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INT Tables of Contents: 84879095979901030507-107-209-109-211-111-211-311-413-113-213-313-4

Proceedings of IFIP INTERACT'13: Human-Computer Interaction-1 2013

Fullname:INTERACT 2013: 14th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human-Computer Intgeraction, Part I
Editors:Paula Kotzé; Gary Marsden; Gitte Lindgaard; Janet Wesson; Marco Winckler
Location:Cape Town, South Africa
Dates:2013-Sep-02 to 2013-Sep-06
Volume:1
Publisher:Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Series:Lecture Notes in Computer Science 8117
Standard No:DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-40483-2 hcibib: INT13-1; ISBN: 978-3-642-40482-5 (print), 978-3-642-40483-2 (online)
Papers:57
Pages:813
Links:SpringerLink Digital Content

Proceedings of IFIP INTERACT'13: Human-Computer Interaction-2 2013

Fullname:INTERACT 2013: 14th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human-Computer Intgeraction, Part II
Editors:Paula Kotzé; Gary Marsden; Gitte Lindgaard; Janet Wesson; Marco Winckler
Location:Cape Town, South Africa
Dates:2013-Sep-02 to 2013-Sep-06
Volume:2
Publisher:Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Series:Lecture Notes in Computer Science 8118
Standard No:DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-40480-1 hcibib: INT13-2; ISBN: 978-3-642-40479-5 (print), 978-3-642-40480-1 (online)
Papers:55
Pages:791
Links:SpringerLink Digital Content

Proceedings of IFIP INTERACT'13: Human-Computer Interaction-3 2013

Fullname:INTERACT 2013: 14th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human-Computer Intgeraction, Part III
Editors:Paula Kotzé; Gary Marsden; Gitte Lindgaard; Janet Wesson; Marco Winckler
Location:Cape Town, South Africa
Dates:2013-Sep-02 to 2013-Sep-06
Volume:3
Publisher:Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Series:Lecture Notes in Computer Science 8119
Standard No:DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-40477-1 hcibib: INT13-3; ISBN: 978-3-642-40476-4 (print), 978-3-642-40477-1 (online)
Papers:53
Pages:797
Links:SpringerLink Digital Content

Proceedings of IFIP INTERACT'13: Human-Computer Interaction-4 2013

Fullname:INTERACT 2013: 14th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human-Computer Intgeraction, Part IV
Editors:Paula Kotzé; Gary Marsden; Gitte Lindgaard; Janet Wesson; Marco Winckler
Location:Cape Town, South Africa
Dates:2013-Sep-02 to 2013-Sep-06
Volume:4
Publisher:Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Series:Lecture Notes in Computer Science 8120
Standard No:DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-40498-6 hcibib: INT13-4; ISBN: 978-3-642-40497-9 (print), 978-3-642-40498-6 (online)
Papers:71
Pages:795
Links:SpringerLink Digital Content
  1. INT 2013 Volume 1
    1. 3D Navigation
    2. 3D Technologies -- 3D Object Manipulation
    3. Augmented Reality
    4. Cognitive Workload
    5. Cognitive Workload and Decision Support
    6. Creating Effective 3D Displays
    7. Cross-Cultural, Intercultural and Social Issues
    8. Data Entry Mechanisms and Devices
    9. Design and Evaluation
    10. Design and Evaluation of Prototypes
    11. Design to Support Creativity
    12. Designing for Inclusiveness I
    13. Designing for Inclusiveness II
    14. Designing with- and for People with Special Needs
    15. Display Manipulations
    16. Diversity/ICT in Social Development
  2. INT 2013 Volume 2
    1. E-Input/Output Devices (e-Readers, Whiteboards)
    2. Facilitating Social Behaviour and Collaboration I
    3. Facilitating Social Behaviour and Collaboration II
    4. Gaze-Enabled Interaction Design
    5. Gesture and Tactile User Interfaces
    6. Gesture-Based User Interface Design and Interaction I
    7. Gesture-Based User Interface Design and Interaction II
    8. Health/Medical Devices
    9. Humans and Robots
    10. Human-Work Interaction Design
    11. Interface Layout and Data Entry
    12. Learning and Knowledge-Sharing
    13. Learning Tools, Learning Contexts
    14. Managing the UX
    15. Mobile Interaction Design
    16. Mobile Phone Applications
  3. INT 2013 Volume 3
    1. Mobile Usage and Techniques
    2. Mobile UX and Privacy Concerns
    3. Model-Based User Interface Design
    4. Multimodal User Interface Design
    5. Multimodality, Cross-Platform Studies
    6. Narratives in Design
    7. Navigation Aids
    8. Novel User Interfaces
    9. Passwords: e-Authentication
    10. Physical Ergonomics
    11. Road Safety
    12. Seniors and Usability
    13. Social Behaviour, Collaboration and Presence
    14. Social Collaborative Interaction
    15. Social Media
    16. Software Development
  4. INT 2013 Volume 4
    1. Supporting Physical Activity
    2. Supporting Shared Activities
    3. Sustainability
    4. Tabletop Computing
    5. Text Comprehensibility
    6. Tracking Eyes and Head
    7. Usability Evaluation and Technology Acceptance
    8. User Preferences and Behaviour
    9. User Requirements Capture and Analysis
    10. UX in Work/Educational Contexts
    11. Voice/Sound-Based Computing
    12. Interactive Posters
    13. Industry Tracks

INT 2013 Volume 1

3D Navigation

Assessing the Impact of Automatic vs. Controlled Rotations on Spatial Transfer with a Joystick and a Walking Interface in VR BIBAKFull-Text 1-18
  Florian Larrue; Hélène Sauzéon; Déborah Foloppe; Grégory Wallet; Jean-René Cazalets; Christian Gross; Martin Hachet; Bernard N'Kaoua
We present a user study assessing spatial transfer in a 3D navigation task, with two different motor activities: a minimal (joystick) and an extensive motor activity (walking Interface), with rotations of the viewpoint either controlled by the user, or automatically managed by the system. The task consisted in learning a virtual path of a 3D model of a real city, with either one of these four conditions: Joystick / Treadmill Vs Manual Rotation / Automatic Rotation. We assessed spatial knowledge with six spatial restitution tasks. To assess the interfaces used, we analyzed also the interaction data acquired during the learning path. Our results show that the direct control of rotations has different effects, depending on the motor activity required by the input modality. The quality of spatial representation increases with the Treadmill when rotations are enabled. With the Joystick, controlling the rotations affect spatial representations. We discuss our findings in terms of cognitive, sensorimotor processes and human computer interaction issues.
Keywords: Interfaces; Navigation; Virtual Reality; Spatial Cognition; Joystick; Treadmill; Rotation; Body-based Information; Vestibular Information; Human Machine Interaction; Human Factors; User Study; Motor Activity
Designing Intuitive Multi-touch 3D Navigation Techniques BIBAKFull-Text 19-36
  Damien Marchal; Clément Moerman; Géry Casiez; Nicolas Roussel
Multi-touch displays have become commonplace over recent years. Numerous applications take advantage of this to support interactions that build on users' knowledge and correspond to daily practices within the real world. 3D applications are also becoming more common on these platforms, but the multi-touch techniques for 3D operations often lag behind 2D ones in terms of intuitiveness and ease of use. Intuitive navigation techniques are particularly needed to make multi-touch 3D applications more useful, and systematic approaches are direly needed to inform their design: existing techniques are still too often designed in ad-hoc ways. In this paper, we propose a methodology based on cognitive principles to address this problem. The methodology combines standard user-centered design practices with optical flow analysis to determine the mappings between navigation controls and multi-touch input. It was used to design the navigation technique of a specific application. This technique proved to be more efficient and preferred by users when compared to existing ones, which provides a first validation of the approach.
Keywords: 3D navigation; multi-touch; interaction technique; design rationale
Truly Useful 3D Drawing System for Professional Designer by "Life-Sized and Operable" Feature and New Interaction BIBAKFull-Text 37-55
  Shun'ichi Tano; Shinya Yamamoto; Junko Ichino; Tomonori Hashiyama; Mitsuru Iwata
"Media" is an artifact that expands our creativity and intelligence. We have been studying the use of "Rich Media" to support creative and intelligent human activities. Specifically, for over ten years we have focused on the 3D space as one of "Rich Media" and developed many 3D sketch systems that support the design of 3D objects. However, their long-term evaluation has revealed that they are not used by designers in real fields. Even worse, they are treated as if they were just mere attractions in an amusement park. The fundamental problem is the lack of the indispensable function for 3D space. In this paper, we propose new design principles, "life-size and operability", which make the 3D sketch system truly valuable for the designer. The new 3D sketch system is designed on the basis of "life-size and operability", developed, and evaluated successfully.
Keywords: 3D Sketch; Life-size; Operability; Professional Designer; Mixed reality

3D Technologies -- 3D Object Manipulation

A One-Handed Multi-touch Method for 3D Rotations BIBAKFull-Text 56-69
  Douglas Scheurich; Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
Rotating 3D objects is a difficult task. We present a new rotation technique based on collision-free "mating" to expedite 3D rotations. It is specifically designed for one-handed interaction on tablets or touchscreens. A user study found that our new technique decreased the time to rotate objects in 3D by more than 60% in situations where objects align. We found similar results when users translated and rotated objects in a 3D scene. Also, angle errors were 35% less with mating. In essence, our new rotation technique improves both the speed and accuracy of common 3D rotation tasks.
Keywords: 3D rotations; 3D user interfaces; multi-touch; tablets
HandsIn3D: Supporting Remote Guidance with Immersive Virtual Environments BIBAKFull-Text 70-77
  Weidong Huang; Leila Alem; Franco Tecchia
A collaboration scenario involving a remote helper guiding in real time a local worker in performing a task on physical objects is common in a wide range of industries including health, mining and manufacturing. An established ICT approach to supporting this type of collaboration is to provide a shared visual space and some form of remote gesture. The shared space and remote gesture are generally presented in a 2D video form. Recent research in tele-presence has indicated that technologies that support co-presence and immersion not only improve the process of collaboration but also improve spatial awareness of the remote participant. We therefore propose a novel approach to developing a 3D system based on a 3D shared space and 3D hand gestures. A proof of concept system for remote guidance called HandsIn3D has been developed. This system uses a head tracked stereoscopic HMD that allows the helper to be immersed in the virtual 3D space of the worker's workspace. The system captures in 3D the hands of the helper and fuses the hands into the shared workspace. This paper introduces HandsIn3D and presents a user study to demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.
Keywords: remote collaboration; co-presence; mixed reality; hand gesture; shared visual space
MotionBender: A Gesture-Based Interaction Technique for Editing Motion Paths BIBAKFull-Text 78-85
  Frederic Raber; Quan Nguyen; Michael Kipp
Precision tasks in 3D like object manipulation or character animation call for new gestural interfaces that utilize many input degrees of freedom. We present MotionBender, a sensor-based interaction technique for post-editing the motion of e.g. the hands in character animation data. For the visualization of motion we use motion paths, often used for showing e.g. the movement of the hand through space over time, and allow the user to directly "bend" the 3D motion path with his/her hands and twist it into the right shape. In a comparative evaluation with a mouse-based interface we found that subjects using our technique were significantly faster. Moreover, with our technique, subject movement was more coordinated, i.e. movement was done in all three dimensions in parallel, and the participants preferred our technique in a post-experiment questionnaire. We also found a gender effect: male users both like the gesture interaction better and achieve better performance.
Keywords: coordination; character animation; motion trajectory; Kinect; 3D user interfaces
RelicPad: A Hands-On, Mobile Approach to Collaborative Exploration of Virtual Museum Artifacts BIBAKFull-Text 86-103
  Steven Neale; Winyu Chinthammit; Christopher Lueg; Paddy Nixon
In an ideal world, physical museum artefacts could be touched, handled, examined and passed between interested viewers by hand. Unfortunately, this is not always possible -- artefacts may be too fragile to handle or pass around, or groups of people with mutual interests in objects may not be in the same location. This can be problematic when attempting to explain or make sense of the physical properties of artefacts.
   To address these problems, we propose that direct manipulation of 3D content based on real-world interaction metaphors can help collaborators (both co and remotely located) to construct personal and mutual physical and spatial awareness of artefacts, while networked communication and collaboration allow for ideas and knowledge to be exchanged and shared.
   We present our interpretations from two studies of RelicPad, a tablet-based application that allows users to manually manipulate museum artefacts and to 'point out' areas of interest to each other using 3D annotations, facilitating a mutual awareness of spatial properties and referencing during discussion.
Keywords: Museum artefacts; remote collaboration; tablet interfaces; 3D interaction techniques; virtual reality

Augmented Reality

Funneling and Saltation Effects for Tactile Interaction with "Detached" Out of the Body Virtual Objects BIBAKFull-Text 104-121
  Jaedong Lee; Sangyong Lee; Gerard J. Kim
In a previous work, we confirmed the existing effects of "Out of the Body" tactile illusion for virtual and augmented objects through funneling and saltation. However, it required a virtual imagery to be attached to the user for directly extending one's body. This paper aims at investigating similar phantom tactile sensations exist when the virtual object is visually detached from the user's body. Two usability experiments were conducted to verify the hypothesized phantom tactile effects: one for funneling and the other, saltation. Our results have shown that in addition to the perception of the phantom sensations with the "detached" visual feedback, the interaction experience was significantly enriched (vs. when without explicit visual feedback). We also discovered for the first time that for funneling, phantom sensations can be elicited without any visual feedback at all. The findings can be applied to the tactile interaction design using minimal number of actuators on a variety of media platforms including the mobile, holography and augmented reality.
Keywords: Phantom sensation; Illusory feedback; Funneling; Saltation; Vibro-tactile feedback; Multimodal feedback
Precise Pointing Techniques for Handheld Augmented Reality BIBAKFull-Text 122-139
  Thomas Vincent; Laurence Nigay; Takeshi Kurata
We propose two techniques that improve accuracy of pointing at physical objects for handheld Augmented Reality (AR). In handheld AR, pointing accuracy is limited by both touch input and camera viewpoint instability due to hand jitter. The design of our techniques is based on the relationship between the touch input space and two visual reference frames for on-screen content, namely the screen and the physical object that one is pointing at. The first technique is based on Shift, a touch-based pointing technique, and video freeze, in order to combine the two reference frames for precise pointing. Contrastingly -- without freezing the video, -- the second technique offers a precise mode with a cursor that is stabilized on the physical object and controlled with relative touch inputs on the screen. Our experimental results show that our techniques are more accurate than the baseline techniques, namely direct touch on the video and screen-centered crosshair pointing.
Keywords: Handheld Augmented Reality; Interaction Techniques; Pointing
The Unadorned Desk: Exploiting the Physical Space around a Display as an Input Canvas BIBAKFull-Text 140-158
  Doris Hausen; Sebastian Boring; Saul Greenberg
In everyday office work, people smoothly use the space on their physical desks to work with documents of interest, and to keep tools and materials nearby for easy use. In contrast, the limited screen space of computer displays imposes interface constraints. Associated material is placed off-screen (i.e., temporarily hidden) and requires extra work to access (window switching, menu selection) or crowds and competes with the work area (e.g., palettes and icons). This problem is worsened by the increasing popularity of small displays such as tablets and laptops. To mitigate this problem, we investigate how we can exploit an unadorned physical desk space as an additional input canvas. With minimal augmentation, our Unadorned Desk detects coarse hovering over and touching of discrete areas ('items') within a given area on an otherwise regular desk, which is used as input to the desktop computer. We hypothesize that people's spatial memory will let them touch particular desk locations without looking. In contrast to other augmented desks, our system provides optional feedback of touches directly on the computer's screen. We conducted a user study to understand how people make use of this input space. Participants freely placed and retrieved items onto/from the desk. We found that participants organize items in a grid-like fashion for easier access later on. In a second experiment, participants had to retrieve items from a predefined grid. When only few (large) items are located in the area, participants were faster without feedback and there was (surprisingly) no difference in error rates with or without feedback. As the item number grew (i.e., items shrank to fit the area), participants increasingly relied on feedback to minimize errors -- at the cost of speed.
Keywords: Augmented desks; digital desks; peripheral interaction

Cognitive Workload

GSR and Blink Features for Cognitive Load Classification BIBAKFull-Text 159-166
  Nargess Nourbakhsh; Yang Wang; Fang Chen
A system capable of monitoring its user's mental workload can evaluate the suitability of its interface and interactions for user's current cognitive status and properly change them when necessary. Galvanic skin response (GSR) and eye blinks are cognitive load measures which can be captured conveniently and at low cost. The present study has assessed multiple features of these two signals in classification of cognitive workload level. The experiment included arithmetic tasks with four difficulty levels and two types of machine learning algorithms have been applied for classification. Obtained results show that the studied features of blink and GSR can reasonably discriminate workload levels and combining features of the two modalities improves the accuracy of cognitive load classification. We have achieved around 75% for binary classification and more than 50% for four-class classification.
Keywords: Cognitive load; galvanic skin response; eye blink; machine learning
Information Holodeck: Thinking in Technology Ecologies BIBAKFull-Text 167-184
  Sharon Lynn Chu; Francis Quek
Information can be persistently represented on a multitude of devices beyond a single screen and session. This paper explores how technological display and device ecosystems (DDEs) may support human thinking, learning and sensemaking. We propose a theoretical foundation that extends Vygotsky's sign mediation triangle to include digital information. Through a process we call objectification, perceivable objects, e.g. interface objects, tangible technologies, can be associated with signs to support thinking. We present a qualitative study of learning in a testbed DDE with 12 graduate students. We developed a method that traces digital objects within 'thinking episodes' to help us evaluate how technology configurations support objectification. Our findings relate two storylines of how DDE technologies may afford objectification. Our work advances a method informed by psychological theory to examine device ecologies for their potential for learning, and articulates affordances for the design of technology that can help to support higher thought.
Keywords: Ecology; technology; devices; displays; thinking; sensemaking; objectification; embodied interaction; design
Managing Personal Information across Multiple Devices: Challenges and Opportunities BIBAKFull-Text 185-192
  Simone Beets; Janet Wesson
Due to the constantly increasing volume of personal information (PI) and the current trend towards mobile devices, there is a growing need to provide access to PI across multiple devices. It has become difficult for a user to manage his/her PI across these devices. The current hierarchical systems used to organize PI do not support accessing PI across multiple devices. The aim of this paper is to discuss the outcomes of an interview study that was conducted to determine how users currently manage PI across multiple devices and to identify what problems are experienced using these devices. Results showed that participants found it difficult to access PI across their devices and do not know beforehand what information they need to access. These problems could be solved by providing an information visualization tool installed on their devices which provides a single user interface to facilitate an overall view of their PI.
Keywords: Personal Information Management; Multiple Devices; Interview Study
Mobility Matters: Identifying Cognitive Demands That Are Sensitive to Orientation BIBAKFull-Text 193-210
  G. Michael Poor; Guy Zimmerman; Dale S. Klopfer; Samuel D. Jaffee; Laura Marie Leventhal; Julie Barnes
Prior studies have shown benefits of interactions on mobile devices. Device mobility itself changes the nature of the user experience; interactions on mobile devices may present better support for cognition. To better understand cognitive demands related to mobility, the current study investigated presentations on a mobile device for a three-dimensional construction task. The task imposed considerable cognitive load, particularly in demands for mental rotation; individual differences in spatial ability are known to interact with these demands. This study specifically investigated mobile device orientations and participants' spatial ability. Subjects with low spatial ability were able to complete the task more effectively when shown the presentation in a favorable orientation. Individuals who saw the presentation in an unfavorable orientation and those of low spatial ability, were differentially disadvantaged. We conclude that mobility can reduce cognitive load by limiting demands for spatial processing relating to reorientation.
Keywords: Mobility; Mental Rotation; Presentation Orientation; Spatial Ability

Cognitive Workload and Decision Support

Ambient Timer -- Unobtrusively Reminding Users of Upcoming Tasks with Ambient Light BIBAKFull-Text 211-228
  Heiko Müller; Anastasia Kazakova; Martin Pielot; Wilko Heuten; Susanne Boll
Daily office work is often a mix of concentrated desktop work and scheduled meetings and appointments. However, constantly checking the clock and alarming popups interrupt the flow of creative work as they require the user's focused attention. We present Ambient Timer, an ambient light display designed to unobtrusively remind users of upcoming events. The light display -- mounted around the monitor -- is designed to slowly catch the user's attention and raise awareness for an upcoming event while not distracting her from the primary creative task such as writing a paper. Our experiment compared established reminder techniques such as checking the clock or using popups against Ambient Timer in two different designs. One of these designs produced a reminder in which the participants felt well informed on the progress of time and experienced a better "flow" of work than with traditional reminders.
Keywords: Ambient Light Display; Reminder; Interruptions; User Studies
Novel Modalities for Bimanual Scrolling on Tablet Devices BIBAKFull-Text 229-246
  Ross McLachlan; Stephen A. Brewster
This paper presents two studies investigating the use of novel modalities for bimanual vertical scrolling on tablet devices. Several bimanual interaction techniques are presented, using a combination of physical dial, touch and pressure input, which split the control of scrolling speed and scrolling direction across two hands. The new interaction techniques are compared to equivalent unimanual techniques in a controlled linear targeting task. The results suggest that participants can select targets significantly faster and with a lower subjective workload using the bimanual techniques.
Keywords: Bimanual interaction; scrolling; tablets
Public Information System Interface Design Research BIBAKFull-Text 247-259
  Ning Zhang; Junliang Chen; Zhengjie Liu; Jun Zhang
The diversity of users' cognitive skills remains the challenge of public information system interface design. In this paper, we focus on the universal interaction design method for public information systems like kiosks. We have developed a method with six steps based on the resources model. The method we proposed aims at reducing users' cognitive load and enabling designers to optimize interface information. To validate this method, two prototypes were designed based on the method and a usability test was conducted to compare users' cognitive load, performance and satisfaction between the designed prototypes and the current referencing system. Results show that, in contrast with the current reference system, prototypes we designed based on the proposed method can reduce user's cognitive load, and enhance user's performance and satisfaction.
Keywords: Universal usability; Cognitive load; Public information system

Creating Effective 3D Displays

Comparison of User Performance in Mixed 2D-3D Multi-Display Environments BIBAKFull-Text 260-277
  Abhijit Karnik; Tovi Grossman; Sriram Subramanian
Stereoscopic displays and volumetric 3D displays capable of delivering 3D views have in use for many years. These standalone displays have been investigated in detail for their impact on users' viewing experiences. Effects like aesthenopia and nausea are well-known for flat-screen based stereoscopic displays. However, these devices have not been tested in the context of multi-display environments (MDEs). The performance cost of repetitive switching between a 3D (stereo or volumetric) display and a standard 2D display are not known. In this paper, we perform a thorough user study where we investigate the effects of using such 3D displays within the context of a MDE. We report on our findings and discuss the implications of the same on designs involving such hybrid setups. Our experiments show that in the condition involving two 2D displays which allow for motion parallax and perspective correction, the participants performed the task the fastest.
Keywords: stereoscopic display; autostereoscopic display; volumetric display; zone of comfort; multi-display environment; performance; mental load
Touching the Void Revisited: Analyses of Touch Behavior on and above Tabletop Surfaces BIBAKFull-Text 278-296
  Gerd Bruder; Frank Steinicke; Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
Recent developments in touch and display technologies made it possible to integrate touch-sensitive surfaces into stereoscopic three-dimensional (3D) displays. Although this combination provides a compelling user experience, interaction with stereoscopically displayed objects poses some fundamental challenges. If a user aims to select a 3D object, each eye sees a different perspective of the same scene. This results in two distinct projections on the display surface, which raises the question where users would touch in 3D or on the two-dimensional (2D) surface to indicate the selection. In this paper we analyze the relation between the 3D positions of stereoscopically displayed objects and the on- as well as off-surface touch areas. The results show that 2D touch interaction works better close to the screen but also that 3D interaction is more suitable beyond 10cm from the screen. Finally, we discuss implications for the development of future touch-sensitive interfaces with stereoscopic display.
Keywords: Touch-sensitive systems; stereoscopic displays; 3D interaction
Understanding Hand Degrees of Freedom and Natural Gestures for 3D Interaction on Tabletop BIBAKFull-Text 297-314
  Rémi Brouet; Renaud Blanch; Marie-Paule Cani
Interactively creating and editing 3D content requires the manipulation of many degrees of freedom (DoF). For instance, docking a virtual object involves 6 DoF (position and orientation). Multi-touch surfaces are good candidates as input devices for those interactions: they provide a direct manipulation where each finger contact on the table controls 2 DoF. This leads to a theoretical upper bound of 10 DoF for a single-handed interaction. With a new hand parameterization, we investigate the number of DoF that one hand can effectively control on a multi-touch surface. A first experiment shows that the dominant hand is able to perform movements that can be parameterized by 4 to 6 DoF, and no more (i.e., at most 3 fingers can be controlled independently). Through another experiment, we analyze how gestures and tasks are associated, which enable us to discover some principles for designing 3D interactions on tabletop.
Keywords: 3D manipulation; multi-touch interaction; tabletop interaction; gesture-based interaction

Cross-Cultural, Intercultural and Social Issues

Considering Communities, Diversity and the Production of Locality in the Design of Networked Urban Screens BIBAKFull-Text 315-322
  Wallis Motta; Ava Fatah gen Schieck; Holger Schnädelbach; Efstathia Kostopoulou; Moritz Behrens; Steve North; Lei Ye
Highly diverse settings such as London (with people from 179 countries speaking 300 languages) are unique in that ethnic or socio-cultural backgrounds are no longer sufficient to generate a sense of place, belonging and community. Instead, residents actively perform place building activities on an ongoing basis, which we believe is of great importance when deploying interactive situated technologies in public spaces.
   This paper investigates community and place building within a complex multicultural context. We approached this using ethnography, complemented with workshops in the wild. By studying the relationships arising between different segments of the community and two networked screen nodes, we examine the place building activities of residents, and how screen nodes are incorporated into them. Our research suggests that urban screens will be framed (and eventually used) as part of this continuing process of social, spatial and cultural construction. This highlights the importance of enabling socially meaningful relations between the people mediated by these technologies.
Keywords: Diversity; communities; ethnography; workshops; in the wild; urban screens
Growing Existing Aboriginal Designs to Guide a Cross-Cultural Design Project BIBAKFull-Text 323-330
  Margot Brereton; Paul Roe; Thomas Amagula; Serena Bara; Judy Lalara; Anita Lee Hong
Designing across cultures requires considerable attention to inter-relational design methods that facilitate mutual exploration, learning and trust. Many Western design practices have been borne of a different model, utilizing approaches for the design team to rapidly gain insight into "users" in order to deliver concepts and prototypes, with little attention paid to different cultural understandings about being, knowledge, participation and life beyond the design project. This paper describes a project that intends to create and grow a sustainable set of technology assisted communication practices for the Warnindilyakwa people of Groote Eylandt in the form of digital noticeboards. Rather than academic practices of workshops, interviews, probes or theoretical discourses that emphasize an outside-in perspective, we emphasize building upon the local designs and practices. Our team combines bilingual members from the local Land Council in collaboration with academics from a remote urban university two thousand kilometers away. We contribute an approach of growing existing local practices and materials digitally in order to explore viable, innovative and sustainable technical solutions from this perspective.
Keywords: Cross-cultural; Aboriginal; slow design; sustainable design; digital noticeboards; urban screens; interface design; Human-computer interaction
Web Accessibility in Africa: A Study of Three African Domains BIBAKFull-Text 331-338
  Daniel Costa; Nádia Fernandes; Sofia Neves; Carlos Duarte; Raquel Hijón-Neira; Luís Carriço
Being the most used method for dissemination of information, especially for public services, it is of paramount importance that the Web is made accessible as to allow all its users to access the content of its pages.
   In this paper, we evaluated 2250 Governmental Web pages from each one of three different African countries (i.e., Angola, Mozambique and South Africa). This report compares the accessibility quality and the level of structural complexity of these African countries government's Web pages. We found that hand coded pages tend to have larger number of HTML elements and also to present higher number of accessibility problems. Finally, it suggests some recommendations to repair the most common problems in these pages.
Keywords: Web Science; Web accessibility; automated evaluation
Webpage Designs for Diverse Cultures: An Exploratory Study of User Preferences in China BIBAKFull-Text 339-346
  Yin Su; David Liu; Xiaomeng Yuan; Justin Ting; Jingguo Jiang; Li Wang; Lin Gao
A wealth of studies has revealed a cross-cultural difference in the user preference on webpage designs. Users from other cultures often criticize a widely accepted webpage design in one culture. Designs for diverse cultures are thus expected to be specific to address diverse user preferences. This study investigated the preferences of Chinese users on four essential design elements related to the readability of texts of the result pages of search engines. The results suggested that the search result pages of the Bing search engine designed for typical 'US users' did not satisfy Chinese users. Chinese users, in general, preferred huge-sized texts for titles, a more compact layout of the search result pages, and keywords to be highlighted in red. The findings of the study contributed to webpage design guidelines for Chinese users, and may serve as a catalyst in exploring user preferences in designing for diverse cultures.
Keywords: webpage design; cross-culture; diversity; Chinese users
Your Phone Has Internet -- Why Are You at a Library PC? Re-imagining Public Access in the Mobile Internet Era BIBAKFull-Text 347-364
  Jonathan Donner; Marion Walton
This study focuses on teenage users of public internet access venues (PAVs) in low-income neighborhoods of Cape Town. It documents their cultivation of detailed ICT repertoires to make the most of available ICTs. It highlights the continuing importance of PAVs as supplements for poorly equipped schools and reveals the incompleteness of any supposed transition to mobile-only internet use. While the mobile internet is opening up opportunities for young people, its current form still conflicts with the easy (global) rhetoric of a closing digital divide and the end of the PAV. We recommend policy and design actions (effecting rules, training, messaging, functionality, and Wi-Fi) to reconfigure PAVs to be more useful "in the age of the mobile internet". Though some actions require support from policymakers, this is fruitful ground for designers and technologists. We identify steps that can be undertaken immediately, rather than waiting for future device convergence or lower tariffs.
Keywords: Libraries; ICT4D; Shared Access; South Africa; Developing Regions; Human Factors; Mobile Phones

Data Entry Mechanisms and Devices

A Performance Review of Number Entry Interfaces BIBAKFull-Text 365-382
  Patrick Oladimeji; Harold Thimbleby; Anna L. Cox
Number entry is ubiquitous and there are several ways a number entry interface can be designed. Until recently, research has been focused mainly on one type of number entry interface: the numeric keypad. Various factors such as the range of values, and the space available for the design allows for several alternative interfaces to be used for number entry. In the design of medical devices such as those used for controlled drug delivery, accurate and timely entry of numbers are required in order to reduce any risk of harm to patients. This paper reviews five number entry interface styles and reports the result of an experiment conducted to evaluate the performance differences of the interfaces based on numbers used in infusion therapy in a hospital. The result shows a significant effect of interface style on speed and accuracy.
Keywords: Number entry interfaces; number entry error; user interface performance; safety critical devices
Predictive Input Interface of Mathematical Formulas BIBAKFull-Text 383-400
  Yoshinori Hijikata; Keisuke Horie; Shogo Nishida
Currently, inputting mathematical formulas into a document using a PC requires more effort by users than inputting normal text. This fact inhibits the spreading of mathematical formulas as internet contents. We propose a method for predicting user's inputs of mathematical formulas using an N-gram model: a popular probabilistic language model in natural language processing. Mathematical formulas are usually presented in hierarchical structure. Therefore, our method incorporates hierarchical information of mathematical formulas to create a prediction model. We try to achieve high prediction accuracy of inputting characters for mathematical formulas.
Keywords: mathematical input; probabilistic language model; predictive input; N-gram model
Selection-Based Mid-Air Text Entry on Large Displays BIBAKFull-Text 401-418
  Anders Markussen; Mikkel R. Jakobsen; Kasper Hornbæk
Most text entry methods require users to have physical devices within reach. In many contexts of use, such as around large displays where users need to move freely, device-dependent methods are ill suited. We explore how selection-based text entry methods may be adapted for use in mid-air. Initially, we analyze the design space for text entry in mid-air, focusing on single-character input with one hand. We propose three text entry methods: H4 Mid-Air (an adaptation of a game controller-based method by MacKenzie et al. [21]), MultiTap (a mid-air variant of a mobile phone text entry method), and Projected QWERTY (a mid-air variant of the QWERTY keyboard). After six sessions, participants reached an average of 13.2 words per minute (WPM) with the most successful method, Projected QWERTY. Users rated this method highest on satisfaction and it resulted in the least physical movement.
Keywords: Text entry; mid-air interaction techniques; large high-resolution displays; Huffman coding; multitap

Design and Evaluation

Evaluating Multivariate Visualizations as Multi-objective Decision Aids BIBAKFull-Text 419-436
  Meirav Taieb-Maimon; Lior Limonad; David Amid; David Boaz; Ateret Anaby-Tavor
When choosing a solution, decision makers are often required to account for multiple conflicting objectives. This is a situation that can result in a potentially huge number of candidate solutions. Despite the wide selection of multivariate visualizations that can potentially help decide between various candidates, no designated means exist to assess the effectiveness of these visualizations under different circumstances. As a first contribution in this work, we developed a method to evaluate different types of multivariate visualization. The method focuses on the visualization's ability to facilitate a better understanding of inter-objective trade-offs as a proxy to more sensible decision making. We used the method to evaluate two existing visualization aids: Parallel-Coordinates and an adaptation of Self Organizing Maps (SOM). Both visualizations were compared with tabular data presentation. Our results show that the first visualization is more effective than a plain tabular visualization for the purpose of multi-objective decision making.
Keywords: Multi-criterion decision making; Multivariate visualizations; Information Visualization; Usage experience evaluation
Homestead Creator: Using Card Sorting in Search for Culture-Aware Categorizations of Interface Objects BIBAKFull-Text 437-444
  Kasper Rodil; Matthias Rehm; Heike Winschiers-Theophilus
Designing intuitive interfaces for rural African users requires us to understand the users' conceptual model. We acknowledge differences in categorization approaches based on cultural factors, among others. In the absence of comprehensive literature and theories, we explore card sorting as a means to derive a local categorization of interface objects for one of our prototypes. Results indicate a locational-relational categorization scheme among Herero elders in Namibia.
Keywords: categorization; indigenous knowledge; 3D visualization; card sorting; HCI; interface design
The Influence of Website Category on Aesthetic Preferences BIBAKFull-Text 445-452
  Eleftherios Papachristos; Nikolaos Avouris
This paper investigates whether users' aesthetic impressions about websites vary considerably across different domains. The assumption that aesthetic judgments about websites that belong to diverse domains are based on different visual design aspects has been investigated in three distinct studies in healthcare, tourism, and web design business. In these studies participants expressed their overall preference as well as their judgments on the constructs of visual appeal, perceived usability and novelty. In addition, descriptions about the test websites were obtained by expert panel and objective measures. Preference Mapping (PM), which is a data summarization and visualization technique, has been performed in each study. Attribute projection into the preference maps allowed for the identification of important driver of preference for each individual domain. Even though, visual appeal was the most important predictor of overall preference in all studies, appealing websites had different visual characteristics in each domain. Furthermore the importance of the evaluation constructs varied considerably among studies, indicating that aesthetic perceptions differed considerably across domains. These findings emphasize the need for flexible evaluation methods that can be used to identify important visual design factors within a specific website domain.
Keywords: Website design; aesthetic evaluation; website categories; visual appeal; preference mapping
WATTSBurning: Design and Evaluation of an Innovative Eco-Feedback System BIBAKFull-Text 453-470
  Filipe Quintal; Lucas Pereira; Nuno Nunes; Valentina Nisi; Mary Barreto
This paper reports a 15 weeks study of artistic eco-feedback deployed in six houses with an innovative sensing infrastructure and visualization strategy. The paper builds on previous work that showed a significant decrease in user awareness after a short period with a relapse in consumption. In this study we aimed to investigate if new forms of feedback could overcome this issue, maintaining the users awareness for longer periods of time. The study presented here aims at understanding if people are more aware of their energy consumption after the installation of a new, art inspired eco-feedback. The research question was then: does artistic eco-feedback provide an increased awareness over normal informative feedback? And does that awareness last longer? To answer this questions participants were interviewed and their consumption patterns analyzed. The main contribution of the paper is to advance our knowledge about the effectiveness of eco-feedback and provide guidelines for implementation of novel eco-feedback visualizations that overcome the relapse behavior pattern.
Keywords: Sustainability; Aesthetics; Eco-feedback; User Interfaces; Prototyping

Design and Evaluation of Prototypes

Finding-NEVO: Toward Radical Design in HCI BIBAKFull-Text 471-478
  Sharon Lynn Chu; Francis Quek; Yao Wang; Rex Hartson
We address the methodology of design-oriented research in HCI, whereby researchers design and implement technology to test concepts. The task is to produce a testable prototype (that we call NEVO, Non-Embarrassing Version One) that faithfully embodies the concept. We probed leading HCI researchers and CHI authors about the challenge of Finding NEVO. We found uncertainty on how to design prototypes that allow for both design and scientific contributions. We propose the Finding-NEVO model that articulates a process yielding prototypes that are faithful to the rationale and idea being studied. We conclude by discussing our theoretical and methodological contributions.
Keywords: Radical design; design method; innovation; HCI
Method Card Design Dimensions: A Survey of Card-Based Design Tools BIBAKFull-Text 479-486
  Christiane Wölfel; Timothy Merritt
There are many examples of cards used to assist or provide structure to the design process, yet there has not been a thorough articulation of the strengths and weaknesses of the various examples. We review eighteen card-based design tools in order to understand how they might benefit designers. The card-based tools are explained in terms of five design dimensions including the intended purpose and scope of use, duration of use, methodology, customization, and formal/material qualities. Our analysis suggests three design patterns or archetypes for existing card-based design method tools and highlights unexplored areas in the design space. The paper concludes with recommendations for the future development of card-based methods for the field of interaction design.
Keywords: method cards; creativity cards; design methods; design tools
The Design and Usability Testing of DACADE -- A Tool Supporting Systematic Data Collection and Analysis for Design Students BIBAKFull-Text 487-494
  Madihah Sheikh Abdul Aziz; Gitte Lindgaard; T. W. Allan Whitfield
Norman claims that designers are bereft of statistical knowledge to perform effectively [10], stating that designers must understand technology, business and psychology to support design decisions. For designers to acquire the necessary statistical skills, design curricula should incorporate statistical courses teaching systematic data collection and data analysis. This paper presents the development and formative usability tests of the prototypes of a software tool called DACADE intended to support design students collecting and analyzing data systematically early in the design phase. It uses a 2D map and a Napping® technique to support effective and efficient communication between designers and target audiences in the design decision process by providing visual data and descriptive statistics without needing statistical knowledge.
Keywords: Software Engineering (Usability Testing); Human Factors in Software Design (User Interfaces); user-centered design; human-centered design
The Effect of Physicality on Low Fidelity Interactive Prototyping for Design Practice BIBAKFull-Text 495-510
  Joanna Hare; Steve Gill; Gareth Loudon; Alan Lewis
In this paper we propose the concept of 'active' and 'passive' physicality as mental models to help in understanding the role of low fidelity prototypes in the design process for computer embedded products. We define 'active physicality' as how the prototype and its software react to users and 'passive physicality' as how the prototype looks and feels offline. User trials of four different types of 'low fidelity' prototypes were undertaken using an existing product as the datum. Each prototype was analysed in terms of active and passive physicality and user responses were collated and compared qualitatively and quantitatively. The results suggest that prototypes that balance both active and passive physicality produce data closer to the final device than those that are strong in one at the expense of the other.
Keywords: Physicality; interactive prototypes; computer embedded products; design; product design; iterative product development; information appliances

Design to Support Creativity

CapTUI: Geometric Drawing with Tangibles on a Capacitive Multi-touch Display BIBAKFull-Text 511-528
  Rachel Blagojevic; Beryl Plimmer
We present CapTUI, an innovative drawing tool that detects tangible drawing instruments on a capacitive multi-touch tablet. There are three core components to the system: the tangible hardware, the recognizer used to identify the tangibles and the drawing software that works in tandem with the tangibles to provide intelligent visual drawing guides. Our recognizable tangible drawing instruments are a ruler, protractor and set square. Users employ these familiar physical instruments to construct digital ink drawings on a tablet in an intuitive and engaging manner. The visual drawing guides enhance the experience by offering the user helpful cues and functionalities to assist them to draw more accurately. A user evaluation comparing CapTUI to an application with passive tools showed that users significantly preferred CapTUI and found that the visual guides provide greater accuracy when drawing.
Keywords: TUI; tangible; multi-touch; physical interaction; capacitive; drawing tools
Evocative Computing -- Creating Meaningful Lasting Experiences in Connecting with the Past BIBAKFull-Text 529-546
  Janet van der Linden; Yvonne Rogers; Tim Coughlan; Anne Adams; Caroline Wilson; Pablo Haya; Estefanía Martín; Trevor Collins
We present an approach -- evocative computing -- that demonstrates how 'at hand' technologies can be 'picked up' and used by people to create meaningful and lasting experiences, through connecting and interacting with the past. The approach is instantiated here through a suite of interactive technologies configured for an indoor-outdoor setting that enables groups to explore, discover and research the history and background of a public cemetery. We report on a two-part study where different groups visited the cemetery and interacted with the digital tools and resources. During their activities serendipitous uses of the technology led to connections being made between personal memories and ongoing activities. Furthermore, these experiences were found to be long-lasting; a follow-up study, one year later, showed them to be highly memorable, and in some cases leading participants to take up new directions in their work. We discuss the value of evocative computing for enriching user experiences and engagement with heritage practices.
Keywords: pervasive computing; user experience; heritage practice; memories; evocative computing
Systematic Integration of Solution Elements: How Does Digital Creativity Support Change Group Dynamics? BIBAKFull-Text 547-565
  Florian Perteneder; Susann Hahnwald; Michael Haller; Kurt Gaubinger
In practice, most creativity techniques are still performed with traditional tools, such as pen and paper, whiteboards, and flipcharts. When transforming these techniques into a digital environment, the reduction of organizational overhead is the main goal to foster accessibility. Still, we do not know if overhead reduction fosters creativity or if it eliminates an important part of the creative process. To get a deeper understanding of these effects, we compare the performance of the creativity technique SIS (Systematic Integration of Solution Elements) in a traditional setting with a setup based on multiple interactive surfaces. By using a mix of diverse evaluation methods, we show how the use of a digital interactive creativity room can really foster creativity and produce better results.
Keywords: Creativity; Design; Creativity Techniques; Interactive Environment; Systematic Integration of Solution Elements; Collaboration

Designing for Inclusiveness I

Accessibility of Public Web Services: A Distant Dream? BIBAKFull-Text 566-578
  Kristiina Nurmela; Antti Pirhonen; Airi Salminen
Today, many public services are available online through Web sites. The accessibility of the sites, also to people with disabilities, is important because the accessibility concerns equality of citizens, a cornerstone of democracy. In the current study we carried out a meta-analysis of 17 studies concerning the accessibility of the Web sites of public administration. Furthermore, we assessed the accessibility of Web pages of 12 ministries of the Finnish government. The assessments were based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The results showed that in terms of the WCAG guidelines, the average accessibility of public Web sites is poor. Moreover, there was no improvement in the accessibility in the 2000's and many of the accessibility failures were so simple that they could have been easily avoided. This may indicate that the building of information society is driven by technology, rather than principles of democracy and well-being.
Keywords: Accessibility; public administration; WCAG
Augmenting Accessibility Guidelines with User Ability Rationales BIBAKFull-Text 579-586
  Christophe Ponsard; Pascal Beaujeant; Jean Vanderdonckt
Designing accessible web sites and more generally Internet-connected devices remains a challenging task nowadays. A number of guidelines (such as the WCAG2) are now widely available and recognised. To better cope with the quickly evolving technological landscape, these guidelines are also being formulated in technology-neutral terms. However this is still leaving the user dimension largely implicit, which makes it difficult to understand exactly which kind of user a given website is hindering.
   This paper describes how to capture and use rational links between guidelines and user capabilities/impairments by combining a set of complementary models (user, task, user interface, guidelines). The process of building those accessibility rationales relies upon available user and guidelines ontologies and also on obstacle identification and resolution techniques borrowed from the requirements engineering domain. This resulting enriched guidance enables a number of interesting new scenarios to better help web developers, analyse guidelines or make comparisons between guidelines.
Keywords: Accessibility; Assessment; Web; User-Model; Task Model; Ontology; Guidelines; WCAG
Lessons Learned from Crowd Accessibility Services BIBAKFull-Text 587-604
  Hironobu Takagi; Susumu Harada; Daisuke Sato; Chieko Asakawa
Crowd accessibility services for people with disabilities, driven by crowd-sourcing methods, are gaining traction as a viable means of realizing innovative services by leveraging both human and machine intelligence. As the approach matures, researchers and practitioners are seeking to build various types of services. However, many of them encounter similar challenges, such as variations in quality and sustaining contributor participation for durable services. There are growing needs to share tangible knowledge about the best practices to help build and maintain successful services. Towards this end, we are sharing our experiences with crowd accessibility services that we have deployed and studied. Initially, we developed a method to analyze the dynamics of contributor participation. We then analyzed the actual data from three service deployments spanning several years. The service types included Web accessibility improvement, text digitization, and video captioning. We then summarize the lessons learned and future research directions for sustainable services.
Keywords: Crowd-sourcing; accessibility; digital book; captioning; Web accessibility

Designing for Inclusiveness II

Designing for Different Users and Multiple Devices: A Roadmap towards Inclusive Environments BIBAKFull-Text 605-622
  Ig Ibert Bittencourt; Maria Cecília Baranauskas; Diego Dermeval; Juliana Braga; Roberto Pereira
The Web can be understood as an ecosystem of interconnected technological resources organized by rules, strategies, organizational structures, and mainly people. Such ecosystem is improving the potential to access knowledge everywhere and at any time. However, for different reasons, this technological extension is not reaching everybody yet. Those without access to knowledge are mainly people with disabilities or living in underserved communities. Nevertheless, the extension of Web technologies to different types of devices (such as mobile phones, tablets, TV) and their connections have the potential to increase the solutions to reach people with different needs through different devices. For this reason, several research and industrial studies have been proposed to design interfaces for multiple devices considering differences among users. In this paper, we present results of a systematic review on literature to build a roadmap towards inclusive environments. Additionally, the study also suggests existing tools to support the design of accessible applications for multiple devices. A significant result of this review is the lack of studies addressing underserved communities.
Keywords: Inclusive Environments; Portability; User Interface Design; Inclusiveness; Diversity; Multiple Devices
User Control in Adaptive User Interfaces for Accessibility BIBAKFull-Text 623-640
  Matthias Peissner; Rob Edlin-White
Adaptive user interfaces offer great potential for improving the accessibility of interactive systems. At the same time, adaptations can cause usability problems, including disorientation and the feeling of losing control. Adaptations are therefore often discussed in terms of costs and benefits for the users. However, design strategies to overcome the drawbacks of adaptations have received little attention in the literature. We have designed different adaptation patterns to increase the transparency and controllability of run time adaptations in our MyUI system. This paper presents an experimental user study to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of the proposed patterns in different cost-benefit situations and for different users. The patterns turn out to increase the transparency and controllability of adaptations during the interaction. They help users to optimize the subjective utility of the system's adaptation behavior. Moreover, the results suggest that preference and acceptance of the different patterns depend on the cost-benefit condition.
Keywords: Adaptive user interfaces; design patterns; accessibility; user study; controllability
Vibro-Tactile Enrichment Improves Blind User Interaction with Mobile Touchscreens BIBAKFull-Text 641-648
  Maria Claudia Buzzi; Marina Buzzi; Barbara Leporini; Maria Teresa Paratore
Interaction via mobile devices is a challenge for blind users, who often encounter severe accessibility and usability problems. The main issues are due to the lack of hardware keys, making it difficult to quickly reach an area or activate functions, and to the new way of interacting via touchscreen. A touchscreen has no specific reference points detectable by feel, so a blind user cannot easily understand exactly where (s)he is positioned on the interface nor readily find a specific item/function. Alternative ways to provide content are mainly vocal and may be inadequate in some situations, e.g., noisy environments. In this study we investigate enriching the user interfaces of touchscreen mobile devices to facilitate blind users' orientation. We propose a possible solution for improving interaction based on the vibro-tactile channel. After introducing the idea behind our approach, two implemented Android Apps including the enriched user interfaces are shown and discussed.
Keywords: Accessibility; usability; mobile accessibility; haptic UIs; blind

Designing with- and for People with Special Needs

Designing with Dementia: Guidelines for Participatory Design together with Persons with Dementia BIBAKFull-Text 649-666
  Niels Hendriks; Frederik Truyen; Erik Duval
Involving all stakeholders in the design process is often seen as a necessity from both a pragmatic and a moral point of view [1]. This is always a challenging task for designers and stakeholders and therefore many participatory design methods have been developed to facilitate such a design process. The traditional participatory design methods, however, are not fully appropriate to incorporate persons with dementia [2], [3]. They create issues as they assume that the participants are cognitively able; can make use of visual and hands-on techniques; or require a high level of abstraction ability of the person with dementia.
   The aim of this paper is to present a number of guidelines which can be used as a starting point to set up participatory design projects with persons with dementia. This overarching set of guidelines provides for practical advice focusing on the role of the moderator, the preparation of a participatory session, the choice and adaptation of the method, the tools used, the role of each participant and the subsequent analysis. The basis for these guidelines stems from similar participatory projects with senior participants, persons with dementia and participants with aphasia or amnesia, two symptoms frequently co-occurring with dementia. All guidelines were evaluated and refined during four sessions with persons with dementia and a trusted family member. These participatory design sessions occurred in the course of the AToM project, a research and design project that tries to design an intelligent network of objects and people to ameliorate the life of persons with dementia.
Keywords: participatory design; persons with dementia; method; guidelines
Navigating, Discovering and Exploring the Web: Strategies Used by People with Print Disabilities on Interactive Websites BIBAKFull-Text 667-684
  Christopher Power; Helen Petrie; David Swallow; Emma Murphy; Bláithín Gallagher; Carlos A. Velasco
The majority of research into web accessibility has focused on identifying and eliminating the problems that people with disabilities encounter when interacting with the Web. In this paper we argue that we need to move away from studying user problems to studying how people with disabilities apply interaction strategies while browsing the Web. In this paper we present a study of 19 print disabled users, including blind, partially sighted and dyslexic people, interacting with a variety of interactive Web 2.0 web applications. The participants undertook tasks using concurrent and retrospective protocols to elicit information about how they interact with web content. The result of this study was a collection of 586 strategic action sequences that were classified into seven different types of strategy. Differences in the application of strategies between the user groups are presented, as well as the most frequent strategies used by each user group. We close the paper by discussing some implications for the design of websites and assistive technologies as well as the future directions for empirical research in accessibility.
Keywords: Web accessibility; user study; user strategy; print disabled Web users; blind Web users; partially sighted Web users; dyslexic Web users
Participatory Design with Blind Users: A Scenario-Based Approach BIBAKFull-Text 685-701
  Nuzhah Gooda Sahib; Tony Stockman; Anastasios Tombros; Oussama Metatla
Through out the design process, designers have to consider the needs of potential users. This is particularly important, but rather harder, when the designers interact with the artefact to-be-designed using different senses or devices than the users, for example, when sighted designers are designing an artefact for use by blind users. In such cases, designers have to ensure that the methods used to engage users in the design process and to communicate design ideas are accessible. In this paper, we describe a participatory approach with blind users based on the use of a scenario and the use of dialogue-simulated interaction during the development of a search interface. We achieved user engagement in two ways: firstly, we involved a blind user with knowledge of assistive technologies in the design team and secondly, we used a scenario as the basis of a dialogue between the designers and blind users to simulate interaction with the proposed search interface. Through this approach, we were able to verify requirements for the proposed search interface and blind searchers were able to provide formative feedback, to critique design plans and to propose new design ideas based on their experience and expertise with assistive technologies. In this paper, we describe the proposed scenario-based approach and examine the types of feedback gathered from its evaluation with blind users. We also critically reflect on the benefits and limitations of the approach, and discuss practical considerations in its application.
Keywords: scenario; participatory design; visually impaired users

Display Manipulations

An Evaluation of Stacking and Tiling Features within the Traditional Desktop Metaphor BIBAKFull-Text 702-719
  Clemens Zeidler; Christof Lutteroth; Gerald Weber
Having many open windows on the desktop can lead to various usability problems. Window content may get occluded by other windows and working with multiple windows may get cumbersome. In this paper, we evaluate the idea to integrate stacking and tiling features into the traditional desktop metaphor. For this purpose we introduce the Stack & Tile window manager, which allows users to stack and tile arbitrary windows into groups that can be moved and resized similar to single windows. To evaluate if stacking and tiling can improve productivity, we conducted an experimental evaluation. We found that participants were able to perform various multi-window tasks and switch between tasks significantly faster using Stack & Tile. Furthermore, we found that the time to set up a Stack & Tile window group is reasonably low. Stack & Tile is open-source and has been used for over two years now. To evaluate its usefulness in practice, we conducted a web-based survey that reveals how people are actually using the new stacking and tiling features.
Keywords: window manager; tabbing; usability; evaluation
Investigating Pointing Tasks across Angularly Coupled Display Areas BIBAKFull-Text 720-727
  Fabian Hennecke; Alexander De Luca; Ngo Dieu Huong Nguyen; Sebastian Boring; Andreas Butz
Pointing tasks are a crucial part of today's graphical user interfaces. They are well understood for flat displays and most prominently are modeled through Fitts' Law. For novel displays (e.g., curved displays with multi-purpose areas), however, it remains unclear whether such models for predicting user performance still hold -- in particular when pointing is performed across differently oriented areas. To answer this question, we conducted an experiment on an angularly coupled display -- the Curve -- with two input conditions: direct touch and indirect mouse pointer. Our findings show that the target position affects overall pointing speed and offset in both conditions. However, we also found that Fitts' Law can in fact still be used to predict performance as on flat displays. Our results help designers to optimize user interfaces on angularly coupled displays when pointing tasks are involved.
Keywords: Pointing; Fitts' law; display orientation; curved surface
Semi-supervised Learning Based Aesthetic Classifier for Short Animations Embedded in Web Pages BIBAKFull-Text 728-745
  Dipak Bansal; Samit Bhattacharya
We propose a semi-supervised learning based computational model for aesthetic classification of short animation videos, which are nowadays part of many web pages. The proposed model is expected to be useful in developing an overall aesthetic model of web pages, leading to better evaluation of web page usability. We identified two feature sets describing aesthetics of an animated video. Based on the feature sets, we developed a Naïve-Bayes classifier by applying Co-training, a semi-supervised machine learning technique. The model classifies the videos as good, average or bad in terms of their aesthetic quality. We designed 18 videos and got those rated by 17 participants for use as the initial training set. Another set of 24 videos were designed and labeled using Co-training. We conducted an empirical study with 16 videos and 23 participants to ascertain the efficacy of the proposed model. The study results show 75% model accuracy.
Keywords: Aesthetics; web page; short video; classification; semi-supervised learning; Co-training
Switchback Cursor: Mouse Cursor Operation for Overlapped Windowing BIBAKFull-Text 746-753
  Shota Yamanaka; Homei Miyashita
When we perform a task that involves opening a number of windows, we cannot access the objects behind them. Thus, we are forced to switch the foreground window frequently or to move it temporarily. In this paper, we propose a Switchback Cursor technique where the cursor can move underneath windows when the user presses both the left and right mouse buttons. We also discuss some of the advantages of our method and effective situations that may be suited to the Switchback Cursor.
Keywords: Cursor; Graphical user interfaces (GUIs); Mouse; Pointer; WIMP

Diversity/ICT in Social Development

A Scandinavian Approach to Designing with Children in a Developing Country -- Exploring the Applicability of Participatory Methods BIBAKFull-Text 754-761
  Nahid Wakil; Peter Dalsgaard
Participatory Design (PD) offers a democratic approach to design by creating a platform for active end-user participation in the design process. Since its emergence, the field of PD has been shaped by the Scandinavian context, in which many early PD projects took place. In this paper we discuss the challenges that arise from employing participatory methods in a different socio-cultural setting with participants who have had comparatively limited exposure to digital technologies. We offer a comparative study of two PD projects carried out with school classes in Scandinavia and India. While the setup for the two projects was identical, they unfolded in very different ways. We present and discuss this study, which leads us to conclude that PD can be a useful approach in both settings, but that there is a distinct difference as to which methods bring about fruitful results. The most prominent difference is the ways in which abstract and manifest participatory methods led to different outcomes in the two settings.
Keywords: Participatory Design; Developing Countries; Interaction Design; Future Workshop; Inspiration Card Workshop; Mock-ups
Availability4D: Refining the Link between Availability and Adoption in Marginalised Communities BIBAKFull-Text 762-779
  Fritz Meissner; Edwin Blake
We present a comparative study of mobile and conventional computing technologies applied to providing access to career guidance information to high school students from marginalised communities. Reported high availability of mobile technology amongst these users would be beneficial, but our NGO partner questioned feature phones' applicability for consuming large quantities of information. We created two systems: a text interface exposed through a mobile instant messaging service, and a website targeting conventional computers. Despite positive usability tests for the website and fears of social stigma related to mobile instant messaging, system logging over eight months of parallel deployment showed convincing advantage in engagement for the mobile system. Interviews revealed that computer infrastructure was tied to institutions where access was limited; but greater access to mobile phones (owned or borrowed) made use and advertisement to peers of the mobile system easier. Social stigma was a problem only for a minority.
Keywords: availability; adoption; marginalised communities; feature phones; mobile Internet; M4D; NGOs
Communication Choices to Engage Participation of Rural Indonesian Craftspeople in Development Projects BIBAKFull-Text 780-787
  Ellya Zulaikha; Margot Brereton
In participatory design projects, maintaining effective communication between facilitator and participant is essential. This paper describes the consideration given to the choice of communication modes to engage participation of rural Indonesian craftspeople over the course of a significant 3 year project that aims to grow their self-determination, design and business skill. We demonstrate the variety and subtlety of oral and written forms of communication used by the facilitator during the project. The culture, the communication skill and the influence of tacit knowledge affect the effectiveness of some modes of communication over the others, as well as the available infrastructure. Considerations are specific to the case of rural Indonesian craftspeople, but general lessons can be drawn.
Keywords: Communication Mode; Rural Craftspeople; Participatory Design; Participatory Development
Content Prototyping -- An Approach for Engaging Non-technical Users in Participatory Design BIBAKFull-Text 788-795
  Maletsabisa Molapo; Gary Marsden
Many in the developing world have little to no experience with computers -- they have never used software as part of their daily lives and jobs, so there is always a challenge for how this class of users can be engaged in Participatory Design in a manner that the value of their participation is not limited by their computing experience. This paper looks at previous work that addressed this challenge, and introduces an approach called content prototyping, which is an adaptation of existing practices to fit the needs of non-technical users. We also discuss the lessons learned from using this approach, and give recommendations for related projects in the developing world.
Keywords: HCI4D; Prototyping; Low-Literacy
Designing a Platform for Participatory Urbanism: Transforming Dialogue into Action in Underserved Communities BIBAKFull-Text 796-803
  Leonardo Giusti; Amelia Schladow; Amar Boghani; Steve Pomeroy; Nicholas Wallen; Federico Casalegno
Participatory urbanism platforms must balance stakeholder needs to both empower citizens and exact change from the local authority. While many platforms can trigger discussion, changes will only be achieved through successful collaborative efforts. This paper outlines the challenges and opportunities of designing for participatory urbanism, drawing on a case study completed with UNICEF and underserved communities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our design approach helped to generate physical changes in the community infrastructure, and the beginnings of behavioral changes for community residents.
Keywords: Participatory urbanism; civic media; location-based platforms

INT 2013 Volume 2

E-Input/Output Devices (e-Readers, Whiteboards)

Leisure-Based Reading and the Place of E-Books in Everyday Life BIBAKFull-Text 1-18
  Annika Hupfeld; Abigail Sellen; Kenton O'Hara; Tom Rodden
With the proliferation of digital reading technologies and their underlying ecosystem, practices of reading are currently undergoing significant changes. Despite the currency of the topic, we find there is little empirical research on how people incorporate digital reading technologies into their existing leisure-based reading practices. In this paper, we explore the place of e-reading for pleasure in daily life, and how it is co-evolving with practices surrounding printed books. We present a diary study with 16 readers tracking their behaviors and motivations surrounding e-book use. Our findings are relevant to designers of digital reading technologies in highlighting the values guiding people's choices and behaviors concerning e-book use.
Keywords: leisure e-reading; e-books; e-readers; tablets; smartphones; books; diary study
Reading together as a Leisure Activity: Implications for E-reading BIBAKFull-Text 19-36
  Michael Massimi; Rachelle Campigotto; Abbas Attarwala; Ronald M. Baecker
Reading from devices such as Kindles, Nooks, and tablets ("e-readers") is an increasingly common practice. A primary reason users purchase e-readers is to read for pleasure, as opposed to reading for work or school purposes. With paper, people sometimes read together from a single book (e.g., reading a bedtime story with a child) -- a practice we call partnered reading. This practice, and the goals of e-reading for pleasure more generally, remain underexplored in the HCI literature. This paper contributes findings from a deployment study wherein participants used an e-reader application to read with a partner. These findings (a) provide descriptive accounts of how people use e-readers to read together, and (b) identify opportunities to improve the design of e-readers to support partnered e-reading for pleasure.
Keywords: E-reading; partnered reading; collaborative reading; pleasure; entertainment; leisure; iPad; ALLT
The Mysterious Whiteboard BIBAKFull-Text 37-54
  Clemens Nylandsted Klokmose; Olav W. Bertelsen
This paper raises the question of why electronic whiteboards are not ubiquitous. The paper provides a design-oriented analysis of traditional as well as electronic whiteboards in the context of collaborative and individual activities. We offer a novel perspective on whiteboards for collaborative activity based on a survey of the electronic whiteboard literature, a series of interviews with users of traditional whiteboards, and concepts rooted in Activity Theory. We identify a number of characteristics of the non-electronic whiteboard that are important to understand and preserve in the design of electronic whiteboard systems. Most importantly, we argue that the strength of non-electronic whiteboards is a combination of their simplicity and stability as well as a discontinuity between material on and outside of the whiteboard. We argue that the non-electronic whiteboard has uses and properties, which will require an electronic substitute to differ fundamentally in design compared to our traditional personal computing devices as well as most designs seen today. We present a set of themes for design of future electronic whiteboard systems that emphasize limitations as a main design principle. We conclude with three principles for design: The idea of installation rather than application; the principle of supplementing rather than replacing; and finally the principle of embracing and enhancing discontinuities.
Keywords: Electronic whiteboards; non-personal computing; activity theory; discontinuities; collaboration; science

Facilitating Social Behaviour and Collaboration I

A Tabletop System Using Infrared Image Recognition for Multi-user Identification BIBAKFull-Text 55-62
  Shota Suto; Susumu Shibusawa
Many tabletop systems have been developed to facilitate face-to-face collaboration and work at small meetings. These systems often require users to attach sensors to their bodies to identify their positions, but attaching a sensor to one's body can be bothersome and annoying, and user position and posture may be restricted depending on where the sensor is attached. We have proposed a technique for estimating user position in a tabletop system by image recognition and implemented a tabletop system having a user position identification function incorporating the proposed technique. This technique first obtains touch points and hand-area information from touch operations performed by the user, and establishes an association between the touch points and hand from those positional relationships. Since the direction in which a hand is extended can be derived from that hand's touch information, the position of the user of the touch points belonging to that hand can be estimated. As part of this study, we also implemented a photo-object manipulation application, which has a function for orienting a photo object to face the user based on the results of the above user-position estimation technique. We performed an experiment to evaluate the position identification rate, and found that the proposed technique could identify user position with high accuracy.
Keywords: Tabletop system; Image recognition; FTIR; Multi-touch; User position identification; Area extraction
Performing Online and Offline: How DJs Use Social Networks BIBAKFull-Text 63-80
  Mayur Karnik; Ian Oakley; Valentina Nisi
Music and online Social Network Sites (SNS) are closely intertwined in popular culture, but we know relatively little about how performers use and take advantage of such social systems. This paper investigates this space by exploring how professional DJs leverage SNS in their work. It adopts a long term mixed-methods ethnographic approach encompassing semi-structured interviews, supported by studio visits and participant observations. Results revealed that DJs used SNS for connecting to their audiences; promoting their work; receiving peer feedback; discovering content and keeping abreast of their field; and organizing and coordinating events. We further interpret our findings in the context of issues DJs highlighted about their professional practice and technology, and our observations; and draw out design implications for future music orientated systems and services.
Keywords: Ethnography; DJs; social networks; participant observations
Tension Space Analysis: Exploring Community Requirements for Networked Urban Screens BIBAKFull-Text 81-98
  Steve North; Holger Schnädelbach; Ava Fatah gen Schieck; Wallis Motta; Lei Ye; Moritz Behrens; Efstathia Kostopoulou
This paper draws on the design process, implementation and early evaluation results of an urban screens network to highlight the tensions that emerge at the boundary between the technical and social aspects of design. While public interactive screens in urban spaces are widely researched, the newly emerging networks of such screens present fresh challenges. Researchers wishing to be led by a diverse user community may find that the priorities of some users, directly oppose the wishes of others. Previous literature suggests such tensions can be handled by 'goal balancing', where all requirements are reduced down to one set of essential, implementable attributes. Contrasting this, this paper's contribution is 'Tension Space Analysis', which broadens and extends existing work on Design Tensions. It includes new domains, new representational methods and offers a view on how to best reflect conflicting community requirements in some aspects or features of the design.
Keywords: 'tension space analysis'; 'human factors'; 'design tensions'; 'design space'; 'urban screens'; 'networked urban screens'

Facilitating Social Behaviour and Collaboration II

BinCam: Designing for Engagement with Facebook for Behavior Change BIBAKFull-Text 99-115
  Rob Comber; Anja Thieme; Ashur Rafiev; Nick Taylor; Nicole Krämer; Patrick Olivier
In this paper we continue work to investigate how we can engage young adults in behaviors of recycling and the prevention of food waste through social media and persuasive and ubiquitous computing systems. Our previous work with BinCam, a two-part design combining a system for the collection of waste-related behaviors with a Facebook application, suggested that although this ubiquitous system could raise awareness of recycling behavior, engagement with social media remained low. In this paper we reconsider our design in terms of engagement, examining both the theoretical and practical ways in which engagement can be designed for. This paper presents findings from a new user study exploring the re-design of the social media interface following this analysis. By incorporating elements of gamification, social support and improved data visualization, we contribute insights on the relative potential of these techniques to engage individuals across the lifespan of a system's deployment.
Keywords: Engagement; Facebook; Sustainability; Recycling; Gamification; Social influence; Persuasive technology
OpinionBlocks: A Crowd-Powered, Self-improving Interactive Visual Analytic System for Understanding Opinion Text BIBAKFull-Text 116-134
  Mengdie Hu; Huahai Yang; Michelle X. Zhou; Liang Gou; Yunyao Li; Eben Haber
Millions of people rely on online opinions to make their decisions. To better help people glean insights from massive amounts of opinions, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of OpinionBlocks, a novel interactive visual text analytic system. Our system offers two unique features. First, it automatically creates a fine-grained, aspect-based visual summary of opinions, which provides users with insights at multiple levels. Second, it solicits and supports user interactions to rectify text-analytic errors, which helps improve the overall system quality. Through two crowd-sourced studies on Amazon Mechanical Turk involving 101 users, OpinionBlocks demonstrates its effectiveness in helping users perform real-world opinion analysis tasks. Moreover, our studies show that the crowd is willing to correct analytic errors, and the corrections help improve user task completion time significantly.
Keywords: Text analytics; text visualization; self-improving; crowd-sourcing
PolemicTweet: Video Annotation and Analysis through Tagged Tweets BIBAKFull-Text 135-152
  Samuel Huron; Petra Isenberg; Jean Daniel Fekete
We present PolemicTweet a system with an encompassing, economic, and engaging approach to video tagging and analysis. Annotating and tagging videos manually is a boring and time-consuming process. Yet, in the last couple of years the audiences of events -- such as academic conferences -- have begun to produce unexploited metadata in the form of micropost activities. With PolemicTweet we explore the use of tagged microposts for both video annotation and browsing aid. PolemicTweet is a system 1) to crowd source conference video tagging with structured sentiment metadata, 2) to engage audiences in a tagging process, and 3) to visualize these annotations for browsing and analyzing a video. We describe the system and its components as well as the results from a one-year live deployment in 27 different events.
Keywords: Backchannel; Video annotation; Crowdsourcing; Video analysis; Live tagging

Gaze-Enabled Interaction Design

Eyes Only: Navigating Hypertext with Gaze BIBAKFull-Text 153-169
  Abdul Moiz Penkar; Christof Lutteroth; Gerald Weber
Eye gaze tracking is an obvious candidate for a future input device, perhaps even for everyday computing. The hard problems with gaze-controlled interfaces are inaccuracy and inadvertent clicking. We attempt to mitigate these problems in the context of a gaze-controlled web browser. Four click alternatives (Dwell, Single Confirm, Multiple Confirm and Radial Confirm) were implemented along with a fifth mouse-controlled version for comparison. Two alternatives make use of additional buttons that confirm a selection made previously by dwell, hence improving accuracy. Our results indicate that the Multiple Confirm alternative performed best among the gaze-based alternatives; it makes use of multiple confirmation buttons when letting the user choose between different options. When compared to the mouse, the clicking times were worse but the accuracy was indistinguishable. User feedback also indicates that, although mouse was considered best, Multiple Confirm was not perceived as slow and generated excitement. This indicates that the Multiple Confirm click alternative has potential as an interaction method for gaze interfaces.
Keywords: Eye gaze tracking; dwell; navigation
Eye Pull, Eye Push: Moving Objects between Large Screens and Personal Devices with Gaze and Touch BIBAKFull-Text 170-186
  Jayson Turner; Jason Alexander; Andreas Bulling; Dominik Schmidt; Hans Gellersen
Previous work has validated the eyes and mobile input as a viable approach for pointing at, and selecting out of reach objects. This work presents Eye Pull, Eye Push, a novel interaction concept for content transfer between public and personal devices using gaze and touch. We present three techniques that enable this interaction: Eye Cut & Paste, Eye Drag & Drop, and Eye Summon & Cast. We outline and discuss several scenarios in which these techniques can be used. In a user study we found that participants responded well to the visual feedback provided by Eye Drag & Drop during object movement. In contrast, we found that although Eye Summon & Cast significantly improved performance, participants had difficulty coordinating their hands and eyes during interaction.
Keywords: Eye-Based Interaction; Mobile; Cross-Device; Content Transfer; Interaction Techniques
Tools for a Gaze-Controlled Drawing Application -- Comparing Gaze Gestures against Dwell Buttons BIBAKFull-Text 187-201
  Henna Heikkilä
We designed and implemented a gaze-controlled drawing application that utilizes modifiable and movable shapes. Moving and resizing tools were implemented with gaze gestures. Our gaze gestures are simple one-segment gestures that end outside the screen. Also, we use the closure of the eyes to stop actions in the drawing application. We carried out an experiment to compare gaze gestures with a dwell-based implementation of the tools. Results showed that, in terms of performance, gaze gestures were an equally good input method as dwell buttons. Furthermore, more than 40% of the participants gave better ratings for gaze gestures than for the dwell-based implementation, and under 20% preferred dwell over gestures. Our study shows that gaze gestures can be a feasible alternative for dwell-based interaction when they are designed properly and implemented in the appropriate application area.
Keywords: gaze interaction; eye tracking; drawing with gaze; gaze gestures

Gesture and Tactile User Interfaces

Designing Gesture-Based Control for Factory Automation BIBAKFull-Text 202-209
  Tomi Heimonen; Jaakko Hakulinen; Markku Turunen; Jussi P. P. Jokinen; Tuuli Keskinen; Roope Raisamo
We report the development and evaluation of a gesture-based interaction prototype for controlling the loading station of a factory automation system. In this context, gesture-based interaction has the potential to free users from the tedious physical controls but it must also account for safety considerations and users' perceptions. We evaluated the gesture interaction concept in the field to understand its applicability to industrial settings. Our findings suggest that gesture-based interaction is an emotional, physically charged experience that has the potential to enhance the work process. Participants' feedback also highlighted challenges related to the reliability of gesture recognition technology in the workplace, the perceived professionalism of gesture-based interaction, and the role of physical feedback in promoting feeling of control. Our results inform the development of gesture-based interaction for similar contexts.
Keywords: Gesture-based interaction; emotions; user experience; field study
Metamodels Infrastructure and Heuristics for Metamodel-Driven Multi-touch Interaction BIBAKFull-Text 210-227
  Víctor López-Jaquero; Elena Navarro; Francisco Montero; Pascual González
Novice users usually find it hard to manipulate models by using traditional Model-Driven Development techniques, because of the gap between the modeling tools and these users' mental models. In this context, multi-touch interfaces emerge as an alternative to make it easier for novice users to interact with the models by using natural gestures and taking advantage from the popularity that touch-based devices have achieved. In this paper, a metamodel infrastructure and a set of heuristics are presented to automatically generate multi-touch visual editors for manipulating models. The editor generated is driven by a metamodel that also prevents the user from creating not valid models. These heuristics have been validated while developing an environment for novice users, such as psychologists or physiotherapists, for the treatment of people with Acquired Brain Injury.
Keywords: model-driven development; multi-touch interaction; heuristics; Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)
TactiPEd: Easy Prototyping of Tactile Patterns BIBAKFull-Text 228-245
  Sabrina Panëels; Margarita Anastassova; Lucie Brunet
We present the design and evaluation of a tactile editor, TactiPEd for the rapid and easy prototyping of vibrotactile patterns. It is based on the graphical metaphor of the shape of the device, which is used for the tuning of the main tactile characteristics, including amplitude, frequency and duration of tactile sequences. The editor includes file systems functionalities using the XML format along with playing and recording functionalities. The editor was thoroughly evaluated: a usability evaluation was conducted with 9 participants, the designed metaphor-based patterns were analyzed for insights on cross-device design and finally the editor was tested with several devices. TactiPEd was successfully and easily used with little training and enabled users to design patterns in little time. The resulting patterns shared common characteristics across the devices for a given metaphor.
Keywords: tactile feedback; tactile pattern authoring; vibrotactile pattern

Gesture-Based User Interface Design and Interaction I

Towards Many Gestures to One Command: A User Study for Tabletops BIBAKFull-Text 246-263
  Yosra Rekik; Laurent Grisoni; Nicolas Roussel
Multi-touch gestures are often thought by application designers for a one-to-one mapping between gestures and commands, which does not take into account the high variability of user gestures for actions in the physical world; it can also be a limitation that leads to very simplistic interaction choices. Our motivation is to make a step toward many-to-one mappings between user gestures and commands, by understanding user gestures variability for multi-touch systems; for doing so, we set up a user study in which we target symbolic gestures on tabletops. From a first phase study we provide qualitative analysis of user gesture variability; we derive this analysis into a taxonomy of user gestures, that is discussed and compared to other existing taxonomies. We introduce the notion of atomic movement; such elementary atomic movements may be combined throughout time (either sequentially or in parallel), to structure user gesture. A second phase study is then performed with specific class of gesture-drawn symbols; from this phase, and according to the provided taxonomy, we evaluate user gesture variability with a fine grain quantitative analysis. Our findings indicate that users equally use one or two hands, also that more than half of gestures are achieved using parallel or sequential combination of atomic movements. We also show how user gestures distribute over different movement categories, and correlate to the number of fingers and hands engaged in interaction. Finally, we discuss implications of this work to interaction design, practical consequences on gesture recognition, and potential applications.
Keywords: Tabletop; multi-touch gesture; gesture recognition; interaction design
User-Defined Body Gestures for an Interactive Storytelling Scenario BIBAKFull-Text 264-281
  Felix Kistler; Elisabeth André
For improving full body interaction in an interactive storytelling scenario, we conducted a study to get a user-defined gesture set. 22 users performed 251 gestures while running through the story script with real interaction disabled, but with hints of what set of actions was currently requested by the application. We describe our interaction design process, starting with the conduction of the study, continuing with the analysis of the recorded data including the creation of gesture taxonomy and the selection of gesture candidates, and ending with the integration of the gestures in our application.
Keywords: User Defined Gestures; Kinect; Full Body Tracking; Depth Sensor; Interaction; Interactive Storytelling
User-Defined Gestures for Augmented Reality BIBAKFull-Text 282-299
  Thammathip Piumsomboon; Adrian Clark; Mark Billinghurst; Andy Cockburn
Recently there has been an increase in research towards using hand gestures for interaction in the field of Augmented Reality (AR). These works have primarily focused on researcher designed gestures, while little is known about user preference and behavior for gestures in AR. In this paper, we present our guessability study for hand gestures in AR in which 800 gestures were elicited for 40 selected tasks from 20 participants. Using the agreement found among gestures, a user-defined gesture set was created to guide designers to achieve consistent user-centered gestures in AR. Wobbrock's surface taxonomy has been extended to cover dimensionalities in AR and with it, characteristics of collected gestures have been derived. Common motifs which arose from the empirical findings were applied to obtain a better understanding of users' thought and behavior. This work aims to lead to consistent user-centered designed gestures in AR.
Keywords: Augmented reality; gestures; guessability

Gesture-Based User Interface Design and Interaction II

Gesture-Based Interaction in Domotic Environments: State of the Art and HCI Framework Inspired by the Diversity BIBAKFull-Text 300-317
  Ana Carla de Carvalho Correia; Leonardo Cunha de Miranda; Heiko Hornung
Applications for the control and automation of residential environments (domotics) are an emerging area of study within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). One of the related challenges is to design gestural interaction with these applications. This paper explores socio-technical aspects of gestural interaction in intelligent domotic environments. An analysis of literature in the area revealed that some HCI-related aspects are treated in a restricted manner that neglects socio-technical dimensions. We propose a framework for discussing related challenges in an integrated manner, considering the dimensions people, gestural mode of interaction, and domotics. Some of these challenges are addressed by literature outside the area of domotics. Many open research questions remain, e.g. how to design gestural vocabularies that minimize ambiguity and consider cultural and social aspects. The proposed framework might contribute to answering these questions thus to designing meaningful interaction that is intuitive and easy to learn.
Keywords: Gesture-Based Interaction; Home Automation; Smart Home; Domotics; Socio-Technical Framework
Thumbs Up: 3D Gesture Input on Mobile Phones Using the Front Facing Camera BIBAKFull-Text 318-336
  Paul Schmieder; John Hosking; Andrew Luxton-Reilly; Beryl Plimmer
We use the front facing camera in a smart phone to capture gesture input. Thumb gestures performed above the camera are recognized and used to invoke commands. In contrast to other input modalities the camera requires no device movements and no valuable screen space is used. To be viable, this type of interaction requires gestures which are comfortable and memorable for the user and real-time accurate recognition of those gestures. Given the performance constraints of phones and their cameras we needed to determine whether accurate and reliable recognition is possible and identify types of gestures that are recognizable and user appropriate. As a proof of concept, we conducted a user study testing three gestures for performance and user satisfaction. The results demonstrate that the 3D gestural input is successful and we provide detailed insights into successful recognition strategies for this novel interaction modality.
Keywords: Motion gestures; mobile interaction; image recognition
User and System Cross-Learning of Gesture Commands on Pen-Based Devices BIBAKFull-Text 337-355
  PeiYu Li; Manuel Bouillon; Eric Anquetil; Grégoire Richard
This paper presents a new design and evaluation of customizable gesture commands on pen-based devices. Our objective is to help users during the definition of gestures by detecting confusion among gestures. We also help the memorization gestures with the guide of a new type of menu "Customizable Gesture Menus". These menus are associated with an evolving gesture recognition engine that learns incrementally, starting from few data samples. Our research focuses on making user and recognition system learn at the same time, hence the term "cross-learning". Three experimentations are presented in details in this paper to support these ideas.
Keywords: Handwritten gesture recognition; Marking Menus; Customizable gesture interfaces

Health/Medical Devices

Adoption and Appropriation: A Design Process from HCI Research at a Brazilian Neurological Hospital BIBAKFull-Text 356-363
  Junia Anacleto; Sidney Fels
Through our research on natural ICT solutions for integration into a non-ICT based workflow at a Brazilian chronic care hospital, we created a new design process and two additional HCI design criteria for maintaining natural work processes using information and communication technologies (ICT). For our HCI design we propose two design pathways: 1. iterating on adoption of designed technologies and 2. iterating on appropriation of these technologies. The degree of appropriation provides an indicator of how natural a design is since it allows for users' inventiveness to uncover latent affordances for use in new contexts. Thus, the use of an interface along with whether its potential is realized in new, user-oriented contexts, are critical elements for designing natural interfaces. We report our insights gained through observations and user-centered design for health professionals at a non-ICT based, large chronic-care hospital to support this perspective.
Keywords: human computer interaction; appropriation; adoption; design process; user centered design; health care; mental illness; non-disruptive workflow
Chronicles: Supporting Conversational Narrative in Alternative and Augmentative Communication BIBAKFull-Text 364-371
  Annalu Waller; Rachel Menzies; Daniel Herron; Suzanne Prior; Rolf Black; Thilo Kroll
Individuals share experiences and build relationships through the medium of narrative. Lifelong personal narratives play a key role in developing social identity. Individuals with little or no functional speech due to severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI) find it difficult to share personal narrative as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems do not support interactive story telling. As a result, people with congenital SSPI who use AAC may not have learned the linguistic skills involved in sharing narratives. The Chronicles software was developed to support the sharing of personal narrative. Conversational analysis of a conversation using Chronicles illustrates how the system can support more natural conversations when using AAC.
Keywords: Augmentative and Alternative Communication; Personal narrative; Social identity; Accessibility; Assistive technology; Disability
Development of Novel eHealth Services for Citizen Use -- Current System Engineering vs. Best Practice in HCI BIBAKFull-Text 372-379
  Isabella Scandurra; Jesper Holgersson; Thomas Lind; Gunilla Myreteg
Many new public eHealth Services are now being developed. Often a conventional customer-vendor process is used, where the customer is a public authority, e.g. a county council, and the vendor a commercial actor, e.g. an IT development company. In this case study the engineering process regards a novel eHealth service aiming to provide patients with online access to their electronic health record. A complicating factor in conventional customer-vendor processes for public e-services is that "the future user could be anyone". In the light of best practice in Human-Computer Interaction, this study examines the joint effort of the customer and vendor when developing novel services for citizen use. The results include delimiting factors, recommendations for public authority customers and proposed new actions for the research agenda.
Keywords: user participation; public e-health services; e-government; electronic health records; system development methods; collaborative design; Scrum
Increasing Accuracy by Decreasing Presentation Quality in Transcription Tasks BIBAKFull-Text 380-394
  Frank Soboczenski; Paul Cairns; Anna L. Cox
Many tasks with interfaces require entering data accurately, for example, entering patient data in an electronic records system or programming infusion pumps. However, human error is inevitable. Paradoxically, results from cognitive psychology suggest that representing information in a poorer quality format increases the likelihood of memorising the information accurately. This is explained by the dual system account of cognition where slower, more effortful but more accurate thinking is invoked via the poorer quality representation. We present two studies where we transfer these results to the domain of data-entry and show that poorer quality format of to-be-copied information leads to increased accuracy in transcription tasks. Moreover, this is not a consequence of the typical speed-accuracy tradeoffs. The results of our novel approach have implications for the design of data-entry tasks in domains such as healthcare.
Keywords: Human error; cognition; data-entry; presentation quality; numberentry; infusion pump; perception; safety-critical systems
You Can't Touch This: Potential Perils of Patient Interaction with Clinical Medical Devices BIBAKFull-Text 395-402
  Paul Noble; Ann Blandford
Clinical medical devices are designed with the explicit assumption that trained medical team members will operate them in appropriate hospital environments. As technological complexity increases, along with the possibility to create specific ward configurations, the potential for unusual interaction combinations poses challenges for safety and training. Resilience engineering proposes that a system should cope with disturbances and unexpected conditions. Consequently, an important consideration for design is to examine medical device interactions that can be considered 'non-routine'. In recognition of the localised nature of clinical practice, and in order to investigate the broad range and type of non-routine occurrences, a novel interview approach was adopted involving medical researchers and practitioners. Examples of non-routine interaction were obtained across a diverse range of localities. Covert patient interactions and dangerous configuration combinations were identified which adversely affected treatment. Drawing on these concerns the potential role of patient involvement in bolstering system resilience is discussed.
Keywords: Medical Devices; Safety; Resilience Engineering; Customisation

Humans and Robots

A Dog Tail for Utility Robots: Exploring Affective Properties of Tail Movement BIBAKFull-Text 403-419
  Ashish Singh; James E. Young
We present a dog-tail interface for utility robots, as a means of communicating high-level robotic state through affect. This interface leverages people's general knowledge of dogs and their tails (e.g., wagging means happy) to communicate robotic state in an easy to understand way. In this paper, we present the details of our tail construction, and the results of a study which explored a base case of people's reactions to the tail: how various parameters of tail movements and configuration influence perception of the robot's zoomorphized affective state. Our study indicated that people were able to interpret a range of affective states from various tail configurations and gestures, and in summary, we present a set of guidelines for mapping tail parameters to intended perceived affective robotic state.
Keywords: human-robot interaction; animal-inspired interfaces; affective computing
Pebbles: User-Configurable Device Network for Robot Navigation BIBAKFull-Text 420-436
  Kentaro Ishii; Haipeng Mi; Lei Ma; Natsuda Laokulrat; Masahiko Inami; Takeo Igarashi
This study proposes devices suitable for use by non-experts to design robot navigation routes. The user places landmarks, called pebbles, on the floor to tell navigation routes to a robot. Using infrared communication, the pebbles automatically generate navigation routes. The system is designed such that non-expert users can understand the system status to configure the user's target environment without expert assistance. During deployment, the system provides LED and voice feedback. The user can confirm that the devices are appropriately placed for the construction of a desired navigation network. In addition, because there is a device at each destination, our method can name locations by associating a device ID with a particular name. A user study showed that non-expert users were able to understand device usage and construct robot navigation routes.
Keywords: Robot Navigation; Tangible User Interface; Navigation Landmark; Non-Expert User
Robots for Real: Developing a Participatory Design Framework for Implementing Educational Robots in Real-World Learning Environments BIBAKFull-Text 437-444
  Lykke Brogaard Bertel; Dorte Malig Rasmussen; Ellen Christiansen
As educational service robots become increasingly accessible, the demand for methodologies that generate knowledge on r-learning applicable to real world learning environments equally increases. This paper proposes a participatory design framework for involving users in the development of robot-supported didactic designs and discusses its applicability to existing educational contexts on the basis of a case study on the implementation and use of the therapeutic robot seal Paro at a school for children with an autism diagnosis.
Keywords: Participatory design; Human-Robot Interaction; Education

Human-Work Interaction Design

Computer-Supported Work in Partially Distributed and Co-located Teams: The Influence of Mood Feedback BIBAKFull-Text 445-460
  Andreas Sonderegger; Denis Lalanne; Luisa Bergholz; Fabien Ringeval; Juergen Sauer
This article examines the influence of mood feedback on different outcomes of teamwork in two different collaborative work environments. Employing a 2 x 2 between-subjects design, mood feedback (present vs. not present) and communication mode (face-to-face vs. video conferencing) were manipulated experimentally. We used a newly developed collaborative communication environment, called EmotiBoard, which is a large vertical interactive screen, with which team members can interact in a face-to-face discussion or as a spatially distributed team. To support teamwork, this tool provides visual feedback of each team member's emotional state. Thirty-five teams comprising 3 persons each (with a confederate in each team) completed three different tasks, measuring mood, performance, subjective workload, and team satisfaction. Results indicated that the evaluation of the other team members' emotional state was more accurate when the mood feedback was presented. In addition, mood feedback influenced team performance positively in the video conference condition and negatively in the face-to-face condition. Furthermore, participants in the video conference condition were more satisfied after task completion than participants in the face-to-face condition. Findings indicate that the mood feedback tool is helpful for teams to gain a more accurate understanding of team members' emotional states in different work situations.
Keywords: virtual teamwork; videoconference; face-to-face; mood; computer-supported cooperative work
Do Usability Professionals Think about User Experience in the Same Way as Users and Developers Do? BIBAKFull-Text 461-478
  Torkil Clemmensen; Morten Hertzum; Jiaoyan Yang; Yanan Chen
In this paper, we study how usability professionals' thinking about system use relates to that of system developers and end users. We conducted 72 repertory-grid interviews to capture how usability professionals, developers, and users describe their system use. The participants in each stakeholder group were from China, Denmark, and India. Our results indicate that usability professionals focus on emotion-related aspects of system use, while users focus more on context in terms of utility and degree of usage. There are no interactions between stakeholder group and nationality, although both stakeholder group and nationality independently influence how participants think about usability and user experience. We recommend that to understand users' concerns, researchers should study context more.
Keywords: Usability professionals; UX professionals; user experience; stakeholder differences; cultural differences
Here or There? How Configuration of Transnational Teams Impacts Social Capital BIBAKFull-Text 479-496
  Julia Katherine Haines; Judith S. Olson; Gary M. Olson
The many challenges of distributed communication and the many challenges of intercultural collaboration have been researched and discussed at length in the literature. What is lacking is a combined approach that looks at both issues of distance and diversity in collaboration. We conducted research in a large, multinational technology company to better understand team configurational factors in transnational work. In this case study, we found that the development of social capital is impacted by whether a person is in their home context or transplanted and their expectations based on that context. This has implications for the development of intellectual capital in the team. We highlight factors in the creation of social capital as well as some mechanisms that may mitigate cultural difference. In addition to bringing into focus the challenges that arise in various configurations, this study contributes to the transnational literature by highlighting the importance of local context in diverse collaborations.
Keywords: Transnational collaboration; team configuration; social capital

Interface Layout and Data Entry

A Comparison of List vs. Hierarchical UIs on Mobile Phones for Non-literate Users BIBAKFull-Text 497-504
  Indrani Medhi; Kentaro Toyama; Anirudha Joshi; Uday Athavankar; Edward Cutrell
Previous research has shown that low-literate users have difficulty using hierarchical information architectures and that a list design showing all items at once on a PC screen works best for search tasks. However, the limited screen space on phones makes it impossible to show more than a few items at once on a single screen. Does a hierarchical UI work better on a phone? In this study, we compared the performance of non-literate users from Bangalore, India, on a search task using a hierarchical UI (four levels deep) and a multi-page list that had forty items across seven pages of a touch-screen phone. Our results show that participants using the multi-page list perform better both in terms of time taken and percent correct even when the list UI design requires them to browse through multiple pages of items on the phone.
Keywords: Non-literate users; list design; hierarchy; mobile phone
A User Study with GUIs Tailored for Smartphones BIBAKFull-Text 505-512
  David Raneburger; David Alonso-Ríos; Roman Popp; Hermann Kaindl; Jürgen Falb
Web-based graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are mostly not tailored for small devices with touchscreens, such as smartphones. There is little scientific evidence on the conditions where additional taps for navigation are better or scrolling. Therefore, we conducted a user study in which we evaluated different ways of tailoring a GUI for a smartphone. Each participant performed the same task with two different layouts of the same GUI. We collected quantitative data through measuring task completion time and error rates, as well as qualitative data through subjective questionnaires. The main result is that minimizing the number of taps is important on a smartphone. Users performed significantly better when they could scroll (vertically), instead of tapping on widget elements (tabs). This preference was also reflected in their subjective opinions.
Keywords: Usability; device-tailored GUI; small touchscreen; user study
Evaluating Direct Manipulation Operations for Constraint-Based Layout BIBAKFull-Text 513-529
  Clemens Zeidler; Christof Lutteroth; Wolfgang Stuerzlinger; Gerald Weber
Layout managers are used to control the placement of widgets in graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Constraint-based layout managers are more powerful than other ones. However, they are also more complex and their layouts are prone to problems that usually require direct editing of constraints. Today, designers commonly use GUI builders to specify GUIs. The complexities of traditional approaches to constraint-based layouts pose challenges for GUI builders.
   We evaluate a novel GUI builder, the Auckland Layout Editor (ALE), which addresses these challenges by enabling GUI designers to specify constraint-based layouts via direct manipulation using simple, mouse-based operations. These operations hide the complexity of the constraint-based layout model, while giving designers access to its benefits.
   In a user evaluation we compared ALE with two other mainstream layout builders, a grid-based and a constraint-based one. The time taken to create realistic sample layouts with our builder was significantly shorter, and most participants preferred ALE's approach. The evaluation demonstrates that good usability for authoring constraint-based layouts is possible.
Keywords: GUI builder; layout editing; layout manager; constraint-based layout; layout preview; evaluation
KLM Form Analyzer: Automated Evaluation of Web Form Filling Tasks Using Human Performance Models BIBAKFull-Text 530-537
  Christos Katsanos; Nikos Karousos; Nikolaos Tselios; Michalis Xenos; Nikolaos Avouris
Filling forms is a common and frequent task in web interaction. Therefore, designing web forms that enhance users' efficiency is an important task. This paper presents a tool entitled KLM Form Analyzer (KLM-FA) that enables effortless predictions of execution times of web form filling tasks. To this end, the tool employs established models of human performance, namely the Keystroke Level Model and optionally the Fitts' law. KLM-FA can support various evaluation scenarios, both in a formative and summative context, and according to different interaction strategies or modeled users' characteristics. A study investigated the accuracy of KLM-FA predictions by comparing them to participants' execution times for six form filling tasks in popular social networking websites. The tool produced highly accurate predictions (89.1% agreement with user data) in an efficient manner.
Keywords: Web form design; task efficiency; user performance time; automated tool; human performance models
The Evolution of Number Entry: A Case Study of the Telephone BIBAKFull-Text 538-545
  Parisa Eslambolchilar; Julie Webster; Gerrit Niezen
This paper details a user study to investigate serial digit entry on analogue and digital input platforms and the errors associated with them. We look specifically at the case of entering eleven-digit telephone numbers without a decimal point. The telephone is used as a platform for comparison, due to its clear evolution from a rotary dial to a pushbutton keypad and more recently, touch-based input. Thirty participants took part in a user study, which concluded that the touch interface was four times less accurate than the pushbutton and rotary dial interfaces. The latter two interfaces performed with similar accuracy; however, users were more than three times faster on the pushbutton keypad and recognized almost twice as many errors on the rotary dial. We have extended previous error taxonomies to include some errors relevant to sequences of numbers and built upon task-based guidelines found in the literature to suggest context-based design considerations.
Keywords: Number Entry; Interaction Design; Usability; Telephone Interfaces

Learning and Knowledge-Sharing

Informing the Design of an Authoring Tool for Developing Social Stories BIBAKFull-Text 546-553
  Aurora Constantin; Helen Pain; Annalu Waller
This paper describes the design of an authoring tool, ISISS (Improving Social Interaction through Social Stories), for supporting practitioners using social stories to enhance social interaction in children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). The goals of the research are: 1) to determine practitioners' current procedures when working with social stories; 2) to discover how technology can better support such practitioners in the development and use of social stories that focus on improving children's social communication skills. An exploratory study was conducted with experienced practitioners, resulting in a number of design principles. Two low-functioning prototypes were developed, and explored in a second study. Further work is discussed.
Keywords: Paper-based Interfaces; Design; Autism; ASC; Educational Tool; Assistive Technology for Children with ASC; Authoring Tool
Introducing New Perspectives in the Use of Social Technologies in Learning: Social Constructionism BIBAKFull-Text 554-570
  Antigoni Parmaxi; Panayiotis Zaphiris; Eleni Michailidou; Salomi Papadima-Sophocleous; Andri Ioannou
This paper reports on a qualitative study of the use of social technologies, explored in the context of an intensive 650-hour Greek language course. Qualitative content analysis of instructors' field notes, students' and instructors' reflections, interviews and a focus group was employed aiming at identifying the use of social technologies as a platform for constructing an online artifact. To triangulate the findings, the study also collected data by observing students' activity with social technologies. A code scheme was developed which manifests the use of social technologies as a social constructionism platform identifying its major dimensions: exploration of ideas, construction of online artifact and evaluation of the constructed artifact. Actions within each dimension that indicate the manifestation of social constructionism are identified and discussed. This study revealed results in favor of the use of social technologies as social constructing platforms suggesting a new framework for their use.
Keywords: social technologies; web 2.0 technologies; social constructionism; online artifact
Usability Specialists as Boundary Spanners -- An Appraisal of Usability Specialists' Work in Multiparty Distributed Open Source Software Development Effort BIBAKFull-Text 571-588
  Netta Iivari
This study examines the work of usability specialists in a multiparty research project producing an open source learning application for children, with children. Children as a user group has been acknowledged decades ago and methods for involving them have been devised, but there is a lack of research examining what happens to children's input in practice, when integrated with actual development. The paper contrasts the empirical findings with the existing research on the usability specialists' roles and with the knowledge management literature on boundary spanning, which argues that for successful knowledge sharing and arriving at shared understandings there needs to emerge boundary spanners and boundary objects and a new joint field of practice within which the experts involved can collaborate. This paper argues for the boundary spanner position to be acquired by usability specialists. Instances of successful boundary spanning are described and conditions for successful boundary spanning are discussed.
Keywords: Usability specialist; boundary spanning; boundary object; children
Vimprint: Exploring Alternative Learning through Low-End Mobiles BIBAKFull-Text 589-596
  Sheetal K. Agarwal; Jyoti Grover; Anupam Jain; Arun Kumar
The Internet today provides a plethora of applications to assist anyone wanting to learn a new subject, language or a concept. Resources available include dictionaries, translation engines, downloadable e-books, tutorials, online courses etc. The rapid proliferation of smart phones has further provided richer visual applications that assist the user in learning on the go. However, all these applications are dependent upon the availability of Internet and/or an expensive computing device such as a smartphone or a computer. This puts them out of reach for a large section of society that consists of underprivileged people (economically or literacy-wise) and who probably need such tools the most. Also, many learning applications are pull-based and depend on the user's motivation to keep coming back for more. We present Vimprint - a system that offers an alternative mode of learning through telephony voice applications over any touchtone phone with a push-based interaction module. We present its design in the context of vocabulary building. Application of Vimprint system in the field is a work-in-progress and we present the results of a preliminary study conducted to assess its effectiveness.
Keywords: Social Computing; Developing regions; Voice Applications; Education; Diversity; Inclusiveness

Learning Tools, Learning Contexts

Improving Evaluation Honesty and User Experience in E-learning by Increasing Evaluation Cost and Social Presence BIBAKFull-Text 597-615
  Juha Leino; Tomi Heimonen
While various recommender approaches are increasingly considered in e-learning, lack of studies of actual use is hindering the development. For several years, we have used non-algorithmic recommender features on an undergraduate course website to help students find pertinent study materials. As students earn credit from adding and evaluating materials, some have chosen to evaluate materials dishonesty, i.e. without actually reading them. To improve honesty, in 2012 we coupled 5-star ratings with commenting (previously uncoupled) to increase the cost and complexity of evaluating and gave students individual presence with nicknames (previously anonymous) to increase social presence and enable reputation formation. Our results show that high enough cost of evaluating together with high enough social presence can lead to complete honesty in evaluations and enhance both user experience and student involvement. In effect, designing such e-learning systems includes not only designing the features but also their use, as the two are intertwined.
Keywords: e-learning; recommenders; ratings; social presence; honesty; design
Interacting with Augmented Reality: How Does Location-Based AR Enhance Learning? BIBAKFull-Text 616-623
  Ruobing Li; Bo Zhang; S. Shyam Sundar; Henry Been-Lirn Duh
Augmented Reality (AR) can provide additional information about mediated events, but can it enhance our learning and comprehension? We performed a user study of a location-based AR application in order to answer this question. A 2-condition (AR modality vs. non-AR digital book modality) between-subjects experiment with 36 dyads of secondary school students in Singapore was conducted to examine how the use of AR modality in an educational context impacts students' learning performance. Data from the experiment showed that location-based AR improved students' learning performance by catching their attention and enhancing their ability to elaboratively process the information they encountered. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords: Location-based AR; modality; learning; transportation
The ReflecTable: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice in Design Education BIBAKFull-Text 624-641
  Jonathan Hook; Thomas Hjermitslev; Ole Sejer Iversen; Patrick Olivier
The ReflecTable is a digital learning environment that explores how design games and video-led reflection might be combined to bridge the gap between the theoretical and practical components of design education. The concept seeks to leverage the qualities of exploratory design games and video to inspire design students to critically reflect upon the relationship between their evolving design practices and the theories and techniques they are taught in lectures, by allowing them to capture, review and reflect upon short videos of a design game. In this paper, we present the ReflecTable design and nine studies conducted during the course of its development. The studies suggest that the ReflecTable has the potential to support design students in understanding how theoretical concepts and methods relate to different design situations and their own evolving design practices.
Keywords: Design; design games; video-led reflection; education; reflection; reflective practicum; off-loop reflection; learning-by-doing

Managing the UX

Evaluating User Experience for Interactive Television: Towards the Development of a Domain-Specific User Experience Questionnaire BIBAKFull-Text 642-659
  Regina Bernhaupt; Michael Pirker
This paper presents a questionnaire-based approach to evaluate the user experience (UX) while interacting with interactive Television (iTV) systems. Current contributions in the field of UX propose generic methods applicable to various application domains, whereas our contribution is dedicated to the specific domain of interactive TV systems. Based on a classification of UX dimensions from a literature review, the first version of the questionnaire is focusing on the dimension's aesthetics, emotion, stimulation and identification. A validation study with 106 participants was performed to assess the relations between the evaluated UX dimensions, as well as their fit to the underlying theoretical assumptions. Results showed that the UX dimensions aesthetics, emotion and stimulation are important for the domain of iTV, while identification was not confirmed. The study revealed significant correlations between the type of IPTV system used and the emotional and stimulation dimension. Additionally, a significant effect of the TV reception mode and the type of IPTV box owned on the emotion towards the system was observed. Beyond the contribution of the questionnaire that is directly applicable for any iTV system, the findings described in the paper demonstrate the need for user experience evaluation methods targeted at specific domains: the validation of the questionnaire shows that identification is not a central dimension of user experience when interacting with interactive TV.
Keywords: interactive TV; iTV; user experience; UX; questionnaire; Internet Protocol Television; IPTV; emotion; stimulation; identification
Managing User Experience -- Managing Change BIBAKFull-Text 660-677
  Job Mashapa; Edna Chelule; Darelle Van Greunen; Alida Veldsman
Interactive products with innovative user interfaces are being designed while the user interfaces of existing products are being improved. The changes in user interfaces are being prompted by the need to design products that are useful, usable and appealing for an enchanting user experience to the people using the products. It is harmoniously agreed within the user experience domain that a change in the user interface of a product consequently affects the user experience of the people who use the product. Furthermore, user experience practitioners and academics acknowledge that user experience evolves over time. Paradoxically, there is lack of strategies for managing user experience as it evolves, or when a new user interface is introduced. Change in user experience is a process that needs to be managed for a positive user experience to be attained. Literature is awash with models aimed at guiding and managing change implementation. On the contrary, most of the change management models are aimed at managing change in organizations while neglecting managing the user experience of the people to which change is introduced. At the time of writing this paper, no evidence was found of an existing model aimed at managing user experience, both in theory and practice. Following the aforementioned premise, the purpose of this paper is to propose theoretical requirements for managing user experience of the people using interactive products. The paper commences with a conceptual background synthesis of related domain components required for managing user experience. Thereafter, the requirements for managing user experience are determined. After-which the requirements are presented in a User Experience Management Requirements (UXMR) framework. The paper culminates with proposed future work.
Keywords: User Experience; Usability; User Centred Design; Change Management; Requirements
What Do You See in the Cloud? Understanding the Cloud-Based User Experience through Practices BIBAKFull-Text 678-695
  John C. Tang; Jed R. Brubaker; Catherine C. Marshall
End users have begun to incorporate cloud-based services into their collaborative practices. What spurs and constrains this adoption? Are the cloud services understood adequately and used effectively? How might we intervene to promote a better connection between user practices and cloud services? In this study, we focus on collaborative practices that surround the adoption, use, and understanding of two popular, but sometimes contrasting, cloud services for creating and sharing content: Dropbox and Google Docs. We conducted 22 in-depth interviews with people who used these services, including collaborators who used the services together, and people who had migrated from Google Docs to Google Drive. We found that users thought of the cloud in terms of the practices it helped them accomplish. Their understanding of the cloud was often shaped by the particular file storage and sharing technologies the cloud was replacing (remediation). Furthermore, collaborating with others through the cloud sometimes revealed different assumptions about how the cloud worked, leading users to develop socially negotiated practices around their use of the cloud. We use this analysis to identify some specific opportunities for designers to help users build more accurate conceptual models of the cloud and use its capabilities more fully: (1) when users are adopting the cloud to enact a practice; (2) when users are replacing an existing technology with the cloud; and (3) when users are encountering others' practices through collaboration.
Keywords: File synchronization; file sharing; online editors; collaboration; cloud user experience

Mobile Interaction Design

Awareness, Transience and Temporality: Design Opportunities from Rah Island BIBAKFull-Text 696-713
  Pedro Ferreira; Pedro Sanches; Alexandra Weilenmann
This paper deals with the implications of the socialness of private communication. Drawing upon ethnographic observations of first time mobile phone users in Rah, an island in Vanuatu, we revisit the debate on how the mobile phone reconfigures private and personal communication. Our observations show how the advent of the mobile phone disrupts and challenges existing practices around how private communication is managed on the island. These observations are used to open up a design space where we explore the socialness of personal, private communication. Drawing on the analysis, we discuss three directions for future thinking of mobile interaction design: (1) designing for spatial awareness; (2) designing for transience and (3) designing with temporality. We expand on these to discuss the notion of digital patina, which we argue, is an exciting topic to explore for the design of personal, social communication.
Keywords: Privacy; personal communication; social communication; transience; temporality; translucence; awareness; design
Comparison of Phone-Based Distal Pointing Techniques for Point-Select Tasks BIBAKFull-Text 714-721
  Mohit Jain; Andy Cockburn; Sriganesh Madhvanath
Many different mobile phone-based distal pointing techniques have been proposed and evaluated. Interaction with distant large-screen displays, including interactive TV, requires active pointing and selection of target items. In this paper, we empirically compare four different phone-based distal pointing techniques for point-select tasks. Results show that participants prefer a discrete pointing technique using the phone's touchscreen as a touchpad. This method also achieved the highest accuracy among the techniques studied, with comparable speed. We discuss the implications of our findings for distal interaction.
Keywords: Interactive TV; iTV; Phone; Distal Pointing; Evaluation
Extending Mobile Interfaces with External Screens BIBAKFull-Text 722-729
  Julian Seifert; Dennis Schneider; Enrico Rukzio
Mobile phones allow for the use of all kinds of applications, and their mobile applications often provide similar functionalities as desktop applications. However, they are constrained by the limited screen size of the mobile device. Accordingly, designs of mobile user interfaces require optimization for small screens. As a consequence, users are provided with less context and often have to switch views or resize content such as maps or pictures. We present Mobies, a novel approach for extending mobile user interfaces by using external screens (e.g., the mobile phone and a large screen). Users can utilize more space and can thus overview a larger information context. We present a novel interaction and application concept and describe how user interfaces can be spanned across displays. Further, we contribute an original approach for using Near Field Communication to detect the devices' spatial relation. We report on a user study which compared Mobies with standard mobile settings. Results from the system usability scale show that interaction with Mobies is subjectively more usable. Furthermore, it provides higher perceived information clarity and supports faster sharing of information to others.
Keywords: Mobile phones; distributed user interfaces; interaction

Mobile Phone Applications

Communicating in a Ubicomp World: Interaction Rules for Guiding Design of Mobile Interfaces BIBAKFull-Text 730-747
  S. Shyam Sundar; Xue Dou; Sangmee Lee
As computing resources become accessible anytime anywhere, rules of interaction and engagement between humans are changing. For example, response-time expectations have dramatically decreased in recent years because of the assumption that recipients are constantly checking e-mail and text messages on their mobile devices. Likewise, expectations of context-awareness have become an important part of interactions. For example, the tag-line "Sent from my iPhone" is a means of conveying the context (mobile) of the message sender, which also serves to explain -- or offer an excuse for -- the brevity of the response. In this manner, there are several design strategies that are needed for managing expectations, as new rules of interaction emerge due to the ubiquity of our access to computing resources. This paper presents a list of 12 such interaction rules based on theory and research in interpersonal communication and psychology. These rules provide design ideas for mobile ubicomp interfaces.
Keywords: Mobile HCI; Ubiquitous Computing; Interpersonal Communication; User Psychology
Flow Specification Patterns of End-User Programmers: Lessons Learnt from a Health Mobile Application Authoring Environment Design BIBAKFull-Text 748-755
  Filipe Fernandes; Luís Duarte; Luís Carriço
This paper discusses a set of interaction patterns encountered during the development of an authoring tool for mobile therapeutic applications. Unlike static paper artefacts, mobile applications can be enriched via the inclusion of complex behaviors. Typical examples include the definition of simple sequential interaction among all screens or the involvement of basic rules and triggers. As part of an ongoing project in which we are designing an authoring environment for mobile applications in clinical interventions, we studied how clinicians with no programming background were able to intertwine different screens from an application according to different rules. We were especially interested in comparing the approaches adopted using a low-fidelity prototype and using a high-fidelity version of the authoring tool. Results show that, despite a few technology induced strategies, users tend to mimic their actions using the paper based prototype in the corresponding hi-fi version.
Keywords: Authoring Tool; Non-Expert Programming; Participatory Design
MoCoShoP: Supporting Mobile and Collaborative Shopping and Planning of Interiors BIBAKFull-Text 756-763
  Julian Seifert; Dennis Schneider; Enrico Rukzio
We present MoCoShoP, a system that supports the collaborative process of shopping and planning furniture and interior items. The system consists of a mobile application running on the users' mobile phones and an interactive surface application deployed on shared planning desks in the furniture retail store environment. Users belonging together share a virtual shopping cart. By scanning labels attached to furniture items with their phones that are of interest, users can inspect item details (e.g., dimensions, available colors) with the mobile application and add items to their shopping cart. The shared planning desk allows users to collaboratively review collected items and create possible arrangements of items on a floor plan. Finally, users can store furniture arrangements for later inspection. In this work, we contribute the design and a prototype implementation of MoCoShoP. Results of a first evaluation indicate that users appreciate how they can collect and share data during the process of shopping and how it supports collaborative planning.
Keywords: Mobile phones; interactive surface; collaboration; shopping assistant; collaborative planning
Usability and Utility Needs of Mobile Applications for Business Management among MSEs: A Case of Myshop in Uganda BIBAKFull-Text 764-773
  Rehema Baguma; Marko Myllyluoma; Nancy Mwakaba; Bridget Nakajubi
This paper discusses the usability needs of mobile applications for basic business management for Micro and Small Scale Enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries. This is based on results from a user study carried out in Uganda on 30 MSEs. The study was carried out on MyShop, an easy to use mobile business management application for cash transactions and book keeping designed for micro-entrepreneurs. The study investigated learning to use MyShop, the support MyShop gives to the user and its usefulness, and value addition to users. The study also covered the pleasure and stimulation MyShop gives to users. Results from the study show that MSE owners/shopkeepers would like an application that is easy to use such as have an intuitive navigation and a simple and clear language. They would also like an application that supports their unique context like multiple people operating a shop, selling goods on credit, ownership of multiple businesses, use of low end phones and regular load shedding. In terms of value addition, MSEs would like the application to assist them in managing the daily operations and developing the business in the long term such as marketing, time saving and control over business.
Keywords: Usability; mobile applications; utility; MSEs; MyShop; business management
Using Video Prototypes for Evaluating Design Concepts with Users: A Comparison to Usability Testing BIBAKFull-Text 774-781
  Matthijs Zwinderman; Rinze Leenheer; Azadeh Shirzad; Nikolay Chupriyanov; Glenn Veugen; Biyong Zhang; Panos Markopoulos
We present an exploratory study that compared user feedback obtained from evaluating a mobile application versus a reverse engineered video prototype of this same application. The comparison included qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Questionnaire responses regarding user acceptance (UTAUT [8]) and the overall user experience (AttrakDiff [4]) showed no differences. Qualitative analysis of the comments by potential users yielded similar results. Some differences regarding comments pertaining to the fit of the application to its context of use and appreciation of hedonic qualities, warrant investigation in future research. Usability tests seem better suited to identify issues referring to the functionality and data accessed. Overall the results confirm the validity and usefulness of video prototyping, and can help us develop a better understanding of its strengths and weaknesses.
Keywords: Video prototyping; comparative usability study; experiment; user centered design methodology

INT 2013 Volume 3

Mobile Usage and Techniques

Designing Mobile Phone Interfaces for Age Diversity in South Africa: "One-World" versus Diverse "Islands" BIBAKFull-Text 1-17
  Karen Renaud; Rénette Blignaut; Isabella Venter
Designing for diversity is a laudable aim. How to achieve this, in the context of mobile phone usage by South African seniors, is a moot point. We considered this question from two possible perspectives: universal (one-world) versus focused design (designing for diverse "islands" of users). Each island would be characterised by a measure of relative homogeneity in terms of user interface needs. Our particular focus in this paper is age diversity. The universal approach attempts to deliver a design that can be all things to all people -- meeting the needs of all users within one user interface. The islander approach delivers specific and different designs for islands within a diverse world. To determine which the best approach would be, in the South African context, we dispatched a team of student researchers to interview participants from an older generation, on a one-to-one basis. It was beneficial to deploy aspiring designers to carry out this research because we wanted to confront aspiring researchers with the differences between their own and other generations' usage of, and attitudes towards, mobile phones. Our study found that there were indeed significant age-related differences in mobile phone usage. Our research delivered insights that led to a model of the factors impacting mobile phone usage of the senior generation as a series of filters between the user and their device. We conclude that the island approach is more suitable for age-specific design. This approach might well become less fitting as a more technologically experienced population ages, but at present there is a clear need for an age-sensitive mobile interface design.
Keywords: Mobile Phones; Design; Age
PointerPhone: Using Mobile Phones for Direct Pointing Interactions with Remote Displays BIBAKFull-Text 18-35
  Julian Seifert; Andreas Bayer; Enrico Rukzio
Large screens or projections in public and private settings have become part of our daily lives, as they enable the collaboration and presentation of information in many diverse ways. When discussing the shown information with other persons, we often point to a displayed object with our index finger or a laser pointer in order to talk about it. Although mobile phone-based interactions with remote screens have been investigated intensively in the last decade, none of them considered such direct pointing interactions for application in everyday tasks. In this paper, we present the concept and design space of PointerPhone which enables users to directly point at objects on a remote screen with their mobile phone and interact with them in a natural and seamless way. We detail the design space and distinguish three categories of interactions including low-level interactions using the mobile phone as a precise and fast pointing device, as well as an input and output device. We detail the category of widget-level interactions. Further, we demonstrate versatile high-level interaction techniques and show their application in a collaborative presentation scenario. Based on the results of a qualitative study, we provide design implications for application designs.
Keywords: Mobile phone; pointing; interaction; collaboration
Situating Asynchronous Voice in Rural Africa BIBAKFull-Text 36-53
  Nicola J. Bidwell; Masbulele Jay Siya
Designing for oral users in economically poor places has intensified efforts to develop platforms for asynchronous voice. Often these aim to assist users in rural areas where literacy is lowest, but there are few empirical studies and design tends to be oriented by theory that contrasts the mental functions of oral and literate users, rather than by local practices in social situations. We describe designing an Audio Repository (AR) based on practices, priorities and phone-use in rural Africa. The AR enables users to record, store and share voice files on a shared tablet and via their own cell-phones. We deployed the AR for 10 months in rural Africa and illiterate elders, who have few ways to use free or low-cost phone services, used it to record meetings. Use of, and interactions with, the AR informed the design of a new prototype. They also sensitized us to qualities of collective sense-making that can inspire new interactions but that guidelines for oral users overlook; such as the fusion of meaning and sound and the tuning of speech and bodily movement. Thus, we claim that situating design in local ways of saying enriches the potential for asynchronous voice.
Keywords: Oral users; Rural Africa; Asynchronous voice; Social media

Mobile UX and Privacy Concerns

A Field Trial on Mobile Crowdsourcing of News Content Factors Influencing Participation BIBAKFull-Text 54-73
  Heli Väätäjä; Esa Sirkkunen; Mari Ahvenainen
We conducted a five-week field trial on mobile crowdsourcing of hyperlocal news content to 1) understand the readers' experiences and 2) explore factors affecting their participation. In the end of the study the participants were surveyed with an online questionnaire (17/104 respondents) and five participants were interviewed. Although respondents and interviewees were enthusiastic about the trial, the activity in the trial was low. Results indicate that participant characteristics (age, gender, participation motivations and hobbyist background in photography) and task characteristics in terms of the subjectively perceived task significance (possible impact on important issues in the environment or on community), task relevance (related to the background and participation motivation), and task engagingness have an effect on the participation. In addition, participation was influenced by the estimated needed effort vs. the expected benefit (monetary benefit or having a possibility to influence), vicinity to the assignment location, enjoyment of the activity, and the monetary reward. To plan and manage the crowdsourcing activity the news publishers need information about the characteristics of the participants, participation patterns and motivations that could be provided by the crowdsourcing platform.
Keywords: Crowdsourcing; user-generated content; hyperlocal; news; motivation; location; mobile; ubiquitous; reader; photo; Scoopshot
Nudging People Away from Privacy-Invasive Mobile Apps through Visual Framing BIBAKFull-Text 74-91
  Eun Kyoung Choe; Jaeyeon Jung; Bongshin Lee; Kristie Fisher
Smartphone users visit application marketplaces (or app stores) to search and install applications. However, these app stores are not free from privacy-invasive apps, which collect personal information without sufficient disclosure or people's consent. To nudge people away from privacy-invasive apps, we created a visual representation of the mobile app's privacy rating. Inspired by "Framing Effects," we designed semantically equivalent visuals that are framed in either a positive or negative way. We investigated the effect of the visual privacy rating, framing, and user rating on people's perception of an app (e.g., trustworthiness) through two experiments. In Study 1, participants were able to understand the intended meaning of the visual privacy ratings. In Study 2, we found a strong main effect for visual privacy rating on participants' perception of an app, and framing effects in a low privacy rating app. We discuss implications for designing visual privacy ratings, including the use of positive visual framing to nudge people away from privacy-invasive apps.
Keywords: Visual framing; privacy; privacy metrics; rating; nudge; framing effect; valence; positive framing; negative framing; Mechanical Turk
The Impact of Encumbrance on Mobile Interactions BIBAKFull-Text 92-109
  Alexander Ng; Stephen A. Brewster; John Williamson
This paper investigates the effects of encumbrance (holding different types of objects while using mobile devices) to understand the interaction difficulties that it causes. An experiment was conducted where participants performed a target acquisition task on a touchscreen mobile phone while carrying different types of bags and boxes. Mobility was also evaluated since people carry items from one place to another. Motion capture hardware was used to track hand and arm postures to examine how holding the different types of objects caused excessive movement and instability therefore resulting in performance to decline. The results showed encumbrance and mobility caused target accuracy to decrease although input while holding the box under the non-dominant arm was more accurate and exerted quicker targeting times than holding no objects. Encumbrance affected the dominant hand more than the non-dominant hand as targeting error significantly increased and caused greater hand instability. The issues caused by encumbrance suggest the topic requires more attention from researchers and users would benefit greatly if better interaction techniques and applications are developed to counteract the problems.
Keywords: Encumbrance; Mobility; Mobile interactions; Target acquisition

Model-Based User Interface Design

Conception of Ambiguous Mapping and Transformation Models BIBAKFull-Text 110-125
  Christopher Martin; Matthias Freund; Henning Hager; Annerose Braune
Model transformations are the linking element between the different levels of abstraction in the model-based user interface development. They map source elements onto target elements and define rules for the execution of these mappings. Approaches for the reuse of transformation rules use formal transformation models, which only specify the mappings and abstract from the implementation. Current solutions are usually only able to describe unambiguous (1-on-1) mappings. In general, however, there are ambiguous (1-on-n) mappings from which the unambiguous mappings are only chosen during the design process. The knowledge which source element can be mapped onto which target elements is to date not being formalized. This paper therefore presents a proposal for an ambiguous mapping and transformation model and describes its usage in an iterative development process.
Keywords: Model-based User Interface Design; Model Transformations; Mapping Model; Transformation Model; Iterative Development
Model Assisted Creativity Sessions for the Design of Mixed Interactive Systems: A Protocol Analysis BIBAKFull-Text 126-143
  Christophe Bortolaso; Emmanuel Dubois
To help designers face the complexity of mixed interaction and identifying original and adapted solutions, we developed and evaluated an original approach to interaction design. This approach, called Model Assisted Creativity Sessions (MACS), aims to combine the best elements of both a model of mixed interaction, and a collaborative and creative session. The objective is twofold: to support the exploration of the design space, and to establish a common language between participants. To assess the viability of this approach, we relied on a protocol analysis of the verbal recordings of two existing design situations. Results show that the model impacts the generation of ideas and that participants use the model concepts to share their thoughts during the session.
Keywords: Design; Method; Mixed Interaction; Model; Creativity
Model-Based Self-explanatory UIs for Free, but Are They Valuable? BIBAKFull-Text 144-161
  Alfonso García Frey; Gaëlle Calvary; Sophie Dupuy-Chessa; Nadine Mandran
Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) has been extensively used for generating User Interfaces (UIs) from models. As long as these models are kept alive at runtime, the UIs are capable of adapting to variations of the context of use. This paper investigates a potentially powerful side effect: the possibility of enriching the UIs with explanations directly generated from these models. This paper first describes a software infrastructure that supports this generation of explanations. It then reports on a user study that evaluates the added value of such model based self-explanations.
Keywords: Self-Explanatory User Interfaces; Model-Driven Engineering; Models at runtime; Self-Explanation

Multimodal User Interface Design

Comparing Input Modalities for Peripheral Interaction: A Case Study on Peripheral Music Control BIBAKFull-Text 162-179
  Doris Hausen; Hendrik Richter; Adalie Hemme; Andreas Butz
In graphical user interfaces, every application usually asks for the user's full attention during interaction with it. Even marginal side activities often force the user to switch windows, which results in attention shifts and increased cognitive load. Peripheral interaction addresses this problem by providing input facilities in the periphery of the user's attention by relying on divided attention and human capabilities such as proprioception and spatial memory. Recent work shows promising results by shifting tasks to the periphery for parallel task execution. Up to now, most of these interfaces rely on tag-based objects, tokens or wearable devices, which need to be grasped and manipulated, e.g., by turning, moving or pressing the device.
   To explore this design space further, we implemented three modalities for peripheral interaction with a desktop audio player application -- graspable interaction, touch and freehand gestures. In an eight-week in-situ deployment, we compared the three modalities to each other and to media keys (as the state-of-the-art approach). We found that all modalities can be successfully used in the (visual and attentional) periphery and reduce the amount of cognitive load when interacting with an audio player.
   With this work we intend to (1) illustrate the variety of possible modalities beyond graspable interfaces, (2) give insights on manual peripheral interaction in general and the respective modalities in particular and (3) elaborate on paper based prototypes for the evaluation of peripheral interaction.
Keywords: Peripheral Interaction; Input Modalities; Audio Control
Linetic: Technical, Usability and Aesthetic Implications of a Ferrofluid-Based Organic User Interface BIBAKFull-Text 180-195
  Jeffrey Tzu Kwan Valino Koh; Kasun Karunanayaka; Ryohei Nakatsu
We present an OUI that combines Hall Effect sensing and actuation through electromagnetically-manipulated ferrofluid. The movement of magnets worn on the fingertips, over a surface embedded with a Hall Effect sensor array and electromagnets, gives the user the ability to interact with ferrofluid. This system provides a three-dimensional, physically animated response, as well as three-dimensional, spatial-sensing inputs. The vibration of the magnets worn on the fingertips, produced by the repulsing polarity of the electromagnets, provides the user with haptic feedback. Linetic is a multimodal interface with a visual, audio and haptic experience. In this manuscript we explain the overall system from a technical, usability and aesthetic viewpoint by outlining significant experiments conducted that contribute to the development of the system. Furthermore we discuss the philosophical and aesthetical implications of the Linetic system, as well as characterize Linetic's disposition to Analogness or Digitalness.
Keywords: Electromagnetic; haptic; TUI; OUI; morphable; shape changing
When Paper Meets Multi-touch: A Study of Multi-modal Interactions in Air Traffic Control BIBAKFull-Text 196-213
  Cheryl Savery; Christophe Hurter; Rémi Lesbordes; Maxime Cordeil; T. C. Nicholas Graham
For expert interfaces, it is not obvious whether providing multiple modes of interaction, each tuned to different sub-tasks, leads to a better user experience than providing a more limited set. In this paper, we investigate this question in the context of air traffic control. We present and analyze an augmented flight strip board offering several forms of interaction, including touch, digital pen and physical paper objects. We explore the technical challenges of adding finger detection to such a flight strip board and evaluate how expert air traffic controllers interact with the resulting system. We find that users are able to quickly adapt to the wide range of offered modalities. Users were not overburden by the choice of different modalities, and did not find it difficult to determine the appropriate modality to use for each interaction.
Keywords: Paper computing; augmented paper; digital pen; interactive paper; tangible interfaces; air traffic control

Multimodality, Cross-Platform Studies

3D Visualization and Multimodal Interaction with Temporal Information Using Timelines BIBAKFull-Text 214-231
  Giannis Drossis; Dimitris Grammenos; Ilia Adami; Constantine Stephanidis
This paper reports on the design, development and evaluation of TimeViewer, a system allowing the storing, visualization and multimodal interaction with temporal and semantic information using timelines in 3D environments. We focus on the appliance of 3D interactive timelines for temporal information visualization, extending their capabilities with the novel concept of a time-tunnel. Our work is intended to investigate beyond the current state of the art interaction with 3D environments using a variety of input modes, such as touch and full-body kinesthetic interaction. Qualitative results were elicited through an evaluation with 16 users in order to assess the users' opinion of the system, the efficiency of the offered interactions and direct future research in the area.
Keywords: Interactive timelines; multimodal interaction; 3D information visualization; full-body interaction; virtual environment; usability evaluation
Activity Theory as a Tool for Identifying Design Patterns in Cross-Modal Collaborative Interaction BIBAFull-Text 232-240
  Oussama Metatla; Nick Bryan-Kinns; Tony Stockman; Fiore Martin
This paper examines the question of how to uncover patterns from the process of designing cross-modal collaborative systems. We describe how we use activity patterns as an approach to guide this process and discuss its potential as a practical method for developing design patterns.
Cross-Communicability: Evaluating the Meta-communication of Cross-Platform Applications BIBAKFull-Text 241-258
  Rodrigo de A. Maués; Simone Diniz Junqueira Barbosa
Evaluating cross-platform systems is challenging due to the different constraints and capabilities of each platform. In this paper we extend the Semiotic Inspection Method (SIM), a Semiotic Engineering evaluation method, to evaluate cross-platform systems. We introduce the term cross-communicability to denote the quality of the meta-communication of the system as whole, taking into account the user traversal between the different platforms. To assess cross-communicability, we describe a novel approach to conduct the SIM, which introduces a contrastive analysis of the designer-to-user meta-communication messages of each platform, based on a semiotic framing of design changes initially proposed for End-User Development. The results from an analytical study indicate that this approach is capable of identifying and classifying several potential communication breakdowns particular to cross-platform systems, which in turn can inform the design or redesign of a cross-platform application.
Keywords: Cross-platform; user interface design; communicability; semiotic inspection method; semiotic engineering
On-Line Sketch Recognition Using Direction Feature BIBAKFull-Text 259-266
  Wei Deng; Lingda Wu; Ronghuan Yu; Jiazhe Lai
Sketch recognition is widely used in pen-based interaction, especially as the increasing popularity of devices with touch screens. It can enhance human-computer interaction by allowing a natural/free form of interaction. The main challenging problem is the variability in hand drawings. This paper presents an on-line sketch recognition method based on the direction feature. We also present two feature representations to train a classifier. We support our case by experimental results obtained from the NicIcon database. A recognition rate of 97.95% is achieved, and average runtime is 97.6ms using a Support Vector Machine classifier.
Keywords: Sketched symbol recognition; NicIcon database; multi-stroke shapes

Narratives in Design

Beyond Rhetoric to Poetics in IT Invention BIBAKFull-Text 267-279
  Annie Gentes; Ted Selker
Two kinds of discourse typically define scientific productions: logical (epistemology of science) and rhetorical (sociology of science). We suggest that research projects can also be analyzed as poetical productions. While rhetorical strategies anticipate controversies and deploy techniques to defend projects and findings, poetical practices deepen the cultural and symbolic dimensions of technologies. Based on use cases that show different ways the poetics come to bear on research and development projects in information technology (IT), we discuss the play on words and images and how they contribute to the definition and creation of a new technology within research projects. Three cases of poetical practices are presented: naming technologies, christening projects, and designing logos. We give examples of naming and project identity formation to underscore how such a poetic stance impacts projects. Images and words help people imagine what the technology is about by giving imaginary traits and cultural substance. This paper's analysis is a call for further work exposing the value of conscious use of poetical approaches to deepen the framing of IT projects.
Keywords: Rhetoric; Poetics; Project Definition; Design; Sociology of Science; Sociology of Technology; Invention
Storytelling in Visual Analytics Tools for Business Intelligence BIBAKFull-Text 280-297
  Micheline Elias; Marie-Aude Aufaure; Anastasia Bezerianos
Stories help us communicate knowledge, share and interpret experiences. In this paper we discuss the use of storytelling in Business Intelligence (BI) analysis. We derive the actual practices in creating and sharing BI stories from in-depth interviews with expert BI analysts (both story "creators" and "readers"). These interviews revealed the need to extend current BI visual analysis applications to enable storytelling, as well as new requirements related to BI visual storytelling. Based on these requirements we designed and implemented a storytelling prototype tool that is integrated in an analysis tool used by our experts, and allows easy transition from analysis to story creation and sharing. We report experts' recommendations and reactions to the use of the prototype to create stories, as well as novices' reactions to reading these stories.
Keywords: Visual Storytelling; Business Intelligence
Using Narrative Research and Portraiture to Inform Design Research BIBAKFull-Text 298-315
  Connie Golsteijn; Serena Wright
Employing an interdisciplinary perspective, this paper addresses how narrative research and portraiture -- methods originating from, and commonly used in social sciences -- can be beneficial for HCI and design research communities. Narrative research takes stories as a basis for data collection and analysis, while portraiture can be used to create written narratives about interview participants. Drawing on this knowledge, we show how a focus on narrative data, and analysis of such data through portraiture, can be adopted for the specific purpose of enhancing design processes. We hope to encourage design and HCI researchers to consider adopting these methods. By drawing on an illustrative example, we show how these methods served to inform design ideas for digital crafting. Based on our experiences, we present guidelines for using narrative research and portraiture for design research, as well as discussing opportunities and strengths, and limitations and risks.
Keywords: Qualitative research; methods; narratives; story-telling; narrative research; portraiture; design research; interaction design; craft

Navigation Aids

Hoptrees: Branching History Navigation for Hierarchies BIBAKFull-Text 316-333
  Michael Brooks; Jevin D. West; Cecilia R. Aragon; Carl T. Bergstrom
Designing software for exploring hierarchical data sets is challenging because users can easily become lost in large hierarchies. We present a novel interface, the hoptree, to assist users with navigating large hierarchies. The hoptree preserves navigational history and context and allows one-click navigation to recently-visited locations. We describe the design of hoptrees and an implementation that we created for a tree exploration application. We discuss the potential for hoptrees to be used in a wide variety of hierarchy navigation scenarios. Through a controlled experiment, we compared the effectiveness of hoptrees to a breadcrumb navigation interface. Study participants overwhelmingly preferred the hoptree, with improved time-on-task with no difference in error rates.
Keywords: Navigation; tree visualization; hierarchy; breadcrumbs; visual interfaces; usability
User-Centric vs. System-Centric Evaluation of Recommender Systems BIBAKFull-Text 334-351
  Paolo Cremonesi; Franca Garzotto; Roberto Turrin
Recommender Systems (RSs) aim at helping users search large amounts of contents and identify more effectively the items (products or services) that are likely to be more useful or attractive. The quality of a RS can be defined from two perspectives: system-centric, in which quality measures (e.g., precision, recall) are evaluated using vast datasets of preferences and opinions on items previously collected from users that are not interacting with the RS under study; user-centric, in which user measures are collected from users interacting with the RS under study. Prior research in e-commerce has provided some empirical evidence that system-centric and user-centric quality methods may lead to inconsistent results, e.g., RSs that were "best" according to system-centric measures were not the top ones according to user-centric measures. The paper investigates if a similar mismatch also exists in the domain of e-tourism. We discuss two studies that have adopted a system-centric approach using data from 210000 users, and a user-centric approach involving 240 users interacting with an online hotel booking service. In both studies, we considered four RSs that employ an implicit user preference elicitation technique and different baseline and state-of-the-art recommendation algorithms. In these four experimental conditions, we compared system-centric quality measures against user-centric evaluation results. System-centric quality measures were consistent with user-centric measures, in contrast with past studies in e-commerce. This pinpoints that the relationship between the two kinds of metrics may depend on the business sector, is more complex that we may expect, and is a challenging issues that deserves further research.
Keywords: Recommender systems; E-tourism; Evaluation; Decision Making
Video Navigation with a Personal Viewing History BIBAKFull-Text 352-369
  Abir Al-Hajri; Gregor Miller; Sidney Fels; Matthew Fong
We describe a new video interface based on a recorded personal navigation history which provides simple mechanisms to quickly find and watch previously viewed intervals, highlight segments of video the user found interesting and support other video tasks such as crowd-sourced video popularity measures and consumer-level video editing. Our novel history interface lets users find previously viewed intervals more quickly and provides a more enjoyable video navigation experience, as demonstrated by the study we performed. The user study tasked participants with viewing a pre-defined history of a subset of the video and answering questions about the video content: 83.9% of questions (average) were answered correctly using the personal navigation history, while 65.5% were answered using the state-of-art method; they took significantly less time to answer a question using our method. The full video navigation interface received an 82% average QUIS rating. The results show that our history interface can be an effective part of video players and browsers.
Keywords: Video Navigation; Navigation History; Video Summarization

Novel User Interfaces

A New Approach to Walking in Place BIBAKFull-Text 370-387
  Luís Bruno; João Pereira; Joaquim Jorge
Walking in Place (WIP) is an important locomotion technique used in virtual environments. This paper proposes a new approach to WIP, called Speed-Amplitude-Supported Walking-in-Place (SAS-WIP), which allows people, when walking along linear paths, to control their virtual speed based on footstep amplitude and speed metrics. We argue that our approach allows users to better control the virtual distance covered by the footsteps, achieve higher average speeds and experience less fatigue than when using state-of-the-art methods based on footstep frequency, called GUD-WIP.
   An in-depth user evaluation with twenty participants compared our approach to GUD-WIP on common travel tasks over a range of short, medium and long distances. We measured task performance using four distinct criteria: effectiveness, precision, efficiency and speed. The results show that SAS-WIP is both more efficient and faster than GUD-WIP when walking long distances while being more effective and precise over short distances. When asked their opinion via a post-test questionnaire, participants preferred SAS-WIP to GUD-WIP and reported experiencing less fatigue, having more fun and having a greater level of control when using our approach.
Keywords: Walking in place; virtual locomotion; virtual speed control; performance; motor control
Disambiguation Canvas: A Precise Selection Technique for Virtual Environments BIBAKFull-Text 388-405
  Henrique G. Debarba; Jerônimo G. Grandi; Anderson Maciel; Luciana Nedel; Ronan Boulic
We present the disambiguation canvas, a technique developed for easy, accurate and fast selection of small objects and objects inside cluttered virtual environments. Disambiguation canvas rely on selection by progressive refinement, it uses a mobile device and consists of two steps. During the first, the user defines a subset of objects by means of the orientation sensors of the device and a volume casting pointing technique. The subsequent step consists of the disambiguation of the desired target among the previously defined subset of objects, and is accomplished using the mobile device touchscreen. By relying on the touchscreen for the last step, the user can disambiguate among hundreds of objects at once. User tests show that our technique performs faster than ray-casting for targets with approximately 0.53 degrees of angular size, and is also much more accurate for all the tested target sizes.
Keywords: Selection techniques; 3D interaction; usability evaluation; progressive refinement
Full Semantic Transparency: Overcoming Boundaries of Applications BIBAKFull-Text 406-423
  Andrea Kohlhase; Michael Kohlhase; Constantin Jucovschi; Alexandru Toader
Complex workflows require intelligent interactions. In this paper we attack the problem of combining user interfaces of specialized applications that support different aspects of objects in scientific/technical workflows with semantic technologies. We analyze the problem in terms of the (new) notion of full semantic transparency, i.e., the property of user interfaces to give full access to an underlying semantic object even beyond application lines. In a multi-application case full semantic transparency is difficult, but can be achieved by representing the semantic objects in a structured ontology and actively supporting the application-specific framings of an object in a semantic interface manager. We evaluate the proposed framework in a situation where aspects of technical constructions are distributed across a CAD system, a spreadsheet application, and a knowledge base.
Keywords: Full semantic transparency; multi-application Semantic Alliance; frame shifts; spreadsheets; CAD systems; semantic services

Passwords: e-Authentication

A Comprehensive Study of the Usability of Multiple Graphical Passwords BIBAKFull-Text 424-441
  Soumyadeb Chowdhury; Ron Poet; Lewis Mackenzie
Recognition-based graphical authentication systems (RBGSs) using images as passwords have been proposed as one potential solution to the need for more usable authentication. The rapid increase in the technologies requiring user authentication has increased the number of passwords that users have to remember. But nearly all prior work with RBGSs has studied the usability of a single password. In this paper, we present the first published comparison of the usability of multiple graphical passwords with four different image types: Mikon, doodle, art and everyday objects (food, buildings, sports etc.). A longitudinal experiment was performed with 100 participants over a period of 8 weeks, to examine the usability performance of each of the image types. The results of the study demonstrate that object images are most usable in the sense of being more memorable and less time-consuming to employ, Mikon images are close behind but doodle and art images are significantly inferior. The results of our study complement cognitive literature on the picture superiority effect, visual search process and nameability of visually complex images.
Keywords: usability; user authentication; multiple image passwords
Security for Diversity: Studying the Effects of Verbal and Imagery Processes on User Authentication Mechanisms BIBAKFull-Text 442-459
  Marios Belk; Christos Fidas; Panagiotis Germanakos; George Samaras
Stimulated by a large number of different theories on human cognition, suggesting that individuals have different habitual approaches in retrieving, recalling, processing and storing verbal and graphical information, this paper investigates the effect of such processes with regard to user performance and preference toward two variations of knowledge-based authentication mechanisms. In particular, a text-based password authentication mechanism and a recognition-based graphical authentication mechanism were deployed in the frame of an ecological valid user study, to investigate the effect of specific cognitive factors of users toward efficiency, effectiveness and preference of authentication tasks. A total of 145 users participated during a five-month period between February and June 2012. This recent study provides interesting insights for the design and deployment of adaptive authentication mechanisms based on cognitive factors of users. The results and implications of this paper are valuable in understanding and modeling user interactions with regard to authentication mechanisms.
Keywords: User Authentication; Cognitive Factors; Efficiency; Effectiveness; Preference; Usable Security; Diversity; User Study
Survival of the Shortest: A Retrospective Analysis of Influencing Factors on Password Composition BIBAKFull-Text 460-467
  Emanuel von Zezschwitz; Alexander De Luca; Heinrich Hussmann
In this paper, we investigate the evolutionary change of user-selected passwords. We conducted one-on-one interviews and analyzed the complexity and the diversity of users' passwords using different analysis tools. By comparing their first-ever created passwords to several of their currently used passwords (e.g. most secure, policy-based), we were able to trace password reuse, password changes and influencing factors on the evolutionary process. Our approach allowed for analyzing security aspects without actually knowing the clear-text passwords. The results reveal that currently used passwords are significantly longer than the participants' first passwords and that most participants are aware of how to compose strong passwords. However, most users are still using significantly weaker passwords for most services. These weak passwords, often with roots in the very first passwords the users have chosen, apparently survive very well, despite password policies and password meters.
Keywords: password; evolution; security; policy; survey; human factor
Travel Routes or Geography Facts? An Evaluation of Voice Authentication User Interfaces BIBAFull-Text 468-475
  Alina Hang; Alexander De Luca; Katharina Frison; Emanuel von Zezschwitz; Massimo Tedesco; Marcel Kockmann; Heinrich Hussmann
Fallback authentication based on voice recognition provides several benefits to users. Since it is a biometric method, there are no passwords that have to be remembered. Additionally, the technique can be used remotely without the user having to be physically present. We performed stakeholder interviews and we iteratively designed and evaluated different voice authentication user interfaces with a focus on ease-of-use. The main goal was to keep embarrassment low and to provide an interaction as natural as possible. Our results show that small changes in the interface can significantly influence the users' opinions about the system.

Physical Ergonomics

Exploring the Use of Distributed Multiple Monitors within an Activity-Promoting Sit-and-Stand Office Workspace BIBAKFull-Text 476-493
  Kathrin Probst; David Lindlbauer; Florian Perteneder; Michael Haller; Bernhard Schwartz; Andreas Schrempf
Nowadays sedentary behaviors such as prolonged sitting have become a predominant element of our lives. Particularly in the office environment, many people spend the majority of their working day seated in front of a computer. In this paper, we investigate the adoption of a physically active work process within an activity-promoting office workspace design that is composed of a sitting and a standing workstation. Making use of multiple distributed monitors, this environment introduces diversity into the office workflow through the facilitation of transitions between different work-related tasks, workstations, and work postures. We conducted a background study to get a better understanding of how people are performing their daily work within this novel workspace. Our findings identify different work patterns and basic approaches for physical activity integration, which indicate a number of challenges for software design. Based on the results of the study, we provide design implications and highlight new directions in the field of HCI design to support seamless alternation between different postures while working in such an environment.
Keywords: Multi-Monitor; Distributed Display Environment; User Interaction
Modeless Pointing with Low-Precision Wrist Movements BIBAKFull-Text 494-511
  Theophanis Tsandilas; Emmanuel Dubois; Mathieu Raynal
Wrist movements are physically constrained and take place within a small range around the hand's rest position. We explore pointing techniques that deal with the physical constraints of the wrist and extend the range of its input without making use of explicit mode-switching mechanisms. Taking into account elastic properties of the human joints, we investigate designs based on rate control. In addition to pure rate control, we examine a hybrid technique that combines position and rate-control and a technique that applies non-uniform position-control mappings. Our experimental results suggest that rate control is particularly effective under low-precision input and long target distances. Hybrid and non-uniform position-control mappings, on the other hand, result in higher precision and become more effective as input precision increases.
Keywords: Pointing techniques; constrained wrist movement; elastic devices; rate control; clutching
Wands Are Magic: A Comparison of Devices Used in 3D Pointing Interfaces BIBAKFull-Text 512-519
  Martin Henschke; Tom Gedeon; Richard Jones; Sabrina Caldwell; Dingyun Zhu
In our pilot study with 12 participants, we compared three interfaces, 3D mouse, glove and wand in a 3D naturalistic environment. The latter two were controlled by the same absolute pointing method and so are essentially identical except for the selection mechanism, grasp action versus button. We found that the mouse performed worst in terms of both time and errors which is reasonable for a relative pointing device in an absolute pointing setting, with the wand both outperforming and favored by users to the glove. We conclude that the presence of a held object in a pointing interface changes the user's perception of the system and magically leads to a different experience.
Keywords: "magic wand"; "3D mouse"; "hand gesture"; "fatigue"; "user satisfaction"

Road Safety

Assisting the Driver with Distance Estimation: Usability Evaluation of Graphical Presentation Alternatives for Local Traffic Events BIBAKFull-Text 520-537
  Angela Mahr; Sandro Castronovo; Rafael Math; Christian Müller
When integrating numerous in-car information and assistance systems, a consistent way of spatial distance presentation for drivers is required. A common practice is to use discrete textual information (e.g. 500 meters) in combination with a graphical bar representing relative spatial information. Hitherto there exists no design consistency with respect to bars for distance illustration. Contemporary solutions differ in terms of movement direction (upward vs. downward), composition type (decreasing vs. increasing), or alignment (horizontal vs. vertical). We conducted a driving simulator experiment to investigate user preferences, perceived location, and eye gaze data for a meaningful subset of bars in a dynamic scenario. When approaching a traffic event (road works), one out of four vertical bar alternatives indicated the current distance. Subsequently, the associated horizontal bar type (decreasing or increasing) visualized the driver's spatial progress within the road works section. Our results indicate, that drivers prefer upwards-moving approach bars and progress bars decreasing from left to right. Eye-tracking data supports usage of decreasing bars instead of increasing bars. Accordingly, we elaborated an initial version of design guidelines for bars representing relative spatial information for local events. On this basis we implemented approach and progress indicators, which were adopted for numerous use-cases in a large field operational test for Vehicle-2-X Communication.
Keywords: Distance; Assistance; Design; Usability Evaluation; In-car; Driving
Culturally Independent Gestures for In-Car Interactions BIBAKFull-Text 538-545
  Sebastian Loehmann; Martin Knobel; Melanie Lamara; Andreas Butz
In this paper we report on our ongoing work to introduce freehand gestures in cars as an alternative input modality. Contactless gestures have hardly been successful in cars so far, but have received attention in other contexts recently. We propose a way to achieve a better acceptance by both drivers and car manufacturers. Using a four-step process, we developed a small set of culturally independent and therefore easy-to-learn gestures, which can be used universally across different devices. We built a first prototype using distance sensors to detect the stop gesture in front of several devices. We conducted a user study during actual driving situations, testing the pragmatic and hedonic quality of the approach as well as its attractiveness. The results show a high acceptance of our approach and confirm the potential of freehand gestures as an alternative input modality in the car.
Keywords: freehand gestures; automotive user interface; culturally independent
Don't Text While Driving: The Effect of Smartphone Text Messaging on Road Safety during Simulated Driving BIBAKFull-Text 546-563
  Kaspar Lyngsie; Martin S. Pedersen; Jan Stage; Kim F. Vestergaard
Text messaging on smartphones uses a full soft keyboard instead of the numeric buttons on traditional mobile phones. While being more intuitive, the lack of tactile feedback from physical buttons increases the need for user focus, which may compromise safety in certain settings. This paper reports from an empirical study of the effect of text messaging on road safety. We compared the use of a traditional mobile phone and a smartphone for writing text messages during simulated driving. The results confirm that driver performance when texting decreases considerably as there are significant increases in reaction time, car-following distance, lane violation, number of crash/near-crash incidents, perceived task load and the amount of time the driver is looking away from the road. The results also show that smartphones makes this even worse; on key performance parameters they increase the threat from text messaging while driving. These results suggest that drivers should never text while driving, especially not with a smartphone.
Keywords: Driving; mobile phone; smartphone; text messaging; road safety; driver distraction; simulated driving experiment

Seniors and Usability

Ageing, Technology Anxiety and Intuitive Use of Complex Interfaces BIBAKFull-Text 564-581
  Raghavendra Reddy Gudur; Alethea Blackler; Vesna Popovic; Doug Mahar
This paper presents the outcome of a study that investigated the relationships between technology prior experience, self-efficacy, technology anxiety, complexity of interface (nested versus flat) and intuitive use in older people. The findings show that, as expected, older people took less time to complete the task on the interface that used a flat structure when compared to the interface that used a complex nested structure. All age groups also used the flat interface more intuitively. However, contrary to what was hypothesised, older age groups did better under anxious conditions. Interestingly, older participants did not make significantly more errors compared with younger age groups on either interface structures.
Keywords: Prior-experience; Technology anxiety; self-efficacy; Intuitive interaction; Ageing; Complex Interfaces
Emerging Technologies and the Contextual and Contingent Experiences of Ageing Well BIBAKFull-Text 582-589
  Toni Robertson; Jeannette Durick; Margot Brereton; Kate Vaisutis; Frank Vetere; Bjorn Nansen; Steve Howard
Based on a series of interviews of Australians between the ages of 55 and 75 this paper explores the relations between our participants' attitudes towards and use of communication, social and tangible technologies and three relevant themes from our data: staying active, friends and families, and cultural selves. While common across our participants' experiences of ageing, these themes were notable for the diverse ways they were experienced and expressed within individual lives and for the different roles technology was used for within each. A brief discussion of how the diversity of our ageing population implicates the design of emerging technologies ends the paper.
Keywords: Ageing population; ageing well; social technologies; tangible technologies; diversity
Question-Answer Cards for an Inclusive Micro-tasking Framework for the Elderly BIBAKFull-Text 590-607
  Masatomo Kobayashi; Tatsuya Ishihara; Akihiro Kosugi; Hironobu Takagi; Chieko Asakawa
Micro-tasking (e.g., crowdsourcing) has the potential to help "long-tail" senior workers utilize their knowledge and experience to contribute to their communities. However, their limited ICT skills and their concerns about new technologies can prevent them from participating in emerging work scenarios. We have devised a question-answer card interface to allow the elderly to participate in micro-tasks with minimal ICT skills and learning efforts. Our survey identified a need for skill-based task recommendations, so we also added a probabilistic skill assessment model based on the results of the micro-tasks. We also discuss some scenarios to exploit the question-answer card framework to create new work opportunities for senior citizens. Our experiments showed that untrained seniors performed the micro-tasks effectively with our interface in both controlled and realistic conditions, and the differences in their skills were reliably assessed.
Keywords: Micro-Tasks; Gamification; Skill Assessment; Ageing; Elderly; Senior Workforce

Social Behaviour, Collaboration and Presence

An Experimental Study of Chinese Shopping Related Sharing Behaviors BIBAKFull-Text 608-615
  Min Li; Jun Zhang; Zhengjie Liu; Graham I. Johnson
Social media has become an increasingly important venue for social interaction and communication. Most previous research have shown the information sharing on social media platforms, but few focus on shopping related sharing (SRS) information and how these information influence consumer decision-making. Through a combination of interviews with observations in our lab to the users of social media and online shopping sites, we want to find answers to the question: what are the factors that influence Chinese consumers' SRS behaviors? It was discovered that the factors like why, what, whom, where, when etc. have significant influence to Chinese consumers' SRS behaviors. The study offers insights into the relationship between SRS and Chinese consumer decision-making, and design implications are discussed.
Keywords: Social media; shopping; sharing; social influence; consumer decision-making
Perceptions of Facebook Privacy and Career Impression Management BIBAKFull-Text 616-623
  Danielle Pilcer; Andrew Thatcher
Facebook was initially designed as a social tool representing a person's social life, yet today it functions as a platform synthesizing all facets of life, including the work context. Within the frame of the social capital theory, a survey was conducted measuring Facebook users' experience, perceptions of privacy and career impression management. Results found that higher Facebook experience was related to increased levels of trust and career impression management in terms of self-monitoring and work relations. Higher work privacy was related to career impression management in terms of lower work relations and higher perceived workplace outcomes; and career impression management in terms of higher perceived self-monitoring and workplace outcomes were related to lower levels of privacy awareness. It was concluded that how one uses Facebook and one's perceived value in presenting an image of an employable person is influenced by how one views their Facebook privacy.
Keywords: Facebook; privacy; impression management; employability; social capital theory
Simplifying Remote Collaboration through Spatial Mirroring BIBAKFull-Text 624-631
  Fabian Hennecke; Simon Voelker; Maximilian Schenk; Hauke Schaper; Jan Borchers; Andreas Butz
Even though remote collaboration through telepresence is supported by a variety of devices and display environments, it still has some inherent problems. One of these problems is the definition of a unified spatial reference system for the shared workspace in combination with an immersive representation of the collaborator. To mitigate this problem we propose a technique we call spatial mirroring. It is based on a virtual collaboration environment using two curved displays and aims to eliminate possible communication errors due to left/right misunderstandings. We explain the working principle and ideas behind spatial mirroring, and present two consecutive user studies in which we were able to verify its benefits.
Keywords: Remote collaboration; Telepresence; Orientation problem; Spatial reference; Mirroring
Social Influence from Personalized Recommendations to Trusting Beliefs of Websites: Intermediate Role of Social Presence BIBAKFull-Text 632-639
  Yanan Li; Yong Wang
With the increasing prevalence of online shopping, many companies have added "personalized recommendation" modules on their websites to collect customers' click-stream data in real time and conduct relevant analysis, which will both assist the decision-making of the web owners and enrich the interactive experience of the customers. A website with more personalized recommender system allows users to experience others as psychologically present being, conveys a feeling of human warmth and sociability which is believed critical for the formation of consumers' trust towards online stores. In this study, a laboratory experiment was conducted to empirically examine the effects of the level of perceived personalization on consumers' trusting beliefs towards online store. The result also demonstrated that the perception of social presence can partially mediate the effect of perceived personalization on consumer's trusting beliefs.
Keywords: Personalized Recommendation; Personalization; Social Presence; Trusting beliefs
Social Network Users' Religiosity and the Design of Post Mortem Aspects BIBAKFull-Text 640-657
  Cristiano Maciel; Vinicius Carvalho Pereira
Social networks increase the challenges of designing real-world aspects whose computational abstraction is not simple. This includes death and digital legacy, strongly influenced by cultural phenomena, such as religion. Therefore, it is important to analyze youngsters' concepts of death in the web, as the Internet Generation outnumbers other groups of social network users. Besides, due to their age, many of them face other people's death for the first time on the web. This paper analyzes to what extent these users' religion and the belief in afterlife may signal guidelines for a social network project that considers volition towards digital legacy. The data herein analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively come from a survey-based research with Brazilian high school students. The contributions for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) studies comprise design solutions that may consider aspects of religion, death and digital legacy, also improving users' and designers' understanding on these issues in system design.
Keywords: social networks; Internet Generation; post mortem; religion

Social Collaborative Interaction

A Tale of Two Puppets, Two Avatars and Two Countries BIBAKFull-Text 658-665
  Yoram I. Chisik; Monchu Chen; M. Clara Corriea Martins
We describe observations from studies conducted with school children in Nepal and Portugal with the aim of exploring two questions: 1. Can we develop an interactive game that will continue to engage the child in gameplay when the electricity supply fails? 2. What are the discernable differences in the ways children in Nepal and Portugal interact with the game given the huge socio-economic and cultural differences between them? The studies highlight the potential of the design in fostering continued engagement in the game when the electricity supply fails. They also show surprising little difference between the children in Nepal and Portugal. The observations suggest game mechanism and basic interactions can be regarded as universal across cultures and levels of income and can thus be designed and tested in any location and be expected to work and be understood by children from any culture and background.
Keywords: Games; Play; Children; Electricity; Design; Interaction; HCI4D
Avalanche! Reanimating Multiple Roles in Child Computer Interaction Design BIBAKFull-Text 666-673
  Timo Göttel
This paper values children as design partners in Child Computer Interaction to ensure building environments highly suitable for the target group. However, it appears beneficial to address underlying roles, align design processes on school activities or give considerations to the voluntary nature of such projects. We conducted eight projects with 75 pupils using initial learning environments. We found that starting design processes with pupils as users helps to identify further design steps that can be consequently tackled with the former users as informants and design partners. Thus, we suggest the Avalanche Design Cycle to engage children as fresh users at several stages asking them to become informants and design partners consecutively. The Avalanche Design Cycle is an iterative design process complying with school life allowing pupils to join/leave design teams. Thereby, it is aiming at sustained team sizes and more representative groups.
Keywords: Child-centered design; users; informants; design partners
Likeness and Dealbreakers: Interpreting Interpersonal Compatibility from Online Music Profiles BIBAKFull-Text 674-681
  Mo Kudeki; Karrie Karahalios
How much would a stranger know about you if they knew only the last song you listened to? Quite a bit, at least according to the stranger. Music taste often acts as proxy for our personalities, and we constantly perform this taste perception online. In our study, we find that good first impressions are common, bad first impressions are extreme, and that people pick up on many subtle cues about personality and whether they share common values based on data found in an online music profile. Similar motivations for listening to music and the perception of individuality are more highly valued than similar taste in genres or artists, suggesting that social media applications could benefit from incorporating these motivations in predicting compatibility between users.
Keywords: Music; listening history; taste performance; impression formation; personality; social networking service
Paraplay: Exploring Playfulness Around Physical Console Gaming BIBAKFull-Text 682-699
  John Downs; Frank Vetere; Steve Howard
We present the concept of paraplay: playful activities that take place within the context of an interactive game or other play activity, but outside the activity itself. By critically examining work related to gaming and play goals and motivations we argue that the concept of playfulness should have a stronger role in our understanding of gaming sessions, and particularly social gaming sessions. In order to further understand the role of playfulness in social gaming we conducted an empirical field study of physical console gaming. Six families with a total of 32 participants were provided with an Xbox 360 console, Kinect sensor, and three casual physical video games to play together for a period of approximately two weeks. Participants were instructed to record their social gaming sessions. We conducted video analysis on these recordings as well as interviews with many of the participants. We found numerous types and examples of playfulness within the gaming session even from those who were not actively participating in the game. Drawing on the results of this study we present a taxonomy of paraplay and discuss the ways that playfulness can be exhibited in a social play session. We show that participants in a game situation act within a wider context of playfulness, according to a variety of significant roles ranging from active player through to audience member. We explore these roles and their attributes to provide a rich account of paraplay and its importance in understanding playful activities broadly.
Keywords: Games; context of gaming; metagames; physical console gaming; play; social gaming; videogames

Social Media

Exploring Twitter Interactions through Visualization Techniques: Users Impressions and New Possibilities BIBAKFull-Text 700-707
  Guilherme Coletto Rotta; Vinícius Silva de Lemos; Ana Luiza Moura da Cunha; Isabel Harb Manssour; Milene Selbach Silveira; André Fagundes Pase
Social networking websites have been taking a huge space on the Internet. With millions of members spread across the world, these services connect their users through "friendship" relations, and within a short period of time the information is disseminated in the network. Considering Twitter, we investigated how standard techniques of information visualization can improve the analysis of its users' behavior, i.e. the group of people who most closely relate, and the frequency and type of messages they send. This investigation was done through user's studies with a set of visualization techniques implemented in an interactive system prototype.
Keywords: visualization techniques; social networks; twitter users' behavior
Helping Me Helping You: Designing to Influence Health Behaviour through Social Connections BIBAKFull-Text 708-725
  Noreen Kamal; Sidney Fels; Joanna McGrenere; Kara Nance
Of key importance to avoiding significant health problems such as cardiac disease and stroke is eating nutritious foods and leading an active lifestyle. However, leading a healthy lifestyle remains elusive and obesity continues to increase in North America. We investigate how online social networks (OSN) can change health behaviour by blending theories from health behaviour and participation in OSNs. We designed, prototyped and evaluated an OSN, called VivoSpace, using factors derived from the blend of theoretical models with the intention to change health behaviour. Our results from field studies with 35 participants from two clinical and one non-clinical social network groups revealed that designing these factors into the online social network lead to positive health behaviour change, namely, improved diet for the clinical group. The use of theoretical models in the evaluation provided a means to understand how the design can be improved to see further health behaviour change.
Keywords: Health; behaviour change; social networks; diet; physical activity
Who Would Pay for Facebook? Self Esteem as a Predictor of User Behavior, Identity Construction and Valuation of Virtual Possessions BIBAKFull-Text 726-743
  Jiaqi Nie; S. Shyam Sundar
Self-presentation is a major preoccupation in Facebook. Users carefully construct their online profile and assiduously edit postings on their wall in order to strategically shape their online persona. This study examines some psychological antecedents and consequences of such actions. In particular, we propose that users' self-esteem affects their sense of agency and self-monitoring tendencies, with the former leading to a fuller description of their profile and the latter contributing to more frequent customization of their wall. In turn, these behaviors are hypothesized to contribute to users' personal and social identity respectively, en route to affecting their valuation of Facebook as a virtual possession. Structural equation modeling analysis of survey data (N=221) largely supports this model and reveals that the personal identity reflected in one's Facebook account is a major predictor of the degree to which one values it as a possession. We discuss the implications of "I" vs. "Me" in self-esteem with regard to virtual possessions in social networking environments.
Keywords: self-esteem; Facebook activity; online identity construction; virtual possession; survey; quantitative methods; structural equation modeling (SEM)

Software Development

Authoring Support for Post-WIMP Applications BIBAKFull-Text 744-761
  Katharina Gerken; Sven Frechenhäuser; Ralf Dörner; Johannes Luderschmidt
Employing post-WIMP interfaces, i.e. user interfaces going beyond the traditional WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menu, Pointer) paradigm, often implies a more complex authoring process for applications. We present a novel authoring method and a corresponding tool that aims to enable developers to cope with the added level of complexity. Regarding the development as a process conducted on different layers, we introduce a specific layer for post-WIMP in addition to layers addressing implementation or traditional GUI elements. We discuss the concept of cross layer authoring that supports different author groups in the collaborative creation of post-WIMP applications permitting them working independently on their respective layer and contributing their specific skills. The concept comprises interactive visualization techniques that highlight connections between code, GUI and post-WIMP functionality. It allows for graphical inspection while transitioning smoothly between layers. A cross layer authoring tool has been implemented and was well received by UI developers during evaluation.
Keywords: authoring processes; authoring tools; post-WIMP interfaces; cross layer authoring; collaborative user interface development; combined post-WIMP interactions; visual validation
Existing but Not Explicit -- The User Perspective in Scrum Projects in Practice BIBAKFull-Text 762-779
  Åsa Cajander; Marta Larusdottir; Jan Gulliksen
Agile software development processes are becoming more common, but this does not mean that the user perspective in the development is catered for. It has its challenges to integrate the users' aspects in Scrum projects in practice. In order to better understand these challenges we have interviewed IT professionals using Scrum focusing on four different areas: responsibility for the user perspective, emphasis on usability and user experience through documentation, usability activities with users and the organisational and contextual settings for emphasizing the user perspective. Results show that the responsibility for the user perspective is unclear in Scrum projects, and that often the user perspective is neither discussed nor described in the projects. However, the user perspective is often present through informal feedback used to understand the context of use and inform design for example. Finally the paper presents implications for working with the user perspective in Scrum projects.
Keywords: Usability; user experience; user perspective; responsibility; agile software development; Scrum
Fast Train to DT: A Practical Guide to Coach Design Thinking in Software Industry BIBAKFull-Text 780-787
  Muktha Hiremath; Visvapriya Sathiyam
In this paper, we explain best practices of bringing together diverse teams from business, technology and user experience in a large-scale software development setup and coaching them to use design thinking as a methodology to product definition and innovation, in less than 5 weeks. This paper can serve as a primer for those who are new to design thinking and coaching. It contributes to a better understanding of the importance of a coach in nurturing a design thinking mindset.
Keywords: Design Thinking; Innovation; Human Centered Design; Coaching

INT 2013 Volume 4

Supporting Physical Activity

The Development and Evaluation of an Interactive System for Age Related Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation in the Home BIBAKFull-Text 1-18
  Mobolaji Ayoade; Stephen Uzor; Lynne Baillie
This paper describes a series of user studies carried out to investigate the usability, significance, and acceptance of two visualization tools designed to improve the quality of, and adherence to home-based exercise programmes for musculoskeletal rehabilitation. The core functionality of these visualization tools enabled the users to observe the optimal way to perform their exercises via a mannequin, and receive feedback on their own movements through the use of body worn sensors. Before full deployment in the home, two user studies were carried out in the laboratory, and then two in the home with seniors who had recently undergone musculoskeletal rehabilitation using a standard care paper based booklet in the home. Our key findings suggest that by using the visualization tools the participants were able to overcome the major limitations of standard care; and that these tools were considered by the users to be useful in encouraging participation in home exercise.
Keywords: Home rehabilitation; inertial motion sensors; older adults; visualizations and musculoskeletal conditions
Walking in the Wild -- Using an Always-On Smartphone Application to Increase Physical Activity BIBAKFull-Text 19-36
  Tim Harries; Parisa Eslambolchilar; Chris Stride; Ruth Rettie; Simon Walton
This multidisciplinary paper reports on a large-scale field trial, designed and implemented by a group of social scientists, computer scientists and statisticians, of a new smartphone-based app for the promotion of walking in everyday life. The app, bActive, is designed for a more diverse range of users than the typical active-lifestyle app, since it requires neither additional equipment nor a great deal of commitment to exercise. As a result, it can raise awareness of walking and promote walking amongst those with only a casual or hesitant engagement with the topic. The 6-week randomised controlled trial with 22-40 year-old male participants (N=152) indicates that bActive prompted users to increase the amount of walking they did by encouraging them to value and increase walking that is incidental to normal everyday activities. Longitudinal data analysis showed that use of the app increased walking by an average of 64% but did not find any evidence to suggest that the inclusion of comparative social feedback improves the impact of such apps on male participants.
Keywords: walking; feedback; norms; app; active-lifestyle; social sharing

Supporting Shared Activities

F-Formations in Cooking Together: A Digital Ethnography Using YouTube BIBAKFull-Text 37-54
  Jeni Paay; Jesper Kjeldskov; Mikael B. Skov; Kenton O'Hara
Cooking together is an important part of our lives. We cook with others not only to create a meal, but also to enhance our relationships. But how does this role of communal cooking translate into modern society where families and friends are increasingly separated physically and connected primarily online? Motivated by this question we have embraced research into the design of future networked cooking spaces. The first step has been to understand how people use physical space while cooking together. Through a digital ethnography on YouTube videos, we have analyzed the spatial configurations of people, food and technology based on Kendon's notions of spacing and orientation. Our main contribution is the identification of known F-formations as well as new formations taking place during social cooking. Based on this we suggest that given the presence of formations in the kitchen different from those found during activities that are mainly conversational, simply installing traditional video-conferencing systems in people's kitchens will not suffice in facilitating the interactions taking place there. Instead, designers need to rethink the positioning and use of cameras and displays.
Keywords: Cooking; F-formation; proxemics; digital ethnography; YouTube
Practices Surrounding Event Photos BIBAKFull-Text 55-72
  Dhaval Vyas; Anton Nijholt; Gerrit van der Veer
Sharing photos through mobile devices has a great potential for creating shared experiences of social events between co-located as well as remote participants. In order to design novel event sharing tools, we need to develop in-depth understanding of current practices surrounding these so called 'event photos'- photos about and taken during different social events such as weddings picnics, and music concert visits among others. We studied people's practices related to event photos through in-depth interviews, guided home visits and naturalistic observations. Our results show four major themes describing practices surrounding event photos: 1) representing events, 2) significant moments, 3) situated activities through photos, and 4) collectivism and roles of participants.
Keywords: Photo-sharing; HCI; Design; Ethnography
Sharing Experiences over Video: Watching Video Programs together at a Distance BIBAKFull-Text 73-90
  Anna Macaranas; Gina Venolia; Kori Inkpen; John Tang
While video communication is becoming quite popular among remote friends and family, recent usage practices have been extending beyond just talking heads to remotely sharing an experience by doing an activity together. However, current video chat tools are aimed at sharing talking heads and need to be reconsidered to support remotely sharing activities. We explore a specific remote shared activity -- watching video programs -- through a three-phase study. We surveyed people's interest in watching video together, studied how people currently watch together in their homes, and compared different conditions for watching together in the lab. Our work explored people's current and desired practices, interactions, and technical implementations. We present our findings in themes that provide insights for designing systems that better support using video-mediated communication to share watching videos together over distance. We found that remotely watching video programs together while connected by video-mediated communication is engaging, fun, and fosters social bonds between the participants, and that these results are stronger with increased fidelity of the communication media.
Keywords: Shared experiences; proxy; telepresence; teleconferencing; video conferencing; video-mediated communication; home

Sustainability

Exploring Reactions to Widespread Energy Monitoring BIBAKFull-Text 91-108
  James A. Colley; Benjamin Bedwell; Andy Crabtree; Tom Rodden
This paper explores the measurement, apportionment and representation of widespread energy monitoring. We explicate the accountability to users of the data collected by this type of monitoring when it is presented to them as a single daylong picture. We developed a technology probe that combines energy measurement from the home, workplace and the journeys that connect these spaces. Through deployment of this probe with five users for one month we find that measurement need not be seamless for it to be accountable; that apportionment is key to making consumption for communal spaces accountable and that people can readily make useful inferences about their energy consumption from daylong pictures formed from widespread monitoring. Finally, we present four issues raised by the probe -- the nature of real world monitoring, the dynamic and social nature of apportionment, disclosure of energy data and alignment of incentives with consumption -- that need to be addressed in future research.
Keywords: Distributed energy monitoring; measurement; apportionment; representation; technology probe
HCI for City Farms: Design Challenges and Opportunities BIBAKFull-Text 109-116
  Peter Lyle; Jaz Hee-jeong Choi; Marcus Foth
Urban agriculture plays an important role in many facets of food security, health and sustainability. The city farm is one such manifestation of urban agriculture: it functions as a location centric social hub that supplies food, education, and opportunities for strengthening the diverse sociocultural fabrics of the local community. This paper presents the case of Northey Street City Farm in Brisbane, Australia as an opportunity space for design. The paper identifies four areas that present key challenges and opportunities for HCI design that support social sustainability of the city farm: A preference for face-to-face contact leads to inconsistencies in shared knowledge; a dependence on volunteers and very limited resources necessitates easily accessible interventions; other local urban agricultural activity needing greater visibility; and the vulnerability of the physical location to natural phenomenon, in this instance flooding, present a design challenge and a need to consider disaster management.
Keywords: Urban Agriculture; City Farm; Design; Sustainability; Urban Informatics
Towards Engaged Consumption: New Sources of Inspiration for Eco-feedback Design BIBAKFull-Text 117-124
  Stephen Snow; Margot Brereton
Eco-feedback interventions are capable of producing reductions in household energy consumption. Yet less is known about exactly how this reduction is achieved, how to maximise user engagement, or how to effectively translate engagement into energy saving. This paper discusses design opportunities for eco-feedback systems through observations of domestic energy use in both Western and rural developing world contexts. Drawing on case studies from these two contexts including 21 empirical interviews, we present an alternative framework for human-resource interaction, highlighting design opportunities for a transition towards more engaged and sustainable energy consumption among users.
Keywords: Eco-feedback; resource use; electricity; engaged consumption
Sustainability at Home: An Exploratory Study on Monitoring Needs and Energy Management Actions of Solar Power Producers BIBAKFull-Text 125-132
  Dounia Lahoual; Myriam Fréjus
This exploratory study focused on the energy consumption practices of customer-producers (prosumers) in relation to their needs in monitoring energy production. Our analysis of both production monitoring activities and domestic activities in real situations revealed the motivations of these producers and demonstrated that the actions of energy management were not dependent on the status of customer-producer. The actions of energy management arose from individual and collective constructions, as well as the appropriation of electrical appliances and attractive pricing offers. These results suggest that the issue of offering incentives for energy management would benefit from greater attention to questions of appropriation, pricing, and technical devices.
Keywords: Sustainability; energy management; photovoltaic production; domestic activity; prosumers; consumption/production feedback
WattsBurning on My Mailbox: A Tangible Art Inspired Eco-feedback Visualization for Sharing Energy Consumption BIBAKFull-Text 133-140
  Filipe Quintal; Mary Barreto; Nuno Nunes; Valentina Nisi; Lucas Pereira
This paper describes a novel art-inspired tangible eco-feedback system. The concept emerged from a workshop with researchers, designers and artists looking at innovative ways to provide more effective eco-feedback that engages users emotionally. The tangible aspect of the system is composed of a set of magnets that users can stick on their physical mailbox outside of their apartment building according to their average energy consumption. The magnets are a total of seven pieces, one for each day of the week. Each piece has a variation of three colors, from green (low consumption) to burning red (high consumption). The magnets are to be displayed in a sequence that represents a typical panorama of local nature. In this paper we report the design and the study we conducted to gauge preliminary results on the system usage and potential. Interviews with participants revealed that none of them felt uncomfortable having their consumption displayed outside. When children were involved in the process they "took control" of the task and pressured their families to perform better.
Keywords: Sustainability; Aesthetics; Art driven Eco-feedback; User Interfaces; Prototyping

Tabletop Computing

Dynamic Spatial Positioning: Physical Collaboration around Interactive Table by Children in India BIBAKFull-Text 141-158
  Izdihar Jamil; Kenton O'Hara; Mark Perry; Abhijit Karnik; Mark T. Marshall; Swathi Jha; Sanjay Gupta; Sriram Subramanian
We present a study of how children demonstrate physicality during collaboration around interactive tables at school. Our results show that children tend to dynamically position themselves around the tabletop area to effect particular social outcomes. These movements around the tabletop allow them to enact coordination strategies in their social interactions with each other to manage their learning and task-based activities. Our analysis indicates the importance of understanding physical strategies and behaviours when designing and deploying interactive tables in classrooms. We discuss how the design of tabletops in school can embrace the extensibility of this technology, providing access for children to shape their own collaboration strategies during learning.
Keywords: Interaction techniques; tabletop; spatial formation; dynamic spatial position; collaborative learning; children and India
Dynamic Tangible User Interface Palettes BIBAKFull-Text 159-176
  Martin Spindler; Victor Cheung; Raimund Dachselt
Graphics editors often suffer from a large number of tool palettes that compete with valuable document space. To address this problem and to bring back physical affordances similar to a painter's palette, we propose to augment a digital tabletop with spatially tracked handheld displays. These displays are dynamically updated depending on their spatial location. We introduce the concept of spatial Work Zones that take up distinct 3D regions above the table surface and serve as physical containers for digital content that is organized as stacks of horizontal layers. Spatial Work Zones are represented either by physical objects or on-screen on the tabletop. Associated layers can be explored fluently by entering a spatial Work Zone with a handheld display. This provides quick access and seamless changes between tools and parts of the document that are instantly functional, i.e., ready to be used by a digital pen. We discuss several use cases illustrating our techniques and setting them into context with previous systems. Early user feedback indicates that combining dynamic GUI functionality with the physicality of spatially tracked handheld displays is promising and can be generalized beyond graphics editing.
Keywords: Tangible user interface palettes; spatial Work Zones; tabletop displays; dynamic pen heads; spatial management
TIDE: Lightweight Device Composition for Enhancing Tabletop Environments with Smartphone Applications BIBAKFull-Text 177-194
  Léo Sicard; Aurélien Tabard; Juan David Hincapié-Ramos; Jakob E. Bardram
Interactive surfaces like tabletop computers provide large touch-enabled displays, support novel forms of interaction and collaboration, and extend computation to new environments. However, being a novel platform, the existing application pool is limited and applications existing for other platforms have to be re-developed. At the same time, smartphones are pervasive computers that users carry around and with a large pool of applications. This paper presents TIDE, a lightweight device composition middleware to bring existing smartphone applications onto the tabletop. Through TIDE, applications running on the smartphone are displayed on the tabletop computer, and users can interact with them through the tabletop's interactive surface. TIDE contributes to the areas of device composition and tabletops by providing an OS-level middleware that is transparent to the smartphone applications, maintaining privacy by limiting content transfer between devices, and enhancing the usefulness of tabletops with already existing smartphone applications and software developers. We present the design and implementation of TIDE, the study of different interaction techniques to manipulate TIDE's interactive content, and an analysis of different research directions. Initial user feedback shows that TIDE is easy to use, learnable, and convenient for collaborative activities and private environments.
Keywords: Distributed User Interfaces; Multiple Display Environments; Tabletops; Smartphones; Device Composition

Text Comprehensibility

Evaluating the Effect of Phrase Set in Hindi Text Entry BIBAKFull-Text 195-202
  Mohit Jain; Khushboo Tekchandani; Khai N. Truong
Recently, many different Indic text entry mechanisms have been proposed and evaluated. Whereas the use of a common phrase set across text-entry research may help to produce generalizable results across studies, previous Indic Text entry evaluations have used a variety of different text entry phrases. In this paper, we develop and evaluate three different types of Hindi phrase sets that have been previously used in the literature -- Hindi films, a grade VII textbook and a translated version of MacKenzie and Soukoreff's phrases -- to study effects of their characteristics on performance. No statistical difference was found in novice user performance due to the different phrase sets. However, based on participant feedback, we report that consideration should be taken with regards to phrase length, frequency, understandability, and memorability in the design and selection of text-entry phrases.
Keywords: Hindi; Text Input; Phrase Set
Frequent Words Improve Readability and Short Words Improve Understandability for People with Dyslexia BIBAKFull-Text 203-219
  Luz Rello; Ricardo Baeza-Yates; Laura Dempere-Marco; Horacio Saggion
Around 10% of the population has dyslexia, a reading disability that negatively affects a person's ability to read and comprehend texts. Previous work has studied how to optimize the text layout, but adapting the text content has not received that much attention. In this paper, we present an eye-tracking study that investigates if people with dyslexia would benefit from content simplification. In an experiment with 46 people, 23 with dyslexia and 23 as a control group, we compare texts where words were substituted by shorter/longer and more/less frequent synonyms. Using more frequent words caused the participants with dyslexia to read significantly faster, while the use of shorter words caused them to understand the text better. Amongst the control group, no significant effects were found. These results provide evidence that people with dyslexia may benefit from interactive tools that perform lexical simplification.
Keywords: Textual accessibility; dyslexia; eye-tracking; lexical simplification; readability; understandability; word frequency; word length
TicQR: Flexible, Lightweight Linking of Paper and Digital Content Using Mobile Phones BIBAKFull-Text 220-228
  Jennifer Pearson; Simon Robinson; George Buchanan; Matt Jones
In this paper we introduce TicQR -- a photo-based checkbox-enabled interface which bridges the physical and digital document domains, allowing automatic download or processing of useful data from paper documents. There is a long demonstrated need for people to be able to connect between printed material and digital information and services. By using a combination of image recognition and QR codes we are able to detect user marks on paper documents via a single photograph taken with a standard smart phone. This information can then be used to access the equivalent digital content, save contacts or URLs, or even order goods directly from local retailers.
Keywords: Paper documents; tick boxes; QR Codes

Tracking Eyes and Head

One Half or 50%? An Eye-Tracking Study of Number Representation Readability BIBAKFull-Text 229-245
  Luz Rello; Susana Bautista; Ricardo Baeza-Yates; Pablo Gervás; Raquel Hervás; Horacio Saggion
Are numbers expressed as digits easier to read and understand than written with letters? What about fractions and percentages? Exact or rounded values? We present an eye-tracking study that attempts to answer these questions for Spanish, using fixation and reading time to measure readability as well as comprehension questions to score understandability. We find that digits are faster to read but do not help comprehension. Fractions help understandability while percentages help readability. No significant results were found concerning the influence of rounding. Our experiments were performed by 72 persons, half of them with dyslexia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that addresses the cognitive load of number representation in any language, even more for people with dyslexia.
Keywords: textual accessibility; dyslexia; user testing; eye-tracking; readability; comprehension; number representation
Studying a Head Tracking Technique for First-Person-Shooter Games in a Home Setting BIBAKFull-Text 246-263
  Torben Sko; Henry Gardner; Michael Martin
This paper examines webcam-enabled head tracking for games in a home setting. A new head interaction technique was developed based upon prior laboratory-based research, with a focus on making it robust to the variable conditions of a home setting. Our technique was integrated into a test-bed game and 550 hours of gameplay data was collected from 2500 users, many of whom also provided formal feedback. The head tracking performed creditably and players reported that the experience was more immersive. Head tracking failed to enhance competitive playing performance, perhaps owing to familiarization effects. Nevertheless, the data revealed evidence of learning amongst users, suggesting that performance would improve with continued use. Key lessons that emerged in the home setting in contrast to the earlier laboratory study were a demonstrated need for clear guidance and feedback during system set-up, and greater caution regarding its deployment, having discovered a small population of users who became nauseous.
Keywords: head tracking; gestural interaction; online studies; games
Tracking Eyes in Service Prototyping BIBAKFull-Text 264-271
  Monchu Chen; Veraneka Lim
A mobile eye tracker was used to collect viewing behavior in a mixed reality immersive Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) environment to evaluate a design concept of a tourist information office. The synthetic office consists of physical artifacts and virtual contents projected onto three walls of a room-sized cube. A Think Aloud study was conducted with both a goal-oriented condition and a free-browsing condition while subjects wearing the eye-tracker. Multiple Augmented Reality markers were used to reconstruct gaze positions in the coordinate system of the real environment. Gaze points were later aggregated to create heat maps, which were used as textures for a computer 3D model replication of the synthetic tourist office. The interactive visualization of the 3D heat map showcases different viewing patterns for different conditions. The insights suggest the combination of eye-tracking and mixed reality environment to be a valuable tool for prototyping service design of similar kinds.
Keywords: Eye-Tracking; Service Design; Experience Prototyping; Heat Map

Usability Evaluation and Technology Acceptance

Did We Miss Something? Correspondence Analysis of Usability Data BIBAKFull-Text 272-279
  Stanislaw Zabramski; Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
We have applied a multivariate exploratory technique called Correspondence Analysis (CA) to create and analyze a model of the dataset of experiment results. The dataset originates from a comparative usability study of tracing with the use of mouse, pen, and touch input and contains both categorical and continuous data -- i.e. results of questionnaires and task measurements. CA allowed to visually and numerically assess the main variables in the dataset and how they interact with each other. In our study, pen input had the best measured performance and was preferred by the users. Touch input was the least accurate of all input methods tested but it was preferred by users over mouse especially in the conditions lacking of visual feedback of drawing. CA helped to detect that secondary effect even though it cannot be explained by the performance results alone. The importance of the influence of user's previous experience is also noted. We conclude that CA helped to identify all major phenomena known from previous studies but also was sensitive to minor and secondary effects, what makes it a well suited method to quickly evaluate usability data.
Keywords: shape; freehand; tracing; drawing; mouse; pen; stylus; touch; evaluation; comparison; error; measurement; subjective
Social Overlays: Collectively Making Websites More Usable BIBAKFull-Text 280-297
  Tao Dong; Mark S. Ackerman; Mark W. Newman; Gaurav Paruthi
Many small organizations lack the expertise and resources to conduct usability evaluations of their websites. Social Overlays, presented here, is a new system that allows a community of users to collectively improve their website.
   Social Overlays enables end-users to identify and repair common user interface problems through creating "overlays" on web pages as part of their regular use, thereby improving usability while reducing the need for professional services. In short, Social Overlays harnesses the diversity of experience and ideas within a community to "crowd source" usability.
   To evaluate Social Overlays, we examined whether a group of community members without any usability training could use Social Overlays to identify and repair UI problems on their medium-sized community's website. We found that they could. Community users were able to uncover a large number of UI problems and formulate reasonable solutions to the problems they identified. In addition, we compared Social Overlays to two standard ways of assessing website usability: expert inspection and usability testing. We found that Social Overlays users identified more problems, and their reported problems differed in useful ways from those found by the experts and the usability testing team.
Keywords: Usability; community; peer production; social computing
Usability Evaluation in a Digitally Emerging Country: A Survey Study BIBAKFull-Text 298-305
  Fulvio Lizano; Maria Marta Sandoval; Anders Bruun; Jan Stage
Several emerging countries experience increasing software development activities. With the purpose of provide useful feedback on possible courses of action for increasing application of usability evaluation in such countries, this paper explores the status of usability evaluation in a digitally emerging country. Our aim is to identifying common characteristics or behavioral patterns that could be compared with digitally advanced countries. We used an online survey answered by 26 software development organizations, which gave a snapshot of the application of usability evaluation in these organizations. We found many similarities with advanced countries, several completely new obstacles more connected with software development matters and a relatively positive improvement in the lack of "usability culture". These findings suggest good conditions to improve conduction of usability evaluations in digitally emerging countries.
Keywords: Usability evaluation; advantages; obstacles; digitally emerging countries
Understanding Diversity -- The Impact of Personality on Technology Acceptance BIBAKFull-Text 306-313
  Kay Behrenbruch; Matthias Söllner; Jan Marco Leimeister; Ludger Schmidt
Technology is becoming increasingly automated, aiming to ease the life of its users. However, besides the advantages of this trend, users are also faced with increasing risks, e.g., regarding their privacy. Examples are seamless online payments that come with the requirement to provide sensitive, e.g., credit card information, or social networks trying to elicit private information for its users. Research on technology acceptance identified two important factors for the individual decision to accept such kinds of risk: trust and personality traits. In this paper we present a model that integrates research findings for personality traits and for trust in the context of technology acceptance. We show that specific personality traits have a distinct direct or moderating effect. We, e.g., found that two personality traits moderate the relationship between perceived ease of use and intention to use. This moderation could explain the inconsistent findings on this relationship in prior research.
Keywords: Technology acceptance; personality traits; trust

User Preferences and Behaviour

A Vocabulary to Access Users' Cultural Perspectives in Human-Computer Interaction BIBAKFull-Text 314-322
  Catia Maria Dias Ferreira; Luciana Cardoso de Castro Salgado; Clarisse Sieckenius de Souza
This paper presents research carried out to explore the implications of giving users a specific vocabulary to express their perceptions and opinions about opportunities to make contact with cultural diversity in human-computer interaction. This two-step study is part of a broader research project that aims at investigating users' perceptions and reactions when interacting with cross-cultural systems. Our current findings point at the expressive power of the proposed vocabulary and the promising outcomes of using it in the interaction design cycle of cross-cultural systems.
Keywords: Cross-cultural evaluation; Culture; Cultural Viewpoint Metaphors
Characteristics of Elderly User Behavior on Mobile Multi-touch Devices BIBAKFull-Text 323-341
  Susumu Harada; Daisuke Sato; Hironobu Takagi; Chieko Asakawa
Smartphones and tablet devices have been rapidly proliferating, and multi-touch interaction, powerful processors and rich array of sensors make these devices an attractive service platform for older users. While there is an increasing number of work investigating the issues that elderly users experience through their interaction with mobile devices, most have focused either on evaluation of low-level interaction characteristics or on qualitative survey. Therefore, we conducted a user study with 21 elderly participants to analyze the needs and issues faced by this user group under naturalistic usage scenarios. Specifically, we interviewed each participant about their experiences, had them perform various practical tasks using our custom testing application, and analyzed the operation logs using our custom visualizations. Based on our results, we summarize the types of issues observed, present design considerations for the applications studied, and future research directions.
Keywords: Mobile; Multi-touch; Smartphones; Tablet; Aging; Elderly
From Persona to Techsona BIBAKFull-Text 342-349
  Susanne Bødker; Clemens Nylandsted Klokmose
In this paper we introduce the notion of techsona, as a possible counterpart design instrument to personas. We use a case study to illustrate a design process where techsonas help pinpoint technological ideas and alternatives and analyze these systematically. While a persona captures "imagine a user...", a scenario "imagine a situation..." the techsona gives the missing piece of "imagine a technology..." We show how a recently developed activity theoretical model can serve both as a framing for techsonas and as an analytical interface between personas and techsonas. The paper discusses the potentials and problems of the techsona and concludes that the techsona truly helps with a missing piece in persona and scenario-based design.
Keywords: Persona; Techsona; Activity Theory
Going Global with Personas BIBAKFull-Text 350-357
  Lene Nielsen; Kira Storgaard Nielsen; Jan Stage; Jane Billestrup
The persona method is widely used and commonly described both in scientific literature and in case-based blogs. Most often the descriptions point to a local context with local user groups and it is difficult to find writings on use of the method in an international context and in globally distributed teams. This paper reports from a qualitative study conducted in 2012/13 within 13 Danish companies and points to how design teams apply several different strategies when end-users are distributed worldwide. Moreover it shows how the designers value the strength of the method to provide common grounds for the team, especially for team distributed across countries.
Keywords: personas; scenarios; cross culture; international; design
On Users' Preference on Localized vs. Latin-Based CAPTCHA Challenges BIBAKFull-Text 358-365
  Christos Fidas; Artemios G. Voyiatzis
A Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) is a widely used security mechanism for constructing a high-confidence proof that the entity interacting with a remote service is actually a human being. Stimulated by the facts that: a) nowadays CAPTCHA challenges are solely based on the Latin alphabet, b) currently Internet population consists in its majority of non-native-English speakers and c) numerous web sites consist of exclusively localized content, we conducted an empirical study aiming to examine the effect of various factors on users' preference in solving localized vs. Latin-based text CAPTCHA challenges. The study embraced a between-subject design using a self-developed localized CAPTCHA mechanism, capable of producing text challenges based on the participants' native alphabet. A total of 384 non-native English speakers participated in the frame of the reported study which followed an ecological valid experimental design. Analysis of interaction results provides interesting insights which can be taken into consideration for designing more usable CAPTCHA mechanisms.
Keywords: CAPTCHA; Usability; Security; Native Language (non-Latin) systems; localized CAPTCHA

User Requirements Capture and Analysis

Designing for the Functionality South African Internet Banking Websites Should Provide to Address the Needs of Generation-Y Users BIBAKFull-Text 366-383
  Sebabatso Mtimkulu; Judy van Biljon; Tobias van Dyk
Despite the widespread adoption of Internet banking there are no validated guidelines on the functionality the younger, techno-savvy Generation-Y customer segment (18-35 year age bracket) expect from Internet banking websites. This research investigated the functionality the Generation-Y customer segment require from South-African Internet banking websites. The User Centred Design (UCD) philosophy with a mixed method research design was utilised. Generation-Y technological characteristics and preferences abstracted from the literature were aligned with functionality trends of future Internet banking websites to formulate an initial list of Generation-Y aligned Internet banking functionality guidelines. These were evaluated during interviews with representative Generation-Y customers and also used in the heuristic evaluation of the Internet banking platforms of five South African banks. The findings were integrated towards synthesizing functionality guidelines. A visual representation of these functionality guidelines was constructed as a wireframe prototype for evaluation by Generation-Y users. The main contribution of the study is the validated list of Internet banking functionality guidelines for Generation-Y banking customers.
Keywords: Functionality; Internet banking; Generation-Y; User Experience
"Nobody Other Than Me Knows What I Want": Customizing a Sports Watch BIBAKFull-Text 384-402
  Piia Nurkka
In order for companies to effectively use customization as a design strategy, there should be understanding on what users would like to customize and why. This study explores the use of customization features of sports watch in order to assess the extent of customization, and to identify reasons for customization in this context. Survey data from 100 users of a sports watch were analyzed to understand how they use the different customization features: general preferences, functionality and appearance. The findings show that although the users vary in the use of customization, they state similar reasons for customization: control, ease-of-use, increased effectiveness, and better fit to personal preferences. The motivation to customize in this context is for the most part related to autonomy: to the sense of control the user has by having the tool to adapt the product according to own preferences, wants and needs.
Keywords: customization; sports watch; satisfaction; user experience
Online Requirements and Portal Design for Female University Science and Technology Students in Kenya BIBAKFull-Text 403-410
  Stephen Kimani; Eunice Njeri; John Njue
In science and technology (S&T) career progression, women drop out at virtually every step until extremely few are found in positions of influence and recognition. Although this is a global problem, it is even more critical in Africa. The number of female university S&T students in Africa has remained low for the past about three decades. There is thus a dire need to encourage/support such students especially in African countries, including Kenya. Online portals have the potential to motivate/support Kenyan female university S&T students. It is however critical to understand the characteristics and requirements of these students. While there exists literature on the differences between online female users and male users, women in S&T in African countries (including Kenya) face rather unique challenges. This paper reports a study that indicates the characteristics and online requirements of Kenyan female university S&T students, and then describes a corresponding online portal design.
Keywords: Online user requirements; user interface design; online portals; science and technology; female students

UX in Work/Educational Contexts

Finger on the Pulse: The Value of the Activity Stream in the Enterprise BIBAKFull-Text 411-428
  Ido Guy; Tal Steier; Maya Barnea; Inbal Ronen; Tal Daniel
The activity stream, which syndicates user activities across social media, has been gaining popularity on the web. With social media infiltrating the enterprise and higher portions of the workforce becoming accustomed to consuming information through activity streams, it also has the potential to play a key role in shaping the workplace. This work provides a first comprehensive study of an enterprise activity stream. We analyze different characteristics of the stream, its usage through a faceted search-based application, and the way users search it compared to traditional enterprise search. We also discuss various use cases of the stream, both from an individual employee's perspective and from an organizational perspective, exposing the potential value and role of the activity stream in the enterprise of the future.
Keywords: Activity streams; collaboration; cscw; enterprise; enterprise search; real-time search; social analytics; social business; social media; social search; social software; social streams; web 2.0
Relationship-Based Business Process Crowdsourcing? BIBAKFull-Text 429-446
  Jacki O'Neill; David Martin
New technologies do not always benefit the worker, especially when harnessed by organisations seeking ever cheaper labour. Crowdsourcing is a technology-enabled way of working which offers the potential to bring work to far flung communities. However, it is something of a double-edged sword and there are many socio-technical and ethical challenges. In the micro-task market crowdsourcing platforms tend to be designed largely for the advantage of the organisation requesting work, rather than the worker. This paper contributes to research calling to redress this balance [2, 6]. It describes the findings of an ethnographic study of an outsourced business process -- healthcare form digitization -- as performed by workers in-office (India) and @Home (USA). It reveals the complexities of the relationships between worker and organisation and argues that designing some aspects of these relationships into crowdsourcing platforms and applications is as beneficial for the organisation as it is for the worker.
Keywords: Crowdsourcing; ethnography; business process outsourcing; relationship-based crowdsourcing
User Experience and Learning Experience in Online HCI Courses BIBAKFull-Text 447-454
  Saila Ovaska
Several Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become available also in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), in addition to other fields of study. How do they operate, and what do they teach? We compare two HCI MOOCs with a locally composed small scale online HCI course that was built and launched in 2012, and discuss issues in pedagogy, user experience and learner experience in online HCI education.
Keywords: HCI Education; online education; MOOC; User Experience

Voice/Sound-Based Computing

Audvert: Using Spatial Audio to Gain a Sense of Place BIBAKFull-Text 455-462
  Liam Betsworth; Nitendra Rajput; Saurabh Srivastava; Matt Jones
We introduce Audvert -- a system that facilitates serendipitous discovery and navigation through spatial audio; used to navigate and discover points of interest in large, unfamiliar indoor environments. Our main aim was to create a lightweight spatial audio display that can convey a sense of a place without complex point and select interactions. We conducted a preliminary study comparing two audio types to see which best suited sound localization and a study of Audvert used in a real world scenario. Our findings suggest that long continuous audio performs better than short intermittent audio for sound localisation. We also discover a change in behaviour when using the system, with a large percentage of users wanting to visit newly discovered shops after using the system. We discuss the findings and draw research conclusions.
Keywords: Non-visual Navigation; Wayfinding; Auditory Display
Rhythms of the Domestic Soundscape: Ethnomethodological Soundwalks for Phatic Technology Design BIBAKFull-Text 463-470
  Hanif Baharin; Sean Rintel; Stephen Viller
The importance of the domestic soundscape as a context for technological interventions has received little attention in HCI research. In this paper, we discuss how an ethnomethodological soundwalk method facilitated design principles for a phatic technology probe for seniors living alone. Taking soundscape concepts as a starting point, we suggest that the soundwalk works much like a breaching experiment, changing the participant's role in engaging with their soundscape from reactive automatic agent to proactive reflective agent. This enables participants to reveal their own systematic orderliness when accounting for everyday sounds. We find that sounds are accounted for in terms of people placed in narratives. As such, we argue that phatic technologies use new sounds and rhythms to augment the domestic soundscape to take advantage of people's abilities to create social narratives from limited cues.
Keywords: Domestic soundscape; soundscape study; ethnomethodology; breaching experiment
"Roger that!" -- The Value of Adding Social Feedback in Audio-Mediated Communications BIBAKFull-Text 471-488
  Rahul Rajan; Joey Hsiao; Deven Lahoti; Ted Selker
Losing track of who is in a conversation, and what is being said, is always a problem especially on audio-only conference calls. This paper investigates how domain-independent social feedback can support such interactions, and improve communication, through the use of audio cues. In particular, we show how an agent can improve people's ability to accurately identify and distinguish between speakers, reassure users about the presence of other collaborators on the line, and announce events like entry & exit with minimum impact on users cognitive ability.
Keywords: Audio-mediated; Conference calls; Considerate; Social feedback
Supporting Voice Content Sharing among Underprivileged People in Urban India BIBAKFull-Text 489-506
  Christian Remy; Sheetal K. Agarwal; Arun Kumar; Saurabh Srivastava
Recent advances in voice-based telecom information systems enable underprivileged and low-literacy users to access and offer online services without expensive devices or specialized technical knowledge. We propose SRLs (speech resource locators), a mechanism that facilitates the creation, access, and sharing of online voice content. To test the interaction with SRLs, we developed a proof-of-concept application that allows for simple sharing of voice content. We subsequently created a smartphone application for the same service that provided a graphical user interface to the online voice application. Our findings show that literate underprivileged people were able to share online voice content on feature phones and smart phones whereas in low-literacy people were unable to access shared content over feature phones but able to do so on smart phones. We conclude by highlighting opportunities and challenges for the design of voice-based applications that support information sharing.
Keywords: HCI4D; Information Sharing; ICTD; User-Centered Design; Interactive Voice Systems; Smartphones; India

Interactive Posters

Adding Vibrotactile Feedback to Large Interactive Surfaces BIBAKFull-Text 507-514
  Julian Seifert; Markus Packeiser; Enrico Rukzio
Interactive surfaces and multi-touch tables are increasingly available outside academic contexts, and are entering, for instance, work or educational contexts. A large variety of applications exists for a multitude of tasks. For interacting with these applications, existing interaction concepts are often directly mapped to the multi-touch surface, which is often limited by physical constraints. For instance, to enter text on an interactive surface, most often a virtual keyboard is used. However, users cannot feel when, for instance, they have accidentally pressed two keys at the same time. Research on mobile devices has identified vibrotactile feedback as an effective means to support users when interacting with touch screens. In this work, we present results of an experiment in which we investigated whether typical tasks (e.g., typing text, drag-and-drop of items) on interactive multi-touch surfaces can be supported by providing vibrotactile feedback directly on the surface. We compared direct feedback with distal feedback provided on the user's body, as well as their combination. Surprisingly, our results show that all compared variants of vibrotactile feedback had no significant positive effect on the task performance. Yet participants rated tactile feedback significantly higher regarding interaction support and subjective speed compared to no provided feedback.
Keywords: Interactive surfaces; vibrotactile feedback; touch-based interaction; multi touch
Analysis and Visualization of Interactions with Mobile Web Applications BIBAKFull-Text 515-522
  Paolo Burzacca; Fabio Paternò
We present a novel solution for intelligent analysis and visualization of user interactions with Web applications through mobile devices in order to help identify usability issues. The proposed tool is also able to support comparison of optimal use with actual user interactions. We also report on an example application of our tool to the evaluation of a real mobile Web site.
Keywords: Tools for Remote Evaluation; Web Applications; Mobile HCI
Beats Down: Using Heart Rate for Game Interaction in Mobile Settings BIBAKFull-Text 523-530
  Claudia Stockhausen; Justine Smyzek; Detlef Krömker
Mobile devices allow integration of different sensors, offering new possibilities for interaction. Integrating heart rate into a mobile game offers several possibilities for enhancing gameplay. In our work we implemented a game prototype on a mobile device with different game modes. Increasing and decreasing heart rate is used for game interaction. The mobile scenario allows involving the environment to influence the heart rate. We conducted a first user experience study for evaluation of the integrated interaction methods in mobile scenarios and conclude with our future work.
Keywords: Physiological Interaction; Mobile Games; Game Interaction
Cultural Congruence and Rating Scale Biases in Homepages BIBAKFull-Text 531-538
  Gitte Lindgaard; Cathy Dudek; Gerry Chan
We reanalyzed data from three studies to explore first-impression cultural congruency effects and potential rating scale biases among Canadian and Taiwanese/Chinese participants judging visual appeal of homepages. The objective was to identify variables likely to affect such judgments for future studies in a new research program. Some support was found for both issues and pointers for refinements of future studies were identified.
Keywords: visual appeal; cultural congruence; first impression
Diverse Ecologies -- Interdisciplinary Development for Cultural Education BIBAKFull-Text 539-546
  Michael Heidt; Kalja Kanellopoulos; Linda Pfeiffer; Paul Rosenthal
We present a case study outlining development efforts towards an interface ecology to be deployed in museums. We argue that the problem at hand calls for a highly interdisciplinary design process. Furthermore, system design in the domain of cultural education poses a unique set of challenges. At the same time few existing design methodologies are suitable for addressing this special environment of system design. We outline a set of tentative methodological elements aimed at informing adequate interdisciplinary development processes. The discussion is embedded into a critique of existing methodologies while being orientated towards inviting critique itself. The guiding insight steering our methodological developments is that fundamental differences between project participants and other stakeholders should be construed as assets. Rather than trying to integrate them or covering them up, the dynamic friction between differing viewpoints can be rendered productive by means of poietic practices.
Keywords: interdisciplinarity; museum informatics; design for cultural experience
Evaluation of PhonAge: An Adapted Smartphone Interface for Elderly People BIBAKFull-Text 547-554
  Farah Arab; Yasir Malik; Bessam Abdulrazak
Smartphones can play a significant role in maintaining decent Quality of Life for elderly people. Key factor to Smartphones usage success among elderly people depends on the accessibility of phone interface. In this paper, we present preliminary evaluation results of our PhonAge, an accessible and adaptable interface for Smartphones that is customized to the elderly profile. The results of the evaluation show adequacy of the interface to elderly needs. The evaluation feedbacks also helped in improving PhonAge interface design.
Keywords: Smartphone; Mobile Phone Interface; Accessibility; Evaluation; Aging
Experimentally Manipulating Positive User Experience Based on the Fulfilment of User Needs BIBAKFull-Text 555-562
  Andreas Sonnleitner; Marvin Pawlowski; Timm Kässer; Matthias Peissner
In this work, we prepared three variations of a prototype to experimentally manipulate parameters helping to improve User Experience (UX) of technological products. Based on a model considering the fulfilment of user needs (Fig. 1), two variations of a neutrally designed tool were developed to address two selected needs (popularity, competition) by slightly changing functionalities or design elements. The manipulation of UX is validated with real-time and retrospective subjective evaluation of UX, and objective data of user behaviour. Participants rated significantly higher positive UX and showed more active behaviour for designs of the prototype addressing the user needs competition and popularity compared to the neutral design. These findings show the importance of considering elements of UX in the early development process of technological products.
Keywords: User Experience; UX; User Needs; User-Driven Innovation
Floffy: Designing an Outdoor Robot for Children BIBAKFull-Text 563-570
  Omar Mubin; Luke Vink; Pieter Oosterwijk; Abdullah Al Mahmud; Suleman Shahid
In our research we utilized the domain of entertainment robotics to educate children on the principles of environmental awareness by playful means outdoors. Our research revolved around the iterative design of Floffy: the environmental robot, which was essentially a playful toy robot that would respond positively to interaction that was beneficial for the environment and the child's own well being and negatively to interaction or behaviour that was detrimental to the surroundings. We conducted an explorative, informal evaluation of Floffy with two small groups of children and they rated their experience with it positively. Our results show that there is potential in utilizing entertainment robots to educate children on serious and critical issues such as saving our environment and being sustainable.
Keywords: Child-robot interaction; Arduino; Environment
Human-Spreadsheet Interaction BIBAKFull-Text 571-578
  Andrea Kohlhase
Spreadsheets have become very popular tools for analyzing and visualizing data from business and science. To better understand human-spreadsheet interaction, we explore readers' information models, but in contrast to most studies we focus on spreadsheet readers rather than spreadsheet authors. We conducted a study using the repertory grid technique and analyzed the result with the help of a Generalized Procrustes Analysis yielding a deeper understanding of human's information model of spreadsheets. Based on this we envision new human-spreadsheet interactions to increase the readibility and thus, usability of spreadsheets.
Keywords: Spreadsheets; repertory grid; information model of spreadsheets; human-spreadsheet interaction; information objects
Improving Students Learning Programming Skills with ProGames -- Programming through Games System BIBAKFull-Text 579-586
  Raquel Hijón-Neira; Ángel Velázquez-Iturbide; Celeste Pizarro-Romero; Luís Carriço
We present a system for learning programming skills, ProGames, through a leveled set of visually-attractive and interactive programming exercises in Greenfoot, categorized by students likes to offer them solutions to problems they really enjoy or like most. The system has been evaluated during the course 2012-13 in 3 Computer Science Degrees and our results show very positive acceptance by the students.
Keywords: Programming teaching; Interactions Analysis; e-Learning; Moodle; Greenfoot; Visualization
Long-Term Experiences with an Iterative Design of a QR-Code-Based Payment System for Beverages BIBAKFull-Text 587-594
  Max-Emanuel Maurer; Alexander De Luca; Alina Hang; Doris Hausen; Fabian Hennecke; Sebastian Loehmann; Henri Palleis; Hendrik Richter; Simon Stusak; Aurélien Tabard; Sarah Tausch; Emanuel von Zezschwitz; Franziska Schwamb; Heinrich Hussmann; Andreas Butz
We report on the design and long-term use of a digital tracking system for the consumption and payment tracing of beverages, called "Barkeeper". It is based on tags wearing QR-codes and its design was not primarily guided by efficiency, but rather everyday use during the last three years in our lab. In this trusted environment, we collected extensive usage data, making this a serious long-term field deployment of UbiComp technology. We present the system, its iterative design evolution, the users' views on it and insights gained by daily usage. We argue that QR-code interaction, when implemented in a very pragmatic way, can be not only a cheap but also a very powerful interaction technique. Based on our experience we propose a set of general rules, which make QR-code-based interaction practical and often superior to other interaction techniques.
Keywords: visual markers; QR-codes; ubicomp; payment system
Moment Machine: Opportunities and Challenges of Posting Situated Snapshots onto Networked Public Displays BIBAKFull-Text 595-602
  Nemanja Memarovic; Ava Fatah gen Schieck; Efstathia Kostopoulou; Moritz Behrens; Martin Traunmueller
Large public displays are becoming a ubiquitous resource in the urban environment. Interconnected over the Internet these hitherto isolated "ad displays" could become a novel and powerful communication medium -- networked public displays. One example for such a novel type of communication is their use as community tools. Scattered across the urban landscape and equipped with additional sensors, such as cameras, they provide the opportunity for local community members to take images of themselves and leave their "mark" in the setting, e.g., on their way to school, work, or meeting with friends. In order to understand the potential of posting situated snapshots on networked public displays in the context of place-based communities we designed and developed the Moment Machine -- a networked public display application that allows one-click photo capture. In this paper we report on identified opportunities and challenges emerging from 6 user trials in the wild at 2 locations.
Keywords: networked public displays; urban screens; situated snapshots; community interaction; public space; urban computing; urban informatics
Overview Scrollbar: A Scrollbar Showing an Entire Document as an Overview BIBAKFull-Text 603-610
  Ko Mizoguchi; Daisuke Sakamoto; Takeo Igarashi
A scrollbar is the most basic function of a graphical user interface. It is usually displayed on one side of an application window when a displayed document is larger than the window. However, the scrollbar is mostly presented as a simple bar without much information, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. In this paper, we propose an overview scrollbar that displays an overview of the entire document on it and implemented four types of overview scrollbars that use different compression methods to render the overviews. We conducted a user study to investigate how people use these scrollbars and measured the performance of them. Our results suggest that overview scrollbars are more usable than is a traditional scrollbar when people search targets that are recognizable in overview.
Keywords: user interface; scrollbar; document navigation
Participatory Design for Cultural Representation: A Cultural Transparency Perspective BIBAKFull-Text 611-618
  Amalia G. Sabiescu; Nemanja Memarovic
Participatory design approaches are being increasingly employed for designing digital artefacts and information systems with and for local communities. These cases require a reconceptualization of PD processes to account for widened knowledge gaps between designers and community members, and new patterns of community-defined design goals. In this paper we provide a perspective on the design process that will help designers to better plan their involvement in participatory projects with local communities. Our analytical stance resides on an interpretation of Étienne Wenger's theory of cultural transparency. Participatory design is analysed as an iterative process of decoding and encoding that involves users/local people and designers having as outcome understanding (through decoding) and representations (through encoding). Cultural transparency, achieved when the two agents advanced sufficient understanding on the other's practices, is the landmark for effective design. The paper argues for the importance of working towards attainment of cultural transparency in community-based projects, in particular when the goal is to create culturally representative artefacts. Examples of activities and suggestions for advancing cultural transparency in these contexts are provided.
Keywords: participatory design; cultural transparency; cross-cultural design; local communities; cultural representation
Reducing Driver Task Load and Promoting Sociability through an Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA) BIBAKFull-Text 619-626
  Kenton Williams; Cynthia Breazeal
This work outlines the development of an Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA), a social robot that sits in a vehicle's dashboard and behaves as a friendly assistant. This highly expressive robot uses an Android smartphone as its face, which serves as the main computational unit for the system. AIDA determines what information may be relevant to the driver, delivers it at the most appropriate time, and resolves which expressions should be used when doing so. An evaluation was performed in which participants completed mock driving tasks with the aid of 1) a smartphone with apps, 2) AIDA as a static, expressive agent, or 3) AIDA as a mobile robot. Results showed that the AIDA robot helped reduce user task load and promoted more sociability with users better than the smartphone or AIDA as a static agent.
Keywords: Affective HCI; Human-robot interaction; Novel user interfaces and interaction techniques
Semantic Modelling in Support of Adaptive Multimodal Interface Design BIBAKFull-Text 627-634
  Elena Tsiporkova; Anna Hristoskova; Tom Tourwé; Tom Stevens
The design of multimodal interfaces requires intelligent data interpretation in order to guarantee seamless adaptation to the user's needs and context. HMI (human-machine interaction) design accommodates varying forms of interaction patterns, depending on what is most appropriate for a particular user at a particular time. These design patterns are a powerful means of documenting reusable design know-how. The semantic modelling framework in this paper captures the available domain knowledge in the field of multimodal interface design and supports adaptive HMIs. A collection of multimodal design patterns is constructed from a diversity of real-world applications and organized into a meaningful repository. This enables a uniform and unambiguous description easing their identification, comprehensibility and applicability.
Keywords: Human-machine interface; Multimodal Design Patterns; Adaptive Interfaces; Pro-active Interaction; Data Modelling; Context-awareness
Supporting Improved Maternity Care by Midwives: Design Opportunities and Lessons Learned BIBAKFull-Text 635-642
  Abdullah Al Mahmud; David V. Keyson
In this paper we describe a study about the role of Information Technology (IT) on the quality of maternity care in the midwifery centres in the Netherlands. We conducted an interview study with midwives in the Netherlands. The objective was to understand the current situation, challenges and design opportunities that could help to provided improved healthcare. The results of the interview study show that the current prenatal care system suffer from some challenges such as proper IT support, lack of IT training for the midwives, lack of integrity between different software systems used in the midwifery centres and hospitals and attitude of the pregnant mothers. Based on our findings we provide some recommendations and design implications to support improved care provided by the midwives.
Keywords: Prenatal care; midwives; Information Technology (IT); maternal health; Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
Technology Enhanced PBL in HCI Education: A Case Study BIBAKFull-Text 643-650
  Christina Vasiliou; Andri Ioannou; Panayiotis Zaphiris
Problem Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional method in which the base for learning is a real-world problem. A typical PBL setting is comprised of students working together on an authentic problem, using simple tools such as whiteboards and stationery. Online tools and multimedia technologies have also been used to support PBL activities. There is however no empirical work on the blended use of both physical and digital tools. This paper presents a case study in which we employed PBL pedagogy for the teaching of a post-graduate course in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). The activities were situated in a multimodal information space, rich in digital and physical elements including personal computers, projectors with downwards projection, tablets, iPods, digital pen readers, stationery and a Facebook group for each team. We administrated questionnaires assessing students' motivational beliefs and overall satisfaction with the learning experience. Our results show that students' overall satisfaction was highly rated, while the information space contributed to students' engagement and collaboration.
Keywords: Problem based learning; HCI education; Multi-modal interfaces
The 'Relay Ideation' Technique: Moving from Problem Understanding to Problem Solving in the Design Process BIBAKFull-Text 651-658
  Karin Slegers; Pieter Duysburgh; An Jacobs
When describing the design process in product innovation, many authors identify phases that can be described as 'problem analysis' and 'generating ideas'. Several techniques are available to support design teams in each of these phases, but it remains a challenge to move from understanding a problem to coming up with ideas for concepts that might solve the problem. In addition, some of these techniques have counterproductive social side effects, which in fact may impede creativity in a design team. In this paper we describe a new technique for product idea generation called the 'relay ideation' technique. This technique was developed to help design teams move from understanding a problem to thinking creatively and concretely about the problem in order to generate concepts for innovative products or services. The technique is illustrated with a case study about IT applications for hearing-impaired children.
Keywords: Ideation; techniques; conceptualization; design team
The Effect of Stress on Cognitive Load Measurement BIBAKFull-Text 659-666
  Dan Conway; Ian Dick; Zhidong Li; Yang Wang; Fang Chen
Human physiological signals have been widely used to non-invasively measure cognitive load (CL) during task execution. A major challenge for CL detection is the presence of stress, which may affect physiological measurements in ways that confound reliable detection of CL. In this experiment we investigated the effect of stress on cognitive load measurement using galvanic skin response (GSR) as a physiological index of CL. The experiment utilized feelings of lack of control, task failure and social-evaluation to induce stress. Mean GSR values were shown to be significantly different between CL levels in the 'no-stress' condition, but not when including the 'stress' condition. On the other hand, features extracted from GSR signals based on peak detection exhibited consistent behaviour under both conditions, demonstrating the usefulness of the features as cognitive load index even when a person's stress level is fluctuating.
Keywords: Cognitive load; galvanic skin response (GSR); stress
The PEW Framework for Worth Mapping BIBAKFull-Text 667-674
  Fatoumata Camara; Gaëlle Calvary; Rachel Demumieux
In Human Computer Interaction, it is more and more clear that usability is not enough. In order to take into account the other criteria that may be relevant for design, G. Cockton introduced the notion of "worth" and the Worth Centered Design (WCD) framework for its operationalization. The WCD framework structures the development process and provides designers with a set of tools, including Worth Maps (WMs).
   Worth maps connect systems attributes to human ones, and as such represent a promising tool. However, they remain understudied and under-experimented.
   This paper presents the results of our experience with WMs. More precisely, it proposes the PEW (Perceived and Expected Worth) framework for worth mapping, reports findings from a study conducted with 5 experts regarding many aspects of WMs, and discusses future directions for research.
Keywords: Interactive systems design; worth; Worth Maps (WMs)
The Profile of Law Clerks Using Judiciary Informatics in Turkey BIBAKFull-Text 675-680
  Zerrin Sungur; Özlem Alpu; Özlem Oktal; Berna Yazici
The automation of judicial services got it's start in 1998 in Turkey. In order to increase performance and productivity of these services many regulations have been made in parallel with the innovations and improvements realized in the sector of information technologies. There are many internal users using the judiciary informatics such as chief judges, judges, attorneys general, solicitors, prison officers and law clerks. The aim of this study is to analyze the profile of the law clerks using judiciary informatics in Turkey and evaluate their uses of judiciary informatics in terms of the dimensions of performance and effort expectancy, attitude toward using technology, security and risk and anxiety. Web based questionnaire, which was prepared as a five-point Likert type scale including 4898 law clerks, was analyzed through factor analysis. The empirical research was carried out between July and August 2012 in Turkey.
Keywords: law clerks; e-government; judiciary informatics; Turkey
Towards a Communication System for People with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy BIBAKFull-Text 681-688
  Yohan Guerrier; Christophe Kolski; Franck Poirier
Communication is an important act in the development and empowerment of human beings. Through language, humans communicate their needs, desires, moods... Unfortunately, many physical and mental disabilities deprive some people of such communication means. Nowadays various Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems exist in order to help people with disabilities. Virtual keyboards are the most common AAC systems for physical disabilities. Concerning mental disability, there are tools based on pictograms. This paper is divided into two parts. First, we put forward a critical review of various AAC systems with a focus on users with athetoid cerebral palsy. Second, the paper presents work in progress concerning a communication system for such users.
Keywords: Communication; mobility; cerebral palsy (CP); slurred speech; communication aid; COMMOB
Towards Supporting the Existing Workplace Practices of a Community of Brazilian Healthcare Professionals BIBAKFull-Text 689-696
  Roberto Calderon; Sidney Fels; Junia Anacleto
With the increasing affordability of computers, displays and telecommunications, the scenario of introducing digital Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into communities with little or no previous exposure to computing has become common place. Understanding how ICT affects the functioning of such communities is important for determining design and introduction strategies that can minimize the disruption of well established practices in said scenarios. We designed and introduced a ticketing system within a community of Brazilian healthcare professionals that have little or no previous exposure to computing. Visualizing individual people led to tasks directed towards particular individuals. Visualizing people interactions promoted open-ended and communal tasks. We observed that professionals circumvented the original design of the system to introduce unimplemented functionalities and support their well-established social-based information management practices.
Keywords: Visualization; Situated Displays; Healthcare; Collaboration; Social Capital
Traveller: An Interactive Cultural Training System Controlled by User-Defined Body Gestures BIBAKFull-Text 697-704
  Felix Kistler; Elisabeth André; Samuel Mascarenhas; André Silva; Ana Paiva; Nick Degens; Gert Jan Hofstede; Eva Krumhuber; Arvid Kappas; Ruth Aylett
In this paper, we describe a cultural training system based on an interactive storytelling approach and a culturally-adaptive agent architecture, for which a user-defined gesture set was created. 251 full body gestures by 22 users were analyzed to find intuitive gestures for the in-game actions in our system. After the analysis we integrated the gestures in our application using our framework for full body gesture recognition. We further integrated a second interaction type which applies a graphical interface controlled with freehand swiping gestures.
Keywords: User Defined Gestures; Kinect; Full Body Tracking; Depth Sensor; Interaction; Interactive Storytelling; Cultural Training
Usability Guidelines for Mobile Devices: Length of Hyperlinks BIBAKFull-Text 705-712
  Eva Garcia-Lopez; Antonio Garcia-Cabot; Luis de-Marcos; Jose-Ramon Hilera
The use of mobile devices is increasing in recent years, and their characteristics are different from those of computers (keyboard and screen size, interaction method, etc.), so it is important to specifically study the usability of these devices. This paper presents an experiment carried out with users to find the correct length (from the point of view of usability) of hyperlinks in mobile devices. A real mobile device has been used for the experiment, as well as more than 20 users. The experiment compared three different lengths of hyperlinks and it concluded that users prefer hyperlinks as short as possible and they are identified better when the text is not justified.
Keywords: Hyperlinks; usability; guidelines; mobile devices
User-Centered Design between Cultures: Designing for and with Immigrants BIBAKFull-Text 713-720
  Jan Bobeth; Stephanie Schreitter; Susanne Schmehl; Stephanie Deutsch; Manfred Tscheligi
Immigrants represent a substantial part of European society. After emigration, they can suffer from fundamental changes in their socio-economic environment. Therefore, supportive ICT services (e.g. for language learning or job search) have high potential to ease inclusion, especially for newly arrived immigrants with low education. Within an international research project we involve Turkish and Arabic immigrants in a user-centered design (UCD) process with the goal to develop supportive ICT services for smartphones. In this paper, we present our methodological experiences and discuss benefits and drawbacks of methods. Based thereupon, we formulate concrete implications for successful UCD with immigrants, e.g. collaborating with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or benefiting from reflections of long term-immigrants.
Keywords: User-Centered Design; Immigrants; Diversity; Method
Using Graphical Representations to Support the Calculation of Infusion Parameters BIBAKFull-Text 721-728
  Sandy J. J. Gould; Anna L. Cox; Duncan P. Brumby
A variety of medical procedures require arithmetic calculations to be performed. These calculations can be complex and induce errors that can have serious consequences on the ward. In this paper, we consider whether a graphical representation might make these calculations easier. The results of a laboratory experiment are reported in which participants were asked to solve a number of infusion parameter problems that were represented either graphically or textually. Results show that participants were faster but no more accurate in solving graphical problems than they were textual problems. We discuss the need for situated work to be conducted that builds on these initial findings to determine whether the advantages of graphical representations transfer to actual workplace settings.
Keywords: Graphical reasoning; infusion pumps; re-representation; calculation
Visual Conversational Interfaces to Empower Low-Literacy Users BIBAKFull-Text 729-736
  Sheetal K. Agarwal; Jyoti Grover; Arun Kumar; Monia Puri; Meghna Singh; Christian Remy
Mobile phones have come a long way from being plain voice calling devices to becoming multipurpose handy tools powered by ever increasing new applications available on-the-go. For many, the mobile phone of today has become the essential device one does not leave home without. However, for a large percentage of human population mobile phone apps are not of much use as they are not literate or IT savvy enough to be able to benefit from them. Recent advances in voice-based telecom information systems enable underprivileged and low-literacy users to access and offer online services without requiring expensive devices or specialized technical knowledge. However, voice applications are limited in their capability due to their time consuming nature. In this paper, we demonstrate an interaction modality that combines the power of voice communication with graphical interfaces in smartphones to break the barrier of illiteracy.
Keywords: Diversity; HCI4D; Information Sharing; ICTD; User-Centered Design; Interactive Voice Systems; Smartphones; India
Visual Indication while Sharing Items from a Private 3D Portal Room UI to Public Virtual Environments BIBAKFull-Text 737-744
  Minna Pakanen; Leena Arhippainen; Jukka H. Vatjus-Anttila; Olli-Pekka Pakanen
In this paper, we describe the user experience evaluation results of a 3D Portal Room UI for sharing 3D objects from private space to remote public virtual environments. The user evaluation with 30 participants was conducted with a functional prototype and additional high quality images that were printed on paper sheets. The evaluation indicated that participants liked this way of sharing objects and found it also useful. However, it also raised some privacy concerns, especially if the target virtual environment was perceived as public. Evaluation elicited that the visual indication while sharing objects is important; therefore, designers of 3D virtual environments should prefer a distinguishable glow around the shared object and portal.
Keywords: Portals; 3D user interface; virtual environment; user interaction; visual indication; user experience
Web Design for Science Museum towards Engaging User Experience BIBAKFull-Text 745-754
  Mohd Syaheezam Asyraq Yamin; Eswati Azni Jaafar
Nowadays, exhibition experience is no longer defined by physical visits. Increasing a person's knowledge about a subject tends to increase their interest in it, thus improve attendance and support for the exhibition. This research analyses and conduct comparison studies regarding website elements featured in 30 science museums around the world. Consequently, this produces an overview of one effective model for Website design; a user-centered process that includes techniques for need assessment, methodology, goal/task analysis, user interface design, and finally pre/post prototyping.
Keywords: User Experience; Usability; Web Design; Science Museum

Industry Tracks

Lessons Learned from Designing Non-traditional Interfaces for Educational Applications in South Africa BIBAKFull-Text 755-763
  Michael Wolf
As a specialised design consultancy for interactive learning environments and tools, Formula D interactive has gained valuable project experience in designing nontraditional interfaces for digital educational content and tools in the culturally diverse context of South Africa. The aim of this paper is to share the company's experience in the field using prominent examples of their recent work, related research and user testing in order to discuss the merit of large-scale interactive surfaces, gesture-based and tangible interfaces in culturally diverse contexts. The company's work includes interactive displays for science centres and museums as well as digital learning tools for classroom environments.
Keywords: Non-traditional interfaces; interaction design; tangible interaction; gesture-based interaction; Locomotion interfaces; interactive surfaces; multitouch; interactive learning environments; HCI examples
The Bigger Picture: The Use of Mobile Photos in Shopping BIBAKFull-Text 764-771
  Maryam Tohidi; Andrew Warr
Mobile phones are becoming, if not already, an integral part of our lives. They have a wide range of applications, such as communication, gaming and commerce. Shopping in particular is a rapidly growing domain. Today, shoppers use their phones to make more informed shopping decisions by researching products and merchants, save money using price comparison, mobile coupons and daily deal apps, even purchase products directly on a mobile device. While mobile commerce and shopping apps are in the spotlight, one area that has received little attention is the role of the native capabilities of a mobile phone, such as the mobile camera, in the shopping process. This paper demonstrates the key role mobile photos play in the shopping process, documenting use cases, practices and pain points, and informing opportunity areas for mobile shopping applications and services.
Keywords: Mobile; Phones; Cameras; Shopping; Photos