People Can Be So Fake: A New Dimension to Privacy and Technology Scholarship

This article updates the traditional discussion of privacy and technology, focused since the days of Warren and Brandeis on the capacity of technology to manipulate information. It proposes a novel dimension to the impact of anthropomorphic or social design on privacy. Technologies designed to imitate people-through voice, animation, and natural language-are increasingly commonplace, showing up in our cars, computers, phones, and homes. A rich literature in communications and psychology suggests that we are hardwired to react to such technology as though a person were actually present. Social interfaces accordingly capture our attention, improve interactivity, and can free up our hands for other tasks. At the same time, technologies that imitate people have the potential to implicate long-standing privacy values. One of the well-documented effects on users of interfaces and devices that emulate people is the sensation of being observed and evaluated. Their presence can alter our attitude, behavior, and physiological state. Widespread adoption of such technology may accordingly lessen opportunities for solitude and chill curiosity and self-development. These effects are all the more dangerous in that they cannot be addressed through traditional privacy protections such as encryption or anonymization. At the same time, the unique properties of social technology also present an opportunity to improve privacy, particularly online

Augmented reality concept to improve public awareness and safety at the beach

Rip currents pose a threat to the safety of bathers at most beaches around the world. Risk perception and swimming preference are critical factors for safety at beaches. In general, the inability to detect a rip current and a false sense of security may lead to situations where people are confronted with unforeseen dangers. The presented research intends to contribute to improving beach safety with situational-awareness data to keep bathers informed about undergoing dangers on a selected beach. As such, the need to create a beach-safety culture and a provocative social conscience in adopting safety behaviors at the beach, during leisure time, is a ground-breaking goal. The research presents a study regarding people understanding about rip currents and other (potential) beach dangerous situations and analyze their willingness to integrate a community of users and to collaboratively contribute to improving safety at the beach, in particular for social groups with children, older adults and citizens who would like to improve their beach-safety literacy. The proposed approach includes the specification of a platform to empower the user in becoming an active beach-safety agent. For this strategic objective, a service design approach was implemented to conceptualize a solution for collecting data about potential hazards, including information on the status of active rip currents. The innovation is settled over the combination of immersive technologies (e.g., Augmented Reality) with visual data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), in particular Deep Learning algorithms for image processing. Mobile Augmented Reality mixed with a gamification strategy are two other technologies considered in the architectural design of an interactive and gamified environment in promoting a beach-safety behavior. Such a mobile tool also addresses a strategy to create a social movement challenging citizens to integrate and benefit from the services and informational artifacts provided by the Beach Safety Community (BSC)

Towards a Video Consumer Leaning Spectrum: A Medium-Centric Approach

Purpose: As TV and digital video converge, there is a need to compare advertising effectiveness, advertising receptivity, and video consumption drivers in this new context. Considering the emerging viewing practices and underlying theories, this study examines the feasibility of the traditional notion of differentiating between lean-back (LB) and lean-forward (LF) media, and proposes a revised approach of addressing video consumption processes and associated advertising effectiveness implications. Methodology: An extensive, systematic literature review examines a total of 715 sources regarding current lean-back/lean-forward media research and alternative approaches as by (1) basic terminologies, (2) limitations of lean-back/lean-forward situations, (3) advertising effectiveness implications, (4) video-specific approaches. Findings/Contribution: Key differences between lean-back and lean-forward video consumption are presented. A conceptual integration of video ad receptivity/effectiveness drivers is proposed to guide future media and marketing research and practice. Video consumption today is no longer lean-back or lean-forward, but a “leaning spectrum” with two dimensions: leaning direction and leaning degree. Designing video content today requires focusing on consumption drivers and platform synergies for owning the “leaning spectrum”

Audio branding empowerment: a dissertation proposal about the interactive process between brands and consumer behaviour

In the XXI century, brands' transformation happens by the minute and there is no room for failure. Competitiveness is global and it is no longer enough for brands to have wellstructured and well-planned strategies year after year because the consumer is now part of the whole process and disbelief in the corporate world keeps rising. That is why it is urgent for companies and brands to distinguish themselves from competitors, using the tools available today, in order to remain relevant, credible and efficient. Here is where Marketing, in constant reinvention through new trends, intervenes, helping brands to win consumer’s trust, becoming Love Brands and ultimately, increasing their sales. The main objective of this paper is to note that it is not only necessary to focus on what the eyes see but also on what we hear. The focus is the sound and it accentuates the fact that our sensory scope affects our brain in a number of ways, without us, consumers, realizing it. Here, the use of Audio Branding shows, through a less obvious and known reality, that brands need to explore other senses. These senses will arouse unknown areas of the brain, generating needs and decisions, which consumers do not realize are oblivious. This unawareness is where brands need to go before consumers, and this is the special factor that can be determining when reaching a certain goal.Em pleno século XXI, a transformação das marcas acontece ao segundo e não há espaço para falhar. A competitividade passou a ser global e já não bastam estratégias pensadas e estruturadas ano após ano pois o consumidor já é parte integrante de todo o processo e a descrença no meio empresarial ganha proporções cada vez maiores. É por isso urgente que empresas e marcas se distingam da restante concorrência, utilizando as ferramentas hoje disponíveis, para permanecerem relevantes, credíveis e eficientes. É aqui que o Marketing, em constante reinvenção através de novas tendências, intervém, auxiliando as marcas a ganharem a confiança do consumidor, a tornarem-se "Love Brands" e em último caso, aumentarem as suas vendas. O objectivo principal deste trabalho é alertar para o facto de que não basta focarmo-nos no que os olhos vêm, mas também no que ouvimos. O foco de todo o trabalho passa pelo som, e torna cada vez mais óbvio o facto de a nossa esfera sensorial afectar o nosso cérebro de muitas maneiras possíveis, sem nós, consumidores, nos apercebermos. Neste caso, a utilização do tema Audio Branding demonstra, através de uma realidade menos óbvia, que é necessário para as marcas, explorarem outros sentidos inerentes ao ser humano. Sentidos esses que despertam zonas desconhecidas do cérebro, originando vontades e decisões que muitas vezes os próprios consumidores não se apercebem ser inconscientes. Este desconhecimento é onde as marcas precisam de chegar primeiro que os consumidores, e é este factor espacial que pode ser diferenciador quando se pretende alcançar determinado objectivo

The contexts of use and the innovation of TV-centric network technologies: as viewers become consumer-users

This thesis seeks to explore something of the current nature of human, social and business contingencies constituting and motivating design, production, consumption and the use of technologies. It places a particular emphasis on the innovation of TV-centric network technologies - 'new' media technologies, particularly interactive television (i-Tv), intended to link, enhance or otherwise augment existing television technology and content. The empirical work in the thesis studied the development and implementation of a complex large-scale i-Tv trial in Cambridge, UK. Issues arising from the research led to the development of a general research framework - Contextual Usability (CU) - whose central aim is to draw awareness to the complex and multiple dimensions of the use process as a social and organisational construction, and also to redefine its place as an intrinsic experiential dimension in the domestication of products and services.Various senior managers and designers were interviewed within the company designing and producing the i-Tv technology and interface for the trial, as were 11 participant households. The author concludes with an overview suggesting the interconnected and interdependent nature of trials, technology, users, design, designers and organisation. For this he uses CU in relation to Molina's notion of Sociotechnical Constituencies to illustrate how social, cultural and organisational elements of trials both rely and impinge upon the implementation and interpretation of user and consumer research, and thus working 'images'of the user and the use process

Human Factors Considerations in System Design

Human factors considerations in systems design was examined. Human factors in automated command and control, in the efficiency of the human computer interface and system effectiveness are outlined. The following topics are discussed: human factors aspects of control room design; design of interactive systems; human computer dialogue, interaction tasks and techniques; guidelines on ergonomic aspects of control rooms and highly automated environments; system engineering for control by humans; conceptual models of information processing; information display and interaction in real time environments

Online Shoppers’ Priority Attributes in Egypt

E-commerce and online shopping have been among the world\u27s fast-growing trends in the past few years. Each year the number of e-commerce deals grows enormously. Furthermore, the tendency will continue because many people are constricted by work and household duties. Simultaneously, the Internet saves much time and allows having a full shopping experience from the comfort of one\u27s home. With the improvement of technology and the continuous progression in web development, retailers are not only seeking e-commerce to expand their sales, but the trend of full online retailing with no physical existence is becoming widespread. Given the expansion, it is becoming challenging for e-retailers to maintain their customers since consumers can easily compare the platforms and pick to place their orders at the platform that best meets their needs. To prevent this fast customer turnover, it is important to consider the consumers\u27 preferences when online shopping to meet their needs better and locate their investments accordingly. This study holds a new perspective in presenting the service business\u27s packaging by materializing the e-commerce business as an example. The author develops a model that guides in enhancing online platforms\u27 efficiency based on online shoppers\u27 preferences and priority attributes. These attributes are considered the packaging elements that augment the main business aspects summarized in the 7 Ps marketing mix module. In the context of interpreting the marketing orientation theory, the study measures consumers\u27 priority attributes, summarized in the E-SERVPACK Model, in online shopping in four different product categories. Results revealed that the highest and lowest priority attributes are common across all four categories, yet the importance level differs from one category to another. It is advised that e-retailers consider developing their platforms and allocate their budgets based on their target consumers\u27 preferences and the business\u27s product type

Human factors aspects of control room design: Guidelines and annotated bibliography

A human factors analysis of the workstation design for the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite mission operation room is discussed. The relevance of anthropometry, design rules, environmental design goals, and the social-psychological environment are discussed

An Exploratory Examination of Social Website Quality

With websites becoming the frontend for numerous systems, the system\u27s benefits require customers to have a favorable evaluation of the site and an intention to re-use it. It must be considered to be of high quality. With websites increasing adding collaborative technologies (such as tools for social networking, forums, and blogging) a new instrument to evaluate the quality of these types of sites is needed. Before such an instrument is developed, an understanding of the applicable theories is needed. This study offers that background. First the potential benefits of this research and its guiding questions are presented. Next is a literature review outlining possible constructs upon which an instrument to evaluate the quality of social websites could be based. Then the focus group\u27s background and details are provided along with the analysis strategy, content analysis. After that, each constructs is discussed with the supporting/non-supporting evidence from the groups. Finally, the discussion concludes with discussions of limitations and suggestions for follow-on research. From this investigation, nine constructs (Ease of Understanding, Intuitive Operation, Informational Fit-to-task, Relative Advantage, Trust, Response Time, Visual Appeal, Innovativeness, and Social Presence) were discovered which could provide the basis for an instrument to measure social website quality