Assessing exposure to Kilkari: a big data analysis of a large maternal mobile messaging service across 13 states in India

The Kilkari programme is being implemented by the Government of India in 13 states. Designed by BBC Media Action and scaled in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare from January 2016, Kilkari had provided mobile health information to over 10 million subscribers by the time BBC Media Action transitioned the service to the government in April 2019. Despite the reach of Kilkari in terms of the absolute number of subscribers, no longitudinal analysis of subscriber exposure to health information content over time has been conducted, which may underpin effectiveness and changes in health outcomes. In this analysis, we draw from call data records to explore exposure to the Kilkari programme in India for the 2018 cohort of subscribers. We start by assessing the timing of the first successful call answered by subscribers on entry to the programme during pregnancy or postpartum, and then assess call volume, delivery, answering and listening rates over time. Findings suggest that over half of subscribers answer their first call after childbirth, with the remaining starting in the pregnancy period. The system handles upwards of 1.2 million calls per day on average. On average, 50% of calls are picked up on the first call attempt, 76% by the third and 99.5% by the ninth call attempt. Among calls picked up, over 48% were listened to for at least 50% of the total content duration and 43% were listened to for at least 75%. This is the first analysis of its kind of a maternal mobile messaging programme at scale in India. Study analyses suggest that multiple call attempts may be required to reach subscribers. However, once answered, subscribers tend to listen the majority of the call—a figure consistent across states, over time, and by health content area.

Mobile Messaging Apps and Relationship Management

This chapter examines the use of mobile messaging apps in relationship management. To contextualize the discussion, the authors focus on WeChat, a dominant mobile messaging service in China that has over 1 billion monthly active users, as a case to examine the mutual shaping between technological affordances and social contexts. This chapter first introduces the case of WeChat and discusses its main affordances related to mobile messaging. The chapter then presents a discussion of the use of WeChat messaging in relationship management and users’ sociocultural construction of technology. This chapter aims to present a mutual shaping process between the affordances of mobile messaging apps and users’ relational practices.

IS WHATSAPP THE FUTURE OF WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION?: INVESTIGATING THE USE OF WHATSAPP IN DECISION- MAKING EPISODES

Background and Purpose: Meetings, emails, phone calls and mobile telephone texts are often quoted as the primary methods of communication in the workplace settings. However, the rise of mobile messaging service has been superseding the use of these modes of communication. Hence, it is not surprising that messaging applications like Whatsapp has slowly replaced the transmission of messages in most workplace interaction. WA, the prominent global mobile messenger application (statistica.com) does not only allow users to send personal messages to others rapidly but also makes it possible for them to communicate in groups where the users can communicate interactively and achieve tasks swiftly. Methodology: Drawing on WA group messages and audio recordings of meetings of team meetings, this work analyses the impact of WA on internal team communication by focusing on the processes of decision-making displayed by the members of a group of academics at an institution of higher education in Malaysia. Findings: The analysis shows that the application functions as a useful platform for the team to negotiate solutions, make and revisit decisions that were previously decided in another interactional context. Contributions: This paper concludes that the use of WA constitutes a daily reality in the investigated workplace, illuminate the intertextuality of DM processes across these contexts, and that it is reflective of its main purposes: to make quick decisions, give confirmation or approval, and provide information regarding the issues raised. The study also addresses the crucial question: is WA the future of workplace communication and will it become the preferred medium for decision- making? Keywords: Decision-making, higher education, Malaysia, WhatsApp, workplace discourse. Cite as: Mohd Omar, N. A, Azmi, N. J., & Ahmad Sani, N. (2020). Is Whatsapp the future of workplace communication?: Investigating the use of Whatsapp in decision-making episodes. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 5(1), 414-442. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol5iss1pp414-442

The importance of the Whatsapp family group: an exploratory analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on WhatsApp, a mobile messaging service for smartphones that began in 2009. The study uses attachment theory, a social support perspective and one personality characteristic derived from the Big Five theory of personality (“openness to experience”) and attempts to predict how these variables influence the importance of the WhatsApp family group. Design/methodology/approach – Research was conducted in Israel during the first semester of the 2015 academic year and encompassed 191 undergraduate communication students. Researchers used six questionnaires to gather personal details, WhatsApp use, WhatsApp importance, attachment, openness to experience, and social support. Findings – The findings confirm that the personality characteristic of openness to experience and social support significantly predict the importance of WhatsApp family group. Findings present a complex and ambiguous relationship between the attachment variables and the importance of WhatsApp family group. Originality/value – The literature has not yet dealt with the issue of WhatsApp groups. Hence, the current study highlights associations between WhatsApp family group and attachment theory, the personality characteristic of openness to experience, social support, and family frequency use.

Why do students use What’s App? – an exploratory study

Purpose – This study focusses on What’s App, a mobile messaging service for smartphones, that was founded in 2009. The purpose of this study is to explore which factors may influence students’ satisfaction and duration of time, spent on What’s App. Design/methodology/approach – In order to answer this question it uses the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) approach (Katz, 1959), as well as the Big Five model (Costa and McCrae, 1992), and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989). The research was conducted in Israel and encompassed 111 information science (IS) students. Researchers used six questionnaires to gather data. Findings – The findings of this study shed light on a new technological platform: What’s App that has rarely been examined to date, and expands the U&G perspectives to new media. Findings confirm that the U&G paradigm, as well as personality characteristics and perceived enjoyment, effect What’s App satisfaction and duration, and highlight the importance of both the U&G approach and individual differences when exploring motivations underlying What’s App use. Originality/value – This study proposes a theoretical framework by combining the U&G approach, constructs from the “Big Five” model, and one variable from the TAM, to investigate the attitudes of What’s App users, and propose possible factors that may explain why certain individuals use What’s App.