Characterizing Usability Issue Discussions in Open Source Software Projects

Usability is a crucial factor but one of the most neglected concerns in open source software (OSS). While far from an ideal approach, a common practice that OSS communities adopt to collaboratively address usability is through discussions on issue tracking systems (ITSs). However, there is little knowledge about the extent to which OSS community members engage in usability issue discussions, the aspects of usability they frequently target, and the characteristics of their collaboration around usability issue discussions. This knowledge is important for providing practical recommendations and research directions to better support OSS communities in addressing this important topic and improve OSS usability in general. To help achieve this goal, we performed an extensive empirical study on issues discussed in five popular OSS applications: three data science notebook projects (Jupyter Lab, Google Colab, and CoCalc) and two code editor projects (VSCode and Atom). Our results indicated that while usability issues are extensively discussed in the OSS projects, their scope tended to be limited to efficiency and aesthetics. Additionally, these issues are more frequently posted by experienced community members and display distinguishable characteristics, such as involving more visual communication and more participants. Our results provide important implications that can inform the OSS practitioners to better engage the community in usability issue discussion and shed light on future research efforts toward collaboration techniques and tools for discussing niche topics in diverse communities, such as the usability issues in the OSS context.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures, accepted to CSCW2024; supplementary material available at: https://github.com/HCDLab/UsabilityIssuesSupplementaryMateria

A framework to evaluate user experience of end user application security features

The use of technology in society moved from satisfying the technical needs of users to giving a lasting user experience while interacting with the technology. The continuous technological advancements have led to a diversity of emerging security concerns. It is necessary to balance security issues with user interaction. As such, designers have adapted to this reality by practising user centred design during product development to cater for the experiential needs of user - product interaction. These User Centred Design best practices and standards ensure that security features are incorporated within End User Programs (EUP). The primary function of EUP is not security, and interaction with security features while performing a program related task does present the end user with an extra burden. Evaluation mechanisms exist to enumerate the performance of the EUP and the user’s experience of the product interaction. Security evaluation standards focus on the program code security as well as on security functionalities of programs designed for security. However, little attention has been paid to evaluating user experience of functionalities offered by embedded security features. A qualitative case study research using problem based and design science research approaches was used to address the lack of criteria to evaluate user experience with embedded security features. User study findings reflect poor user experience with EUP security features, mainly as a result of low awareness of their existence, their location and sometimes even of their importance. From the literature review of the information security and user experience domains and the user study survey findings, four components of the framework were identified, namely: end user characteristics, information security, user experience and end user program security features characteristics. This thesis focuses on developing a framework that can be used to evaluate the user experience of interacting with end user program security features. The framework was designed following the design science research method and was reviewed by peers and experts for its suitability to address the problem. Subject experts in the fields of information security and human computer interaction were engaged, as the research is multidisciplinary. This thesis contributes to the body of knowledge on information security and on user experience elements of human computer interaction security regarding how to evaluate user experience of embedded InfoSec features. The research adds uniquely to the literature in the area of Human Computer Interaction Security evaluation and measurement in general, and is specific to end user program security features. The proposed metrics for evaluating UX of interacting with EUP security features were used to propose intervention to influence UX in an academic setup. The framework, besides presenting UX evaluation strategies for EUP security features, also presents a platform for further academic research on human factors of information security. The impact can be evaluated by assessing security behaviour, and successful security breaches, as well as user experience of interaction with end user programs

ICS Materials. Towards a re-Interpretation of material qualities through interactive, connected, and smart materials.

The domain of materials for design is changing under the influence of an increased technological advancement, miniaturization and democratization. Materials are becoming connected, augmented, computational, interactive, active, responsive, and dynamic. These are ICS Materials, an acronym that stands for Interactive, Connected and Smart. While labs around the world are experimenting with these new materials, there is the need to reflect on their potentials and impact on design. This paper is a first step in this direction: to interpret and describe the qualities of ICS materials, considering their experiential pattern, their expressive sensorial dimension, and their aesthetic of interaction. Through case studies, we analyse and classify these emerging ICS Materials and identified common characteristics, and challenges, e.g. the ability to change over time or their programmability by the designers and users. On that basis, we argue there is the need to reframe and redesign existing models to describe ICS materials, making their qualities emerge

The Proceedings of the 23rd Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (DGO2022) Intelligent Technologies, Governments and Citizens June 15-17, 2022

The 23rd Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research theme is “Intelligent Technologies, Governments and Citizens”. Data and computational algorithms make systems smarter, but should result in smarter government and citizens. Intelligence and smartness affect all kinds of public values - such as fairness, inclusion, equity, transparency, privacy, security, trust, etc., and is not well-understood. These technologies provide immense opportunities and should be used in the light of public values. Society and technology co-evolve and we are looking for new ways to balance between them. Specifically, the conference aims to advance research and practice in this field. The keynotes, presentations, posters and workshops show that the conference theme is very well-chosen and more actual than ever. The challenges posed by new technology have underscored the need to grasp the potential. Digital government brings into focus the realization of public values to improve our society at all levels of government. The conference again shows the importance of the digital government society, which brings together scholars in this field. Dg.o 2022 is fully online and enables to connect to scholars and practitioners around the globe and facilitate global conversations and exchanges via the use of digital technologies. This conference is primarily a live conference for full engagement, keynotes, presentations of research papers, workshops, panels and posters and provides engaging exchange throughout the entire duration of the conference

Ethical Sellout: Refining Standards of Ethics in the Commercial Design Industry

This project aims to refine notions of ethical design within the commercial communications industry and investigate the potential for actionable support to ethical practice. It intends to provide a unique aggregation and distillation of ethical design wisdom in the format of a comprehensive, foundational guide to assist practitioners in exploring their ethical potential and encourage the sustainable, dynamic development of a more socially and environmentally responsible practice. Though the “responsible design movement” continues to flourish, predominant perceptions of the marketing, advertising, and design industries remain largely negative (Heller & Vienne, 2018, p.103). A profit-above-all focus has resulted in public notions of an unethical industry complicit in perpetuating gratuitous consumerism, reflexive media consumption (Harris, 2016) and gross racial and gender inequality (3% Movement, 2018). Industry discourse indicates a heightened awareness about the perils of commercial work (Schwab, 2018) and employees are increasingly primed (Deloitte Millennial Survey, 2018) to participate in efforts to address today’s most pressing issues, in and outside of the design industry, like diversity, ethics, gender equity, climate action and socially responsible consumption and production (AIGA Design Census, 2017, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, 2018). Arguably, however, design literature has had little to offer in terms of actionable support for the employee’s desire for purposeful work (Garrotem, 2017). Ethics discourse in communication design has largely centred on the dissemination of idealistic manifestos (100 Years of Design Manifestos, 2014, Monteiro, 2017), organizations denouncing the unethical aspects of industry (Ico-D stands against crowd-sourced competition for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 logo, 2016, Schwab, 2018, Time’s Up®/ Advertising, 2018), and publications celebrating aesthetics in visual case studies for public-sector clients (Resnick, 2016, Simmons, 2016). This project explores a history of ethical design discourse, popular publishing in the area of ethical design, and expert interviews and surveys with over 130 practicing professionals. The research reveals an industry that has long focused on problematizing design’s complicity in capitalist endeavour. It has been said that for designers to effectively address the world’s problems, design must first free itself from its position as a tool of advertising (Garland, 1964, Papanek 1971) and separate itself from the hegemonic market economy (Fry, 2009, p. 80, Walker, 2013, p. 446). While there is probable partial truth to this suggestion, it is often impractical and, at times, impossible for a practitioner to leave the industry altogether. Given the multi-billion dollar size of the Canadian communications industry (Fuller, 2016), it is in our best interest to develop a means to effectively support the thousands of industry- employed practitioners (Graphic Designers - Canada Market Research Report, 2018) to realize an ethical practice within their existing work-life structures. Research findings have supported the development of ten ethical design archetypes under which over 130 actions toward ethical practice are organized. The book-as-thesis has been designed with an intention toward accessibility, inclusivity, and clarity in order to provide practitioners of many ilks with the practical knowledge to realize a more ethical practice

Qualitative Research in HRI: A Review and Taxonomy

The field of human–robot interaction (HRI) is young and highly inter-disciplinary, and the approaches, standards and methods proper to it are still in the process of negotiation. This paper reviews the use of qualitative methods and approaches in the HRI literature in order to contribute to the development of a foundation of approaches and methodologies for these new research areas. In total, 73 papers that use qualitative methods were systematically reviewed. The review reveals that there is widespread use of qualitative methods in HRI, but very different approaches to reporting on it, and high variance in the rigour with which the approaches are applied. We also identify the key qualitative methods used. A major contribution of this paper is a taxonomy categorizing qualitative research in HRI in two dimensions: by ’study type’ and based on the specific qualitative method use

Transforming our World through Universal Design for Human Development

An environment, or any building product or service in it, should ideally be designed to meet the needs of all those who wish to use it. Universal Design is the design and composition of environments, products, and services so that they can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. It creates products, services and environments that meet people’s needs. In short, Universal Design is good design. This book presents the proceedings of UD2022, the 6th International Conference on Universal Design, held from 7 - 9 September 2022 in Brescia, Italy.The conference is targeted at professionals and academics interested in the theme of universal design as related to the built environment and the wellbeing of users, but also covers mobility and urban environments, knowledge, and information transfer, bringing together research knowledge and best practice from all over the world. The book contains 72 papers from 13 countries, grouped into 8 sections and covering topics including the design of inclusive natural environments and urban spaces, communities, neighborhoods and cities; housing; healthcare; mobility and transport systems; and universally- designed learning environments, work places, cultural and recreational spaces. One section is devoted to universal design and cultural heritage, which had a particular focus at this edition of the conference. The book reflects the professional and disciplinary diversity represented in the UD movement, and will be of interest to all those whose work involves inclusive design

A Review of the Literature on End-of-life Care: Setting a Research Agenda for Maine

In 2002, Last Acts, a national campaign of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issued a report assessing the states on access to end-of-life care and policies supporting its provision. Quite striking for the hospice providers and other stakeholders of Maine, the state ranked second to last in hospice use among persons over age 65 in their last year of life. Although anecdotal and unpublished data suggest that hospice use is on the rise in Maine, concerns about the low use rate remains a concern to those interested in end-of-life care in the State. In order to better understand the factors influencing the use of hospice in Maine, the Maine Hospice Council asked the Muskie School of Public Service to conduct a literature review synthesizing current knowledge on outcomes, use, cost, and barriers to end-of-life care. This review provides a foundation for setting an overall research agenda for the Council. At the end of the report, we have outlined a set of questions for further research regarding end-of-life care in Maine