Emotions and Gambling: Towards a Computational Model of Gambling Experience

Gambling has been on the rise over the past years and understanding different patterns of the human behavior while gambling involves the identification of the emotions experienced while gambling, as well as how these change during a gambling activity. This work attempts to address these components towards the creation of a computational model of gambling experience. Specifically, we created a gambling game (roulette) and evaluated the interaction of participants with the game by assessing their emotional responses using the video modality. This work provides the basis for developing a multimodal interface that can help capturing the gambling experience. Within our research we attempt to answer the following research questions: (a) which are the emotions experienced by someone gambling and (b) how do the emotions detected change before and after an event

Eliciting Sketched Expressions of Command Intentions in an IDE

Software engineers routinely use sketches (informal, ad-hoc drawings) to visualize and communicate complex ideas for colleagues or themselves. We hypothesize that sketching could also be used as a novel interaction modality in integrated software development environments (IDEs), allowing developers to express desired source code manipulations by sketching right on top of the IDE, rather than remembering keyboard shortcuts or using a mouse to navigate menus and dialogs. For an initial assessment of the viability of this idea, we conducted an elicitation study that prompted software developers to express a number of common IDE commands through sketches. For many of our task prompts, we observed considerable agreement in how developers would express the respective commands through sketches, suggesting that further research on a more formal sketch-based visual command language for IDEs would be worthwhile.Icelandic Research Fund (grant no. 196228)Post-prin

Interactive virtual method applied in urban design education. Mixed Approach

La memòria d'aquesta tesi tracta sobre l'ús de la transformació digital en l'ensenyament i els processos de disseny urbà, a través de conceptes innovadors i metodologies pràctiques. L'objectiu és promoure l'ús de tecnologies digitals, en particular per avaluar la inclusió de la realitat virtual en diversos entorns d'ensenyament formals i informals del disseny urbà col·laboratiu, per tal de millorar, accelerar i augmentar el seu impacte social de forma positiva i millorar l'ensenyament universitària ajudant al fet que els estudiants consolidin amb major efectivitat les seves habilitats. Amb les característiques d’un sistema de realitat virtual, podem provar la nostra hipòtesi en funció de demostrar: (1) La implementació d'estratègies virtuals gamificades en el camp del disseny urbà generarà una millora i motivació en la participació ciutadana i dels estudiants, ja que l’entorn és més dinàmic, real i permet un disseny col·laboratiu àgil gràcies a les tecnologies visuals immersives, mentre avaluen críticament el resultat d'un disseny urbà i prenen decisions. (2) L'ús de sistemes virtuals interactius per a la comprensió de l'espai tridimensional millora en els estudiants i professionals la percepció de la comprensió de l'espai, generant major enteniment de les condicions d'ubicació, dimensions i relacions dels espais urbans, i defensar els arguments de projectes urbans i propostes urbanes definides interactivament que proven diverses estratègies d'acció. Per provar les nostres hipòtesis, fem servir un mètode quantitatiu i qualitatiu aplicat en diferents escenaris i als diferents perfils d'usuaris, estudiants, professionals i usuaris finals. Els resultats mostraran que és possible potenciar la transformació digital, millorar la motivació pública, la implicació i la satisfacció en els processos de presa de decisions urbanes, així com complementar l'adquisició de competències urbanes específiques necessàries per a la professió en estudiants d'Arquitectura.La memoria de esta tesis trata sobre el uso de la transformación digital en la enseñanza y los procesos de diseño urbano, a través de conceptos innovadores y metodologías prácticas. El objetivo es promover el uso de tecnologías digitales, en particular para evaluar la inclusión de la realidad virtual en diversos entornos de enseñanza formales e informales del diseño urbano colaborativo, con el fin de mejorarlo, acelerar y aumentar su impacto social positivo y mejorar la enseñanza universitaria ayudando a que los estudiantes consoliden con mayor efectividad sus habilidades. Con las características de un sistema de realidad virtual, podemos probar nuestra hipótesis en función de demostrar: (1) El uso de sistemas virtuales interactivos para la comprensión del espacio tridimensional mejora en los estudiantes y profesionales la percepción de la comprensión del espacio, generando mayor entendimiento de las condiciones de ubicación, dimensiones y relaciones de los espacios urbanos, y defender los argumentos de proyectos urbanos y propuestas urbanas definidas interactivamente que ensayan diversas estrategias de acción. (2) La implementación de estrategias virtuales gamificadas en el campo del diseño urbano generará una mejora y motivación en la participación ciudadana y en los estudiantes, ya que es un entorno de colaboración más dinámico, real y ágil gracias a las tecnologías visuales inmersivas, mientras evalúan críticamente el resultado de un diseño urbano y toman decisiones. Para probar nuestras hipótesis, utilizamos un método cuantitativo y cualitativo aplicado en diferentes escenarios y a diferentes perfiles de usuarios, estudiantes, profesionales y usuarios finales. Los resultados mostrarán que es posible potenciar la transformación digital, mejorar la motivación pública, la implicación y la satisfacción en los procesos de toma de decisiones urbanas, así como complementar la adquisición de competencias urbanas específicas necesarias para la profesión en estudiantes de Arquitectura.The memory of this thesis deals with the use of digital transformation in the teaching and processes of urban design, through innovative concepts and practical methodologies. The objective is to promote the use of digital technologies, in particular, to evaluate the inclusion of virtual reality in various formal and informal teaching environments of collaborative urban design, in order to improve it, speed up, and increase its positive social impact and improve university teaching by helping students consolidate their skills more effectively. With the characteristics of the VR system, we can test our hypothesis based on demonstrating: (1) The use of virtual-interactive systems for the understanding of three- dimensional space improve in students and professionals the perception of the comprehension of the space, generating a greater understanding of the location conditions, dimensions and relationships of urban spaces, and defend the arguments of urban projects and interactively defined urban proposals rehearsing various strategies of action. (2) The implementation of virtual gamified strategies in the field of urban design will generate improvement and motivation in citizen participation and students as it is a more dynamic, real and agile collaborative environment thanks to the immersive visual technologies as they critically evaluate the result of the urban design and make decisions. To validate our hypothesis, we use a quantitative and qualitative method applied in different scenarios and to a different profile of users, students, professionals and end users. The results will show that it is possible to empower digital transformation, to improve public motivation, implication, and satisfaction in urban decision-making processes as well as complementing the improvement of the perception of the comprehension of the space needed for the profession in Architecture students

User-created personas: a four case multi-ethnic study of persona artefact co-design in pastoral and Urban Namibia with ovaHerero, Ovambo, ovaHimba and San communities

A persona is an artefact widely used in technology design to aid communicational processes between designers, users and other stakeholders involved in projects. Persona originated in the Global North as an interpretative portrayal of a group of users with commonalities. Persona lacks empirical research in the Global South, while projects appearing in the literature are often framed under the philosophy of User-Centred Design –this indicates they are anchored in western epistemologies. This thesis postulates persona depictions are expected to differ across locales, and that studying differences and similarities in such representations is imperative to avoid misrepresentations that in turn can lead to designerly miscommunications, and ultimately to unsuitable technology designs. The importance of this problematic is demonstrated through four exploratory case studies on persona artefacts co-designed with communities from four Namibian ethnicities, namely ovaHerero, ovaHimba, Ovambo and San. Findings reveal diverse self-representations whereby results for each ethnicity materialise in different ways, recounts and storylines: romanticised persona archetypes versus reality with ovaHerero; collective persona representations with ovaHimba; individualised personas with Ovambo, although embedded in narratives of collectivism and interrelatedness with other personas; and renderings of two contradictory personas of their selves with a group of San youth according to either being on their own (i.e. inspiring and aspirational) or mixed with other ethnic groups (i.e. ostracised). This thesis advocates for User-Created Personas (UCP) as a potentially valid tactic and methodology to iteratively pursue conceptualisations of persona artefacts that are capable to communicate localised nuances critical to designing useful and adequate technologies across locales: Methodologies to endow laypeople to co-design persona self-representations and the results and appraisals provided are this thesis’ main contribution to knowledge

Trends on Educational Gamification: Challenges and Learning Opportunities

Games are a natural activity—we all know how to play. Perhaps this is the key feature that explains the increase in the use of game-based learning (GBL) strategies: Applying games to education converts education into a universal activity. Over the last ten years, the way in which education and training is delivered has considerably changed, not only due to a new technologic environment—plenty of social networks, MOOCs, etc.—but also because of the appearance of new methodologies. Such new methodologies are shifting the center of gravity: from the teacher to the student, with the aim of awakening relational aspects, as well as promoting imagination and divergent thinking. One new approach that holds considerable promise for helping to engage learners is, indeed, game-based learning (GBL). However, while a growing number of institutions are beginning to see the validity of GBL, there are still many challenges to overcome before this type of learning can become widespread.In this Special Issue, we want to gather several studies and experiences in GBL to be shared with other teachers and researchers

The employee experience in cybersecurity and how to mitigate risk

With society now heavily invested in computer systems and internet connectivity, it has never been more vital to identify ways to safeguard cyberspace (Asquith & Morgan, 2019). In 2021, over 23,896 cyber security incidents were reported to have taken place across the globe, with a data breach confirmed in over 5,212 of these incidents (Verizon, 2022). Despite many organisations now applying time and budget to cybersecurity awareness training, 82% of security breaches are still found to involve a human element (Verizon, 2022). The aim of this PhD was to better understand the human experience in cybersecurity, internal individual differences that can result in decision-making vulnerabilities, but also the impact of additional external pressures such as offender persuasion attempting to leverage on human susceptibility, to the impact of persuasive interventions generated to promote secure behaviour. The result – a Cybersecurity Awareness Framework (CAF) that can guide organisations on how to better measure and manage human-centric cybersecurity moving forward. In addition, an improved understanding around the persuasion techniques most likely to increase human vulnerability, as well as findings around the impact of several interventions currently being utilised to persuade end-users to behave in ways that counter that vulnerability. Together, these outputs provide a more holistic understanding around the employee experience in cybersecurity, the challenges they face, and recommendations for future intervention

Digital Research Cycles: How Attitudes Toward Content, Culture And Technology Affect Web Development.

It has been estimated that one third of the world\u27s population does not have access to adequate health care. Some 1.6 billion people live in countries experiencing concentrated acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemics. Many countries in Africa--and other low-income countries--are in dire need of help providing adequate health care services to their citizens. They require more hands-on care from Western health workers--and training so more African health workers can eventually care for their own citizens. But these countries also need assistance acquiring and implementing both texts--the body of medical information potentially available to them--and technology--the means by which that information can be conveyed. This dissertation looks at these issues and others from a multi-faceted approach. It combines a survey of the developers of Web sites designed for use by health workers in low-income countries and a proposal for a novel approach to communication theory, which could help improve health communication and other social marketing practices. It also includes an extensive review of literature regarding a number of topics related to these issues. To improve healthcare services in low-income countries, several things should occur. First, more health workers--and others--could visit African countries and other places to provide free, hands-on medical care, as this researcher\u27s group did in Uganda. Such trips are ideal occasions for studying the cultural differences between mzungu (white man) and the Ugandan people. A number of useful medical texts have been written for health workers in low-income countries. Others will be published as new health information becomes available. But on what medium will they be published? Computers? Personal digital assistants? During the past 10 years the Internet became an ideal venue for conveying information. Unfortunately, people in target countries such as Uganda encounter cultural differences when such new technologies are diffused. This dissertation looks at cultural and technological difficulties encountered by people in low-income countries who attempt to diffuse information and communication technologies (ICT). Once a technology has been successfully adopted, someone will look for ways to use it to help others. There are hundreds of sites on the Internet--built by Web developers in Western countries--that are designed for use by health workers in low-income countries. However, these Web developers also experience cultural and technological differences, based on their knowledge of and attitudes toward best practices in their field. This research includes a survey of Web developers which determined their attitudes toward best practices in their field and tested this researcher\u27s hypothesis that there is no significant difference among the developers\u27 attitudes toward the content on their sites, their audience\u27s cultural needs and the various technological needs their audience has. It was found that the Web developers agree with 17 of 18 perceived best practices and that there is a significant difference between Web developers\u27 attitudes toward their audience\u27s technological needs and their attitudes toward quality content and the audience\u27s cultural needs. Creation of the survey herein resulted in this researcher generating a new way of thinking about communication theory--called digital research cycles. The survey was based on a review of literature and is rooted in the belief that any successful communication of a computer-mediated message in the information age is a behavior which is influenced by the senders\u27 and receivers\u27 attitudes and knowledge about textual style, the audience, technology and the subject matter to which the message pertains

Human-Computer Interaction

In this book the reader will find a collection of 31 papers presenting different facets of Human Computer Interaction, the result of research projects and experiments as well as new approaches to design user interfaces. The book is organized according to the following main topics in a sequential order: new interaction paradigms, multimodality, usability studies on several interaction mechanisms, human factors, universal design and development methodologies and tools

Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2020, held in Leiden, The Netherlands, in September 2020. The 60 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 111 submissions. The were organized in topical sections on haptic science, haptic technology, and haptic applications. This year's focus is on accessibility