Steve Love

A game design framework for avoiding phishing attacks

Game based education is becoming more and more popular. This is because game based education provides an opportunity for learning in a natural environment. Phishing is an online identity theft, which attempts to steal sensitive information such as username, password, and online banking details from its victims. To prevent this, phishing awareness needs to be considered. This research aims to develop a game design framework, which enhances user avoidance behaviour through motivation to protect users from phishing attacks. In order to do this, a theoretical model derived from Technology Thread Avoidance Theory (TTAT) was developed and used in the game design framework (Liang & Xue, 2010). A survey study was undertaken with 150 regular computer users to elicit feedback through a questionnaire. The study findings revealed that perceived threat, safeguard effectiveness, safeguard cost, self-efficacy, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility elements should be addressed in the game design framework for computer users to avoid phishing attacks. Furthermore, we argue that this game design framework can be used not only for preventing phishing attacks but also for preventing other malicious IT attacks such as viruses, malware, botnets and spyware.

User characteristics and performance with automated mobile phone systems

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of individual differences (such as gender and attitude towards mobile phone use in public places) on the usability of a speech-activated mobile city guide service in various context of use (e.g. cafe, train). A Wizard of Oz methodology was used to provide the service functionality for the mobile city guide service. Participants in the study completed specific tasks over a six-week period in public and private locations. The results highlight the importance of considering the effects of individual differences on the context of use in system design and evaluation.

Evaluating WebCT Use in Relation to Students' Attitude and Performance

The World Wide Web (WWW) provides great opportunities for creating virtual classrooms (Mazza and Dimitrova, 2004) and for building integrated learning and teaching environments (Cheng and Yen, 1998) and it also helps in supporting traditional educational methods (Kalifa and Lam 2002). Teaching and learning are no longer limited by place or time (Kalifa and Lam 2002). The WWW and the internet are considered to be important new methods for delivering online courses (Jiang and Ting, 2000; Lee and Shih, 2001). The interest in web-based learning and technology to support learning is increasing in higher education and this can be seen in the large number of publications in higher education journals in this area (Hoskins and Hooff, 2005; Bower, 2001). Large numbers of educational institutions are offering web-based courses (Owston, 2000) or starting to use course management systems such as WebCT or Blackboard (Mazza and Dimitrova, 2004) Interaction is central in teaching and learning; the learning process is based on student interaction with instructors, other students, and with the course content (Lei et al., 2003). At the same time, communication and collaboration between the students and instructors can be enhanced by the internet and WWW (Cheng and Yen, 1998). ABSTRACT

Effect of Demography on Mobile Commerce Frequency of Actual Use in Saudi Arabia

When developing and aiming to achieve success in the arena of mobile commerce, user behaviour is one of the main aspects for consideration. This research seeks to analysis whether individuals’ (gender, age, education level) influences their mobile commerce usage within the context of Saudi Arabia. The individuals analysed are own smartphone. We further present three hypotheses that investigate whether demographic factors have a significant statistical impact on the perception of those factors for mobile commerce acceptance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Survey data were collected from 574 participants in several cities across Saudi Arabia. The results emphasise that age affect statically on the actual usage. However, gender and education level all considerably not affect on the mobile commerce actual usage.

Spatial metaphors for a speech-based mobile city guide service

Speech-based automated mobile phone services allow people to access information whilst on the move, but are difficult to use due to the arbitrary assignment of numbers to menu options. For this study, it was hypothesised that the use of spatial interface metaphors could lead to higher levels of usability for a mobile city guide service by capitalising on humans’ well developed spatial ability. One non-metaphor, numbered menu service, and three different spatial metaphor-based services were implemented. The metaphors used were: a travel system, an office filing system and a shopping metaphor. Measures of participant performance with each service and their corresponding subjective evaluations were recorded for each trial. The results indicated that, for first-time users, the non-metaphor service was the most usable, but after three trials, the office filing system metaphor service was the most usable. Navigational cues provided by spatial interface metaphors may improve user attitudes and interactions with automated phone services.

Visualisation improves the usability of voice-operated mobile phone services

Three different versions of a voice-operated mobile city guide service with a hierarchically structured dialogue were evaluated in a mobile setting. One numbered menu style (standard) service, and two services which contained terms derived from underlying real-world referents, were implemented. The real-world referents (metaphors) used were: an office filing system and a computer desktop. It was hypothesized that the use of interface metaphors would allow more participants to visualize the service structure, leading to an improvement in performance relative to the standard service. Forty-two phone users undertook three different tasks with one of the three phone services. User performance and attitudes to the services were recorded, and post-task interviews were conducted. Results showed that significantly more participants using the metaphor-based services visualized the services. Visualizers performed significantly better than non-visualizers, with visualization emerging as a significant predictor of both attitude and performance. We argue that designing speech-based mobile phone services using an appropriate spatial metaphor leads to high levels of visualisation, which allows participants to orient themselves and to navigate more effectively within the hierarchical service architecture. The usability benefits afforded by visualization may become especially important when using phone services in cognitively demanding mobile settings.

Mobile Phone Use Across Cultures: A Comparison Between the United Kingdom and Sudan

Recently, the ubiquitous use of mobile phones by people from different cultures has grown enormously. For example, mobile phones are used to perform both private and business conversations. In many cases, mobile phone conversations take place in public places. In this article, we attempt to understand if cultural differences influence the way people use their mobile phones in public places. The material considered here draws on the existing literature of mobile phones, and quantitative and qualitative work carried out in the UK (as a mature mobile phone market) and the Sudan (that is part of Africa and the Middle East culture with its emerging mobile phone market). Results indicate that people in the Sudan are less likely to use their mobile phones on public transport or whilst walking down the street, in comparison to their UK counterparts. In addition, the Sudanese are more willing to switch off their mobile phones in places of worship, classes, and meetings. Implications are drawn from the study for the design of mobile phones for different cultures.

Using a Rich Pictures Approach for Gathering Students and Teachers Digital Education Requirements

The increasing pervasiveness of mobile technologies and the advent of Web 2.0 technologies such as ubiquitous digital media, networked communications and social media have transformed the way young people access information, create and share knowledge between each other. Twenty four co-design workshops were conducted (290 total participants) with one age-stratified sample (13–17 year olds) of young people from Higher Education establishments in three European countries. These workshops explored young people’s views with regard to the design of cross-platform interactive learning frameworks that allow for ubiquitous, flexible and non-linear learning. A novel co-design workshop method was adopted that draws principles from participatory design, future workshop techniques and rich pictures. The data capture from the co-design workshops with young people were analysed using thematic analysis. Four over-arching design domain emerged: in-class interaction, home interaction, content creation and reporting affordances. From these design domains, 14 user design needs for future technology are described.

An Empirical Study of the Factors Affecting Mobile Social Network Service Use

This research analyses the application of Mobile Social Network Services (MSNSs) in regard to their nature of being new ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools. It is recognised that MSNSs are fast, responsive technologies centred on facilitating mobile commerce. This research aims to identify a number of the factors impacting MSNSs acceptance and usage in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In an attempt to achieve sound insight into the market of Saudi Arabia in relation to mobile communication, which is recognised as being a very valuable sector, a survey was carried out targeting a sample of 363 citizens, with a suggested conceptual model based on the UTAUT framework tested. The findings of this study indicate that performance expectancy is the most important offsetting element, with final cost and effort expense following subsequently. Nevertheless, social influence is not impacted in regard to the intention to utilise MSNSs.

Toward a sustainable deployment of m-learning in higher education

Mobile learning technologies and wireless networks are increasingly being used in educational institutes. Mobile learning m-learning through wireless technology can deliver information to anyone, anytime and anywhere. Some studies have explored the challenges and the issues of implementing this technology. However, few academic studies have investigated the sustainable deployment of m-learning in higher education. This study was conducted with the intention of identifying the factors that affect the deployment of m-learning, in order to propose and evaluate a sustainable model for mobile learning deployment in university education. A survey was conducted with a total of 148 students and 28 lecturers. The findings indicate that the refined conceptual model with pre-and post-deployment stages can work as a road map that can help all stakeholders to make successful decisions for the future deployment of m-learning in their institutes.