Candidate:
Mariana de Oliveira Magalhães

Date, Time and Location:
July 8, 10:00, Sala de Atos (I-105)  DEEC, FEUP

President of the Jury:
João Manuel Paiva Cardoso, PhD, Full Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto.

Members:
Alfredo Manuel dos Santos Ferreira Júnior, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Instituto Superior Técnico da Universidade de Lisboa;
Maria Beatriz Alves de Sousa Santos, PhD, Associate Professor with habilitation, Departamento de Eletrónica, Telecomunicações e Informática, Universidade de Aveiro;
Mário Sérgio Carvalho Teixeira, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departamento de Economia, Sociologia e Gestão, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro;
António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho, PhD, Associate Professor with habilitation, Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto (Supervisor);
António Augusto de Sousa, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto.

The thesis was co-supervised by Doutor Maximino Bessa, Associate Professor with Habilitation, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro.

Abstract
This thesis aims to explore how multisensory experiences in virtual reality influence users’ emotional responses and the vividness of their mental imagery, focusing on the impact of the demographics of gender and age. This thesis is driven by the recent rapid development of virtual reality in tourism, characterized by increasingly immersive multisensory experiences. It addresses the knowledge gap related to the limited understanding of how multisensory stimuli impact users’ emotional responses and their mental imagery ability, considering the particular case of virtual tourism.
Two immersive virtual experiences were developed for this purpose. Multisensory combinations of visual, auditory, haptic, olfactory, and taste stimuli were strategically integrated at specific stages of the two experiments, after being previously validated in a focus group session. One of these virtual experiences included a scenario intended to elicit positive emotions in the user by resorting to a selection of pleasant multisensory stimuli, designated as the “positive IVE” (positive Immersive Virtual Environment). The other experience sought the contrary: to induce negative emotions in the user through a combination of unpleasant multisensory stimuli, which was labeled as the “negative IVE” (negative Immersive Virtual Environment). The basic combination of visual and auditory stimuli was consistently used during the entire experiment. Additional stimuli – taste, haptic, and smell – were introduced one by one, sequentially. Finally, all these stimuli were combined for a comprehensive experience. A between-subjects experimental design was developed to explore and compare the users’ emotional responses and vividness of visual imagery after each stimuli combination in the two virtual experiences, resorting to in-VR questionnaires for data collection. Key findings include the impact of different positive and negative multisensory stimuli combinations on the users’ emotional responses, and how they, in turn, influence mental imagery. This research further suggests an inverse relationship between the intensity of the user’s emotions and their mental imagery ability. Nevertheless, neither age nor gender was found to influence this relationship in either the positive or negative scenarios. Additionally, this investigation provides insights into the specific emotions triggered by the used multisensory stimuli combinations, addressing a need long identified by various researchers in the field. This thesis contributes to understanding multisensory stimuli in virtual reality, highlighting its potential for application in various fields. It provides insights for future research in creating user-centered virtual reality tourism applications and understanding individual differences.

Keywords: Multisensory Virtual Reality; Virtual Reality; Emotional Responses; Vividness of Mental Imagery; Virtual Tourism.

Candidate
Diogo Fernandes Santos

Date, Time and Location  
June 25, 14:30, Sala de Atos FEUP

President of the Jury
António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho, PhD, Associate Professor with habilitation, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto.

Vogais
Lynn Rosalina Gama Alves, PhD, Associate Professor, Instituto de Humanidades, Artes e Ciências Professor Milton Santos, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brasil;
António Maria Salvado Coxito Granado, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Ciências da Comunicação, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa;
Liliana Filipa Vale Costa, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte, Universidade de Aveiro;
Cátia Ferreira, PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas, Universidade Católica Portuguesa;
João Carlos de Matos Paiva, PhD, Associate Professor with Habilitation, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto;
Carla Susana Lopes Morais, PhD, Assistant Professor with Habilitation, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto (Supervisor).

The thesis was co-supervised by Professor Nelson Troca Zagalo, Full Professor at the Universidade de Aveiro.

Abstract
The adoption of multimedia tools and objects came with challenges and opportunities for everyone involved in science communication and science learning initiatives. People interacting with the content, with the producer, or even the transformation of the consumer in a producer. Participation and dialogue become staples in science communication, with scientists and research units having to embrace this brave, but not so new world. In this experience, transmedia served as a guideline to think about science communication from within a research unit in the multimedia space.
In this work that was designed within Chemistry Research Unit of University of Porto (CIQUP) and shaped by ideas like participation, collaboration, dialogue, and interactivity, scientists were invited to co-create a fun serious video game to communicate their science (nanoparticles for drug delivery). To combine a serious portrait of science with fun elements that are typical of games, scientists were crucial to define theme, systems, mechanics, and narrative. It was developed a prototype (Nano Entregas) aimed to communicate about nanoparticles for drug delivery. The prototype was played by 170 participants from the 7th to the 11th school level in an experience aimed to measure the potential of the tool in two domains: as a science communication object capable of transmitting knowledge about nanoparticles and other scientific concepts associated with the subject; and as a game. To do so, data was collected through the implementation of a questionnaire and through the application of a serious game evaluation scale. The video game was also played by researchers and chemistry teachers, from whom observations were collected. Before the core gaming experience, the prototype was tested with the target audience (27 of the 170 participants), and three participants with no previous connection with the project (one teacher, one researcher, and one doctor). The prototype developed has shown potential to be used in multiple scenarios (formal and informal) where nanoparticles can be a subject to present. Most players (from the 170 students) have captured the basic information that was delivered. One was the metaphor used to introduce the size of nanoparticles within the real world scale of things, with 66,5% of the participants being able to deduce it from the bits of dialogue between the in-game characters. The percentage of correct answers were also higher in the three scientific questions: 85,3%, 78,2%, and 58,2%, respectively. The prototype was well received by the audience, with the 11 Factors in the scale collecting positive notes. The experience shows that scientists are eager to collaborate in challenging and innovative strategies to communicate with the audience, with the metaphor that shaped the prototype in terms of theme, narrative, systems, and mechanics, emerging directly from their contribution. The prototype shows that science can be portraited with seriousness in a video game that aimed for fun. Dialogue can be key to quickly find a common ground between researchers and communicators or developers, which then can result in the development of engaging tools to communicate about complex topics. Younger generations understand video games’ language. And, through it, scientists, communicators, teachers, and parents, can present and share scientific knowledge in a fun and interactive learning exercise.

Keywords: science communication; game development; transmedia; research units; chemistry; nanoparticles.

Candidate
Abel João Gavinho Vaz Tavares Neto

Date, Time and Location
June 20, 14:30, Sala Professor Joaquim Sarmento (G129), DEC, FEUP

President of the Jury
António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho, PhD, Associate Professor with Habilitation, Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto.

Members
Miguel Angel Sicart Vila, PhD, Full Professor, Digital Design Department da IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark;
Teresa Isabel Lopes Romão, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Informática, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa;
Nelson Troca Zagalo, PhD, Full Professor, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte, Universidade de Aveiro;
Pedro Jorge Couto Cardoso, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte, Universidade de Aveiro (Supervisor);
Rui Pedro Amaral Rodrigues, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto.

Abstract
Asymmetry is widely present in contemporary games, allowing players to enjoy different experiences by playing the same game through diverse perspectives or by assuming alternative player roles. However, both scholars and game designers tend to discuss asymmetry only in its most pronounced expressions and to ignore instances in which it plays a more nuanced role in diversifying gameplay experiences. In this research, we offer a holistic approach to asymmetry. Asymmetry Bricks is a conceptual framework for the analysis of asymmetry in games, in regard to the ways it can express itself and the mechanisms through which it can emerge during play. The framework also acts as a design tool to guide designers in the process of ideation of asymmetric gameplay mechanics.
The findings of this study aim to broaden discussions of asymmetry, offering a lens through which scholars can analyse it. The proposed terminology contributes to facilitating communication among game designers, players and other agents, while the design tool inspires all to explore asymmetry in new and interesting ways.

Keywords: Asymmetry; Asymmetric Gameplay; Gameplay Mechanics, Game Design.

Candidate
Hermann Bergmann Garcia e Silva

Date, Time and Location
June 18, 10:30, Sala de Atos FEUP

President of the Jury
António Fernando Vasconcelos Cunha Castro Coelho, PhD, Associate Professor with Habilitation, Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto.

Members
Rodrigo Moreno Marques, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Departamento de Teoria e Gestão da Informação, Escola de Ciência da Informação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brasil;
Paulo Alexandre Ferreira Simões, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Informática, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Coimbra;
António Manuel Raminhos Cordeiro Grilo, PhD, Associate Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa;
Ana Cristina Costa Aguiar, PhD, Associate Professor with Habilitation, Departamento de Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto;
Manuel Alberto Pereira Ricardo, PhD, Full Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto (Supervisor).

Abstract
Since John Barlow’s declaration of cyberspace independence over two decades ago, many transformations have unfolded in the digital ecosystem. The utopian vision of free space has given way to a reality where information flows are shaped by the Internet architecture, its communication protocols, and the intervention of network operators, which influence the behavior and autonomy of users.
Nowadays, the fifth generation of mobile communications systems (5G) materializes a programmable network that provides the flexibility and scalability required to handle the exponential growth of data traffic and the heterogeneity of use cases. Central to the 5G technology, network slicing introduces new traffic differentiation paradigms that segment users, applications, and services into customized logical domains with dedicated radio and computational resources.
This 5G feature potentially conflicts with the net neutrality principle, which seeks to ensure that Internet communications are treated in the same manner, without discrimination. In this context, it has become an issue of public interest to assess traffic differentiation mechanisms implemented by Internet service providers (ISPs) that could interfere with the flow of information and the freedom of choice in the virtual locus.
Thus, this study aims to characterize the practices employed by ISPs that discriminate Internet traffic, examine the regulations established to discipline these practices, discuss the net neutrality principle, and analyze the contradictory nature of network slicing and net neutrality. The first contribution of this thesis involves the portrayal of ISPs’ practices that restrict users’ Internet access to applications, services, and legal content. The second contribution showcases a comparative analysis of the regulations implemented to discipline these practices. The third contribution presents an innovative application of the standardized Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), designed to enable the evaluation of Internet Traffic Management Practices (ITMPs) through the controlled exposure of information to regulatory authorities. Via the NWDAF, regulators obtain direct and automated access to performance metrics in 5G networks.
As the methodological pathway, this study adopted an interdisciplinary approach, combining three dimensions of analysis: informational, technical, and legal. The results obtained show a divergence in regulating the zero-rating practice, indicate that net neutrality can be evaluated from an intra-slice perspective in 5G networks, and demonstrate the NWDAF’s ability to extract key performance indicators (KPIs). The NWDAF may be a relevant tool for improving network transparency and supporting regulatory oversight, which are indispensable elements to guarantee the coexistence of network slicing and net neutrality.

Keywords: Internet governance; Information policy; Net neutrality; 5G; Network slicing.