical support for product designers, which in turn can attract more consumers to experience the product, even buy it. Moreover, the seller can find out the real buyers and predict their desired products by tracking user's eyes.     

Watching a Movie Alone yet Together: Understanding Reasons for Watching Danmaku Videos

By overlaying timeline-synchronized user comments on videos, Danmaku commenting creates a unique co-viewing experience of online videos. This study aims to understand the reasons for watching or not watching Danmaku videos. From a review of the literature and a pilot study, an initial pool of motivations and hindrances to Danmaku video viewing was gathered. Then, a survey involving 248 participants to identify the underlying factor structures of motivations and hindrances was conducted. Their influences on users’ attitude and behaviors with Danmaku videos were also examined. The results showed that people viewed Danmaku videos to obtain information, entertainment, and social connectedness. Introverted young men with high openness to new experience are more likely to view Danmaku videos. Infrequent viewers refused to watch Danmaku videos mainly because of the visual clutter that resulted from Danmaku comments.     

Effects of Luminosity Contrast and Stimulus Duration on User Performance and Preference in a P300-Based Brain–Computer Interface

Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) have potential to provide a new channel of communication and control for people with severe motor disabilities. Although many empirical studies exist, few have specifically evaluated the impact of contributing factors on user performance and perception in BCI applications, especially for users with motor disabilities. This article reports the effects of luminosity contrast and stimulus duration on user performance and usage preference in a P300-based BCI application, P300 Speller. Ten participants with neuromuscular disabilities (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cerebral palsy) and 10 able-bodied participants were asked to spell six 10-character phrases in the P300 Speller. The overall accuracy was 76.5% for the able-bodied participants and 26.8% for participants with motor disabilities. The results showed that luminosity contrast and stimulus duration have significant effects on user performance. In addition, participants preferred high luminosity contrast with middle or short stimulus duration. However, these effects on user performance and preference varied for participants with and without motor disabilities. The results also indicated that although most participants with motor disabilities can establish BCI control, BCI illiteracy does exist. These results of the study should provide insights into the future research of the BCI systems, especially the real-world applicability of the BCI applications as a nonmuscular communication and control system for people with severe motor disabilities.     

A Case Study in the Specification and Analysis of Design Alternatives for a User Interface

There is considerable interest within the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) community in the use of media spaces to enhance awareness and interaction between workers in offices or other spatially distributed environments. In addition to the technical challenges of providing reliable and efficient audio-visual communication, there are important social questions, in particular how users are able to control access to their personal environments, and how to advise other users about their level of availability. Within AMODEUS-2¹, an ESPRIT Basic Research Action concerned with the development, transfer and assessment of techniques for modelling human-computer interaction, a prototype media space has been analysed by various user and system oriented modelling techniques. This paper describes how formal specification can be used to express requirements on the interfaces needed to control access and availability in a media space. Beyond its obvious use in clarifying the subtle relationship between these concerns, the paper describes how the specification assists in assessing design options originating from other modelling disciplines. Received August 1996 / Accepted in revised form April 1999     

基于云存储的3D直播系统设计与实现

随着互联网技术的快速发展,观看网络直播成为人们主要的线上娱乐方式之一。目前市面上存在很多直播平台,在这些平台日趋广泛的同时,也产生了很多改进的空间,如何增强用户的临场感体验是其中至关重要的一个方面。一般在实际观看中,用户所看到的是2D画面,观看体验感不强,且主播画面与用户实时显示画面,时延大概在2s以上,互动感较差。采用3D直播的方式,将主播以三维虚拟人物形象的方式呈现,将增强用户的体验感。而现有的3D直播平台存在一定的局限性,用户依然是被动的观看直播画面,因此对现有直播平台架构进行了研究和改进。基于Unity软件,采用C/S架构,将人物渲染的流程从局域网拓展到广域网中,在客户端将被动观看变为主动观看,再通过引入CDN和5G网络技术降低传输时延,完成3D直播系统平台设计与搭建。通过该平台可拉近用户与主播的心理距离,增加用户观看网络直播的趣味性与临场感体验。     

基于众包感知的OTT业务体验影响因素分析

随着移动互联网和OTT （Over-the-top）业务的高速发展,传统以网络为中心的运维方式难以为继,因此如何提高用户业务体验、变革传统网络质量的评价和优化方法迫在眉睫。本文围绕基于终端侧业务感知大数据进行网络和业务质量评价这一新型网络评价与运维作业模式,首先对影响端到端用户业务感知的因素进行了较全面的剖析;并利用从普通用户终端上采集的现网真实的海量业务感知数据,重点针对网页浏览这一代表性的OTT业务,从多个不同的维度深入研究影响业务感知的关键因素,以及关键业务感知指标间的关联关系,揭示了OTT业务感知的关键影响因素间的内在联系。研究结果对于进一步分析业务感知质差成因、合理构建用户体验质量（Quality of experience,QoE）映射模型等具有很好的参考价值。     

A framework and ontology for dynamic Web services selection

Current Web services standards lack the means for expressing a service's nonfunctional attributes - namely, its quality of service. QoS can be objective (encompassing reliability, availability, and request-to-response time) or subjective (focusing on user experience). QoS attributes are key to dynamically selecting the services that best meet user needs. This article addresses dynamic service selection via an agent framework coupled with a QoS ontology. With this approach, participants can collaborate to determine each other's service quality and trustworthiness.     

Usability perception of different video game devices in elderly users

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usability perception of seniors on video game use with different control devices. Twenty-four seniors participated in the study (12 women, 12 men, 69 years old in average) and eight children (8 years old in average). The setting included the use of two Kinect motion sensors, three computers, three projectors, three video cameras, two audio devices, the Angry Birds and Happy Sky videogames, one Xbox 360 console, a Nintendo Wii device and a Touchscreen configured so that participants could play the games in senior–child pairs. Data were collected according to user friendliness, experience and social interaction. This study suggests that video game control devices for seniors should be adapted to compensate for their function, sensor and cognitive limitations.     

Enhancing Musical Experience for the Hearing-Impaired Using Visual and Haptic Displays

This article addresses the broad question of understanding whether and how a combination of tactile and visual information could be used to enhance the experience of music by the hearing impaired. Initially, a background survey was conducted with hearing-impaired people to find out the techniques they used to “listen” to music and how their listening experience might be enhanced. Information obtained from this survey and feedback received from two profoundly deaf musicians were used to guide the initial concept of exploring haptic and visual channels to augment a musical experience.

The proposed solution consisted of a vibrating “Haptic Chair” and a computer display of informative visual effects. The Haptic Chair provided sensory input of vibrations via touch by amplifying vibrations produced by music. The visual display transcoded sequences of information about a piece of music into various visual sequences in real time. These visual sequences initially consisted of abstract animations corresponding to specific features of music such as beat, note onset, tonal context, and so forth. In addition, because most people with impaired hearing place emphasis on lip reading and body gestures to help understand speech and other social interactions, their experiences were explored when they were exposed to human gestures corresponding to musical input.

Rigorous user studies with hearing-impaired participants suggested that musical representation for the hearing impaired should focus on staying as close to the original as possible and is best accompanied by conveying the physics of the representation via an alternate channel of perception. All the hearing-impaired users preferred either the Haptic Chair alone or the Haptic Chair accompanied by a visual display. These results were further strengthened by the fact that user satisfaction was maintained even after continuous use of the system over a period of 3 weeks. One of the comments received from a profoundly deaf user when the Haptic Chair was no longer available (“I am going to be deaf again”), poignantly expressed the level of impact it had made.

The system described in this article has the potential to be a valuable aid in speech therapy, and a user study is being carried out to explore the effectiveness of the Haptic Chair for this purpose. It is also expected that the concepts presented in this paper would be useful in converting other types of environmental sounds into a visual display and/or a tactile input device that might, for example, enable a deaf person to hear a doorbell ring, footsteps approaching from behind, or a person calling him or her, or to make understanding conversations or watching television less stressful. Moreover, the prototype system could be used as an aid in learning to play a musical instrument or to sing in tune.

This research work has shown considerable potential in using existing technology to significantly change the way the deaf community experiences music. We believe the findings presented here will add to the knowledge base of researchers in the field of human–computer interaction interested in developing systems for the hearing impaired.     

Does network quality matter? A field study of mobile user satisfaction

Mobile quality of experience and user satisfaction are growing research topics. However, the relationship between a user’s satisfaction with network quality and the networks real performance in the field remains unexplored.This paper is the first to study both network and non-network predictors of user satisfaction in the wild. We report findings from a large sample (2224 users over 12 months) combining both questionnaires and network measurements. We found that minimum download goodput and device type predict satisfaction with network availability. Whereas for network speed, only download factors predicted satisfaction. We observe that users integrate over many measurements and exhibit a known peak-end effect in their ratings. These results can inform modeling efforts in quality of experience and user satisfaction.     

Exploring the relationship between technology acceptance model and usability test

In the past, most studies used the technology acceptance model (TAM) to survey the subjective perception of users in using information technology. The usability test was also used to assess the ease of use of user interfaces. This study introduces a conceptual framework to explore the relationship between user’s beliefs of TAM and usability testing attributes. Usability testing was conducted on an eCampus learning system with a mobile device. TAM data was collected from the participants for analyzing a possible relationship. The findings of this study reveal that TAM results contradict the usability test results in certain areas. The focus of our proposed research model is supported from the causality between perceived ease of use and usability; however, the correlation between perceived usefulness and usability remains unclear.     

Engaging in activities involving information technology: dimensions, modes, and flow

An engagement mode involves a subject (e.g., a user of information technology, or IT) who is engaged in an activity with an object in a certain manner (the mode). The purpose of this study is to develop a general model of engagement modes that may be used for understanding how IT-related activities are shaped by properties of the user and the IT object. A questionnaire involving items on IT engagement and the experience of flow was administered to 300 participants. The results supported an engagement mode (EM) model involving 5 different engagement modes (enjoying/acceptance, ambition/curiosity, avoidance/hesitation, frustration/ anxiety, and efficiency/productivity) characterized on 3 dimensions (evaluation of object, locus of control between subject and object, and intrinsic or extrinsic focus of motivation). The flow experience follows from a balance between enjoying/ acceptance and efficiency/productivity propelled by ambition/curiosity. The EM model could provide a platform for considering how IT users, IT applications, and IT environments should work together to yield both enjoyment and efficiency. Actual or potential applications of this research include designing IT training programs on different levels of specificity.     

Using information technology: engagement modes,flow experience,and personality orientations

The engagement mode (EM) model describes how an IT user (subject) engages in an activity with an object in a certain mode. The model specifies five engagement modes (Enjoying/Acceptance, Ambition/Curiosity, Avoidance/Hesitation, Frustration/Anxiety, and Efficiency/Productivity), which are characterized on three dimensions (evaluation of object, locus of control between subject and object, and intrinsic or extrinsic focus of motivation). Using questionnaire data from 290 participants, we extended previous empirical support for the model as well as described the model’s relationship to flow experience. In addition, it was found that autonomy, controlled and impersonal orientation in conjunction with socio-demographic variables differentiated among specific engagement modes and flow experience. We conclude that the EM-model, flow experience, and causality orientation theories provide a uniform framework for understanding how people adapt to information technology.     

Do video games exert stronger effects on aggression than film? The role of media interactivity and identification on the association of violent content and aggressive outcomes

This study investigated whether media interactivity would influence the short-term effects of violent content on audience aggression. The general aggression model, social cognitive theory, and character identification offered the theoretical framework. A random sample of 102 male college students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: video game playing, recorded game-play watching, or movie watching. The results indicated that video game players (mediated enactive experience) experienced greater increases in aggressive affect, aggressive cognition, and physiological arousal than participants who watched recorded game play or comparable movie scenes (mediated observational experience). The study indicated that media interactivity in video game exacerbated the violent effect on short-term, aggressive responses. Character identification did not mediate the effect of media interactivity on aggression. Future studies should incorporate more comprehensive measures of character identification to investigate inconsistent findings regarding media interactivity and identification.     

移动互联网视频传输优化的架构研究

随着3G移动互联网的快速发展,在手机等移动终端上看视频成为一种日常应用.但互联网上的大部分视频对于移动用户而言,其码率相对较大,而且移动用户的可用带宽受环境影响变化大,不稳定,影响了用户观看视频的体验.提出一种针对移动互联网的视频传输优化解决方案的系统架构,该架构从缓存和压缩两个方面入手,通过缓存缓解运营商的骨干网流量压力,通过视频压缩降低视频码率以满足用户的实际接入带宽.该架构既为运营商节约了带宽、降低了运营成本,同时也保证用户观看视频的连续性,提高用户体验.     

An application of Bayesian nonlinear regression to hydrologic models

A suite of FORTRAN 77 computer programs implementing Bayesian nonlinear regression is described. These programs, developed to cope with complex hydrologic models, are used to infer model parameters, test model structure and make predictions of future response. The programs are fully interactive with features including: interactive parameter optimization using the Gauss-Marquardt algorithm; run-time editing of user options; availability of a general error model; use of prior information; and joint fitting of multiple-response data.     

User bias in online trust systems: aligning the system designers’ intentions with the users’ expectations

The advent of social networks opened a myriad opportunities for merging the social character of trust with the technical possibilities offered by the Internet and its availability as a mobile service. While most of the computational trust models aim to detect trustworthy entities, much less attention is paid to how these models are perceived by the users who are the core of the system. This paper delves into the workings of online trust systems under user bias and analyses the user behaviour through biases defined by Prospect theory. By performing empirical study on an existing system, we are able to demonstrate that there is a huge discrepancy between the aim of implementation of the online trust models and the users’ perception of those models. Understanding of this relation by the system designers can reduce complexity and improve the user experience and the system performance. The results imply that the tendency of the users to exhibit cognitive biases is not only the cause, but also the effect from the trust system design. These results and the analysis are then used to propose to the system designers a methodology for user bias identification and mitigation in the form of a Choice architecture for trust systems.