User Study

Pervasive games are an emerging new game genre, which includes context information as an integral part of the game. These games differ from traditional games in that they expand spatio-temporal and social aspects of gaming. Mobile devices support this by enabling players to choose when and where a game is played. Designing pervasive games can be a challenging task, since

Larger display surfaces are becoming increasingly available due to multi-monitor capability built into many systems, in addition to the rapid decrease in their costs. However, little is known about the performance benefits of using these larger surfaces compared to traditional single-monitor displays. In addition, it is not clear that current software designs and interaction techniques have been properly tuned for

Real-time eye and iris tracking is important for handsoff gaze-based password entry, instrument control by paraplegic patients, Internet user studies, as well as homeland security applications. In this project, a smart camera, LabVIEW and vision software tools are utilized to generate eye detection and tracking algorithms. The algorithms are uploaded to the smart camera for on-board image processing. Eye detection refers to finding eye features in a single frame. Eye tracking is achieved by detecting the same eye features across multiple image frames and correlating them to a particular eye. The algorithms are tested for eye detection and tracking under different conditions including different angles of the face, head motion speed, and eye occlusions to determine their usability for the proposed applications. This paper presents the implemented algorithms and performance results of these algorithms on the smart camera.

In this paper, we explore the problems associated with exception handling from a new dimension: the human. We designed a study that evaluates (1) different perspectives of software developers to understand how they perceive exception handling and what methods they adopt to deal with exception handling constructs, and (2) the usefulness of a visualization tool that we developed in previous work for exception handling. We describe the design of our study, present details about the study's participants, describe the interviews we conducted with the participants, present the results of the study, and discuss what we learned from the study. Based on our analysis, we suggest several future directions, including the proposal of a new role for the software-development processexception engineer, who works closely with software developers throughout all phases of the software-development life cycle and who concentrates on the integration of exception handling into the core functionality of programs.

This paper reports a user study on creating, consuming and managing digital music content. We consider people's personal relationship to the music entertainment technology and content, and the typical actions carried out in and outside of the home domain. The study was carried out in two cultural environments, New York City and Hong Kong.

We present and compare two approaches to the task of summarizing evaluative ar- guments. The first is a sentence extraction- based approach while the second is a lan- guage generation-based approach. We evaluate these approaches in a user study and find that they quantitatively perform equally well. Qualitatively, however, we find that they perform well for different but complementary reasons.

Robots are rapidly evolving from factory work-horses to robot-companions. The future of robots, as our companions, is highly dependent on their abilities to understand, interpret and represent the environment in an efficient and consistent fashion, in a way that is comprehensible to humans. The work presented here is oriented in this direction. It suggests a hierarchical probabilistic representation of space that is based on objects. A global topological representation of places with object graphs serving as local maps is proposed. The work also details the first efforts towards conceptualizing space on the basis of the human compatible representation so formed. Such a representation and the resulting conceptualization would be useful for enabling robots to be cognizant of their surroundings. Experiments on place classification and place recognition are reported in order to demonstrate the applicability of such a representation towards understanding space and thereby performing spatial cognition. Further, relevant results from user studies validating the proposed representation are also reported. Thus, the theme of the work is -representation for spatial cognition.

Micro-incentives represent a new but little-studied trend in participant compensation for user studies. In this paper, we use a combination of statistical analysis and models from labor economics to evaluate three canonical micro-payment schemes in the context of high-burden user studies, where participants wear sensors for extended durations. We look at how these strategies affect compliance, data quality, and retention, and show that when used carefully, micro-payments can be highly beneficial. We find that data quality is ...

Recent work in mouse movement analysis has determined that, with sufficient data, users can be uniquely identified solely by their mouse movements. We consider the domain of video games and attempt to use mouse movements to identify game players. We conduct a user study that requires users to perform baseline tasks in a controlled environment, and then play Solitaire and StarCraft, two popular video games. We extract features from the mouse movement raw data and employ basic (k-Nearest Neighbor) and complex (Support Vector Machine (SVM)) machine learning techniques to classify users. The accuracy of the identification varies with the variety of moves available in a particular game, but we are able to identify the players in our user study with accuracy well above what random chance would predict.

This paper describes a user study regarding the human need to stay in touch with closely related people. The study was a combination of interviews and diaries. This user needs analysis has informed the design of a novel end-to-end communication system for helping closely related people, who are spread geographically, to stay in touch. The design concept is described in brief, followed by a summary of ongoing implementation and assessment work.

A matter of course for the researchers and developers of state-of-the-art technology for human-computer-or human-robot-interaction is to create not only systems that can precisely fulfill a certain task. They must provide a strong robustness against internal and external errors or user-dependent application errors. Especially when creating service robots for a variety of applications or robots for accompanying humans in everyday situations sufficient error robustness is crucial for acceptance by users. But experience unveils that operating such systems under real world conditions with unexperienced users is an extremely challenging task which still is not solved satisfying. In this paper we will present an approach for handling both internal errors and application errors within an integrated system capable of performing extended HRI on different robotic platforms and in unspecified surroundings like a real world apartment. Based on the gathered experience from user studies and evaluating integrated systems in the real world, we implemented several ways to generalize and handle unexpected situations. Adding such a kind of error awareness to HRI systems in cooperation with the interaction partner avoids to get stuck in an unexpected situation or state and handle mode confusion. Instead of shouldering the enormous effort to account for all possible problems, this paper proposes a more general solution and underpins this with findings from naive user studies. This enhancement is crucial for the development of a new generation of robots as despite diligent preparations might be made, no one can predict how an interaction with a robotic system will develop and which kind of environment it has to cope with.

In this paper, we present a novel multi-touch gesture-based authentication technique. We take advantage of the multitouch surface to combine biometric techniques with gestural input. We defined a comprehensive set of five-finger touch gestures, based upon classifying movement characteristics of the center of the palm and fingertips, and tested them in a user study combining biometric data collection with usability questions. Using pattern recognition techniques, we built a classifier to recognize unique biometric gesture characteristics of an individual. We achieved a 90% accuracy rate with single gestures, and saw significant improvement when multiple gestures were performed in sequence. We found user ratings of a gestures desirable characteristics (ease, pleasure, excitement) correlated with a gestures actual biometric recognition ratethat is to say, user ratings aligned well with gestural security, in contrast to typical text-based passwords. Based on these results, we conclude that multi-touch gestures show great promise as an authentication mechanism.

Today's mobile devices are equipped with a variety of tools that enable users to capture and share their daily experiences. However, designing authoring tools that effectively integrate the discrete media-capture components of mobile devices to enable rich expression-especially by children-remains a challenge. Evaluating such tools authentically, as they are being used in-situ, can be even more challenging. We detail a long-term, multimethod study on the use of StoryKit, a mobile storytelling application. By taking advantage of a public distribution channel, we were able to evaluate StoryKit's use on a scale beyond that usually found in lab settings or limited field trials. Our results show that StoryKit's simple but well-integrated interface attracted a high number of dedicated users in education contexts at all levels, including children with special learning needs. We include a discussion of the challenges and opportunities that similar "in the wild" studies hold for HCI research.

In this paper we address the issue of producing automatic video abstracts in the video indexing context of animated movies. For a quick browse of the movie's visual content, we create first a storyboard-like summary, which follows the movie events by providing one key frame for each particular scene. To capture the shot visual activity, we use histograms of cumulative inter-frame distances and key frames are adapted to histogram mode distribution. Secondly, for a "sneak peak" of the movie's exciting action content, we propose a trailer-like video skim, which aims at providing only the most interesting parts of the movie. Our method is based on a relatively standard approach, thus highlighting action through the analysis of the movie rhythm and visual activity information.

This paper proposes a new interactive interface TAXEL, which aims at developing a reconfigurable self-morphing visio-haptic interface. We first present the overall architecture and concept of a self-morphing visuo-haptic interface. Key hardware components are developed and tested, including three tactile actuators using a piezoelectric active linear actuator, a passive MR fluid actuator, and a thin film-type actuator, respectively, and a flexible visual display based on the light-waveguide technology. Using the developed components, a tactile platform that includes a 8×16 array of the linear actuators is implemented for a proof of concept. A rendering engine is also designed for the tactile platform with emphasis on the use of haptic feedback together with GUI. We also carried out a user study with virtual button simulation as a benchmark to evaluate the performance of the TAXEL tactile platform. Lastly, an integrated system with a visual display is demonstrated along with several application examples.

Abstract. The goal of this study was to gain insight into the user experience of a recent hypernarrative interactive movie. Turbulence is a feature-length interactive narrative video and emphasising low frequency interaction, simultaneous optional plotlines and seemingly counter-agency moves. Eight participants took part in a phenomenological study of their experience, from which several directions for further study emerge.

While developing touch-screen displays for the food-service industry, the need for adjustability was investigated. Although there are many guidelines for the design and placement of monitors and keyboards in the office environment, there are few such guidelines for touch-screen ...

It is generally recognized that non perceptual factors like age, gender, education and computer experience can have a moderating effect on how perception of a technology leads to acceptance of it. In our present research we are exploring the influence of these factors on the acceptance of assistive social robots by older adults. In this short paper we discuss the results of a user study in which a movie of an elderly person using a social assistive robot was shown to older adults. The analysis of the responses give a first indication on if and how these factors relate to the perceptual processes that lead to acceptance.

We report on the results of a study in which 19 new mobile telephone users were closely tracked for the first six weeks after service acquisition. Results show that novices tend to rapidly modify their perceptions of social appropriateness around mobile phone use, that actual nature of use frequently differs from initial predictions, and that comprehension of service-based technologies can be problematic. We also describe instances and features of mobile telephony practice. When in use, mobile phones occupy multiple social spaces simultaneously, spaces with norms that sometimes conflict: the physical space of the mobile phone user and the virtual space of the conversation.

Music is a multi-dimensional experience informed by much more than hearing alone, and is thus accessible to people of all hearing abilities. In this paper we describe a prototype system designed to enrich the experience of music for the deaf by enhancing sensory input of information via channels other than in-air audio reception by the ear. The system has two main components-a vibrating 'Haptic Chair' and a computer display of informative visual effects that correspond to features of the music. The Haptic Chair provides sensory input of vibrations via touch. This system was developed based on an initial concept guided by information obtained from a background survey conducted with deaf people from multi-ethnic backgrounds and feedback received from two profoundly deaf musicians. A formal user study with 43 deaf participants suggested that the prototype system enhances the musical experience of a deaf person. All of the users preferred either the Haptic Chair alone (54%) or the Haptic Chair with the visual display (46%). The prototype system, especially the Haptic Chair was so enthusiastically received by our subjects that it is possible this system might significantly change the way the deaf community experiences music.

This report reviews the state-of-the-art in the field of mobile 3DTV technologies. We distinguish the following main drivers of that field: standards, systems and research. Standardization activities for representation, coding, transmission, user studies and objective video quality evaluation are reviewed. Commercial DVB-H systems and services are listed, followed by experimental systems for stereo video broadcast over DVB-H. The state of multimedia HW and SW platforms and auto-stereoscopic displays is presented. Relevant research in coding, error resilience, user studies, and video quality enhancement is described. The report makes conclusions about the maturity of different mobile 3DTV technology components and positions the MOBILE3DTV consortium members along the field.

It has been commonly acknowledged that the acceptance of a product depends on both its utilitarian and non-utilitarian properties. The non-utilitarian properties can elicit generally pleasurable and particularly playful experiences in the product's users. Product design needs to improve the support of playful experiences in order to fit in with the users' multi-faceted needs. However, designing for fun and pleasure is not an easy task, and there is an urgent need in user experience research and design practices to better understand the role of playfulness in overall user experience of the product. In this paper, we present an initial framework of playful experiences which are derived from studies in interactive art and videogames. We conducted a user study to verify that these experiences are valid. We interviewed 13 videogame players about their experiences with games and what triggers these experiences. The results indicate that the players are experiencing the videogames in many different ways which can be categorized using the framework. We propose that the framework could help the design of interactive products from an experience point of view and make them more engaging, attractive, and most importantly, more playful for the users.

Scholars of political socialization are paying increasing attention to how the Internet might help cure the civic disengagement of youth. This content analysis of a sample of 73 U.S.-based civic Web sites for youth introduces a framework for evaluating Web sites' strategies for fostering active communication for citizenship. We offer the first systematic assessment of the extent to which a broad range of Web sites aim to develop young people's abilities to use information and communication technology (ICT) as a vehicle for civic participation and to engage with ICT as a policy domain that encompasses issues (such as freedom of speech and intellectual property rights) that shape the conditions for popular sovereignty online. The study finds low levels of interactive features (such as message boards) that allow young people to share editorial control by offering their own content. In addition, few sites employ active pedagogical techniques (such as simulations) that research suggests are most effective at developing civic knowledge, skills, and participation. We also find little attention to ICT policy issues, which could engage budding citizens in debates over the formative conditions for political communication in the information age. We conclude with suggestions for civic Web site designers and hypotheses for user studies to test.

Through a study of web site design practice, we observed that designers employ multiple representations of web sites as they progress through the design process, and that these representations allow them to focus on different aspects of the design. Designers also employ multiple tools during the course of a project, including graphic design, web development, presentation, and word processing software, as well as pen and paper. Sketching on paper is especially important during the design exploration phase of a project, when designers wish to explore many design possibilities quickly without focusing on low-level details. Web site design tools intended to support the early phases of the design process should employ informal interaction techniques, should support multiple site representations, and should integrate well with other applications that designers use regularly.

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

Text-based passwords remain the dominant authentication method in computer systems, despite significant advancement in attackers' capabilities to perform password cracking. In response to this threat, password composition policies have grown increasingly complex. However, there is insufficient research defining metrics to characterize password strength and using them to evaluate password-composition policies. In this paper, we analyze 12,000 passwords collected under seven composition policies via an online study ...

We propose and examine the usability and security of Cued Click Points (CCP), a cued-recall graphical password technique. Users click on one point per image for a sequence of images. The next image is based on the previous click-point. We present the results of an initial user study which revealed positive results. Performance was very good in terms of speed, accuracy, and number of errors. Users preferred CCP to PassPoints (Wiedenbeck et al., 2005), saying that selecting and remembering only one point per image was easier, and that seeing each image triggered their memory of where the corresponding point was located. We also suggest that CCP provides greater security than PassPoints because the number of images increases the workload for attackers.

Experimental research of opportunistic acquisition of information (OAI) is difficult to design due to the overall opacity of OAI to both the information users and to the researchers. Information encountering (IE) is a specific type of OAI where during search for information on one topic information users accidentally come across information related to some other topic of interest. Building on our prior descriptive investigation of IE, we developed a conceptual framework that explains IE as stopping of information seeking activities for a foreground problem due to noticing, examining, and capturing of information related to some background problem. With objective to evoke IE in users' information behavior and record users' actions during an IE episode, we created a controlled laboratory situation, intended to trigger participants' experience of IE during an information retrieval task. We report about the methodological challenges experienced in this effort and share lessons learned for future experimental studies of opportunistic acquisition of information.

The major purpose of this study was to examine the Information
Seeking Behavior of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar marathwada university
Aurangabad. Information seeking behavior is expressed in various forms,
from reading printed material to research and experimentation. Informationseeking
behavior Play the vital role for developing library collections,
upgrading facilities, and improving services to effectively meet the
information needs of users. The present era is an era of information and
knowledge revolution. Many electronic resources have been made most
available in the libraries. The increase in availability of information on the
Web has affected Information seeking behavior

In this paper, we describe the vision behind the Unified Activity Management project at IBM Research. In particular, we describe and discuss activities, activity-centered computing, and activity patterns and illustrate the potential impact of this approach and its value to individuals, teams, and the enterprise. We discuss business activities and their integration into the development of business processes. We share insights from user studies and feedback from customers on the benefits of the activity model in a variety of business settings. Ó

Luotain -Design for user experience is an ongoing research project at the University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH. Project's objectives include developing user centred methodology and understanding of design for user experience. The notion of user experience is wide and can be examined from many different angles. In order to make comparison between alternative user study methods, and how they are able to illustrate the dimensions of user experience, we have studied several models and approaches that are related to the phenomenon. These models enlighten the issue on a general level or are too focused. Also, the models are not practical enough from product design and concept design perspective. To develop methodology for user-centred concept design, a holistic picture of the issues related user experience is needed. In the paper we present a new framework of user experience dimensions. The framework is drawn from comparing and connecting existing models. The qualities that have a role in the scene of experiences consists of dimension of appearance and user interface, human dimension, product dimension, activity dimension and physical world dimension.

Purpose -The objectives of this article are to develop a multiple-item scale for measuring e-service quality and to study the influence of perceived quality on consumer satisfaction levels and the level of web site loyalty. Design/methodology/approach -First, there is an explanation of the main attributes of the concepts examined, with special attention being paid to the multi-dimensional nature of the variables and the relationships between them. This is followed by an examination of the validation processes of the measuring instruments. Findings -The validation process of scales suggested that perceived quality is a multidimensional construct: web design, customer service, assurance and order management; that perceived quality influences on satisfaction; and that satisfaction influences on consumer loyalty. Moreover, no differences in these conclusions were observed if the total sample is divided between buyers and information searchers. Practical implications -First, the need to develop user-friendly web sites which ease consumer purchasing and searching, thus creating a suitable framework for the generation of higher satisfaction and loyalty levels. Second, the web site manager should enhance service loyalty, customer sensitivity, personalised service and a quick response to complaints. Third, the web site should uphold sufficient security levels in communications and meet data protection requirements regarding the privacy. Lastly, the need for correct product delivery and product manipulation or service is recommended. Originality/value -Most relevant studies about perceived quality in the internet have focused on web design aspects. Moreover, the existing literature regarding internet consumer behaviour has not fully analysed profits generated by higher perceived quality in terms of user satisfaction and loyalty.

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