Permanently online – Permanently connected: Explorations into university students’ use of social media and mobile smart devices

BackgroundWith the availability of mobile smart devices, many adolescents have developed the habit of being online and connected with other users almost all the time.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to provide a definition of being permanently online (PO) and permanently connected (PC) and to explore students’ current PO/PC behaviors.MethodsAn online survey was conducted with 178 university students in Germany to explore the intensity of their PO/PC behaviors in various social situations, the differences in being PO and being PC, students’ feelings about a possible loss of Internet access, and their online responding behaviors. We also shed some light on the associations between being PO/PC and various aspects of well-being, as well as between PO/PC and demographics and lifestyle.ResultsSmart device usage behaviors at night and behaviors in various social situations during the day indicate that PO and PC behaviors are occurring frequently. The results show that being connected to others (PC) seems to be more relevant to the participants than browsing the web (PO). Moreover, the participants expressed strong emotional responses about a temporary loss of Internet access. Coping behaviors in response to increasing number of incoming messages and permanent availability are reported.ConclusionThis exploratory study demonstrates the relevance of the concepts of being PO and PC to students, and points out further research gaps.     

The emergence of smart service ecosystems—The role of socio-technical antecedents and affordances

As physical products are increasingly augmented with digital technology, manufacturing firms have become part of the development of so-called smart products and smart services. As such, manufacturing firms are challenged by new market participants and ecosystem partners, particularly from the software development industry, and by the dynamic nature of business relationships. While the academic literature on the distinctive characteristics of ecosystems, particularly digital ecosystems, is rich, the effect of smart service ecosystems' emergence on the foundation of smart products remains uncertain. This study reports on case study research based on 47 semi-structured interviews with four companies that participate in an industrial smart service ecosystem. Taking an affordance-theoretic perspective, we uncover the antecedents of and the process of emergent smart service ecosystems. We find that smart service ecosystems have three socio-technical antecedents: a shared worldview, structural flexibility and integrity, and architecture of participation. We explain the emergence of smart service ecosystems as the result of specialisation in shared affordances and integration of idiosyncratic affordances into collective affordances. We derive seven propositions regarding the emergence of smart services, outline opportunities for further research, and present practical guidelines for manufacturing firms.     

Impacts of low citizen awareness and usage in smart city services: the case of London’s smart parking system

Smart city applications and services are increasingly considered as strategic means to cope with emerging global challenges such as climate change, pollution, the ageing population, and energy shortage. In particular, smart parking is a type of smart services used to improve traffic congestion and pollution within cities. Nevertheless, although smart city services are driven by advanced information technologies, their success is highly dependent on user engagement, which is historically problematic. This paper presents and discusses the results of a case study on the smart parking service in London. A questionnaire (involved a total of 212 local drivers) was adopted as the main data collection method. This was complemented by the collection and analysis of 470 online user comments left for the service. The results showed that London’s smart parking service may potentially help each driver to save an average of £68 (62.2 l) on petrol annually and reduce CO₂ emissions by 238.14 kg per car per year. At city level, a smart parking system could help London save £183.6 million worth of petrol per year and reduce its annual CO₂ emissions by 642,978 tons. However, public awareness, actual usage, and user satisfaction of this smart service are currently very low. These present substantial barriers to realise the potential economic and environmental benefits of the service. This paper concluded that further to the very technological efforts, local authorities and service providers need to make a stronger endeavour to enhance public engagement and user satisfaction towards smart services, in order to realise the promises of such solutions.     

Uncertainty and imprecision modeling for the mobile robot localization problem

This article deals with uncertainty and imprecision treatment during the mobile robot localization process. The imprecision determination is based on the use of the interval formalism. Indeed, the mobile robot is equipped with an exteroceptive sensor and odometers. The imprecise data given by these two sensors are fused by constraint propagation on intervals. At the end of the algorithm, we get 3D localization subpaving which is supposed to contain the robot’s position in a guaranteed way. Concerning the uncertainty, it is managed through a propagation architecture based on the use of the Transferable Belief Model of Smets. This architecture enables to propagate uncertainty from low level data (sensor data) in order to quantify the global uncertainty of the robot localization estimation.

Is the unfolding of the group discussion off-pattern? Improving coordination support in educational forums using mobile devices

A forum is a valuable tool to foster reflection in an in-depth discussion; however, it forces the course mediator to continually pay close attention in order to coordinate learners’ activities. Moreover, monitoring a forum is time consuming given that it is impossible to know in advance when new messages are going to be posted. Additionally, a forum may be inactive for a long period and suddenly receive a burst of messages forcing forum mediators to frequently log on in order to know how the discussion is unfolding to intervene whenever it is necessary. Mediators also need to deal with a large amount of messages to identify off-pattern situations. This work presents a piece of action research that investigates how to improve coordination support in a forum using mobile devices for mitigating mediator’s difficulties in following the status of a forum. Based on summarized information extracted from message meta-data, mediators consult visual information summaries on PDAs and receive textual notifications in their mobile phone. This investigation revealed that mediators used the mobile-based coordination support to keep informed on what is taking place within the forum without the need to log on their desktop computer.     

Designing for mobile value co-creation—the case of travel counselling

This paper focuses on the development of a mobile service as extension of travel agencies’ sales channels, fundamentally driven by the notion of value co-creation. Design goals are directly linked to the understanding of travel counselling as practical value co-creation and to the concern to progress this understanding throughout the travel customer cycle. Customers as well as travel agencies benefit from a mobile service rooted in value co-creation. Mobile service applications which target a service provision which furthermore is in line with the core competency of a travel agency (advice-giving and continuously accompany the customer) are scarce. Taking this as a starting point, we propose a mobile service and system design which provides a travel customer with continuing support on the trip, suitable to complement a lively, ongoing customer-firm interaction which enables the co-creation of value, ultimately targeting increased customer retention and loyalty.     

Effects of the design of mobile security notifications and mobile app usability on users’ security perceptions and continued use intention

The explosive global adoption of mobile applications (i.e., apps) has been fraught with security and privacy issues. App users typically have a poor understanding of information security; worse, they routinely ignore security notifications designed to increase security on apps. By considering both mobile app interface usability and mobile security notification (MSN) design, we investigate how security perceptions of apps are formed and how these perceptions influence users’ intentions to continue using apps. Accordingly, we designed and conducted a set of controlled survey experiments with 317 participants in different MSN interface scenarios by manipulating the types of MSN interfaces (i.e., high vs. low disruption), the context (hedonic vs. utilitarian scenarios), and the degree of MSN intrusiveness (high vs. low intrusiveness). We found that both app interface usability and the design of MSNs significantly impacted users’ perceived security, which, in turn, has a positive influence on users’ intention to continue using the app. In addition, we identified an important conundrum: disruptive MSNs—a common approach to delivering MSNs—irritate users and negatively influence their perceptions of app security. Thus, our results directly challenge current practice. If these results hold, current practice should shift away from MSNs that interrupt task performance.     

Effects of “gender” of the computer on informational social influence: the moderating role of task type

The present experiment examined if and how “gender” of the computer, manifested in character representation, would affect its informational influence on individuals’ decisions on masculine (sports) or feminine (fashion) topics. In a 2 (participant's gender) ×2 (character gender) ×2 (nature of topic: masculine vs. feminine) between-subjects experiment, participants played a trivia quiz game with the computer. During the game, they were given a chance to change their initial answer after seeing the computer's answer, which they knew was not necessarily correct. Results supported the match-up hypothesis such that while the male computer elicited greater conformity on the masculine topic than on the feminine topic, the opposite was true for the female counterpart. In addition, men were less likely to yield to the computer's suggestion than women on the masculine topic whereas women were less likely to succumb to the computer's influence on the feminine topic. These findings are discussed in terms of the robustness of gender-stereotyping in human–computer interaction and the implications for Computers Are Social Actors paradigm.     

Leveraging Microsoft׳s mobile usability guidelines: Conceptualizing and developing scales for mobile application usability

This research conceptualizes mobile application usability and develops and validates an instrument to measure the same. Mobile application usability has attracted widespread attention in the field of human–computer interaction because well-designed applications can enhance user experiences. To conceptualize mobile application usability, we analyzed Microsoft’s mobile usability guidelines and defined 10 constructs representing mobile application usability. Next, we conducted a pilot study followed by a quantitative assessment of the content validity of the scales. We then sequentially applied exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to two samples (n=404; n=501) consisting of German consumers using mobile social media applications on their smartphones. To evaluate the confirmatory factor model, we followed a step-by-step process assessing unidimensionality, discriminant validity and reliability. To assess the nomological validity of our instrument, we examined the impact of mobile application usability on two outcomes: continued intention to use and brand loyalty. The results confirmed that mobile application usability was a good predictor of both outcomes. The constructs and scales associated with mobile application usability validated in this paper can be used to guide future research in human–computer interaction and aid in the effective design of mobile applications.     

“Andromaly”: a behavioral malware detection framework for android devices

This article presents Andromaly—a framework for detecting malware on Android mobile devices. The proposed framework realizes a Host-based Malware Detection System that continuously monitors various features and events obtained from the mobile device and then applies Machine Learning anomaly detectors to classify the collected data as normal (benign) or abnormal (malicious). Since no malicious applications are yet available for Android, we developed four malicious applications, and evaluated Andromaly’s ability to detect new malware based on samples of known malware. We evaluated several combinations of anomaly detection algorithms, feature selection method and the number of top features in order to find the combination that yields the best performance in detecting new malware on Android. Empirical results suggest that the proposed framework is effective in detecting malware on mobile devices in general and on Android in particular.     

Beyond the “single-operator,CDR-only” paradigm: An interoperable framework for mobile phone network data analyses and population density estimation

We address the problem of estimating the population density from mobile phone data. After critically examining the relevant network-based data sources (CDR, VLR and passive monitoring systems) a novel methodology is presented with two key novelties. First, it enables the fusion of cell-level and Location Area-level data from heterogeneous data sources. Second, it considers a novel tessellation scheme based on cell coverage maps, instead of cell tower locations. Furthermore, it allows to integrate data from different network operators onto a common reference grid. Within the proposed framework, a Maximum-Likelihood formulation for the population density estimation problem is developed and tested via simulations, showing a significant gain over existing Voronoi-based schemes.     

A Janus-faced matter—The role of user anonymity for communication persuasiveness in online discussions

Employees are increasingly involved in internal corporate discussion processes, often via online platforms. On such platforms, diverse opinions converge and controversial discussions may unfold. Anonymity is assumed to encourage reticent users to speak their mind and to allow for the expression of divergent views, but it has also been found to affect how arguments are received, including perceptions of credibility and, thus, persuasiveness. This paper considers how user anonymity affects communication persuasiveness in online discussions with both identified and anonymous treatment conditions. Drawing upon the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion, we find that anonymity affects persuasiveness via the opposing paths of credibility and involvement     

Cyberbullying impacts on victims’ satisfaction with information and communication technologies: The role of Perceived Cyberbullying Severity

This study aims to understand how individuals’ perceptions of the severity of cyberbullying they endure affects their experience with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) medium through which cyberbullying occurs. To this end, it proposes a theoretical model based on Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping and Expectation-Confirmation Theory. A survey-based study involving 115 cyberbullying victims is employed to empirically validate the proposed model. Results indicate that victims’ perceptions of the severity of a cyberbullying episode negatively impact their satisfaction with ICT. Implications of these results for academics and practitioners are discussed and directions for future research are outlined.     

An efficient steering control formulation for the articulated body mobile robot “KR-II”

This paper introduces an efficient steering control method for the articulated body mobile robot Koryu-II (KR-II). KR-II is a real robot, composed of six cylindrical segments linked in series and has a long snake-like appearance. The main issue on KR-II's steering control is, given from a remote human operator the velocity and orientation commands for the foremost segment, to automatically generate joint commands for all the following segments, such that they follow the foremost segment's trajectory. The derived method is based on a trajectory planning scheme in the inertial reference frame, and is feasible for real time computation. It also presents good energy efficiency and trajectory tracking performance characteristics, and can be extended for KR-II's W-Shaped Configuration steering control, which augments the lateral stability of the robot, essential for locomotion over uneven terrain. The validity of these methods are verified by experiments on the mechanical model KR-II.     

An emerging – Social and emerging computing enabled philosophical paradigm for collaborative learning systems: Toward high effective next generation learning systems for the knowledge society

The vast evolution of Social Computing in the last years and the tremendous improvement of novel technologies including cloud computing, open source technologies, recommender systems, personalized knowledge management systems, Big Data Systems, and Open Educational Resources approaches set a challenging context for the establishment of novel high effective approaches to Collaborative learning in both Business and Academia.This editorial provides an overview of a magnificent top quality research collection of articles related to the New Generation Collaborative Learning Systems. It is an opportunity for a scientific debate for the enabling technologies and the required adjustments in Academic Programs and Executives Training programs worldwide. It is a bold contribution to a new philosophical paradigm for the need to promote flexible, open, collaborative learning beyond time, personality, and place constraints. It seems that the old fashioned classroom based learning has to be enriched or in some cases replaced by technological learning innovations fostering collaboration between learners.Another important contribution of this special issue is the in depth discussion of a variety of requirements for next generation learning systems. This can be extremely useful for researchers interested on future research on the domain. Two more special issues on prestigious journals have been confirmed on similar topics for the next year in order to provide a continuity on this fascinating research domain that is directly linked to the vision of the Knowledge Society.     

“Clickers” and metacognition: A quasi-experimental comparative study about metacognitive self-regulation and use of electronic feedback devices

The purpose of this study was to establish whether electronic response systems (clickers) influence student metacognition in large lecture settings more than low-technology polling devices. In this first part of a two part mixed methods study inquiry was made into whether student metacognition was influenced and how metacognition was influenced. This quasi-experimental study was performed with students from three sections of the same undergraduate educational psychology course taught by the same instructor. Participants totaled 198: 33 in the summer section, 87 in the fall experimental (clickers) group, and 78 in the fall (paddles) comparison group. Because metacognition is associated with higher academic outcomes, we hypothesized that the response device which elicited higher levels of metacognition would also demonstrate higher performance outcomes. While results from the study indicate that metacognitive processes are influenced more so by paddles than by clickers, clicker use produced significantly higher performance outcomes. Results of this study support recent research findings indicating that higher performance outcomes result when clicker use is combined with instructional strategies; furthermore, findings suggest metacognition from clicker use was a more productive influence on the learning process.     

Using bill boards as medium of communication, projection, and expression of African cultural values: the case of Ghanaian “sign boards”

The function of any sign is to communicate the information written on it. Bill boards are well-established media of communication used to convey a broad range of different kinds of messages. The purpose of this study was to provide a deeper understanding of how bill boards are used to project and express cultural values in Africa. Using content analysis, this study compiled and analyzed written signs (words) on selected storefronts, buses, cars, homes, and businesses in Ghana, West Africa. Relevant conclusions and implications of the findings were drawn from the analysis projecting and expressing African (Ghanaian) cultural heritage and values.