scholarly journals Gamification-less: may gamification really foster civic participation? A controlled field experiment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Romano ◽  
Paloma Díaz ◽  
Ignacio Aedo
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Management ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Design Experiment ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Group Design ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Open Issue ◽  
Smart Communities

AbstractIn the context of smart communities, it is essential an active and continuous collaboration between citizens, organizations and institutions. There are several cases where citizens may be asked to participate such as in public decision-making process by informing, voting or proposing projects or in crisis management by sharing precise and timely information with other citizens and emergency organizations. However, these opportunities do not automatically result in participatory practices sustained over time. Mobile technologies and social networks provide the substratum for supporting formal empowerment, but citizen engagement in participation processes is still an open issue. One of the techniques used to improve engagement is gamification based on the humans’ predisposition to games. So far, we still lack studies that can prove the advantage of gamified systems respect to non-gamified ones in civic participation context. In this work, we present a between-group design experiment performed in the wild using two mobile applications enabling civic participation, one gamified and the other not. Our results highlight that the gamified application generates a better user experience and civic engagement.

Developing and Validating a M-Governance Framework Adoption Model of a University for Communication Services to Its Affiliated Institutions

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 484
Author(s):  
E. Ramganesh ◽  
E. Kirubakaran ◽  
D. Ravindran ◽  
R. Gobi
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Technology Acceptance Model ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Communication Services ◽  
Governance Framework ◽  
Social And Economic Development ◽  
Acceptance Model

The m-Governance framework of auniversity aims to utilize the massive reach of mobile phones and harness the potential of mobile applications to enable easy and round the-clock access to the services of its affiliated institutions.  In the current mobile age there is need for transforming e-governance services to m-Governance as m-Governance is not a replacement for e-Governance rather it complements e-Governance. With this unparalleled advancement of mobile communication technologies, universities are turning to m-governance to realize the value of mobile technologies for responsive governance and measurable improvements to academic, social and economic development, public service delivery, operational efficiencies and active stakeholder engagement. In this context the present study, aims to develop and validate a m-governance framework of a university by extending Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with its prime stakeholders so called the Heads of the affiliated institutions. A survey instrument was developed based on the framework and it was administered with 20 Heads of the affiliated Institutions. The results also showed that the Heads of the affiliated Institutions expressed their favorableness towards m-governance adoption.

scholarly journals Teaching and Learning Physics with Smartphones

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Á. González ◽  
Manuel Á. González ◽  
M. Esther Martín ◽  
César Llamas ◽  
Óscar Martínez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Know How ◽  
Measurement Devices ◽  
The One ◽  
Physics Experiments

The use of mobile technologies is reshaping how to teach and learn. In this paper the authors describe their research on the use of these technologies to teach physics. On the one hand they develop mobile applications to complement the traditional learning and to help students learn anytime and anywhere. The use of this applications has proved to have very positive influence on the students' engagement. On the other hand, they use smartphones as measurement devices in physics experiments. This opens the possibility of designing and developing low cost laboratories where expensive material can be substituted by smartphones. The smartphones' sensors are reliable and accurate enough to permit good measurements. However, as it is shown with some examples, special care must be taken here if one does not know how these apps used to access the sensors' data are programmed.

scholarly journals Using M-Learning Technology in Teaching Foreign Languages: A Panacea during COVID-19 Pandemic Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (15) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Elena Dolzhich ◽  
Svetlana Dmitrichenkova ◽  
Mona Kamal Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Learning Technology

<p class="0abstract">The higher education system around the world is being rapidly developed towards digitalization – from computers to laptops, from laptops to tablets and smartphones. Accordingly, traditional delivery of instruction is being shifted towards blended learning that is being gradually replaced with distance learning, i.e. higher education is moving forward with mobile learning (m-learning) technologies. The introduction of mobile learning became the most topical event in 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to which many countries had to completely move to distance learning in higher education. The purpose of the study is to analyze the prospects for the widespread use of mobile applications in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in Russia to Russian and Arab learners. In the course of the study, an online survey based on a questionnaire consisting of four open and closed questions was conducted. An empirical method was applied to collect the research data.  The survey was conducted at the Department of Foreign Languages of the Engineering Academy of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (EA PFUR). The total research sample included 200 participants and consisted of: 50 potential employers, 50 Russian and Arab students of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia studying Linguistics (training program code 035700), 50 faculty members, namely teachers of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Moscow State Pedagogical University and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, as well as 50 administrative staff of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. The purpose of the survey was to collect information about the use of mobile applications (Smartphone Apps) and the introduction of mobile learning technology (m-learning) in the process of teaching EFL to students. According to the results of the survey, instructors are actively using mobile technologies in their professional activities and all participants in the learning process are receptive to their introduction in education. At the same time, respondents believe that technical challenges are the major obstacle to the adoption of mobile applications; these problems must be overcome in order to enable more productive use of mobile applications. In this regard, the study of mobile applications that are suitable for specific aspects of learning a foreign language, such as spoken language, reading comprehension, listening or writing, can be considered a promising research area.</p>

The Socio-Ethical Considerations Surrounding Government Mandated Location-Based Services during Emergencies

2011 ◽  
pp. 129-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anas Aloudat ◽  
Katina Michael
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
National Security ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Location Based Services ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Location Services

The adoption of mobile technologies for emergency management has the capacity to save lives. In Australia in February 2009, the Victorian bushfires claimed 173 lives, the worst peace-time disaster in the nation’s history. The Australian government responded swiftly to the tragedy by going to tender for mobile applications that could be used during emergencies, such as mobile alerts and location services. These applications have the ability to deliver personalized information direct to the citizen during crises, complementing traditional broadcasting mediums like television and radio. Indeed governments have a responsibility to their citizens to safeguard them against both natural and human-made hazards, and today, national security has grown to encapsulate such societal and economic securitization. However, some citizens and lobby groups have emphasized that such breakthrough technologies need to be deployed with caution as they are fraught with ethical considerations, including the potential for breaches in privacy, security, and trust.

A Framework for Studying Patterns of Effective Medication Adherence

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Upkar Varshney ◽  
Neetu Singh
Keyword(s):  
Medication Adherence ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Medication Management ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Medication Regimen ◽  
Adherence Level ◽  
Dose Time ◽  
Medication Systems ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Effective Medication

Medication adherence has been studied extensively in the healthcare literature. Most of the studies focus on improving medication adherence using interventions, including those based on wireless and mobile technologies, and measure average medication adherence level. This is useful in differentiating between patients with high and low levels of adherence. In practice, the same average medication adherence could be achieved by patients with widely different adherence patterns. In this paper, the authors propose that in addition to average medication adherence level, the patterns of adherence should also be studied. The patterns of adherence can be obtained using wireless medication systems and set of actions/decisions can be communicated to these systems or mobile applications for medication management. The authors present a framework, some metrics including Effective Medication Adherence, and results related to the patterns of adherence. Their results show that pattern of adherence has significant impact on the effective medication adherence. Also, higher levels of effective adherence can be achieved for more flexible medication regimen, such as those with higher values of maximum inter-dose time. It is also possible for a patient with lower average adherence but a desirable pattern of adherence to have higher effective medication adherence than a patient with higher average adherence with less desirable pattern.

Semantic Mobile Applications for Service Process Improvement

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Aleksy ◽  
Bernd Stieger ◽  
Thomas Janke
Keyword(s):  
Process Improvement ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Product Information ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Enterprise Information ◽  
Heterogeneous Information ◽  
Field Service ◽  
Semantic Data ◽  
The Right

The ongoing evolution of industrial field service is mainly driven by demographical changes, increasing complexity of products, and tremendous amounts of product information from enterprise information systems as well as from the emerging Internet of Things. To cope with these challenges, a combined approach utilizing semantic and mobile technologies fosters the provision of the right information, at the right time, in the right place, and to the right people. This paper investigates the exploitation potential of semantic mobile applications to support industrial service processes. Based on identified application scenarios, the authors developed concepts for process improvement and, thus, derived requirements. The necessary semantic data federations are considered in the presented architecture, which enables an integrated approach for tailored information retrieval from heterogeneous information sources.

The Value of Government Mandated Location-Based Services in Emergencies in Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anas Aloudat ◽  
Katina Michael ◽  
Roba Abbas ◽  
Mutaz Al-Debei
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
National Security ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Location Based Services ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Location Services ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
National Emergency

The adoption of mobile technologies for emergency management has the capacity to save lives. In Australia in February 2009, the Victorian Bushfires claimed 173 lives, the worst peace-time disaster in the nation’s history. The Australian government responded swiftly to the tragedy by going to tender for mobile applications that could be used during emergencies, such as mobile alerts and location services. These applications have the ability to deliver personalized information direct to the citizen during crises, complementing traditional broadcasting mediums like television and radio. Indeed governments have a responsibility to their citizens to safeguard them against both natural and human-made hazards and today national security has grown to encapsulate such societal and economic securitization. However, some citizens and lobby groups have emphasized that such breakthrough technologies need to be deployed with caution as they are fraught with ethical considerations, including the potential for breaches in privacy, security and trust. The other problem is that real world implementations of national emergency alerts have not always worked reliably and their value has come into question as a result. This paper provides a big picture view of the value of government-mandated location-based services during emergencies, and the challenges ensuing from their use.

Mobile Business Applications

2009 ◽  
pp. 2163-2168
Author(s):  
Cheon-Pyo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Sales Force ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Mobile Business ◽  
Sales Force Automation ◽  
Business Applications ◽  
Scale Usage ◽  
E Mail

As an increasing number of organizations and individuals are dependent on mobile technologies to perform their tasks, various mobile applications have been rapidly introduced and used in a number of areas such as communications, financial management, information retrieval, and entertainment. Mobile applications were initially very basic and simple, but the introduction of higher bandwidth capability and the rapid diffusion of Internet-compatible phones, along with the innovations in the mobile technologies, allow for richer and more efficient applications. Over the years, mobile applications have primarily been developed in consumer-oriented areas where products such as e-mail, games, and music have led the market (Gebauer & Shaw, 2004). According to the ARC group, mobile entertainment service will generate $27 billion globally by 2008 with 2.5 billion users (Smith, 2004). Even though mobile business (m-business) applications have been slow to catch on mobile applications for consumers and are still waiting for larger-scale usage, m-business application areas have received enormous attention and have rapidly grown. As entertainment has been a significant driver of consumer-oriented mobile applications, applications such as delivery, construction, maintenance, and sales of mobile business have been drivers of m-business applications (Funk, 2003). By fall of 2003, Microsoft mobile solutions partners had registered more than 11,000 applications including e-mail, calendars and contacts, sales force automation, customer relationship management, and filed force automation (Smith, 2004). However, in spite of their huge potential and benefits, the adoption of m-business applications appears much slower than anticipated due to numerous technical and managerial problems.

Planning for the Introduction of Mobile Applications to Support the Sales Force

2009 ◽  
pp. 36-54
Author(s):  
Chihab BenMoussa
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Applications ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Sales Force ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Risk Of Falling ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
A Value ◽  
Performance Gains ◽  
Systems Studies ◽  
Implementation Stage

Performance gains from SFA investments have often been obstructed by the sales force’s unwillingness to accept and use available systems. Studies show that a strong reason for resistance by the sales force to the technology is the failure to convince salespeople of the advantages and benefits of the new technology. Consequently firms face the challenge of selecting SFA technologies that their sales force will perceive as valuable and accept to use to enhance its performance. This issue becomes more challenging when it comes to introducing emerging technologies such as mobile technologies, where there is a risk of falling into the trap of overestimating/underestimating their potential value. The present study proposes a value-based approach for planning the introduction of Mobile applications to support the sales force. The approach suggested provides guidelines on how to determine whether or not mobile technologies would add value to the sales force before those technologies actually get selected and implemented. Good planning of SFA investment would help firms avoid resistance of the sales force towards the implemented systems, rather than having to treat it at the post-implementation stage.

scholarly journals Mobile Applications at a Mega University: Anadolu University Campus App

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozgur Yilmazel ◽  
Erk Ekin
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
University Campus ◽  
User Community ◽  
The University ◽  
Insight Into

This paper explores the use of mobile applications to aid on-campus and off-campus students at a mega university. Anadolu University — with over 1,900,000 students enrolled from over 30 countries — is the world's second largest university by enrolment(List of largest universities by enrolment, 2014). From its early days, the Universityhas used various means to access its students. During the last decade,with the introduction of mobile technologies and smartphones that are connected everywhere, the expectations of students have changed. Students now expect to be in contact with their educational institutions without any barriers. Anadolu University released its first mobile campus app onaniOS platform in May 2012. Students adopted the App quickly and the mobile app user community requested new functionalities. Since then,the University has released three major and over 25 minor releases of the app on both iOS and Android smartphones. This paper describes the lifecycle of Anadolu Campus App and its evolution over the years. It has been widely acceptedby our students both on campus and off campus, andthe increasing number of users gives an insight into the high rate of adoption of smartphones.

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