Abstract. Context-aware computing promises a smooth interaction between humans and technology but few studies have been conducted with regards to how autonomously an application should perform. After defining three levels of interactivity between a mobile computing device and its user: personalization, passive context-awareness and active contextawareness, we test which approach will limit users' perceived sense of control. We also investigate users' preferences for the three approaches. We conducted an experimental case study, using mobile phone applications to exemplify the three levels of interactivity. Our study shows that users feel less in control when using either passive or active context-aware applications than when personalizing their own applications. Despite this we also find that context-aware applications are preferred over the personalization oriented ones. We conclude that people are willing to give up partial control if the reward in usefulness is great enough.
We introduce a location-based game called Feeding Yoshi that provides an example of seamful design, in which key characteristics of its underlying technologies-the coverage and security characteristics of WiFi-are exposed as a core element of gameplay. Feeding Yoshi is also a long-term, wide-area game, being played over a week between three different cities during an initial user study. The study, drawing on participant diaries and interviews, supported by observation and analysis of system logs, reveals players' reactions to the game. We see the different ways in which they embedded play into the patterns of their daily lives, augmenting existing practices and creating new ones, and observe the impact of varying location on both the ease and feel of play. We identify potential design extensions to Feeding Yoshi and conclude that seamful design provides a route to creating engaging experiences that are well adapted to their underlying technologies.
Research suggests smartphone users face "application overload", but literature lacks an in-depth investigation of how users manage their time on smartphones. In a 3-week study we collected smartphone application usage patterns from 21 participants to study how they manage their time interacting with the device. We identified events we term application micro-usage: brief bursts of interaction with applications. While this practice has been reported before, it has not been investigated in terms of the context in which it occurs (e.g., location, time, trigger and social context). In a 2-week follow-up study with 15 participants, we captured participants' context while micro-using, with a mobile experience sampling method (ESM) and weekly interviews.Our results show that about approximately 40% of application launches last less than 15 seconds and happen most frequently when the user is at home and alone. We further discuss the context, taxonomy and implications of application micro-usage in our field. We conclude with a brief reflection on the relevance of short-term interaction observations for other domains beyond mobile phones.
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