DOI: 10.3217/jucs-025-12-1625

Authors: Carlos De Carvalho, Pedro Cano, José Roa, Anna Wanka, Franz Kolland

Abstract: Being able to effectively use online tools has become a fundamental competence in our Society. Therefore, it is important to tackle the age digital divide as there is a rapidly growing number of elderly people. Like everyone else, older adults (senior citizens or the silver generation) must be equipped with the necessary skills to be able to be connected and integrated in the online world to prevent their social isolation and to foster their inclusion. As a contribution to that effort, a European-wide digital literacy development initiative for senior citizens was setup and this article presents the analysis of the achieved results which shows a very positive perception of the seniors on the developed digital abilities.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3217/jucs-024-02-0220

Authors: Scott Greenwald, Wiley Corning, Markus Funk, Pattie Maes

Abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to overcome natural constraints and present things that would not be visible in the physical world. This makes the medium of VR a powerful tool for learning that allows users to become highly immersed in complex topics. In this paper, we compare a VR learning environment with a traditional 2D learning environment. To investigate the differences between VR and 2D learning environments, we designed two activities that help learners gain an intuitive understanding of concepts from electricity and magnetism.We performed an experiment comparing the learning that took place using these two variant. Although our quantitative learning measures did not reveal a significant difference between 2D and VR, VR was perceived by learners to have advantages.We did find significant quantitative differences in learners’ completion times. We share findings, based on the quantitative and qualitative feedback received, about what makes VR environments beneficial for learning about complex spatial topics, and propose corresponding design guidelines.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3217/jucs-023-05-0432

Authors: Darius Ašeriškis, Robertas Damaševičius

Abstract: We study how virtual incentive mechanisms (such as leaderboards) help motivate players to extend the game playing time. We have designed a multiplayer strategy game, called OilTrader, which is set in a game-theoretic framework of a Minority Game, to verify the effect of motivation reinforcement on the sustainability of game playing process. We have conducted an experiment with 114 players and evaluated their psychological types using the HEXAD player type model. Players were divided into a main experimental group (who used the user interface enhanced with motivation-increasing factors) and a control group (who used a simpler game interface). Results indicate that game players, who have used the motivation-enhancing interface, have had stronger motivation to play the game longer. Using statistical analysis, we have discovered that Free Spirits, Disruptors and Players (according to the HEXAD questionnaire player types) are more motivated by a progress leaderboard rather than an achievement leaderboard.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3217/jucs-020-07-0986

Authors: Benjamin Berman, Juan Hourcade

Abstract: Keyboard-card menus are a new type of menu system in which potentially hundreds of menu items are arranged in sets of keyboard patterns that are designed to be navigated using only a computer keyboard's character keys, for fast access. In selecting items from these menus, novice users physically rehearse the same actions that an expert would use. We describe these menus and their potential applications in further detail, along with a study comparing keyboard-card menus' presentation of what are effectively shortcuts with a presentation of these same shortcuts that uses dropdown menus. The data from our study shows that keyboard-card menus have significant advantages over dropdown menus in making the transition to expert use faster.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3217/jucs-019-08-1066

Authors: Natalia Padilla-Zea, José López-Arcos, Jose Luis González Sánchez, Francisco L. Gutiérrez Vela, Ana Abad-Arranz

Abstract: Although several evaluation analyses have recently been proposed to assess the user or player experience of playing a video game, we found the need for these to be adapted when we wanted to apply them to young children. However, young children are unable to spend a long time grading many attributes or indexes after playing. Thus, selecting the most important aspects to be analyzed is required in order to perform a non-time consuming and significant evaluation method to be used with children. Hence, this work is focused on designing an evaluation method to assess emotions when young children (3-5 years old) play a video game. In particular, we are interested in educational video games because of the importance that emotion has in motivation, which in turn is highly important in education. Although the method presented follows the pre-test, test and post-test classic structure, the activities carried out in each of these phases have been modified to, firstly, include no elements which require reading-writing skills, which are as yet undeveloped at this age and, secondly, to limit the emotional impact that children can suffer when they are aware that they are being evaluated. We have applied the proposed method in a sample of 39 children playing the educational video game "Ato's Adventure", which was in its final development phases, obtaining very promising results both for the analysis method and for the video game.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3217/jucs-016-15-2060

Authors: Sina Zulkernain, Praveen Madiraju, Sheikh Ahamed, Karl Stamm

Abstract: Mobile phones have become the most hated device that people cannot live without. For its primary usage as a communication device, it has surpassed any other medium. But it comes with a high price, interruption, anywhere anytime. These unwanted interruptions cause loss of productivity and also mostly not beneficial to the immediate task at hand, and moving them few minutes into the future can increase productivity. Considering receiver’s unavailability, it is possible to manage cell phone disruptions using advanced features like sensing capability, ubiquitous computing and context aware systems. This paper proposes the architecture of a system named Mobile Intelligent Interruptions Management (MIIM), created for the automated administration of personal unavailability with regard to cell phones. We provide the problem description of interruption and its impact. Next, we state the desirable characteristics and architecture of the MIIM system. We also provide a case study implementation of MIIM system on the Android platform. Simulation and evaluation results show that its computational volumes are low enough for a mobile device. The analysis of the system also successfully satisfies all the characteristics requirements.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3217/jucs-016-15-2019

Authors: Giuseppe Ghiani, Fabio Paternò

Abstract: The availability of applications able to exploit multi-device environments is steadily increasing. Rather than using all devices in the same way, users tend to assign different roles to devices due to the capabilities needed, such as computational power and screen size. Researchers and developers have started to introduce various techniques and tools to support managing applications across multiple devices. In this context, target device selection is often problematic, especially in unfamiliar environments. We present a novel technique for supporting device selection by providing dynamic graphical representations of user’s orientation and position in relation to the available target devices in the current environment. We report on its design, implementation and discuss two possible location-aware representations of the user and the target devices.

HTML

XML

PDF

DOI: 10.3217/jucs-014-02-0193

Authors: Benjamin Burkard, Georg Vogeler, Stefan Gruner

Abstract: This article is a revised and extended version of [VBG, 07]. We conjecture that the digitalization of historical text documents as a basis of data mining and information retrieval for the purpose of progress in the history sciences is urgently needed. We present a novel, specialist XML tool-suite supporting the working historian in the transcription of original medieval charters into a machine-readable form, and we also address some latest developments which can be found in the field since the publication of [VBG, 07].

HTML

XML

PDF