Stakeholders’ Perception on Youths’ e-Participation in Finland : Case Virtual Council

Widening youth participation is recognised as essential in national decision-making processes. One inclusive approach to achieving this is by providing e-participation possibilities targeted towards youth. In this qualitative study, we explore a digital prototype of a virtual council of youth in Finland and ask what factors either promote or hamper the ability of educational institutions, non-governmental youth organisations and public authorities to implement e-participation tools in their daily activities. Our data comprise six expert interviews reflecting the institutional approach to considering youth e-participation from the perspective of online deliberation. Thus, this research provides an empirical understanding of the role of youth e-participation by stating that a virtual youth council can provide inclusive participation opportunity for youth in a different geographical location in an era when different digital participation channels are likely to increase. Our study also shows that a virtual council of youth requires institutional collaboration with different stakeholder groups. However, the quality of implementation of the virtual council would be enhanced by taking into account youth interest, ensuring inclusiveness and clarifying the normative and political goals of youth (e-) participation.Peer reviewe

Experimenting with youth-centred e-participation : The case of the Virtual Council

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Approaches to Improve User Experience in Product Development: UX Goals, Long-Term Evaluations and Usage Data Logging

Companies that develop digital products are increasingly interested in designing products and services that provide positive experiences for users. User-centered approaches can support product development teams in creating products that are more likely to offer the intended user experience (UX) to the customers. Instructions and guidance based on empirical studies in reallife contexts can provide valuable information for product development teams, including UX designers and other UX experts working in the industry. User-centered design and evaluation methods are used widely. However, there is a lack of specific guidance on how to achieve and evaluate the desired UX during the product development process of digital products.This thesis explores three different approaches for supporting product development activities towards the desired user experience: setting UX goals, long-term UX evaluations, and utilizing usage data logging. This research work was motivated by the lack of empirical studies regarding the utilization of UX goals and long-term UX evaluation methods in product development of digital products. In addition, little is known about how product development teams perceive the utilization of usage data logging, especially in manufacturing industry. This thesis is based on research work conducted in five case studies and published in six scientific publications. Four of the studies were conducted in collaboration with product development practitioners from companies and included real or potential end-users (e.g., customers or company employees). Three of the studies evaluated UX of real products on the market. In total, during all the case studies, data from 185 survey responses and 20 interviews were analyzed, while log data were collected and analyzed from 61 participants.First, the elicitation process of UX goals is explored as a part of the experience design process, where the intended experiences are set as a starting point of the design. Findings from nine design cases are synthesized as characteristics of a good UX goal, instructions for defining UX goals and as a theoretical Experience Goal Elicitation Process. Second, the benefits and challenges of specific, long-term UX evaluation methods are summarized. The perceptions of product development practitioners reveal that long-term UX evaluations can 1) help in understanding change in UX over time, 2) confirm expectations based on other data sources, 3) support updating of current products, and 4) support the conceptualization and development of future products. Third, the expected benefits by practitioners for usage data logging include the following: 1) the data show what users really do; 2) data can be collected without disturbing users; 3) findings from the data can inform user interface design decisions and 4) justify more qualitative user studies. Furthermore, 5) logged usage data can provide new business opportunities for supplier companies in the manufacturing industry. The utilization of usage data logging can be supported through collaborative development of visual data analytics tools between researchers from academia and practitioners from industry. Guidelines to support such collaborative processes are provided.This research work provides theoretical contributions in the form of the Experience Goal Elicitation Process. Methodological contributions include a new understanding of benefits and challenges of long-term UX evaluation methods. Furthermore, the case study descriptions and the instructions for defining UX goals contribute to product development activities on a practical level. These results can support product development teams and especially UX designers investigating the feasibility of UX goals and long-term evaluation methods for their product design and evaluation activities. The expected benefits of long-term UX evaluations and usage data logging can inform UX designers and managers when considering how to utilize these approaches. The guidelines for developing visual data analytics tools can support analytics tool developers in academia and industry. Future studies should develop the studied approaches further by investigating their utilization in different consumer and business-to-business contexts

Persuading youth in civic participation with social robots: What is appropriate?

Engaging youth in civic participation is essential for sustainable societies. Social robots, as embodied and interactive entities, may be feasible tools to spark youth’s interest. To start designing persuasive interactions for this purpose, we conducted a study addressing the question, what do youth consider as appropriate behaviour for a civic robot? We developed three scenarios describing social robots as persuaders for youth’s civic participation. The scenarios were evaluated in three workshops with 51 fifteen-year-old participants. The credibility of the robot emerged as a central theme: a civic robot should emphasize its purpose and avoid any pretence, also when expressing emotions.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Understanding youths’ needs for digital societal participation : towards an inclusive Virtual Council

It is important for the sustainability of society that everyone can participate in societal discussions. Although a plethora of services exists for digital participation, they have not proven to entice a broad range of youths to contribute. The aim of this research is to investigate how digital tools can offer inclusive ways for youth to take part in societal processes. We present a study of young people’s needs for a digital service enabling societal participation. Altogether 74 young people aged 16–27 with varying backgrounds participated in six workshops. Scenarios were used as stimulus materials for eliciting participants’ feedback on digital participation. The findings bring up youth’s needs for such service. Needs such as having a safe environment for discussions and making the effect of participation visible were found. Finally, the findings and resulting Virtual Council prototype are presented and discussed, and their significance in advancing inclusive digital societal participation are elaborated.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Adolescents' perceptions of the role of social robots in civic participation: An exploratory study

Civic technologies are aimed at supporting citizens to participate in democratic processes. Civic robots - social robots that are designed to support people in civic participation - have potential to lower the barriers of participation especially for youth who face obstacles in participating through formal channels. We conducted an exploratory study with adolescents to investigate their perceptions of possible roles for civic robots. In the study, we asked participants of a youth event (n=24, age range 14-21) to ideate civic participation related purposes and concepts for social robots. The findings suggest that scenarios in which a robot serves as social facilitator or provides decision support for civic activities seem promising. In addition, civic robots could indirectly increase participation ability by providing emotional or social support.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Youths’ Digital Participation in the Early Phases of COVID-19 Lockdown

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User experience goals as a guiding light in design and development – Early findings

User experience (UX) goals are one means to describe user experience requirements and guide the design and evaluation of interactive systems in different application domains. This position paper discusses the results of a pre-workshop questionnaire for participants of a workshop on UX goals and their utilization. The domains of the case studies that participants described vary from workplace to consumer applications and education. Workshop participants defined a good UX goal as something that (1) helps in focusing the design, (2) is measurable, (3) describes positive emotions, and (4) communicates the desired experience. Furthermore, UX goals were considered useful in keeping the focus on important issues during design and development, and providing inspiration for design.submittedVersionPeer reviewe