User Research Research Articles

Virtual Healing: Application of Augmented Reality Games in Pet Loss Syndrome

Abstract: As pets gain increasing significance in family life, pet loss syndrome has emerged as a mental health concern that demands urgent attention. When their pets pass away, many pet owners physically and psychologically isolate themselves, which makes it challenging to process unpleasant feelings in a healthy way. The purpose of this study is to investigate and explore how augmented reality (AR) game design can help users cope with the psychological trauma and emotional challenges caused by pet deaths. This study utilized user research, prototype design, user testing, and comparative research to develop and evaluate the usability and healing effects of the AR game. The research results indicate that this AR game has unique advantages in interactivity, immersion, and personalized experience. It can effectively provide users with emotional support, death education, and life enlightenment, helping them deal with negative emotions and gradually accept the reality of losing their pets. This study not only provides a new perspective for the treatment of pet loss syndrome, but also opens up new directions for the application of virtual therapy in the field of mental health, emphasizing the potential of electronic therapy games in emotional healing.

Aligning the new work environment with OECD Goal 8: a design case of a global automobile brand from Turkey

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the economic sustainability of new work environments by exploring how interior design strategies can contribute to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, which focuses on decent work and economic growth. SDG 8 aims to foster sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic development, as well as full and productive employment. Design/methodology/approach The pilot study was conducted at a global automobile brand’s largest facility in Kocaeli/Turkey, where 102 employees participated in stakeholder meetings divided into 18 groups. Additionally, 46 employees were interviewed through focus groups and one-on-one sessions across nine encounters. The collected data were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis, interpreting codes and themes related to spatial politics, timing politics and hybrid working culture in the new work environment. Findings Identified themes include individually focused tasks, virtual collaboration, agile working, socialization and urban interaction. These themes are then traced through the conceptual design proposal developed by the interior design team and discussed in relation to their alignment with SDG 8.2 (diversify, innovate and upgrade for economic productivity), SDG 8.4 (improve resource efficiency in consumption and production) and SDG 8.8 (protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers). Research limitations/implications These three targets (for inclusivity and innovation, for environmentally sustainable and for employee well-being) were selected for their relevance in shaping the physical work environment. Originality/value The key finding of this paper is the need for a deeper understanding of economic sustainability in interior design and the contribution of SDG 8 targets on the spatial, temporal and cultural dimensions of new work environments. Brands committed to sustainability must adopt new work models and reimagine their work environments to enhance employee satisfaction and performance, through comprehensive user research and design solutions aligned with SDG 8.

When multiple route map designs are used by the same bus company

Abstract This paper reports three separate studies. Study 1 consisted of route map observations; study 2 looked at map creator’s perspective, and study 3 considered user research and route map usage. It was observed that the route maps issued by one bus service provider in Fukuoka, Japan, have as many as 24 types of design variations. According to the route map creators, limited resources was the main reason for this practice. Route map usability testing, keyword sorting and interviews were conducted as part of a user-focused research. Map-reading tests revealed several practices that have a negative impact on user’s ability to read route maps, and the user research revealed that users prefer a unified design.

Cultural Perception Effects on Customer Experience and Customer Patronage of Branded Alcoholic Bitters Beverage

Under the impact of globalization, consumers from different culture might hold different information processing tendency towards certain concepts and different perception since cultural orientation affects their perception and expectation. Firms are increasingly using the framework of customer experience to define their offering since differentiating one’s product or service is to create memorable customer experience. The purpose of the study is to assess cultural perception in relation to customers’ experience and customer patronage of branded alcoholic bitters beverage. All the consumers of branded alcoholic bitters beverage in Lagos State and who visited the designated place within the four (4) weeks period made up the study population. 1153 usable research instrument were retrieved based on the researchers’ judgment through convenience sampling technique and data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. T-test of multiple regression analysis were used to analyze factors in the independent variables and their effects on the dependent variable. The study revealed that cultural perception, customer experience and customer patronage have a very strong and positive relationship therefore, concluded that there is strong positive relationship between cultural perception, customer experience and customer patronage based on the consumers’ cultural perception as they try to experience the product. It is therefore, recommended that Organizations, Marketers, and other stakeholders in relation to marketing of alcoholic bitters beverage understands how to play along cultural perception by building and creating a strong attributes of perception of the product in mind of consumers. Also, conduct customer experience survey from time to time in order to monitor and obtain information on how to sustain and improve the consumers’ feels about their product by focusing on those factor that will help build a long-lasting and mutually profitable relationship with its’ customers.

Following Medical Advice of an AI or a Human Doctor? Experimental Evidence Based on Clinician-Patient Communication Pathway Model

ABSTRACT Medical large language models are being introduced to the public in collaboration with governments, medical institutions, and artificial intelligence (AI) researchers. However, a crucial question remains: Will patients follow the medical advice provided by AI doctors? The lack of user research makes it difficult to provide definitive answers. Based on the clinician-patient communication pathway model, this study conducted a factorial experiment with a 2 (medical provider, AI vs. human) × 2 (information support, low vs. high) × 2 (response latency, slow vs. fast) between-subjects design (n = 535). The results showed that participants exhibited significantly lower adherence to AI doctors’ advice than to human doctors. In addition, the interaction effect suggested that, under the slow-response latency condition, subjects perceived greater health benefits and patient-centeredness from human doctors, while the opposite was observed for AI doctors.

The Pico Balloon Archive: Establishing the First Super-Pressure Balloon Satellite Network for Atmospheric Research

Abstract We present the Pico Balloon Archive (PBA), a specialized platform for archiving, visualizing, and verifying data from pico balloons—lightweight, super-pressure balloons capable of operating in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere for durations ranging from weeks to years. With a latitudinal range from 88.77°S to 89.60°N and data collection ongoing since 2021, the PBA stands as the most spatially extensive repository for super-pressure balloons to date. It offers a centralized, user-friendly online portal (http://picoballoonarchive.org) for data access, featuring a summary of flight details, downloadable raw data, and individual flight visualizations. In this study, we validate the PBA’s wind speed and direction calculations against the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA), showing strong correlations (r2 = 0.66 and 0.78 for wind speed and direction, respectively). We also highlight the PBA’s effectiveness in charting global atmospheric circulation and the capacity of certain balloons to traverse hemispheres, a feat made possible by unique stratospheric dynamics. Furthermore, we demonstrate the PBA’s effectiveness in validating numerical weather prediction (NWP) Lagrangian trajectories, quantifying errors based on model initialization latitude. This continuously updated super-pressure balloon network is poised to significantly aid the atmospheric science community, facilitating a deeper understanding of global atmospheric processes. Significance Statement The first ever super-pressure balloon network is discussed and validated using radiosondes and numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. The Pico Balloon Archive (PBA) is positioned to offer worldwide data, facilitating cost-effective and high-reward atmospheric research for numerous users.

THE ROLE OF SOFT SKILLS IN FORMING THE READINESS OF FUTURE IT PROFESSIONALS TO DEVELOP USER INTERFACES

The role of soft skills in the professional development of the future generation of IT specialists, especially in UI/UX design, is becoming increasingly important. Setting aside technical expertise in visual design, coding, and user research, the modern UI/UX designer should be able to reveal great interpersonal abilities in designing user-centered solutions. The indispensable soft skills that help in converting complex technical ideas into intuitive, user-friendly design are considered to be communication, teamwork, empathy, problem-solving, and adaptability.Effective communication in design processes aligns stakeholders-designers and developers-toward project goals and user expectations, therefore reducing the gap between technical implementation and user satisfaction. Equally, teamwork embeds a kind of collaboration between different departments that leads to innovative and efficient project execution.Empathy is basically the cornerstone of user-centered design and provides insight into the needs and pain points that users are experiencing. With empathy for the end-user, UI/UX professionals will be able to design an effective solution that resonates with the target audience by solving real-world problems. Problem-solving skills enable the designer to navigate through technical constraints and contradictory feedback toward balanced effective solutions.As a matter of fact, these soft skills not only enhance the quality of the final product but also develop professional growth and enhance market competitiveness of IT specialists. Only then will professionals be wholly rounded in the present digital environment. Educational programs for such courses prepare their students to be satisfied with IT job markets today by equipping them with hard and soft skills alike.

Echoes of Player Experience: A Literature Review on Audio Assessment and Player Experience in Games

Player Experience (PX) in video games is a multifaceted construct encompassing affective, perceived, and subjective dimensions. While extensively explored in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and games user research studies, the practical evaluation of PX, especially concerning audio elements, remains challenging. This paper presents a Literature Review (LR) (n=26), which addresses the gap in the literature related to audio in PX evaluation, unveiling trends and issues. We used Creswell's methodology for LR, exploring three major research questions that investigate the approaches, instruments, and methodologies used to evaluate audio in digital games, the constructs of player experience related to audio assessment, and the challenges faced by researchers in this context. Our findings underscores challenges in the generalization of study outcomes, audio personalization and variation and audio-games evaluation. This work strives to bridge the gap between research and practice, fostering a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between audio and PX in games.

An Investigation of the Test-Retest Reliability of the miniPXI

Repeated measurements of player experience are crucial in games user research, assessing how different designs evolve over time. However, this necessitates lightweight measurement instruments that are fit for the purpose. In this study, we conduct an examination of the test-retest reliability of the miniPXI -a short variant of the Player Experience Inventory (PXI) , an established measure for measuring player experience. We analyzed test-retest reliability by leveraging four games involving 100 participants, comparing it with four established multi-item measures and single-item indicators such as the Net Promoter Score ( NPS ) and overall enjoyment. The findings show mixed outcomes; the miniPXI demonstrated varying levels of test-retest reliability. Some constructs showed good to moderate reliability, while others were less consistent. On the other hand, multi-item measures exhibited moderate to good test-retest reliability, demonstrating their effectiveness in measuring player experiences over time. Additionally, the employed single-item indicators ( NPS and overall enjoyment) demonstrated good reliability. The results of our study highlight the complexity of player experience evaluations over time, utilizing single and multiple items per construct measures. We conclude that single-item measures may not be appropriate for long-term investigations of more complex PX dimensions and provide practical considerations for the applicability of such measures in repeated measurements.

Towards Democratisation of Games User Research: Exploring Playtesting Challenges of Indie Video Game Developers

Playtesting is a games user research (GUR) method used to evaluate design decisions based on feedback gathered from players with the goal to improve player experience. HCI games research has been actively working on and promoting best practices in GUR. However, these practices often require resources, knowledge and expertise, which are not readily available for indie video games developers. Thus, to better understand how GUR can support these developers, we conducted an interview study with 13 indie games professionals to learn about their practices and the challenges they face when doing playtesting. We report on the key findings from this study, including challenges with finding appropriate participants and handling the data from playtests. We provide a discussion of how existing GUR practices can be adapted and what HCI games research can do to help mitigate these challenges to make playtesting more accessible and impactful to indie video games developers.

PERANCANGAN UI/UX APLIKASI MOBILE TIKET KONSER “EuFo” MENGGUNAKAN METODE DESIGN THINKING

EuFo is an app that focuses on the purchase of concert tickets, concert news, promotions, and other information. The distribution process of entertainment content, especially concerts, has been transformed by technological advances in the digital entertainment industry. After conducting User Research, the main problems were age filtering for underage users and user difficulties when entering the venue and also complicated and slow validation of concert tickets. Design applications using the Design Thinking method and analyze application performance results using the Usability Testing method as the goal of research. Design Thinking is an innovative approach to problem-solving that focuses on a thorough understanding of the user, creating creative solutions, and repeating iterations to the best results. The study combines components such as Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. The results showed that the prototype of the concert ticket application was designed with a one-time iteration of changes and tested to ensure that the UI/UX design results matched the primary purpose. In the first and second tests, there's progress between the one and the two. Results in two tests with fifteen informants resulted in a comparison of the results of two tests: direct success 7%, mission unfinished 0%, misclick rate 5% and duration 10s.

Disclosing Personal Health Information to Emotional Human Doctors or Unemotional AI Doctors? Experimental Evidence Based on Privacy Calculus Theory

The commercialization of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is accelerating, yet academic research on its users remains scarce. To what extent are they willing to disclose personal health privacy to AI doctors compared to traditional human doctors? What factors are shaping these decisions? The lack of user research has left these questions unanswered. This article, based on privacy calculus theory, conducted a multi-factorial between-subjects online experiment (N = 582) with a 2 (medical provider: AI vs. human) × 2 (emotional support: low vs. high) × 2 (information sensitivity: low vs. high) design. The results indicated that AI doctors lead participants to perceive both lower health benefits and privacy risks. Emotional support is not always beneficial. On one hand, high emotional support can provide patients with more health benefits, but on the other hand, it also poses higher levels of privacy risks. Additionally, high emotional support responses from AI doctors could enhance patients’ health benefits, trust, and willingness to disclose health privacy, while the opposite was observed for human doctors.

Reflecting on Current State and Future Research of Empathy Assessment and Development within the Game- Based Learning Community

There are decades of growing interest in social-emotional learning (Muravevskaia, 2023; Hoffman, 2009). According to the founders of the SEL concept, Cherniss, Goleman, et al. (2006), SEL is “the process of acquiring a set of social and emotional skills—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making within the context of a safe, supportive environment.” One of the most popular SEL frameworks is CASEL (2003), which includes five aspects: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, decision-making skills, and relationship skills. The social awareness aspect includes competencies related to empathy: (taking others’ perspectives, demonstrating empathy, and showing concern for the feelings of others). Empathy is widely used and mentioned in SEL and other literature across the research fields of game-based learning, design research, social psychology, neuroscience, affective computing, artificial intelligence, educational technologies, and others. Design thinking methodology and user experience research claim empathy is the first step in user research and developing multiple tools and measures (Dorst, 2011; Wright, 2008). Virtual reality is suggested as an “empathy machine” and promoted as a good tool for empathy development (Ventura, 2020). Affective computing works on modeling and measuring empathy in artificial agents to create systems that would scaffold the learning experience using SEL components (Gebhard, 2021). Empathy games are emerging as a new separate sub-domain (Muravevskaia,2023). Such situation multiplies many different definitions, methodologies, and measures for empathy. Such an active and divided interest in empathy across different domains can cause potential research confusion and challenges for educational technology and game-based research communities. We invite the GBL Research community to gather together as an interdisciplinary community to be able to discuss what empathy means for our community, how we define it and which methods use, which role it plays in the GBL, and which emerging future research in this area we envision together.

Multi‐Dimensional Knowledge System and Ontology Construction of Qi Culture from the Meme Perspective

ABSTRACTThis paper deconstructs the profound context of Qi Culture from the perspective of Meme and constructs a structured and systematic knowledge description framework. It is useful for exploring the core values and promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of Qi Culture. The research process involves collecting user discussions and research data about Qi Culture from multiple sources, and then using the BERTopic model and qualitative analysis methods to obtain diverse examples of Qi cultural elements. Afterwards, from the Meme perspective, Qi cultural memes are extracted to construct a domain ontology, thereby achieving multi‐dimensional semantic knowledge description of Qi Culture. This study helps to reveal the core elements of culture and their relationships, and will provide strong theoretical support for the integration and utilization of cultural resources.

PERANCANGAN UI/UX PADA APLIKASI WISATA LOMBOK MENGGUNAKAN METODE USER CENTERED DESIGN

This study investigates the application of User-Centered Design (UCD) principles in the design UI/UX for the mobile tourism application, 'Wisata Lombok.' The research aims to demonstrate how UCD can significantly improve user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) in context-specific applications. The methodology employed a multi-phase approach, including user research, persona development, iterative design. Data was collected through interviews with local and tourists, online surveys with Lombok residents, and on-site observations. This information guided the creation of user personas and informed the application's feature set and design decisions. Key findings reveal that incorporating local cultural elements into the UI design enhanced user engagement. The implementation of features like maps and cultural event calendars. Usability testing was carried out using an online questionnaire using the UEQ method. The UEQ contains 26 questions which structured in the form of a semantic differential, where each word consists of two terms expressing opposite meanings. The form was distributed to 35 respondents. All of the 35 respondents, 16 identified as male and 19 as female. The age distribution indicates that 29 respondents are within the 18-35 years old range, while 6 respondents are within the 35-56 years old. The UEQ result shows that the perspicuity and efficiency scale has the highest values, 2.29 and 1.96, falling within the “Excellent” range, indicating that the respondents didn't find any difficulties in operating the user interface. The attractiveness, dependability, and novelty scale fall within the “above average” value, indicating that the user interface was based on respondent needs. The stimulation scale has the least value 0.44 which fall within “bad” value , which means that the respondents was bored cause the user interface only has a few features.

Validation of System Usability Scale From Expert and Ordinary User Perspective

This meticulous and comprehensive study aims to provide a thorough overview of the validation results of the ten System Usability Scale (SUS) indicators from the perspectives of experts and ordinary users. The study meticulously compares the validation results of SUS scores in expert and ordinary user groups. The validation results of SUS scores in the expert group are derived from a comprehensive analysis of SUS evaluation results, heuristic evaluation, and interviews with three usability experts. Similarly, the validation results of SUS scores in the ordinary user group are obtained from a rigorous comparison of SUS evaluation results, remote moderated usability testing, and interviews with five ordinary users. While inconclusive, this study's findings shed light on four crucial points. First, there are no universally valid validation results of SUS scores in all SUS indicators from expert and ordinary user perspectives. Second, the ease of use indicator is the only one with a complete and valid evaluation result from the expert perspective. Third, the intuitiveness indicator, while full, yields invalid evaluation results from the standpoint of ordinary users. Fourth, a weak relationship is observed between SUS scores and the results of heuristic evaluation and usability testing. These findings, derived from a robust and meticulous methodology, are expected to significantly contribute to the existing research in application usability, particularly in the context of SUS usage.

International players’ perceptions of localization in their gameplay experiences

Abstract Game localization is the complex industrial process of adapting digital games linguistically, culturally and technically, seeking to deliver a gameplay experience as close as possible to that of the original. Guided by Livingston’s (2018) Review Analysis methodology combined with thematic analysis, we tap into user reviews of the Taiwanese game Detention (Red Candle Games 2017) in Simplified Chinese, English and Japanese, to gauge and compare player experiences in relation to localization, and explore the scope of review data for player-focused game localization research. Our qualitative analysis implicates culturalization as an impactful underlying factor in shaping the gameplay experience, for which translation issues remain opaque. As long as certain limitations are acknowledged, real-world data such as Steam user reviews provide an alternative source that is high in ecological validity, offering promising scope for future player-focused game localization research towards enriching the international dimension of Games User Research.

User Sentiment Analysis Based on Securities Application Elements.

Designing securities applications for mobile devices is challenging due to their inherent complexity, necessitating improvement through the analysis of online reviews. However, research applying deep learning techniques to the sentiment analysis of Korean text remains limited. This study explores the use of Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA) as an effective alternative to traditional user research methods for securities application design. By analyzing large volumes of text-based user review data of Korean securities applications, the study identifies critical elements like "update", "screen", "chart", "login", "access", "authentication", "account", and "transaction", revealing nuanced user sentiments through techniques such as PMI, SVD, and Word2Vec. ABSA offers deeper insights compared to overall ratings, uncovering hidden areas of dissatisfaction despite positive biases in reviews. This research demonstrates the scalability and cost-effectiveness of ABSA in mobile-application design research.

Collecting and incorporating feedback through user research to provide the right information on data linkage processes needed to conduct research.

ObjectiveData linkage is increasingly used to generate research-ready datasets to help inform decision makers. Although use of linked data is increasing and accepted as an efficient way to generate new insights, linkage methods and error can have a significant impact on the subsequent analysis and interpretation of the results. Current linkage services overcome this by spending time explaining the linkage to the user. However, as the service demand increases and a generalised approach adopted, ensuring the information is available and understood is a growing challenge. Providing and presenting the information in an accessible way has therefore become a new problem for the data linkage experts. ApproachUser researchers are working with groups of non-linkage experts using linked data to collate and understand feedback on: what information researchers expect. the information researchers find useful. how researchers interpret and use the linkage information to inform their analysis. ResultsFindings to date will be presented by exploring how information should be presented and what information researchers are able to interpret and use as part of their analysis. Conclusions/ImpactFindings will provide guidance as to the information which should be included with a linkage output and the structure most accessible to the research community using linked data. Therefore, the research will help shape how the data linkage service is structured in the future by ensuring researchers can access information they require to interpret linked data and therefore use it appropriately. Ultimately, the feedback will help deliver data linkage services on a large scale.

Exploring the environmental, economic, and social implications of metaverse adoption in business and management

Recently, Metaverse has received increasing attention from both the business and academic worlds. However, its actual use in business and management is still confusing and limited. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the environmental, economic, and social implications of the adoption of this technology within organizations. In addition, enabling technologies to Metaverse and business contexts in which the platform can be applied are identified. First, this study applies a systematic literature review (SLR) to investigate the use of Metaverse in business and management. Secondly, a content and cluster analysis were applied to the final sample of 656 articles to identify the Metaverse's primary research areas and future research directions. The results reveal that Metaverse has mainly social and economic implications such as enhancing collaboration, increasing accessibility, facilitating training, and encouraging productivity and profitability for companies. The major concerns for its implementation are privacy, security, user health, inclusiveness in access, implementation costs, and lack of regulation. Moreover, the application of content and cluster analysis techniques intercepted eight primary research areas defined as user experience, optimization, research method, educational change, business opportunities, security systems, enabling technologies, and healthcare. The article provides valuable insights to support management decision-making when considering the adoption of this technology in specific business contexts. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first SLRs on Metaverse in the business and management field that classifies the opportunities, barriers, complementary technologies, and business functions and processes in which the platform can potentially be applied.