Mobile health data: investigating the data used by an mHealth app using different mobile app architectures

Mobile Health (mHealth) has come a long way in the last forty years and is still rapidly evolving and presenting many opportunities. The advancements in mobile technology and wireless mobile communication technology contributed to the rapid evolution and development of mHealth. Consequently, this evolution has led to mHealth solutions that are now capable of generating large amounts of data that is synchronised and stored on remote cloud and central servers, ensuring that the data is distributable to healthcare providers and available for analysis and decision making. However, the amount of data used by mHealth apps can contribute significantly to the overall cost of implementing a new or upscaling an existing mHealth solution. The purpose of this research was to determine if the amount of data used by mHealth apps would differ significantly if they were to be implemented using different mobile app architectures. Three mHealth apps using different mobile app architectures were developed and evaluated. The first app was a native app, the second was a standard mobile Web app and the third was a mobile Web app that used Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX). Experiments using the same data inputs were conducted on the three mHealth apps. The primary objective of the experiments was to determine if there was a significant difference in the amount of data used by different versions of an mHealth app when implemented using different mobile app architectures. The experiment results demonstrated that native apps that are installed and executed on local mobile devices used the least amount of data and were more data efficient than mobile Web apps that executed on mobile Web browsers. It also demonstrated that mobile apps implemented using different mobile app architectures will demonstrate a significant difference in the amount of data used during normal mobile app usage

EIRA Project: advancing in the management of personal healthcare

This project arises with the purpose of shedding some light on a subject that is the order of the day in the world of medicine: the unification of the medical history. The motivation of the project comes from getting to know the lack of coordination in the organization of the health system that currently exists. First, the health centers in different regions follow different systems, end even public and private health centers in the same region operate independently, so they can not share data between them. Second, in different centers they use different and incompatible applications to perform tasks that are similar or complementary. This means that, ultimately, patients are those who are harmed, since the problem of medical data accessibility implies a risk for them. Moreover, unifying or making compatible the various existing applications could improve clinical decision making helping tools, optimizing the efficiency, effectiveness and the use of resources. (Chapter 1) The development of this project draws from a comprehensive analysis that allows finding out which is the current situation of our country on this issue, as well as the measures that have been developed to improve it, their advantages and disadvantages and the main problems that our society faces. It also includes the points of view of both patients and health professionals. For this purpose, it has been necessary to do interviews with professionals, to visit hospitals, to attend to forums and to try personally most of the systems currently in use. Also, both regulatory and socioeconomic framework have been studied, including business opportunities in the field. In parallel to this analysis, advances in new technologies and their possible applications in the implementation of our system have been studied, specially tools for the development of online mobile applications and its back-end structure. Learning how to use them has also been necessary. (Chapter 2, 4 and 7) Based on the findings from the first phase of analysis and learning, objectives and functional and nonfunctional requirements to be met by the application are defined, as well as the platform on which it would be implemented, a mobile device with an Android Operating System. Then, the architecture of the system is structured, and it is modularized according to functional requirements. Finally, the graphic design and the implementation of a semi functional demo are performed, and a project development planning is developed step by step. (Chapters 3, 5 and 7) The original idea of the design was intended to assume greater innovation in technology advances, even incorporating artificial intelligence and massive data processing applied to the healthcare field. However, from the analysis it was concluded that, before incorporating such technologies, a solid groundwork should be laid, a system able to collect all the relevant data to work on them later. Thus, the design was finally oriented to a simplified, unified, bilateral, multifunctional accessible and secure system. The application of advanced technologies becomes part of the future lines of the project. (Chapter 8) To conclude, this project was initiated with the aim of getting to know better the healthcare system and its tools, learning about new technologies already used or that could be applied in the field and designing an innovative system with business potential. Despite the difficulties encountered and the changes made in the project with respect to the original idea, the main objectives have been successfully met. (Chapter 9)Este proyecto surge con el propósito de arrojar algo de luz sobre un tema que está al orden del día en el mundo de la medicina: la unificación de la historia clínica. La motivación del proyecto surge de conocer la gran descoordinación en la organización del sistema sanitario que existe actualmente. Primero, los centros sanitarios en comunidades autónomas distintas siguen sistemas diferentes, e incluso los centros públicos y privados de una misma región funcionan de forma independiente, por lo que no comparten datos entre ellos. Segundo, en los diferentes centros se emplean aplicaciones diversas e incompatibles entre sí para la realización de tareas o bien similares o que podrían ser complementarias. Esto hace que, en última instancia, sea el paciente el que sale perjudicado, ya que el problema de accesibilidad a los datos médicos supone un riesgo. Además, unificando o compatibilizando las diversas aplicaciones existentes podrían mejorarse las herramientas de ayuda en la toma de decisiones clínicas optimizando la eficiencia, la efectividad y los recursos del sistema (Capítulo 1). El desarrollo de este proyecto parte de un amplio análisis que permite conocer la situación actual de nuestro país en este tema, así como las diferentes medidas que se han desarrollado para mejorarla, sus ventajas y desventajas y los principales problemas a los que se enfrenta nuestra sociedad. También incluye las opiniones tanto de pacientes como de profesionales sanitarios. Para ello se han realizado entrevistas a profesionales, se han visitado hospitales, se ha asistido a foros y se han probado personalmente muchos de los sistemas que están actualmente en uso. También se han estudiado tanto el marco regulador como el socioeconómico, incluyendo las oportunidades de negocio del sector. En paralelo a dicho análisis se estudian los avances en las nuevas tecnologías que podrían aplicarse en la implementación del sistema, entre las que se incluyen principalmente herramientas para el desarrollo de aplicaciones móviles online y su back-end, además de aprender a utilizarlas (Capítulos 2, 4 y 7). En base a las conclusiones obtenidas de la primera fase de análisis y aprendizaje, se definen los objetivos y requisitos funcionales y no funcionales que deberá cumplir la aplicación, y se elige la plataforma sobre la que será implementada, un dispositivo móvil con sistema operativo Android. Posteriormente, se estructura el la arquitectura del sistema y se modulariza en función de su funcionalidad. Finalmente se trabaja en el diseño gráfico de la misma, se crea una demo semifuncional y se elabora una planificación de su desarrollo paso por paso. (Capítulos 3, 5 y 6). La idea original del diseño pretendía suponer una mayor innovación en el ámbito tecnológico incorporando incluso avances de inteligencia artificial y tratamiento masivo de datos aplicados al campo sanitario. Sin embargo, a partir del análisis realizado se concluyó que, antes de incorporar dichas tecnologías, debía construirse una base sólida, un sistema capaz de recopilar todos los datos para, posteriormente, trabajar sobre ellos. Por eso, el diseño finalmente se orientó a un sistema simplificado, bilateral, unificado, multifuncional, accesible y seguro. La aplicación de tecnologías más avanzadas pasa a contarse entre las líneas futuras del proyecto. (Capítulo 8) En conclusión, este proyecto se inició con el objetivo de conocer mejor el sistema sanitario actual y sus herramientas, aprender acerca de las nuevas tecnologías que se están utilizando o podrían aplicarse en el sector y diseñar un sistema innovador con posibilidades de comercialización. A pesar de las dificultades encontradas y los cambios hechos en el proyecto con respecto a la idea original, los objetivos principales han sido cumplidos. (Capítulo 9)Ingeniería Biomédic

Mobile identification as a service

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Informatics EngineeringThe benefits of using mobile identification applications as substitutes for physical documents are obvious, whether these are university student cards, company employee identification cards, the citizen card or driving license. However, as these applications grow in popularity and complexity, new requirements and needs arise that need to be addressed without disturbing the normal behavior of the application. Often the data needed to provide an authentication service is spread across multiple servers, which need to be integrated. This becomes more complicated and complex when an application provides more than one form of authentication (a driving license and a student card require data provided by different services). In this dissertation we are going to look for solutions that allow to develop an architecture that is prepared to integrate new services at runtime and allows the management of the system, maintaining its dynamic and independence from third parties, regardless of the technology and form of communication used by them. So, this dissertation presents the state of the art regarding the integration of multiple service providers and the design and implementation a proposed solution, using the WSO2 products to do so. This process is performed in the context of the mobile ID, that is a implementation of a mobile driving license based on the ISO/IEC 18013-5:2021.São cada vez mais evidentes os benefícios do uso de aplicações de identificação móvel como substitutos aos documentos físicos, sejam estes cartões de estudantes universitários, cartões de identificação de funcionários de empresas, o cartão de cidadão ou a carta de condução. No entanto, à medida que estas aplicações se tornam mais populares e mais complexas, surgem novas ex igências e necessidades que precisam de ser colmatadas sem perturbar o normal funcionamento da aplicação. Muitas vezes os atributos necessários para fornecer um serviço de identificação encontram-se distribuídos por múltiplos servidores, que necessitam de ser integrados. Isto torna-se mais complicado e complexo quando uma aplicação disponibiliza mais de uma forma de identificação (uma carta de condução e um cartão de estudante requerem dados fornecidos por multiplos e diferentes serviços). Nesta dissertação vamos procurar soluções que permitam desenvolver uma arquitetura que esteja preparada para integrar novos serviços em runtime e permitir toda a gestão do sistema, mantendo a aplicação dinâmica e independente de entidades terceiras, independentemente da tecnologia e forma de comunicação usada pelo serviço. Assim, nesta dissertação é apresentado o estado da arte relativamente à integração de múltiplos fornece dores de serviço e o design e implementação da solução proposta, utilizando os produtos do WSO2 para fazê lo. Todo este processo é realizado no contexto do mobile ID, que é uma implementação da carta de condução digital baseada na ISO/IEC 18013-5:2021

The design, development and evaluation of cross-platform mobile applications and services supporting social accountability monitoring

Local government processes require meaningful and effective participation from both citizens and their governments in order to remain truly democratic. This project investigates the use of mobile phones as a tool for supporting this participation. MobiSAM, a system which aims to enhance the Social Accountability Monitoring (SAM) methodology at local government level, has been designed and implemented. The research presented in this thesis examines tools and techniques for the development of cross-platform client applications, allowing access to the MobiSAM service, across heterogeneous mobile platforms, handsets and interaction styles. Particular attention is paid to providing an easily navigated user interface (UI), as well as offering clear and concise visualisation capabilities. Depending on the host device, interactivity is also included within these visualisations, potentially helping provide further insight into the visualised data. Guided by the results obtained from a comprehensive baseline study of the Grahamstown area, steps are taken in an attempt to lower the barrier of entry to using the MobiSAM service, potentially maximising its market reach. These include extending client application support to all identified mobile platforms (including feature phones); providing multi-language UIs (in English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans); as well as ensuring client application data usage is kept to a minimum. The particular strengths of a given device are also leveraged, such as its camera capabilities and built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) module, potentially allowing for more effective engagement with local municipalities. Additionally, a Short Message Service (SMS) gateway is developed, allowing all Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) compatible handsets access to the MobiSAM service via traditional SMS. Following an iterative, user-centred design process, a thorough evaluation of the client application is also performed, in an attempt to gather feedback relating to the navigation and visualisation capabilities. The results of which are used to further refine its design. A comparative usability evaluation using two different versions of the cross-platform client application is also undertaken, highlighting the perceived memorability, learnabilitv and satisfaction of each. Results from the evaluation reveals which version of the client application is to be deployed during future pilot studies

Designing a Multimedia Intervention for Illiterate and Semi-Illiterate Pregnant Women in Developing Countries: A Case of Uganda

Die hohe Müttersterblichkeit in Entwicklungsländern ist zum Teil auf indirekte Faktoren wie Analphabetismus und eingeschränkten Zugang zu Gesundheitsinformationen für Mütter zurückzuführen. Während gebildete Frauen auf Gesundheitsinformationen über Online-Plattformen und mHealth-Apps zugreifen können, müssen Analphabetinnen diese in Gesundheitseinrichtungen abrufen, was aufgrund der Transportkosten oft nicht möglich ist. Mobilfunktechnologie hat in der Gesundheitsversorgung Chancen für ressourcenarme Gemeinschaften eröffnet, die sonst nicht von den digitalen Technologien profitiert hätten. Obwohl Mobilfunktechnologie in der Müttergesundheit eingesetzt wird, können die meisten Maßnahmen nicht von Analphabeten genutzt werden, verwenden Sicherheitsmodelle die nicht auf den Kontext von Entwicklungsländern zugeschnitten sind, und wurden nicht auf ihre Auswirkungen auf die Müttergesundheit hin evaluiert. In dieser Arbeit wurden zwei (Web und Mobile) Apps entwickelt, die die Übermittlung von multimedialen Nachrichten zur Müttergesundheit, Terminerinnerungen und Anrufe/Chats erleichtern. Um die Anforderungen der Nutzer zu erfassen, wurde eine Feldstudie mit halbstrukturierten Interviews und Fokusgruppendiskussionen mit schwangeren Analphabetinnen, Gesundheitsexperten und Entwicklern durchgeführt. Es folgte die Entwicklung eines Sicherheitsmodells (T2RoL) zur Sicherung der Gesundheitsinformationen in den Apps, die dann nach einem nutzerzentrierten Designansatz entwickelt wurden. Eine zweite Feldstudie in Form von halbstrukturierten Interviews und Umfragen wurde durchgeführt, um die mobile App in einer randomisierten kontrollierten Studie mit 80 schwangeren Analphabetinnen über 9 Monate zu evaluieren. Die Auswertung zeigte, dass die App akzeptiert wurde sowie einfach zu erlernen und zu benutzen war. Das Wissen über Müttergesundheit in der Interventionsgruppe verbesserte sich, was sich positiv auf gesundheitsbezogene Entscheidungen und Gesundheitsmaßnahmen auswirkte.Maternal mortality is high in developing countries partly due to indirect factors such as illiteracy and limited access to maternal health information. While literate women can access health information from online platforms, and mHealth apps, illiterate women must get it from health facilities which is often not possible due to lack of transport fees. Mobile technology has opened opportunities in maternal health care for low resource communities that would otherwise not have benefited from digital technologies. Although used in maternal health, most interventions are not usable by the illiterate, use security models that are not tailored to the developing countries’ context, and have not been evaluated to assess their impact on maternal health care. In this thesis, two (web and mobile) apps that facilitate delivery of multimedia-based maternal health messages, appointment reminders, and calls/ chats were developed. To gather user requirements, a field study in form of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions was conducted with illiterate pregnant women, health practitioners and developers. Development of a security model (T2RoL) to secure the health information in the apps followed. The apps were then developed following a user-centered design approach. A second field study in form of semi-structured interviews and surveys was conducted to evaluate the mobile app through a randomized controlled trial with 80 illiterate pregnant women that were followed for 9 months. Overall, results show that the app was acceptable, easy to learn and use. There was improved maternal health knowledge among the intervention group which positively influenced health related decision making and health practices

Teleoperation of passivity-based model reference robust control over the internet

This dissertation offers a survey of a known theoretical approach and novel experimental results in establishing a live communication medium through the internet to host a virtual communication environment for use in Passivity-Based Model Reference Robust Control systems with delays. The controller which is used as a carrier to support a robust communication between input-to-state stability is designed as a control strategy that passively compensates for position errors that arise during contact tasks and strives to achieve delay-independent stability for controlling of aircrafts or other mobile objects. Furthermore the controller is used for nonlinear systems, coordination of multiple agents, bilateral teleoperation, and collision avoidance thus maintaining a communication link with an upper bound of constant delay is crucial for robustness and stability of the overall system. For utilizing such framework an elucidation can be formulated by preparing site survey for analyzing not only the geographical distances separating the nodes in which the teleoperation will occur but also the communication parameters that define the virtual topography that the data will travel through. This survey will first define the feasibility of the overall operation since the teleoperation will be used to sustain a delay based controller over the internet thus obtaining a hypothetical upper bound for the delay via site survey is crucial not only for the communication system but also the delay is required for the design of the passivity-based model reference robust control. Following delay calculation and measurement via site survey, bandwidth tests for unidirectional and bidirectional communication is inspected to ensure that the speed is viable to maintain a real-time connection. Furthermore from obtaining the results it becomes crucial to measure the consistency of the delay throughout a sampled period to guarantee that the upper bound is not breached at any point within the communication to jeopardize the robustness of the controller. Following delay analysis a geographical and topological overview of the communication is also briefly examined via a trace-route to understand the underlying nodes and their contribution to the delay and round-trip consistency. To accommodate the communication channel for the controller the input and output data from both nodes need to be encapsulated within a transmission control protocol via a multithreaded design of a robust program within the C language. The program will construct a multithreaded client-server relationship in which the control data is transmitted. For added stability and higher level of security the channel is then encapsulated via an internet protocol security by utilizing a protocol suite for protecting the communication by authentication and encrypting each packet of the session using negotiation of cryptographic keys during each session

The Prom Problem: Fair and Privacy-Enhanced Matchmaking with Identity Linked Wishes

In the Prom Problem (TPP), Alice wishes to attend a school dance with Bob and needs a risk-free, privacy preserving way to find out whether Bob shares that same wish. If not, no one should know that she inquired about it, not even Bob. TPP represents a special class of matchmaking challenges, augmenting the properties of privacy-enhanced matchmaking, further requiring fairness and support for identity linked wishes (ILW) – wishes involving specific identities that are only valid if all involved parties have those same wishes. The Horne-Nair (HN) protocol was proposed as a solution to TPP along with a sample pseudo-code embodiment leveraging an untrusted matchmaker. Neither identities nor pseudo-identities are included in any messages or stored in the matchmaker’s database. Privacy relevant data stay within user control. A security analysis and proof-of-concept implementation validated the approach, fairness was quantified, and a feasibility analysis demonstrated practicality in real-world networks and systems, thereby bounding risk prior to incurring the full costs of development. The SecretMatch™ Prom app leverages one embodiment of the patented HN protocol to achieve privacy-enhanced and fair matchmaking with ILW. The endeavor led to practical lessons learned and recommendations for privacy engineering in an era of rapidly evolving privacy legislation. Next steps include design of SecretMatch™ apps for contexts like voting negotiations in legislative bodies and executive recruiting. The roadmap toward a quantum resistant SecretMatch™ began with design of a Hybrid Post-Quantum Horne-Nair (HPQHN) protocol. Future directions include enhancements to HPQHN, a fully Post Quantum HN protocol, and more

Department of Computer Science Activity 1998-2004

This report summarizes much of the research and teaching activity of the Department of Computer Science at Dartmouth College between late 1998 and late 2004. The material for this report was collected as part of the final report for NSF Institutional Infrastructure award EIA-9802068, which funded equipment and technical staff during that six-year period. This equipment and staff supported essentially all of the department\u27s research activity during that period

Security and trust in cloud computing and IoT through applying obfuscation, diversification, and trusted computing technologies

Cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) are very widely spread and commonly used technologies nowadays. The advanced services offered by cloud computing have made it a highly demanded technology. Enterprises and businesses are more and more relying on the cloud to deliver services to their customers. The prevalent use of cloud means that more data is stored outside the organization’s premises, which raises concerns about the security and privacy of the stored and processed data. This highlights the significance of effective security practices to secure the cloud infrastructure. The number of IoT devices is growing rapidly and the technology is being employed in a wide range of sectors including smart healthcare, industry automation, and smart environments. These devices collect and exchange a great deal of information, some of which may contain critical and personal data of the users of the device. Hence, it is highly significant to protect the collected and shared data over the network; notwithstanding, the studies signify that attacks on these devices are increasing, while a high percentage of IoT devices lack proper security measures to protect the devices, the data, and the privacy of the users. In this dissertation, we study the security of cloud computing and IoT and propose software-based security approaches supported by the hardware-based technologies to provide robust measures for enhancing the security of these environments. To achieve this goal, we use obfuscation and diversification as the potential software security techniques. Code obfuscation protects the software from malicious reverse engineering and diversification mitigates the risk of large-scale exploits. We study trusted computing and Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) as the hardware-based security solutions. Trusted Platform Module (TPM) provides security and trust through a hardware root of trust, and assures the integrity of a platform. We also study Intel SGX which is a TEE solution that guarantees the integrity and confidentiality of the code and data loaded onto its protected container, enclave. More precisely, through obfuscation and diversification of the operating systems and APIs of the IoT devices, we secure them at the application level, and by obfuscation and diversification of the communication protocols, we protect the communication of data between them at the network level. For securing the cloud computing, we employ obfuscation and diversification techniques for securing the cloud computing software at the client-side. For an enhanced level of security, we employ hardware-based security solutions, TPM and SGX. These solutions, in addition to security, ensure layered trust in various layers from hardware to the application. As the result of this PhD research, this dissertation addresses a number of security risks targeting IoT and cloud computing through the delivered publications and presents a brief outlook on the future research directions.Pilvilaskenta ja esineiden internet ovat nykyään hyvin tavallisia ja laajasti sovellettuja tekniikkoja. Pilvilaskennan pitkälle kehittyneet palvelut ovat tehneet siitä hyvin kysytyn teknologian. Yritykset enenevässä määrin nojaavat pilviteknologiaan toteuttaessaan palveluita asiakkailleen. Vallitsevassa pilviteknologian soveltamistilanteessa yritykset ulkoistavat tietojensa käsittelyä yrityksen ulkopuolelle, minkä voidaan nähdä nostavan esiin huolia taltioitavan ja käsiteltävän tiedon turvallisuudesta ja yksityisyydestä. Tämä korostaa tehokkaiden turvallisuusratkaisujen merkitystä osana pilvi-infrastruktuurin turvaamista. Esineiden internet -laitteiden lukumäärä on nopeasti kasvanut. Teknologiana sitä sovelletaan laajasti monilla sektoreilla, kuten älykkäässä terveydenhuollossa, teollisuusautomaatiossa ja älytiloissa. Sellaiset laitteet keräävät ja välittävät suuria määriä informaatiota, joka voi sisältää laitteiden käyttäjien kannalta kriittistä ja yksityistä tietoa. Tästä syystä johtuen on erittäin merkityksellistä suojata verkon yli kerättävää ja jaettavaa tietoa. Monet tutkimukset osoittavat esineiden internet -laitteisiin kohdistuvien tietoturvahyökkäysten määrän olevan nousussa, ja samaan aikaan suuri osuus näistä laitteista ei omaa kunnollisia teknisiä ominaisuuksia itse laitteiden tai niiden käyttäjien yksityisen tiedon suojaamiseksi. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkitaan pilvilaskennan sekä esineiden internetin tietoturvaa ja esitetään ohjelmistopohjaisia tietoturvalähestymistapoja turvautumalla osittain laitteistopohjaisiin teknologioihin. Esitetyt lähestymistavat tarjoavat vankkoja keinoja tietoturvallisuuden kohentamiseksi näissä konteksteissa. Tämän saavuttamiseksi työssä sovelletaan obfuskaatiota ja diversifiointia potentiaalisiana ohjelmistopohjaisina tietoturvatekniikkoina. Suoritettavan koodin obfuskointi suojaa pahantahtoiselta ohjelmiston takaisinmallinnukselta ja diversifiointi torjuu tietoturva-aukkojen laaja-alaisen hyödyntämisen riskiä. Väitöskirjatyössä tutkitaan luotettua laskentaa ja luotettavan laskennan suoritusalustoja laitteistopohjaisina tietoturvaratkaisuina. TPM (Trusted Platform Module) tarjoaa turvallisuutta ja luottamuksellisuutta rakentuen laitteistopohjaiseen luottamukseen. Pyrkimyksenä on taata suoritusalustan eheys. Työssä tutkitaan myös Intel SGX:ää yhtenä luotettavan suorituksen suoritusalustana, joka takaa suoritettavan koodin ja datan eheyden sekä luottamuksellisuuden pohjautuen suojatun säiliön, saarekkeen, tekniseen toteutukseen. Tarkemmin ilmaistuna työssä turvataan käyttöjärjestelmä- ja sovellusrajapintatasojen obfuskaation ja diversifioinnin kautta esineiden internet -laitteiden ohjelmistokerrosta. Soveltamalla samoja tekniikoita protokollakerrokseen, työssä suojataan laitteiden välistä tiedonvaihtoa verkkotasolla. Pilvilaskennan turvaamiseksi työssä sovelletaan obfuskaatio ja diversifiointitekniikoita asiakaspuolen ohjelmistoratkaisuihin. Vankemman tietoturvallisuuden saavuttamiseksi työssä hyödynnetään laitteistopohjaisia TPM- ja SGX-ratkaisuja. Tietoturvallisuuden lisäksi nämä ratkaisut tarjoavat monikerroksisen luottamuksen rakentuen laitteistotasolta ohjelmistokerrokseen asti. Tämän väitöskirjatutkimustyön tuloksena, osajulkaisuiden kautta, vastataan moniin esineiden internet -laitteisiin ja pilvilaskentaan kohdistuviin tietoturvauhkiin. Työssä esitetään myös näkemyksiä jatkotutkimusaiheista

An investigation of smartphone applications: Exploring usability aspects related to wireless personal area networks, context-awareness, and remote information access

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In this thesis we look into usability in the context of smartphone applications. We selected three research areas to investigate, namely Wireless Personal Area Networks, Context-awareness, and Remote Information Access. These areas are investigated through a series of experiments, which focuses on important aspects of usability within software applications. Additionally, we mainly use smartphone devices in the experiments. In experiment 1, Multi-Platform Bluetooth Remote Control, we investigated Wireless Personal Area Networks. Specifically, we implemented a system consisting of two clients, which were created for Java ME and Windows Mobile, and integrated with a server application installed on a Bluetooth-enabled laptop. For experiments 2 and 3, Context-aware Meeting Room and PainDroid: an Android Application for Pain Management, we looked closely at the research area of Contextawareness. The Context-aware Meeting Room was created to automatically send meeting participants useful meeting notes during presentations. In experiment 3, we investigated the use of on-device sensors for the Android platform, providing an additional input mechanism for a pain management application, where the accelerometer and magnetometer were used. Finally, the last research area we investigated was Remote Information Access, where we conducted experiment 4, Customised Android Home Screen. We created a system that integrated both a cloud-based server application and a mobile client running on the Android platform. We used the cloud-computing platform to provide context management features, such as the ability to store the user configuration that was automatically pushed to the mobile devices