Usability testing of software applications developed for mobile devices is an emerging research area that faces a variety of challenges due to unique features of mobile devices, limited bandwidth, unreliability of wireless networks, as well as changing context (environmental factors) Traditional guidelines and methods used in usability testing of desktop applications may not be directly applicable to a mobile environment Therefore, it is essential to develop and adopt appropriate research methodologies that can evaluate the usability of mobile applications The contribution of this article is to propose a generic framework for conducting usability tests for mobile applications through discussing research questions, methodologies, and usability attributes The article provides an overview of existing mobil application usability studies and discusses major research questions that have been investigated Then, it proposes a generic framework and provides detailed guidelines on how to conduct such usability

Challenges, Methodologies, and Issues in the Usability Testing of Mobile Applications

The evolving concepts of pervasive computing, ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence are increasingly influencing health care and medicine. Summarizing published research, this literature review provides an overview of recent developments and implementations of pervasive computing systems in health care. It also highlights some of the experiences reported in deployment processes. There is no clear definition of pervasive computing in the current literature. Thus specific inclusion criteria for selecting articles about relevant systems were developed. Searches were conducted in four scientific databases alongside manual journal searches for the period of 2002 to 2006. Articles included present prototypes, case studies and pilot studies, clinical trials and systems that are already in routine use. The searches identified 69 articles describing 67 different systems. In a quantitative analysis, these systems were categorized into project status, health care settings, user groups, improvement aims, and systems features (i.e., component types, data gathering, data transmission, systems functions). The focus is on the types of systems implemented, their frequency of occurrence and their characteristics. Qualitative analyses were performed of deployment issues, such as organizational and personnel issues, privacy and security issues, and financial issues. This paper provides a comprehensive access to the literature of the emerging field by addressing specific topics of application settings, systems features, and deployment experiences. Both an overview and an analysis of the literature on a broad and heterogeneous range of systems are provided. Most systems are described in their prototype stages. Deployment issues, such as implications on organization or personnel, privacy concerns, or financial issues are mentioned rarely, though their solution is regarded as decisive in transferring promising systems to a stage of regular operation. There is a need for further research on the deployment of pervasive computing systems, including clinical studies, economic and social analyses, user studies, etc.

/pdf/towards-pervasive-computing-in-health-care-a-literature-u5i9yg0ds8.pdf

Towards pervasive computing in health care – A literature review

Providing connectivity to around half of the world population living in rural or underprivileged areas is a tremendous challenge, but, at the same time, a unique opportunity. Access to the Internet would provide the population living in these areas a possibility to progress on the educational, health, environment, and business levels. In this article, a survey of technologies for providing connectivity to rural areas, which can help address this challenge, is provided. Although access/fronthaul and backhaul techniques are discussed in this article, it is noted that the major limitation for providing connectivity to rural and underprivileged areas is the cost of backhaul deployment. In addition, energy requirements and cost-efficiency of the studied technologies are analyzed. In fact, the challenges faced for deploying an electricity network, as a prerequisite for deploying communication networks, are huge in these areas, and they are granted an important share of the discussions in this article. Furthermore, typical application scenarios in rural areas are discussed, and several country-specific use cases are surveyed. The main initiatives by key international players aiming to provide rural connectivity are also described. Moreover, directions for the future evolution of rural connectivity are outlined in this article. Although there is no single solution that can solve all rural connectivity problems, building gradually on the current achievements in order to reach ubiquitous connectivity, while taking into account the particularities of each region and tailoring the solution accordingly, seems to be the most suitable path to follow.

/pdf/a-key-6g-challenge-and-opportunity-connecting-the-base-of-385d3hceqi.pdf

A Key 6G Challenge and Opportunity—Connecting the Base of the Pyramid: A Survey on Rural Connectivity

The widely applied location-based services require a high standard for positioning technology. Currently, outdoor positioning has been a great success; however, indoor positioning technologies are in the early stages of development. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of indoor fingerprint positioning based on Wi-Fi. First, some indoor positioning technologies, especially the Wi-Fi fingerprint indoor positioning technology, are introduced and discussed. Second, some evaluation metrics and influence factors of indoor fingerprint positioning technologies based on Wi-Fi are introduced. Third, methods and algorithms of fingerprint indoor positioning technologies are analyzed, classified, and discussed. Fourth, some widely used assistive positioning technologies are described. Finally, conclusions are drawn and future possible research interests are discussed. It is hoped that this research will serve as a stepping stone for those interested in advancing indoor positioning.

/pdf/indoor-fingerprint-positioning-based-on-wi-fi-an-overview-1v8mj82846.pdf

Indoor Fingerprint Positioning Based on Wi-Fi: An Overview

Exploring convenience in mobile commerce: Moderating effects of gender

Advances in mobile technologies and devices has changed the way users interact with devices and other users. These new interaction methods and services are offered by the help of intelligent sensing capabilities, using context, location and motion sensors. However, indoor location sensing is mostly achieved by utilizing radio signal (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GSM etc.) and nearest neighbor identification. The most common algorithm adopted for Received Signal Strength (RSS)-based location sensing is K Nearest Neighbor (KNN), which calculates K nearest neighboring points to mobile users (MUs). Accordingly, in this paper, we aim to improve the KNN algorithm by enhancing the neighboring point selection by applying k-means clustering approach. In the proposed method, k-means clustering algorithm groups nearest neighbors according to their distance to mobile user. Then the closest group to the mobile user is used to calculate the MU's location. The evaluation results indicate that the performance of clustered KNN is closely tied to the number of clusters, number of neighbors to be clustered and the initiation of the center points in k-mean algorithm.

Improving RSS-Based Indoor Positioning Algorithm via K-Means Clustering

The introduction of multimedia on pervasive and mobile communication devices raises a number of perceptual quality issues; however, limited work has been done examining the three-way interaction between use of equipment, quality of perception and quality of service. Our work measures levels of informational transfer (objective) and user satisfaction (subjective) when users are presented with multimedia video clips at three different frame rates, using four different display devices, simulating variation in participant mobility. Our results will show that variation in frame rate does not impact a user's level of information assimilation, however, does impact a users’ perception of multimedia video ‘quality’. Additionally, increased visual immersion can be used to increase transfer of video information, but can negatively affect the users’ perception of ‘quality’. Finally, we illustrate the significant affect of clip-content on the transfer of video, audio and textual information, placing into doubt the use of purely objective quality definitions when considering multimedia presentations.

/pdf/pervasive-and-standalone-computing-the-perceptual-effects-of-3ljzn9sdwh.pdf

Pervasive and standalone computing: the perceptual effects of variable multimedia quality

A large number of the adult population suffers from some kind of back pain during their lifetime. Part of the process of diagnosing and treating such back pain is for a clinician to collect information as to the type and location of the pain that is being suffered. Traditional approaches to gathering and visualizing this pain data have relied on simple 2-D representations of the human body, where different types of sensation are recorded with various monochrome symbols. Although patients have been shown to prefer such drawings to traditional questionnaires, these pain drawings can be limited in their ability to accurately record pain. The work described in this paper proposes an alternative that uses a 3-D representation of the human body, which can be marked in color to visualize and record the pain data. This study has shown that the new approach is a promising development in this area of medical practice and has been positively received by patients and clinicians alike.

/pdf/3-d-pain-drawings-mobile-data-collection-using-a-pda-1czzzpzjqe.pdf

3-D Pain Drawings–-Mobile Data Collection Using a PDA

The interaction between devices and users has changed dramatically with the advances in mobile technologies. User friendly devices and services are offered by utilizing smart sensing capabilities and using context, location and motion sensor data. However, indoor location sensing is mostly achieved by measuring radio signal (WiFi, Bluetooth, GSM etc.) strength and nearest neighbor identification. The algorithm that is most commonly used for Received Signal Strength (RSS) based location detection is the K Nearest Neighbor (KNN). KNN algorithm identifies an estimate location using the K nearest neighboring points. Accordingly, in this paper, we aim to improve the KNN algorithm by integrating a short term memory (STM) where past signal strength readings are stored. Considering the limited movement capabilities of a mobile user in an indoor environment, user's previous locations can be taken into consideration to derive his/her current position. Hence, in the proposed approach, the signal strength readings are refined with the historical data prior to comparison with the environment's radio map. Our evaluation results indicate that the performance of enhanced KNN outperforms KNN algorithm.

Indoor location detection with a RSS-based short term memory technique (KNN-STM)

Although examples of tourist guides abound, the role of context aware feedback in such systems is an issue that has been insufficiently explored. Given the potential importance of such feedback, this paper investigates, from a usability perspective, two tour guide systems developed for Brunel University: one with context-aware user feedback and the other without. An empirical study was undertaken in which each of the applications was assessed through the prism of three usability measurements: efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. Incorporating the participant feedback gathered as a result, the paper compares the use of the two applications in order to determine the impact of real-time feedback with respect to user location. Efficiency, understood as the time taken by a participant to successfully complete a task, was found to be significantly affected by the use of context-aware functionality. Effectiveness, understood as the amount of information a participant assimilated from the application, was shown not to be impacted by the provision of context-aware feedback, even though average experiment duration was found to be significantly shorter in this case. Lastly, participants' subjective satisfaction when using context-aware functionality was shown to be significantly higher than when using the non-context aware application.

/pdf/a-context-aware-tour-guide-user-implications-4c8y4fg83n.pdf

Tacha Serif

Papers

Improving RSS-Based Indoor Positioning Algorithm via K-Means Clustering

Pervasive and standalone computing: the perceptual effects of variable multimedia quality

3-D Pain Drawings–-Mobile Data Collection Using a PDA

Indoor location detection with a RSS-based short term memory technique (KNN-STM)

A context-aware Tour Guide: User implications