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Traditional teaching methods have been bolstered by modern teaching methods and multimedia technology, allowing students to benefit from both new and old approaches to learning. Teaching and learning are evolving at an unprecedented rate because of the rise of online courses. Rapid advances in intelligent technologies and communication networks provide new opportunities for interactive technology innovation and technical support for hybrid teaching incorporating both on- and offline study. For this article to be helpful, it needs to examine how an intelligent mobile communication network's effective teaching combined with a hybrid teaching mode can improve the educational attainment of student teachers' English reading, among other things. This article should address these issues and more. According to this paper's findings from the experimental study, college students' desire for and capacity to learn independently in English reading courses has increased massively, and our English reading results will rise by at least 93%. • Teaching and learning are evolving at an unprecedented rate because to the rise of online courses. • On the basis of mastery of observational learning and constructivist teaching theory. • There is no longer a restriction on the amount of time or place in which individuals may communicate. • No longer any concerns regarding short-term single network lines thanks to the advent of mobile devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web personalization has been widely adopted in the mobile shopping context to improve shopping experience and consumer loyalty. Timing is a crucial issue of the implementation of web personalization, a topic not yet adequately investigated in the extant literature. Web personalization could classify into two forms, namely Before-search Web Personalization (BSWP) and After-search Web Personalization (ASWP), in the mobile shopping context. Besides, motivations are the critical factors in mobile shopping, and seldom research has studied the effects of motivation on consumer's use of web personalization in the mobile shopping context. To advance understanding of the timing issue of web personalization, this paper employs the Uses and Gratifications method to investigate how mobile shopping motivations influence consumers' use of BSWP and ASWP, respectively. Furthermore, this paper also investigates the role of an important personal disposition (i.e. need for cognition). Empirical results indicate that shopping motivations could have significant effects on web personalization use; furthermore, BSWP use and ASWP use are predicted by different shopping motivations. Besides, need for cognition is found to positively moderate some effects of mobile shopping motivations on web personalization use. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ignoring and being ignored by others in favor of a smartphone is a common feature of everyday communication. However, little research has examined this phenomenon known as phubbing and even less research has determined how to measure it. This paper reports the results of six studies designed to develop and validate the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP) to assess phubbing behavior, and the Generic Scale of Being Phubbed (GSBP) to assess the experience of being phubbed. After reducing and refining items with the assistance of expert panels, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to further reduce the number of items and finalize the scales. Finally, the psychometric properties of both scales were examined. Data from 1836 respondents from the general public were recruited from six online surveys ( N  = 352, 333, and 224 for the GSP; N  = 358, 341, and 228 for the GSBP). The four-factor 15-item GSP and the three-factor 22-item GSBP were developed and revealed good construct validities, criterion validities, convergent validities, discriminant validities, internal consistency reliabilities, and test-retest reliabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile phones have become an integral part of life, drawing researchers' attention to their behavioral consequences. Yet, we know little about the psychological associations of mobile phones. It has been proposed that due to their role in maintaining social relationships, the mobile phone, as an object, has become the representation of a person's social network. This paper empirically investigates this idea. A sample of 154 university students participated in an experiment that tested the cognitive consequences of activating the concept of a mobile phone. We primed the concept of a mobile phone and measured the accessibility of thoughts related to social relationships with a word fragment completion task. People reminded of their mobile phones (vs. neutral personal objects) found significantly more words related to social networks, demonstrating the association between social relationships and the idea of mobile phones. Additionally, priming people with their mobile phones was associated with lower need to belong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helpfulness of user-generated reviews has not been studied adequately in terms of the interplay between review sentiment (favorable, unfavorable and mixed) and product type (search and experience). Moreover, the ways in which information quality relates to review helpfulness remain largely unknown. Hence, this paper seeks to answer the following two research questions: (1) How does the helpfulness of user-generated reviews vary as a function of review sentiment and product type? (2) How does information quality relate to the helpfulness of user-generated reviews across review sentiment and product type? Data included 2190 reviews drawn from Amazon for three search products—digital cameras, cell phones, and laser printers—as well as three experience products—books, skin care, and music albums. Review sentiment was ascertained based on star ratings. Investigation of the research questions relied on the statistical procedures of analysis of variance, and multiple regression. Review helpfulness was found to vary across review sentiment independent of product type. Besides, the relationship between information quality and review helpfulness was found to vary as a function of review sentiment as well as product type. The paper concludes with a number of implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile phones constitute a technology that has become part of our everyday usage. In the absence of an in-depth evaluation of mobile phone appropriation and its utilization, this paper investigates and reviews the usage of mobile phones in the context of pervasive learning. This paper reviews mobile phone usage and associated applications, as well as the negative impact. This paper also covers pervasive computing, and mobile pervasive learning technologies, applications and issues. Fifty-five papers were selected in the review process. The assimilation of pervasive learning with mobile phones marks an incredible venture forward. The incorporation of mobile technology and pervasive learning can enhance the effectiveness and accessibility of learning activities in the future. This new innovation has changed the conventional idea of learning in as much as we are now continually surrounded and submerged in learning encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging retail culture is characterized by the extensive use of mobile technologies, high connectivity, ubiquitous computing and contactless technologies, which enable consumers to experience shopping differently. In fact, innovative mobile technologies provide new tools (apps) which are able to separate the moment of purchase from the moment of effective consumption, by allowing consumers to make purchases by mobile phone and collect them at home or at a store (a pick-up boutique or collection point), in addition to the traditional in-store service (purchase in the store and collect/consume in the store). The aim of this paper is to understand the extent to which mobile technologies have an impact on consumer behaviour, with emphasis on the drivers motivating consumers to adopt the consumer experience of mobile shopping. To achieve this goal we used a qualitative approach involving 29 consumers in the Italian market, where mobile shopping is still at an early stage. The findings shed a light on the extent to which consumers are moving from e-channels to mobile channels and take into account the effect of these technological innovations in retail settings from a cognitive standpoint, where studies are limited. The implications for researchers and practitioners are then discussed, with emphasis on retailers need to develop new mobile service competences, and integrate and synthetize physical retail settings with mobile opportunities and functionalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of social networks has led many companies to use mobile payment systems as business sales tools. As these platforms have an increasing acceptance among consumers, the main goal of this research is to analyze the individuals' use intention of these systems in a social network environment. The data used were collected after performing an experiment using the Zong Payment tool. The paper performs a comparative analysis of previous variable selection algorithms with a new hybrid approach: the Hy-index. As the results show, the use of the new index allows experts to obtain more information from the data available, giving them the chance to rank the variables and take more or less of them into consideration, depending on their experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile phone multitasking is widely considered to be a major source of distraction in academic performance. This paper attempts to review the emerging literature by focusing on three questions concerning the influence of mobile phone multitasking on academic performance: (a) How does mobile phone multitasking impair learning? (b) Why does mobile phone use impair learning? (c) How to prevent from mobile phone distraction? We use multiple strategies to locate the existing research literature and identified 132 studies published during 1999–2014. The mobile phone multitasking and distractibility are reviewed in three major aspects: distraction sources (ring of mobile phone, texting, and social application), distraction targets (reading and attending), and distraction subjects (personality, gender, and culture). We also compare the results of these studies with the findings on mobile phone multitasking and driving, the earliest area of mobile phone multitasking research. Both limitations of existing research and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small handful of recent studies have addressed a phenomenon known as “phantom vibration syndrome”. This refers to when phone users perceive their device to vibrate, indicating that a call or text is incoming, when in fact the phone did not vibrate at all. Though these studies show that most users do not find phantom vibration hallucinations to be very bothersome, they also find that a large majority of users experience this phenomenon. This paper explores what the striking prevalence of phantom vibration syndrome means for our contemporary relationships with technology. I begin with a review of the theories purporting to explain these data, which largely rely on particular understandings of the brain. Next I develop an alternative theory of phantom vibration syndrome based on insights from the philosophical tradition of phenomenology. This account considers the ways users develop bodily and perceptual habits regarding how the phone is understood and used. By critically contrasting these different theories, we can refine our questions about what the high prevalence of phantom vibration syndrome implies about our contemporary technological situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of 3G and 4G technologies coupled with tablet PCs and smart phones makes the communication and learning system easier. In engineering education, these sophisticated technologies can bring immense advantages to the methods of delivering and acquiring knowledge. In this paper, we focus on facilities of a smart class environment for engineering education that can improve the co-learning procedure. We particularly emphasize the use of 3G and 4G technology in a smart class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There currently exist many mobile social networks for men who have sex with men (MSM), from stand-alone applications like Grindr and Jack’d, to the on-the-go versions of established websites such as Adam4Adam or Manhunt. It has become increasingly common for MSM to seek out others by means of online social networks, and for a variety of purposes. This paper explores the motivations for MSM-specific social networking use, and the sought gratifications associated with this type of computer-mediated interpersonal interaction. In an online survey yielding 143 participants, men were asked their thoughts about social networking phone applications for gay, bisexual, and other MSM. Using these data, seven categories of sought gratifications were identified: safety, control, easiness, accessibility, mobility, connectivity, and versatility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to elucidate the peculiar phenomenon of imagined cell phone signals, or Phantom Phone Signals (PPS), which is defined as an individual’s perception of a phone signal, indicating an incoming call, message, or social media notification, when in fact no such signal was transmitted. A survey among 408 US citizens confirmed that PPS is a highly prevalent phenomenon: Almost 50% of all respondents indicated to experience some form of PPS at least once a week, and 63% at least once a month. Further results show that intensity of phone use, self-reported excessive use, and phone addiction are positively related to the frequency of experiencing PPS. The explanation for these findings might be that chronically accessible schemas resulting from intensive phone use may result in misinterpretations of other signals, or in benign hallucinations, and that the perceived importance of phone use makes people more vigilant to potential phone signals. Need for popularity (NFP) proved to be a stronger predictor of PPS than need to belong, supporting the assumption that NFP is a good predictor for socially induced behavior. Finally, the injunctive and descriptive norms about being accessible on the phone only approached significance in their positive relation to experiencing PPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As mobile phones have become nearly ubiquitous, mobile phone applications are also becoming almost indispensable. Applications that enable people to share location information are becoming increasingly popular. What remains unknown, however, are the factors that influence the use of a location sharing application (LSA). A paper-based survey was implemented with 655 students of six universities in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to test the hypotheses proposed for the study. Results of hierarchical regression analysis reveal that students’ use of a specific LSA could be attributed to the two types of benefits of using the app (impression management and entertainment) and to competence-based trust in LSA and to their trust in their LSA network members. Furthermore, the impact of social influence on LSA use is also statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Users of small computational devices, such as Mobile telephones or Personal Digital Assistants, are situationally impaired by both the device and the context of the device’s use. This paper describes empirical work which makes the link between the behaviour of motor impaired desktop users and non-impaired users of small-devices. This is important because it may, therefore, be possible to leverage existing solutions for motor-impaired users into the small-device domain. We find that there is significant overlap in the extent of the problems encountered, but not the magnitude. Eight of the 11 existing errors made by motor-impaired users were also present in our small-device study in which two additional error types, key ambiguity and landing errors, were also observed. In addition, small-device rates for common error types were higher than those of desktop users with no impairment, but lower than those of desktop users with motor impairments. We suggest that this difference is because all users were seated to maintain constancy between studies and assert that this magnitude difference will equalise once the small-device is used in a mobile context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With recent advances in mobile technologies, mobile commerce is having an increasingly profound impact on our daily lives, and beginning to offer interesting and advantageous new services. In particular, the mobile payment (m-payment) system has emerged, enabling users to pay for goods and services using their mobile devices (especially mobile phones) wherever they go. Mobile payment is anticipated to enjoy a bright future. In this paper, we reviewed the relevant literature regarding mobile payment services, analyzed the impact of m-payment system characteristics and user-centric factors on m-payment usage across different types of mobile payment users, and suggested new directions for future research in this emerging field. To analyze the adoption behaviors of m-payment users, we proposed an m-payment research model which consists of two user-centric factors (personal innovativeness and m-payment knowledge) and four m-payment system characteristics (mobility, reachability, compatibility, and convenience). We evaluated the proposed model empirically, applying survey data collected from m-payment users regarding their perceptions on mobile payment. We also attempted to categorize m-payment users into early and late adopters and delineated the different factors for these two types of adoptors that affect their intention to use m-payment. The results indicate that the strong predictors of the intention to use m-payment are perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. All respondents reported that the compatibility of m-payment was not the primary reason in their decision to adopt it. Interestingly, our findings indicate that early adopters value ease of use, confidently relying on their own m-payment knowledge, whereas late adopters respond very positively to the usefulness of m-payment, most notably reachability and convenience of usage. Moreover, late adopters’ perceived ease of use is influenced by personal innovativeness, which can probably be best explained by the fact that innovative late adopters are tech-savvy and feel confident to use m-payment technologies for their needs. Our study will assist managers in implementing appropriate business models and service strategies for different m-payment user groups, allowing them to exert appropriate time, effort, and investment for m-payment system development. Our study also provides directions for future mobile payment-related studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper attempts to propose a structural model that integrates various factors influencing attitude towards wireless banner ads and intention to access them. This model is applied to empirical data of Japanese mobile users sampled in the greater Tokyo area. First, structural equation modelling is used to test the baseline model. The results show that the model explains mobile users’ perceptual antecedents and consequences well, with all structural paths statistically significant. Second, in the attempt to identify different mobile user groups, a probabilistic cluster analysis is performed. This results in three-cluster groups, consisting of (1) housewives and part-timers, (2) middle-aged white-collar workers and professionals, and (3) students and “parasite singles”. Finally, multigroup analysis is used to examine whether the model operates invariantly across the three-cluster groups. The results indicate significant differences in the paths associated with consumer innovativeness and perceived entertainment between the groups. In closing, managerial implications and future research directions are discussed, while important limitations are recognised. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]