Virtual Assistants for End-User Development in the Internet of Things

The spread of Virtual Assistants (software and hardware) on the consumer market deeply changed the way Internet of Things (IoT) is implemented and used today. Such devices, and related applications, are becoming more and more integrated within smart environments and this might pave the way to potential new approaches to End-User Development activities, which can be performed in IoT environments. This paper discusses the evolution of the IoT ecosystem definition that has been studied by the authors in the last years

Exploring the Reciprocal Influence of Artificial Intelligence and End-User Development

This paper explores the reciprocal influence between Artificial Intelligence (AI) features of modern systems and End-User Development (EUD) activities aimed at adapting systems’ behavior to users’ needs and preferences. To improve the quality of life of people who are called on to use AI-infused systems and customize them, new methods and techniques for EUD should be studied. EUD could be of help in exploiting AI algorithms to collect information about users and to offer them advanced interaction modalities. The paper explores these possibilities through the analysis of two application domains where the effective combination of AI and EUD might play a crucial role in the future

Design Ltd.: Renovated Myths for the Development of Socially Embedded Technologies

This paper argues that traditional and mainstream mythologies, which have been continually told within the Information Technology domain among designers and advocators of conceptual modelling since the 1960s in different fields of computing sciences, could now be renovated or substituted in the mould of more recent discourses about performativity, complexity and end-user creativity that have been constructed across different fields in the meanwhile. In the paper, it is submitted that these discourses could motivate IT professionals in undertaking alternative approaches toward the co-construction of socio-technical systems, i.e., social settings where humans cooperate to reach common goals by means of mediating computational tools. The authors advocate further discussion about and consolidation of some concepts in design research, design practice and more generally Information Technology (IT) development, like those of: task-artifact entanglement, universatility (sic) of End-User Development (EUD) environments, bricolant/bricoleur end-user, logic of bricolage, maieuta-designers (sic), and laissez-faire method to socio-technical construction. Points backing these and similar concepts are made to promote further discussion on the need to rethink the main assumptions underlying IT design and development some fifty years later the coming of age of software and modern IT in the organizational domain.Comment: This is the peer-unreviewed of a manuscript that is to appear in D. Randall, K. Schmidt, & V. Wulf (Eds.), Designing Socially Embedded Technologies: A European Challenge (2013, forthcoming) with the title "Building Socially Embedded Technologies: Implications on Design" within an EUSSET editorial initiative (www.eusset.eu/

Subtitling for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing - The Reception of Moulin Rouge! as a case study

Audiovisuaalisessa kääntämisessä on aina otettava tilan ja ajan lisäksi erityisessä asemassa oleva katsoja huomioon. Tekstitysten käytännöt vaihtelevat riippuen siitä, tarkasteleeko työn tuloksia vieraskielisiltä DVD-elokuvilta vai suomenkielisiltä televisiokanavilta. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tutkia miten musikaalielokuvan tekstitykset toteutetaan kuuroille ja kuulovammaisille. Materiaalina on käytetty Moulin Rouge! -elokuvan kuuroille ja kuulovammaisille suunnattuja englanninkielisiä tekstityksiä, sekä itse laadittua kyselyä Musikaalien tekstitys kuuroille, joka välitettiin kesällä 2012 suomalaisille kuuroille ja kuulovammaisille katsojille internetin välityksellä. Tutkielmassani analysoidaan DVD-elokuva Moulin Rouge!:n musiikin kuvailua, huudahduksia, taustaääniä sekä tiivistämistä ja uudelleenmuotoilua. Viimeksi mainittu kappale on jaettu kolmeen alaotsikkoon, jotka tutkivat sanojen poisjättämisiä, sanojen uudelleenmuotoilua, faattista viestintää sekä yksinkertaisia aikamuotoja ja lauseiden tiivistämistä. Tutkimuksessa todettiin englannin olevan hallitseva tekstityskieli kuuroille ja kuulovammaisille DVD-markkinoilla. Suomalaiset katsojat joutuvat täten lukemaan elokuvien erityistekstityksiä englanniksi. Toisaalta Ylen kanavat TV1, TV2 ja Yle Teema tarjoavat jo runsaasti kuuroille ja kuulovammaisille suunnattua tekstitystä, joten myös suomalaiset katsojat saavat hyötyä erityistekstityksistä aina tietyissä ohjelmissa.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Modeling and Analysis of Data Trading on Blockchain-based Market in IoT Networks

Mobile devices with embedded sensors for data collection and environmental sensing create a basis for a cost-effective approach for data trading. For example, these data can be related to pollution and gas emissions, which can be used to check the compliance with national and international regulations. The current approach for IoT data trading relies on a centralized third-party entity to negotiate between data consumers and data providers, which is inefficient and insecure on a large scale. In comparison, a decentralized approach based on distributed ledger technologies (DLT) enables data trading while ensuring trust, security, and privacy. However, due to the lack of understanding of the communication efficiency between sellers and buyers, there is still a significant gap in benchmarking the data trading protocols in IoT environments. Motivated by this knowledge gap, we introduce a model for DLT-based IoT data trading over the Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system, intended to support massive environmental sensing. We characterize the communication efficiency of three basic DLT-based IoT data trading protocols via NB-IoT connectivity in terms of latency and energy consumption. The model and analyses of these protocols provide a benchmark for IoT data trading applications.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, Accepted at IEEE Internet of Things Journa

Consumer-based Application Customization for Mobile Phones

There is an interest among users for customization of mobile phones, as is indicated by several companies and websites which offer themes, ringtones, backgrounds and games. However, unless the users possess programming experience, this customization rarely goes beyond simple look-and-feel and into the actual functionality. In the other end of this spectrum, lies End User Development (EUD), where end users with programming expertise make modifications to programs themselves. In their work of designing a system for Sony Ericsson – meant to enable end users without programming knowledge to customize applications and functionality for mobile phones – the authors identified this gap between users and developers – the EUD gap. The authors believed this was the cause of frustration among some users, who perhaps did not have the motivation to learn how to program, but nonetheless wished for more control of applications and functionality in their cell phones. With the main purpose of designing a system meant to support users in such a task, this thesis has also looked at how such a solution could function in a larger, EUD-related perspective. Apart from presenting a final design proposition, the authors find indications for that there is, indeed, an interest among users to customize the functionality of mobile phones. Findings, possible implications, and recommendations based on the authors' own experience of developing the system, are finally presented, both out of an academic and a commercial perspective

Jeeves : a blocks-based approach to end-user development of experience sampling apps

Professional programmers are significantly outnumbered by end-users of software, and cannot possibly predict the diverse and dynamic needs of user groups in advance. This thesis is concerned with the provision of an end-user development (EUD) approach, allowing end-users to independently create and modify their own software. EUD activities are particularly applicable to the work practices of psychology researchers and clinicians, who are increasingly dependent on software for assessment of participants and patients, but must also depend on developers to realise their requirements. This thesis targets these professionals, with an EUD solution to creating assessment software. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) is one such means of assessment that takes place in participants’ everyday lives. Through regular completion of subjective self-reports, participants provide rich detail of their ongoing physical and emotional well-being. However, lack of engagement with such studies remains a prevalent issue. This thesis investigates features for maximising engagement with experience sampling smartphone apps. Such apps are becoming accepted as standard practice for remote assessment, but researchers are stifled by the complexity and cost of implementation. Moreover, existing EUD tools are insufficient for development of ESM apps that include engaging features. This thesis presents the development of Jeeves, an EUD tool with a blocks-based programming paradigm that empowers non-programmers to rapidly develop tailored, context-sensitive ESM apps. The adoption of Jeeves is contingent on a number of factors, including its ease-of-use, real-world utility, and organisational conditions. Failure to incorporate the necessary functionality pertaining to these factors into Jeeves will lead to abandonment. This thesis is concerned with establishing the usability, utility, and external factors necessary for adoption of Jeeves. Further, Jeeves is evaluated with respect to these factors through a series of rigorous studies from a range of application domains."This work was supported by a University of St Andrews 600th Anniversary PhD Scholarship (School of Computer Science)." -- Fundin