Thumb Culture: The Meaning of Mobile Phones for Society

Mobile communication has an increasing impact on people's lives and society. Ubiquitous media influence the way users relate to their surroundings, and data services like text and pictures lead to a culture shaped by thumbs. Representing several years of research into the social and cultural effects of mobile phone use, this volume assembles the fascinating approaches and new insights of leading scientists and practitioners. The book contains the results of a first international survey on the social consequences of mobile phones. It provides a comprehensive inventory of today's issues and an outlook in mobile media, society and their future study

Emerging technologies for learning (volume 1)

Collection of 5 articles on emerging technologies and trend

Thumb Culture

Mobile communication has an increasing impact on people's lives and society. Ubiquitous media influence the way users relate to their surroundings, and data services like text and pictures lead to a culture shaped by thumbs. Representing several years of research into the social and cultural effects of mobile phone use, this volume assembles the fascinating approaches and new insights of leading scientists and practitioners. The book contains the results of a first international survey on the social consequences of mobile phones. It provides a comprehensive inventory of today's issues and an outlook in mobile media, society and their future study

Mobile group blogging in learning: a case study of supporting cultural transition

A mobile group blog is an example of a Web 2.0 social space, as well as a tool for the instant collection of contextual information, the immediate sharing of information and later reflection. Records in the form of multimedia created through mobile blogging can assist people to keep a versatile representation of artefacts they encounter on the move in everyday life. Overseas students are an example of a large group of people whose cultural learning could be supported by this technology. They could share contextual information and their own stories with other people currently experiencing the host culture, as well as people who do not have the opportunity to experience the host culture first-hand. To examine and evaluate how the mobile group blog could be applied in learning, a case study was conducted on involving overseas students. This research explored the suitability, appropriateness and benefits of a mobile group blog in assisting overseas students to manage their culture shock. It illustrates how the mobility of mobile devices assists the capture of contextual information on the move when overseas students start adapting to the new environment. The group blog site provided a platform to share and exchange their experiences and thoughts, as well as a resource of information on authentic cultural transition for future students. Four sub-studies were conducted around this theme. The first two studies investigated the demands and needs of a mobile group blog application in cultural transition. The third study investigated real and practical mobile blogging activities with a group of twelve Chinese overseas students who had newly arrived in Nottingham. The fourth study was conducted in China. In this study, a number of Chinese students who intended to study abroad were asked to evaluate the contents of the mobile group blog created by the twelve Chinese mobloggers in Study three. Findings from the four studies reveal the possibilities, suitability, strengths and weaknesses of the mobile group blog in assisting cultural transition. The thesis also presents positive feedback from participants as well as feedback on the limitations of this application. Then as added value to this research, it also suggests future educational applications of the mobile group blog

Call on me : the cell phone : a multi-media tool of communication amongst South African youth and how it can be used to platform youth stories for media and advertising

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-80).This media dissertation researches the cell phone's actual and potential role as a multimedia tool of communication amongst South African youth and looks at how it can be used to platform youth stories for media and advertising. The youth's connection to the cell phone has come to mean so much more than its actual technological functions. This media dissertation investigates the cell phone phenomenon amongst the youth of today, by looking at both local and international trends, with a more intimate focus on the current trends amongst the South African youth. It will look at the sociology of the cell phone and the culture surrounding it. It will then consider new technology and how the cell phone's role may also be a tool for leapfrogging in South Africa. It is also important to consider the negative connotations that arise with the cell phone's infiltration amongst the youth.Through analysis of recent research about the cell phone's impact on the youth here and internationally, two opposing media directions are identified: the cell phone as a tool in marketing and advertising; and the cell phone as a tool in investigative journalism. By analyzing two different areas, this media dissertation creates a broad and holistic understanding of the cell phone's potential functions through a strong literature review. Firstly, the cell phone's function in marketing and advertising will be analyzed. This media dissertation will take into account the youth market in South Africa through a case study of one of South Africa's strategic consultancy companies: Instant Grass. Through a close look at the youth market now, it will be possible to create a greater understanding of the current trends and how to capitalize on these trends. In terms of marketing and advertising, this media dissertation then discusses an advertising exercise with a youth group studying Film and Media Studies at the University of Cape Town. Secondly, the cell phone in terms of media and investigative journalism will be analysed through fieldwork done with etv's 3rd Degree. This media dissertation looks at how the cell phone could be used as a tool for youth stories by looking at the parameters involved in creating investigative stories. This chapter also takes a look at the issue of citizen journalism in the digital publishing world today and the rate at which cell phone technology is spurring this development on

Mobile group blogging in learning: a case study of supporting cultural transition

A mobile group blog is an example of a Web 2.0 social space, as well as a tool for the instant collection of contextual information, the immediate sharing of information and later reflection. Records in the form of multimedia created through mobile blogging can assist people to keep a versatile representation of artefacts they encounter on the move in everyday life. Overseas students are an example of a large group of people whose cultural learning could be supported by this technology. They could share contextual information and their own stories with other people currently experiencing the host culture, as well as people who do not have the opportunity to experience the host culture first-hand. To examine and evaluate how the mobile group blog could be applied in learning, a case study was conducted on involving overseas students. This research explored the suitability, appropriateness and benefits of a mobile group blog in assisting overseas students to manage their culture shock. It illustrates how the mobility of mobile devices assists the capture of contextual information on the move when overseas students start adapting to the new environment. The group blog site provided a platform to share and exchange their experiences and thoughts, as well as a resource of information on authentic cultural transition for future students. Four sub-studies were conducted around this theme. The first two studies investigated the demands and needs of a mobile group blog application in cultural transition. The third study investigated real and practical mobile blogging activities with a group of twelve Chinese overseas students who had newly arrived in Nottingham. The fourth study was conducted in China. In this study, a number of Chinese students who intended to study abroad were asked to evaluate the contents of the mobile group blog created by the twelve Chinese mobloggers in Study three. Findings from the four studies reveal the possibilities, suitability, strengths and weaknesses of the mobile group blog in assisting cultural transition. The thesis also presents positive feedback from participants as well as feedback on the limitations of this application. Then as added value to this research, it also suggests future educational applications of the mobile group blog

Everyday Mediated Storytelling

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 108-110).Personal stories make our experiences memorable over time. Transforming our fragmentary memories into shareable narratives helps us to understand and communicate who we are as individual and social beings. This thesis presents 'Everyday Mediated Storytelling', a model of the casual storyteller's process of capturing, creating and sharing personal mediated narratives. The purpose of this model is to better support rich-media storytelling through systems that enable storytellers to engage with personal media in a reflective, meaningful and shareable process. Based on the Everyday Mediated Storytelling model, an online authoring and publishing application for creating everyday rich-media narratives named 'Confectionary' was developed. Confectionary provides the storyteller with a spatial storytelling environment that encourages creativity and experimentation, supports a wide variety of storymaking styles, provides novel wayfinding strategies for story discovery and enables the audience to actively and broadly interpret personal rich-media stories. As a spatial storytelling environment, Confectionary reduces cognitive overload on the storyteller by making it easy to begin authoring, supports a wide variety of storymaking strategies and styles and enables the audience to engage in reflective dialogs through multiple active feedback modes.(cont.) Results from a comparative evaluation with other current best practice within the context of online media and story sharing applications indicate that a spatial authoring and publishing application is more enjoyable to use, better facilitates the process of beginning to tell stories and is easier to navigate and explore. Quantitative and qualitative results from a lengthy study with a group of committed users signify the success of the system as an engaging everyday tool for personal storytelling that stimulated self-reflection and broadened the scope of media capture techniques and storytelling strategies demonstrated by its users. Critical lessons were learned about methodology and system design for rich-media personal storytelling. The model, methodology, and system presented in this thesis provide a basis for understanding how we move fluidly between our direct experiences, our cognitive and emotional reflections and our storied representations and interpretations. This thesis also demonstrates how a spatial everyday authoring and publishing application advances the digital storytelling process from one of collective anthology to one of storied reflection.by Aisling Geraldine Mary Kelliher.Ph.D

Effective Teaching and Learning: Using ICT

Mellar, H., Kambouri, M., Logan, K., Betts, S., Nance, B., Moriarty, V. (2007) Effective Teaching and Learning: Using ICT. London: NRDC. Available at: http://www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_3347.pdfResearch report for NRDCFindings and recommendations on effective teaching practice - with the aim of providing material for improving the quality of teaching and learning and for informing developments in initial teacher education and continuing development. (http://www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_3347.pdf