EyeSpot: leveraging gaze to protect private text content on mobile devices from shoulder surfing

As mobile devices allow access to an increasing amount of private data, using them in public can potentially leak sensitive information through shoulder surfing. This includes personal private data (e.g., in chat conversations) and business-related content (e.g., in emails). Leaking the former might infringe on users’ privacy, while leaking the latter is considered a breach of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation as of May 2018. This creates a need for systems that protect sensitive data in public. We introduce EyeSpot, a technique that displays content through a spot that follows the user’s gaze while hiding the rest of the screen from an observer’s view through overlaid masks. We explore different configurations for EyeSpot in a user study in terms of users’ reading speed, text comprehension, and perceived workload. While our system is a proof of concept, we identify crystallized masks as a promising design candidate for further evaluation with regard to the security of the system in a shoulder surfing scenario

Innovating Language Education: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief

The NMC is a leading educational technology organization. A main outcome of the collaboration between the Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center and the NMC was this publication, which highlights recommendations that emerged from discussions of major trends, challenges, and technology developments by experts and practitioners in language technologies in higher education. Innovating Language Education identifies main trends and areas of interest and constitutes a rich resource that includes key definitions and proofs of concept

Utilizing Mobile Computer Devices in Urdu / Hindi Language Programs to Enhance Language Learning

Mobile computer devices, such as laptops, hand-held devices like iPads, and smartphones, have become an integral part of learning, today. In this study, effects of mobile computer devices to facilitate language learning were explored. Students from a university were surveyed for their beliefs, behaviors, preferences and practices with respect to using mobile computers devices to learn Urdu/Hindi languages. How students use various types of devices; which language skills (listening, reading, speaking) are affected and enhanced the most; how mobile devices facilitate differentiated instruction for varying learning styles; how they foster self-organized learning environments (SOLE) and support universal design for learning (UDL), were observed and tracked to see the impact of mobile devices on language learning. Key findings indicate that: (a). students use mobile devices to find various language related material for language learning; (b). the portability and quick accessibility aspects help in language learning, inside and outside of classroom; (c). they have varying degrees of impact on listening, reading and speaking skills; (d). they make self-organized learners and support universal design for learning that aids language acquisition, immensely. Overall, it is evident from the study that the use of mobile computer devices enriches a language learner’s experience and plays an integral, supportive role in the language learning process

Understanding how older Australians experience information literacy using mobile devices

This thesis reports on a Constructivist Grounded Theory study that investigated older Australians’ information literacy experience using mobile devices in their daily lives. A growing number of studies have revealed that information literacy is an important concept for older adults, and that considerably more work exploring the phenomenon is needed. While previous studies explored how older adults experienced information literacy, they did not focus on this phenomenon in the context of mobile devices. We live in, not just an information age, but also a technological age. Thus, this research project explores the following research question: How do older Australians experience information literacy using mobile devices? Emanating from this proposed research question, the study’s objectives are: to contribute new knowledge (i.e., a new theoretical understanding) about how older adults experience information literacy using mobile devices; and to explore what this new knowledge may contribute to information literacy education and consumer information research using mobile devices. The findings may be used to support the information needs of older Australians. This research adopts the Constructivist Grounded Theory method. Australians aged 65 years of age or older who use mobile devices were invited to take part in an indepth, semi-structured interview. Twelve older Australians living in a regional town in Queensland participated in interviews. The participants conversed in-person about how they use their smartphone and/or tablet computer as part of their information literacy experience in their everyday lives. The outcome of this study is a substantive theory named Older Australians’ Mobile Information Literacy: A Grounded Theory, which provides a holistic view of older Australians’ information literacy experience using mobile devices. This theory consists of 6 categories, which are interconnected and were constructed through a Constructivist Grounded Theory analysis process. These categories are: Ageing; Learning to use and manage mobile devices; Being entertained; Enacting everyday life; Learning; and Managing relationships. This work is of interest to the domains of information literacy, to mobile devices (including building and devising them for the seniors market), to library and information sciences and to information literacy community education research. It also contributes to our understanding of older Australians and their use of technology. Further, this study adds new understanding about older adults’ engagement with information using mobile devices in their everyday life. This research contributes to the expansion of information literacy research from a sociocultural perspective in a community context, with new knowledge and understanding about how older adults experience information literacy and how their information literacy experiences are socially and culturally influenced by their interactions within that community

Internationalization of a digital luxury brand: Josefinas case study

The present case approaches the internationalization of a digital luxury brand (Josefinas), more specifically the Communication Strategy used during the opening of a popup store in a country and city different from Braga, Portugal, for one year. Therefore, at the beginning of the Case, three distinct world cities are proposed and the challenge for the students is throughout the Case Study, answering the questions and make decision-making in order to choose one of the destinations initially presented. Luxury Brands predominantly use communication actions like printed advertising, newsletters, Public Relations, Press Releases, interviews to mass media and Word of Mouth to promote their brands and products. However, digital brands need to be present and use social networks daily to grow, survive and reach as many people as possible. In order to stand out in the global luxury market, brands need to be genuine and true to themselves. Regarding the Global Luxury Market, the Chinese consumer is the predominant. In recent years, generation Z and the Millennials are boosting a strong growth in global luxury purchases, and tourism is a major driver of this market. On the other hand, while online shopping is increasing rapidly, the luxury consumer still uses physical stores as their main channel for purchasing luxury goods, hence, it makes sense for Josefinas to open a pop-up store abroad.O presente caso aborda a internacionalização de uma marca de luxo digital (Josefinas), mais especificamente a Estratégia de Comunicação utilizada durante a abertura de uma loja pop-up num país e cidade diferente de Braga, Portugal, durante um ano. Por conseguinte, no início do Caso são propostas três cidades mundiais distintas e o desafio para os alunos é ao longo do caso estes irem respondendo às perguntas e fazer tomadas de decisão, a fim de escolher um dos destinos apresentados inicialmente. As marcas de luxo utilizam maioritariamente ações de comunicação como Publicidade Impressa, Boletins informativos (Newsletters), Relações Públicas, Comunicados de Imprensa, entrevistas aos mass media, o Boca a Boca ou passa-palavra para promover as suas marcas e os seus produtos. Contudo, as marcas digitais precisam de estar presentes e usar as redes sociais diariamente para crescer, sobreviver e chegar ao maior número de pessoas possível. Para se destacarem no mercado global de luxo, as marcas necessitam ser genuínas e fiéis a si mesmas. Relativamente ao mercado global de luxo, o consumidor Chinês é o predominante. Nos últimos anos, a geração Z e a geração Y estão a fomentar um forte crescimento nas compras globais de luxo e o turismo está a ser um grande impulsionador deste mercado. Por outro lado, embora as compras online estejam a aumentar rapidamente, o consumidor de luxo ainda utiliza a loja física como o seu principal canal de compra de bens de luxo, daí, fazer sentido a marca Josefinas abrir uma loja pop-up fora de Portugal

Guide to Chat Apps

Messaging apps now have more global users than traditional social networks—which means they will play an increasingly important role in the distribution of digital journalism in the future. While chat platforms initially rose to prominence by offering a low-cost, web-based alternative to SMS, over time they evolved into multimedia hubs that support photos, videos, games, payments, and more. While many news organizations don’t yet use messaging apps, digitally savvy outlets like BuzzFeed, Mashable, The Huffington Post, and VICE have accompanied a more traditional player in BBC News by establishing a presence on a number of these platforms. To complement our research, we interviewed leadership at multiple news outlets and chat platforms, thereby synthesizing key lessons and presenting notable case studies reflecting the variety of creative and strategic work taking place within the messaging space. Most publisher efforts around messaging apps are still in a formative, experimental stage, but even those have often proven effective in diversifying traffic sources for digital content. Our research indicates that one of the greatest benefits of chat apps is the opportunity to use these platforms as live, sandbox environments. The chance to play and iterate has helped several news organizations develop mobile-first content and experiential offerings that would have proved difficult in other digital environments. As these services primarily—and in some cases exclusively—exist on mobile phones, editorial teams have learned to focus purely on the mobile experience, freeing themselves from considerations about how content will appear on desktop websites or other broadcast mediums. In developing editorial strategies for some of these wide-ranging messaging platforms, news organizations are not just helping to future-proof themselves, they are also venturing into online spaces that could enable them to reach hundreds of millions of (often young) people with whom they have never engaged before

Conceptual model for usable multi-modal mobile assistance during Umrah

Performing Umrah is very demanding and to be performed in very crowded environments. In response to that, many efforts have been initiated to overcome the difficulties faced by pilgrims. However, those efforts focus on acquiring initial perspective and background knowledge before going to Mecca. Findings of preliminary study show that those efforts do not support multi-modality for user interaction. Nowadays the computational capabilities in mobile phones enable it to serve people in various aspects of daily life. Consequently, the mobile phone penetration has increased dramatically in the last decade. Hence, this study aims to propose a comprehensive conceptual model for usable multimodal mobile assistance during Umrah called Multi-model Mobile Assistance during Umrah (MMA-U). Thus, four (4) supporting objectives are formulated, and the Design Science Research Methodology has been adopted. For the usability of MMA-U, Systematic Literature Review (SLR) indicates ten (10) attributes: usefulness, errors rate, simplicity, reliability, ease of use, safety, flexibility, accessibility, attitude, and acceptability. Meanwhile, the content and comparative analysis result in five (5) components that construct the conceptual model of MMA-U: structural, content composition, design principles, development approach, technology, and the design and usability theories. Then, the MMA-U has been reviewed and well-accepted by 15 experts. Later, the MMA-U was incorporated into a prototype called Personal Digital Mutawwif (PDM). The PDM was developed for the purpose of user test in the field. The findings indicate that PDM facilitates the execution of Umrah and successfully meet pilgrims’ needs and expectations. Also, the pilgrims were satisfied and felt that they need to have PDM. In fact, they would recommend PDM to their friends, which mean that use of PDM is safe and suitable while performing Umrah. As a conclusion, the theoretical contribution; the conceptual model of MMA-U; provides guidelines for developing multimodal content mobile applications during Umrah

Advancements in AI-driven multilingual comprehension for social robot interactions: An extensive review

In the digital era, human-robot interaction is rapidly expanding, emphasizing the need for social robots to fluently understand and communicate in multiple languages. It is not merely about decoding words but about establishing connections and building trust. However, many current social robots are limited to popular languages, serving in fields like language teaching, healthcare and companionship. This review examines the AI-driven language abilities in social robots, providing a detailed overview of their applications and the challenges faced, from nuanced linguistic understanding to data quality and cultural adaptability. Last, we discuss the future of integrating advanced language models in robots to move beyond basic interactions and towards deeper emotional connections. Through this endeavor, we hope to provide a beacon for researchers, steering them towards a path where linguistic adeptness in robots is seamlessly melded with their capacity for genuine emotional engagement