Mobile phone etiquette: a cross-national comparison

As a social medium, mobile telephony permits ubiquitous communication. This has led to concerns about the intrusiveness of the medium, which in turn has seen the development of a social etiquette governing mobile phone use. This study of Australian and US tertiary students showed that there was widespread but not universal agreement that usage was inappropriate in places of worship, classrooms and libraries or while driving a car. Australians were more tolerant of mobile usage than Americans in most situations, apart from driving. SMS was more broadly tolerated, including in class and in cinemas.

Consumer loyalty versus propensity to switch between providers in mature IT markets (the case of mobile phone market)

The example of the youth mobile phone market is used for pilot empirical testing of a model of consumers’ decision making, based on common features of consumer behaviour in mature markets of information and high technology products. Firstly, we discuss the key properties of mature high technology markets which affect market behaviour and strategies. These properties include: established customer and provider bases; the elements of both oligopolistic and monopolistic competition; very short product life cycle; considerable product differentiation; and using product quality, versioning and price discrimination as planning and marketing tools. Secondly, a model of consumers’ decision making in such markets is suggested on the assumption that a choice is to be made between the following options: to continue using the existing version of the product, to upgrade it with the current provider or to switch to another provider. Product price, quality characteristics, switching costs and network effects are demonstrated to be the variables affecting consumers’ decisions and therefore, these variables should be considered by competing providers when they choose production and marketing strategies. In conclusion, the results of the empirical study are discussed in the context of their possible application to other information and high technology markets.

Journalism students' experience of mobile phone technology : implications for journalism education

This study investigates journalism students’ usage of mobile phone technology when they begin their university studies and considers the implications of these baseline data for journalism education. This paper reports on the findings of three consecutive annual surveys of first year journalism students about their use of the applications available on their mobile phones. The surveys confirm that as well as using their phones to text and call, many are making video calls and most have shot photos and videos on their phones by the time they arrive at university. Many are using their phones to send or publish these images. More than half of the students now go online on their mobile phones. This evidence will inform journalism educators seeking to update their teaching practices and curricula.

Mobile phone-based audience response system and student engagement in large-group teaching

Engaging students in large classes is a challenge at the best of times. Teachers are increasingly seeking the help of new technology to keep the attention of their technologically savvy students. VotApedia, a free cell phone-based audience response system, is one such technology. This research aims to assess economics students' perceptions of use of VotApedia in helping to achieve deeper learning; to map importance of use of audience response technology for students in promoting engagement and to assess the promotion of a positive and active environment in lectures by use of VotApedia in an Australian University. Using the framework of activity theory, it argues that technologies such as VotApedia use positive feedback loops to facilitate improved student engagement and learning.

Mobile phone sensing systems : a survey

Mobile phone sensing is an emerging area of interest for researchers as smart phones are becoming the core communication device in people's everyday lives. Sensor enabled mobile phones or smart phones are hovering to be at the center of a next revolution in social networks, green applications, global environmental monitoring, personal and community healthcare, sensor augmented gaming, virtual reality and smart transportation systems. More and more organizations and people are discovering how mobile phones can be used for social impact, including how to use mobile technology for environmental protection, sensing, and to leverage just-in-time information to make our movements and actions more environmentally friendly. In this paper we have described comprehensively all those systems which are using smart phones and mobile phone sensors for humans good will and better human phone interaction.

Improving gambling survey research using dual-frame sampling of landline and mobile phone numbers

Gambling prevalence studies are typically conducted within a single (landline) telephone sampling frame. This practice continues, despite emerging evidence that significant differences exist between landline and mobile (cell) phone only households. This study utilised a dual-frame (landline and mobile) telephone sampling methodology to cast light on the extent of differences across groups of respondents in respect to demographic, health, and gambling characteristics.

A total of 2,014 participants from across Australian states and territories ranging in age from 18 to 96 years participated. Interviews were conducted using computer assisted telephone interviewing technology where 1,012 respondents from the landline sampling frame and 1,002 from the mobile phone sampling frame completed a questionnaire about gambling and other health behaviours. Responses across the landline sampling frame, the mobile phone sampling frame, and the subset of the mobile phone sampling frame that possessed a mobile phone only (MPO) were contrasted.

The findings revealed that although respondents in the landline sample (62.7 %) did not significantly differ from respondents in the mobile phone sample (59.2 %) in gambling participation in the previous 12 months, they were significantly more likely to have gambled in the previous 12 months than the MPO sample (56.4 %). There were no significant differences in internet gambling participation over the previous 12 months in the landline sample (4.7 %), mobile phone sample (4.7 %) and the MPO sample (5.0 %). However, endorsement of lifetime problem gambling on the NODS-CLiP was significantly higher within the mobile sample (10.7 %) and the MPO sample (14.8 %) than the landline sample (6.6 %).

Our research supports previous findings that reliance on a traditional landline telephone sampling approach effectively excludes distinct subgroups of the population from being represented inresearch findings. Consequently, we suggest that research best practice necessitates the use of a dual- rame sampling methodology. Despite inherent logistical and cost issues, this approach  needs to become the norm in gambling survey research.

Are individuals more accepting of the internet than mobile phone apps being used in clinical practice?

Background: New technology such as the internet and mobile phone applications (“apps”) are increasingly being used in clinical practice. However, little is known in regards to individual’s attitudes towards medical professionals using the internet and apps in the context of their own medical care. The aim of the present study was to examine and compare individual’s attitudes towards the use of medically related internet sites and apps in clinical practice. 

Consumer response to unit pricing for mobile telephony

This project is a co-operative study between ACCAN and Deakin University. It focuses on Unit Pricing, the practice of displaying the price of goods or services based on a standard quantity, to allow a direct comparison between competitive offers. This study aimed at gauging whether the new unit pricing information for mobile phone contracts assists consumers in assessing and comparing the value provided across alternative contracts within and between suppliers. Some 24 in-depth interviews were conducted with consumers who had recently bought or renewed a mobile phone contract.
The research showed that most consumers could use unit pricing information and some found it useful. Where consumers’ plans had unlimited or infinite capacity, unit pricing information was not relevant. Many consumers preferred voice allowances to be expressed in minutes, rather than in dollar allowances. Data was the most problematic category, as consumers typically had only limited understanding of the amount of data that various applications used. Most did have a broad understanding of what total capacity in data they would need, typically expressed in gigabytes.
Consumers commonly sought simplicity in deciding on which plan they would purchase or renew. A key issue for consumers was not “going over”, that is not exceeding their call, text or data allowances. For that reason, they were prepared to choose a plan that commonly resulted in them not using their full allowances each month. Some consumers used Apps on their smartphones to monitor their usage. Not all consumers had experienced advisory messages about nearing the limits of their plan’s allowances.
The Report recommended that:

R1. Unit pricing should be maintained
R2. Where unit pricing is provided for call costs, these should be expressed in terms of a one-minute call.
R3 Unit pricing for data should be expressed in terms of gigabytes or part thereof.
R4 In advertising mobile phone plans and at point of sales, customers should be provided with three levels of information – 1) overall plan features, 2) unit pricing information and 3) a data calculator.
R5 Level 2 and 3 information should be provided in a standard format across the industry, enabling consumers to make ready comparisons between plans and between competitive offers from different providers.
R6. Continuing public education is needed.
R7. Warnings about going over should always include the date when the allowance period ends and tell consumers what the rate will be if they “go over” based on the Level 2 information.
R8. The Consumer Protection Code should be reviewed in the light of these findings and recommendations.