Time for a Change

In recent years, the use of smartphones by people with intellectual disabilities (ID) has increased, leading to the development of applications designed to ease and improve their lives and independence, and help them integrate into society. Designing applications tailored to the needs of these users is complex, particularly in terms of accessibility and usability. This chapter presents a case study of the design and development process of a dedicated application aimed at helping people with mild ID in handling cash transactions. The chapter explores the design principles of mobile interfaces for people with ID. It introduces the use of the design thinking methodology, which focuses on user-centered design and helps gain an in-depth knowledge of the end users and their needs. Based on the performed user research, recommendations for the design of such applications are highlighted.

Mobile and immobile boundaries in ferroelectric films

The intrinsic mobile interfaces in ferroelectrics—the domain walls can drive and enhance diverse ferroelectric properties, essential for modern applications. Control over the motion of domain walls is of high practical importance. Here we analyse theoretically and show experimentally epitaxial ferroelectric films, where mobile domain walls coexist and interact with immobile growth-induced interfaces—columnar boundaries. Whereas these boundaries do not disturb the long-range crystal order, they affect the behaviour of domain walls in a peculiar selective manner. The columnar boundaries substantially modify the behaviour of non-ferroelastic domains walls, but have negligible impact on the ferroelastic ones. The results suggest that introduction of immobile boundaries into ferroelectric films is a viable method to modify domain structures and dynamic responses at nano-scale that may serve to functionalization of a broader range of ferroelectric films where columnar boundaries naturally appear as a result of the 3D growth.

Evaluating the Interface Using Expert-heuristic Method

The research aims to form a new method for evaluating interfaces, ensuring its multi-criteria nature and eliminating the shortcomings of previous methods. A combination of expert and heuristic approach is proposed, to detect a wide range of UI/UX problems, to ensure assessment competence and to reduce the level of distrust of the expert. In the first experiment, two groups of interfaces with different characteristics were evaluated, with two interfaces in each group. Fifteen heuristics were evaluated: ten general purpose criteria and five specialized criteria. Thirteen experts were involved, for whom weighting coefficients were previously calculated, taking into account their professional competencies and personal qualities influencing the reasonableness of the evaluation. After analyzing the results of the first experiment, it was decided to investigate the influence of the number of experts in the sample on the overall UI score. Therefore, for the second experiment, the optimal number of experts in the group was calculated to ensure the lowest score variance. Applications were evaluated in five groups (the number of heuristics did not change). Also, in each experiment, the outlier weights of the experts were calculated to ensure consistency of the opinions of the sample group members. In the conclusion, an analysis of the feasibility of applying the new method to mobile interfaces was performed. Conclusions on the suitability of the chosen mathematical apparatus and further ways of development of the method have been made.

ASSESSMENT OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE HEAT SHIELDING EFFECT OF OILS ON THE POSSIBILITY OF JAMMING IN THE MOBILE INTERFACES OF TRANSPORT VEHICLES

the influence of the heat-shielding effect of oils on the occurrence of wear in mobile interfaces during jamming, characterized by such a defect as a bully and accompanied by the transfer of metal from one friction surface to another, is analyzed. The research was carried out both on the basis of theoretical calculations based on the thermodynamic theory of friction, and empirical tests using the developed device for simulating a temperature flash on a stationary friction contact and subsequent observation of the propagation of the heat flow according to the indications of thermocouples. On the basis of theoretical assumptions, and the results of the research, the hypothesis that the heat energy released as the result of frictional interactions at microscopic contact, has a high density and is spread with considerable speed mainly in the direction with the lowest thermal resistance due to the thermophysical characteristics of the material (density, conductivity) and thermal capacity, for example, thin boundary films (oil, oxide, servovite, sputtered, etc.) with a thickness of 1 µm and is comparable with the height of asperities. The results of the research confirm the hypothesis about the role of the heat-shielding effect of lubricants on the microcontact overheating and changes in the structure and properties of both the lubricant and the metal surface layer, which in turn cause increased wear of machine parts.

Mobile technologies in library work: foreign experience

The current foreign trends of library informatization based on mobile technologies, radical information personalization and diversification of user auditorium are examined. The study is novel in that the author investigates into the current trends in foreign librarianship like advance of mobile sites, services based on augmented reality interfaces and RFID method. The author emphasizes that optimization based on mobile technologies is being accomplished in scientific and public libraries – leaders of the digital revolution but also in the major libraries of the developing states. The modern library practice abroad is analyzed: the mobile versions of www-sites and catalogs and applications; resources for mobile devices are being designed and implemented; new services with mobile interfaces are offered. Mobile-based service features, like trans-border and instant access, time saving, absence of spatial constraints are discussed. The role of mobile technologies in transforming library services in the developing states as the chance to overcome the increasing digital gap is emphasized.

PENGEMBANGAN PERANGKAT LUNAK MONITORING WELLIES DENGAN METODE WATERFALL MODEL

Work is a necessity and routine for everyone. In doing ordinary work there are agencies where someone works. One of the workplaces is ConocoPhilips Suban. The existing work is to secure the goods in each wellies. Currently in the process of monitoring existing goods in the ConocoPililips Suban willes is still being done conventionally, especially the situation report for each wellies owned. For this reason, in this study the development of software used to monitor and manage the willes guarding schedule and find out the identity of anyone on duty in order to improve the performance of the members of guard. The software development used in this study is the waterfall model. Waterfall is a structured software development method with five stages namely communication, planning, modeling, construction and deployment. The results of the research are monitoring wellies software with three types of users, namely admin, patrol officer, guard officer. The software also has a menu in the form of data management officers, wellies, goods, and reports. The software has two types of display interfaces namely web-based used for admin type users and mobile interfaces used for officer type users. The results also showed that the software was able to monitor goods in each wellies so that the reporting carried out had good accuracy values. Abstrak: Pekerjaan merupakan kebutuhan dan rutinitas septiap orang. Dalam melakukan pekerjaan biasaya terdapat instansi tempat seseorang bekerja. Salah satu tempat kerja yang adalah ConocoPhilips Suban. Pekerjaan yang ada yaitu melakukan pengamanan barang yang ada pada setiap wellies. Saat ini dalam proses monitoring barang yang ada pada willes ConocoPhilips Suban masih dilakukan secara konvensional terutama laporan keadaan untuk setiap wellies yang dimiliki. Untuk itu di dalam penelitian ini dilakukan pengembangan perangkat lunak yang digunakan untuk monitoring dan mengatur jadwal penjagaan willes serta mengetahui identias siapa saja yang bertugas agar dapat meningkatkan kinerja para anggota penjagaan. Pengembangan perangkat lunak yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah waterfall model. Waterfall merupakan metode pengembangan perangkat lunak yang terstruktur dengan lima tahapan yaitu komunikasi, perencanaan, pemodelan, konstruksi dan deployment. Hasi dari penelitian berupa perangkat lunak monitoring wellies dengan tiga jenis pengguna yaitu admin, petugas patroli, petugas jaga. Perangkat lunak juga memiliki menu berupa pengelolaan data petugas, wellies, barang, dan laporan. Perangkat lunak memiliki dua jenis tampilan antarmuka yaitu berbasis web yang digunakan untuk pengguna jenis admin dan antarmuka mobile yang digunakan untuk pengguna jenis petugas. Hasil penelitian juga menunjukkan bahwa perangkat lunak mampu untuk melakukan monitoring barang pada setiap wellies sehingga pelaporan yang dilakukan memiliki nila akurasi yang baik.

Pore-scale investigation of the displacement fluid mechanics during two-phase flows in natural porous media under the dominance of capillary forces

This paper presents the results of numerical simulations of two-phase flows in porous media under capillary forces dominance. For modeling of immiscible two-phase flow, the lattice Boltzmann equations with multi relaxation time operator were applied, and the interface phenomena was described with the color-gradient method. The objective of study is to establish direct links between quantitative characteristics of the flow and invasion events, using high temporal resolution when detecting simulation results. This is one of the few works where Haines jumps (rapid invasion event which occurs at meniscus displacing from narrow pore throat to its wide body) are considered in three-dimensional natural pore space, but the focus is also on the displacement mechanics after jumps. It was revealed the sequence of pore scale events which can be considered as a period of drainage process: rapid invasion event during Haines jump; finish of jump and continuation of uniform invasion in current pore; switching of mobile interfaces and displacement in new region. The detected interface change, along with Haines jump, is another distinctive feature of the capillary forces action. The change of the mobile interfaces is manifested in step-like behavior of the front movement. It was obtained that statistical distributions of pressure drops during Haines jumps obey lognormal law. When investigating the flow rate and surface tension effect on the pressure drop statistics it was revealed that these parameters practically don’t affect on the statistical distribution and influence only on the magnitude of pressure drops and the number of individual Haines jumps.