mobile use
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Sep 30, 2011
ICT4D and M4D projects often focus on how mobiles can be used in developing countries, but the success and usefulness of these projects depends on the value mobile users place on their phones, and how they use them. "We Use It Different, Different: Making Sense of Trends in Mobile Use in Ghana," looks at how Ghanians use mobile phones in their day-to-day lives, mainly focusing on why survey participants started using a mobile phone, how they use it, and how they view the value of mobile phone ownership.
| Featured Research: Making Sense of Mobile Phone Use in Ghana data sheet 1963 Views |
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Ghana
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Posted by MarkWeingarten on Feb 22, 2011
Featherweight Multimedia for Information Dissemination data sheet 1469 Views
Author:
Chu, Gerry, Sambit Satpathy, Kentaro Toyama, Rikin Gandhi, Ravin Balakrishnan, and S. Raghu Menon
Abstract:
Featherweight multimedia devices combine audio with non-electronic visual displays (e.g., paper). Because of their low cost, customizability, durability, storage capacity, and energy efficiency, they are well-suited for education and information dissemination among illiterate and semi-literate people.
We present a taxonomy of featherweight multimedia devices and also derive design recommendations from our experiences deploying featherweight multimedia in the agriculture and health domains in India. We found that with some initial guidance, illiterate users can quickly learn to use and enjoy the device, especially if they are taught by peers.
Posted by PrabhasPokharel on Mar 09, 2010
The Mobile Intent Index data sheet 2725 Views
Abstract:
Ruder Finn's Mobile Intent Index examines the underlying motivations or reasons – intents – people have for using their mobile phones. The representative and Census-balanced online study of 500 American adults 18 years of age and older who "use their mobile device to go online or to access the Internet" was conducted in November 2009 by RF Insights among respondents who belong to Western Wats' large consumer panel, Opinion Outpost. The Mobile Intent Index asked respondents how frequently they use their mobile phones to go online for 295 reasons.
The study reveals that 95 percent of mobile phone owners use their devices to stay informed, including 60 percent who browse news on current events and 39 percent who read a local newspaper. Among other findings, 100 percent of those studied used their phones to simply pass the time and 93 percent connected with others via social networks.
Posted by CorinneRamey on Jul 16, 2008
Mobile phone use is booming. There are close to 3.5 billion mobile phones in use, and mobile penetration rates are increasing quickly, especially in developing countries. This rise of mobile phone use by low-income and so-called 'base-of-the-pyramid' users raises a number of questions. Are low-income people using mobile technology in different ways than their higher-income counterparts? How can mobile phones be desiged and used in ways that are useful to these populations? Two new studies--one of favelas in Brazil and the other of a low-income township in South Africa--seek to answer these questions.
An article in Vodafone's Receiver magazine, "Cell phone use among low-income communities – an initial study of technology appropriation in the favelas of Brazil," looks at how low-income residents of Rio de Janiero's favelas (or slums) use mobile phones. The author, Adriana de Souza e Silva, conducted a study that involved interviews with the residents of three different favelas in Rio.
Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jan 02, 2008
Happy New Year, MobileActives!
To ring in the New Year, MobileActive is conducting, with the UN Foundation and the Vodafone Group Foundation, a global survey of more than 25,000 civil society groups about how these organisations are using mobile phones in their work.
