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Adherence and accuracy of self-monitoring of dietary intake influences success in weight management interventions. Information technologies such as computers and smartphones have the potential to improve adherence and accuracy by reducing the burden associated with monitoring dietary intake using traditional paper-based food records. We evaluated the acceptability and accuracy of three different 7-day food record methods (online accessed via computer, online accessed via smartphone, and paper-based). Young women (N=18; aged 23.4±2.9 years; body mass index 24.0±2.2) completed the three 7-day food records in random order with 7-day washout periods between each method. Total energy expenditure (TEE) was derived from resting energy expenditure (REE) measured by indirect calorimetry and physical activity level (PAL) derived from accelerometers (TEE=REE×PAL). Accuracy of the three methods was assessed by calculating absolute (energy intake [EI]–TEE) and percentage difference (EI/TEE×100) between self-reported EI and TEE. Acceptability was assessed via questionnaire. Mean±standard deviation TEE was 2,185±302 kcal/day and EI was 1,729±249 kcal/day, 1,675±287kcal/day, and 1,682±352 kcal/day for computer, smartphone, and paper records, respectively. There were no significant differences between absolute and percentage differences between EI and TEE for the three methods: computer, –510±389 kcal/day (78%); smartphone, –456±372 kcal/day (80%); and paper, –503±513 kcal/day (79%). Half of participants (n=9) preferred computer recording, 44.4% preferred smartphone, and 5.6% preferred paper-based records. Most participants (89%) least preferred the paper-based record. Because online food records completed on either computer or smartphone were as accurate as paper-based records but more acceptable to young women, they should be considered when self-monitoring of intake is recommended to young women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of digital disparities have focused on socio-spatial differences across neighbourhoods, regions and other kinds of places, but the same place can produce different experiences of connectivity, a phenomenon labelled 'variable geometries of connection' by Crang, Crosbie and Graham (2006: 2551) [2006. Crang, M., Crosbie, T., & Graham, S. Variable geometries of connection: Urban digital divides and the uses of information technology. Urban Studies, 43(13), 2551–2570]. In this paper, I draw on research on the role of mobile phones and the internet for people experiencing homelessess in Australia to suggest that dependence on smartphones for access to information and communication when homeless, in combination with the design and regulation of urban spaces, structures the mobilities of homeless young people, resulting in distinctive connectivity needs and barriers. Homeless young people overcome many of their immediate difficulties of digital access through practices of 'survival infrastructuring', a term I propose to describe the practices of marginalised actors to make their media work in the face of uneven, precarious and costly connectivity. Highlighting these connectivity experiences and practices may help efforts to take action on digital exclusion and assist homeless young people by taking into account differential access needs within specific spatial and social contexts. I make this argument drawing on findings from two studies carried out between 2014 and 2016 on the access and use of the internet and mobile phones among homeless Australians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rapid growth in the use of mobile technology in Australia has outpaced its governance, especially in healthcare settings. Whilst some Australian professional bodies and organisations have developed standards and guidelines to direct appropriate use of social media and mobile technology, clear governance arrangements regarding when, where and how to use mobile technology at point of care in nursing are currently lacking. Discussion: This paper analyses how the use of mobile technology by nurses at point of care is governed. It highlights the existence of a mobile technology paradox: an identified inability of nurses to access mobile technology in a context where it is increasingly recognised that its use in situ can enhance nursing practice while contributing to mobile learning and continuing professional development. While the recent release of the Registered Nurse Standards for Practice and accompanying Standard for Continuing Professional Development provides some direction regarding professional standards to support the use of mobile technology for mobile learning, we argue a more inclusive approach is required if emerging technologies are to be fully embraced. We describe how an implementation framework, underpinned by more detailed standards, guidelines and codes, could enable the nursing profession to be leaders in embedding mobile technology in healthcare environments nationally and globally. Conclusion: The prevalence of mobile technology in Australia has outpaced its governance in healthcare environments. Its limited availability at point of care is hindering nursing practice, mobile learning and continuing professional development. We discuss the emergence of mobile technology and impediments for its use by nurses in situ. We analyse the professional codes governing nursing, outlining potential reforms to enable implementation of mobile technology at point of care by nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to inform the development of mobile phone-assisted health promotion programmes that support social connectedness among refuge women to enhance their mental, physical and social health. For refugees, relationship development during the early stages of resettlement is often difficult. Enhancing personal skills, and resources, can enhance relationships that provide social support. It can also contribute to the development of social relationships in communities and thence acculturation. Communication technologies can assist refugees, if their particular needs and capacities are taken into account. This paper reports a study of refugee women's experience of an intervention based on principles of empowerment and using peer support training and the provision of free mobile phones, and free calls, for at least 1 year. Potential participants were invited by the Afghan, Burmese and Sudanese community leaders to an information session, where the study was explained and invitations to participate extended. A snowball sampling technique was also used, where the first group of participants invited people they had relationships with to join the programme. One hundred and eleven participants were recruited from the three groups. All were from refugee backgrounds. Data collection consisted of: a pre- and post-intervention questionnaire; a log of outgoing phone calls; and in-depth interviews with a subgroup of the study population. The call logs described the patterns of interpersonal relationships facilitated by the mobile phones. In the interviews, characteristics of interpersonal social support, and relationships with heritage and host communities, were described. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data using thematic analysis. By describing the conditions under which mobile phone technology can enhance interpersonal and community connectedness, we strengthen the evidence base for the use of mobile phone technology in health promotion programmes with refugee groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many central Australian Aboriginal settlements have recently gained access to mobile phones and the Internet. This paper explores ways in which Aboriginal people engage with this technology outside of institutional settings. Drawing on long-term research among Warlpiri, I reflect on people's responses to earlier communication media such as the two-way radio and radio-telephone and compare them to patterns of use emerging around new technologies. Attending to the social landscape surrounding the uptake of new media and the social networking site 'Divas Chat', I consider how transformations in material structures of communication interact with changing demographics, embodied socio-spatial relations, sorcery beliefs and mobility to reinforce, refigure and/or disrupt patterns of conflict and connectedness that hitherto have structured Warlpiri relational ontology. I suggest that the way people engage with these technologies illuminates and intensifies fault-lines arising from contradictions between older established social orders and changing relations with the state and modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this paper is research that explored how young people use text messages and songs stored on their mobiles and MP3 players to escape everyday life. Two separate research studies from Australia and Sweden were juxtaposed because of the similarities in findings as well as the similarity between these cultural objects. The various types of escape that were found were part of everyday routine and experienced in short bursts, such as the length of time it takes to re-read a text message or to listen to a song. However, there were also more extreme examples of these devices being used to temporarily retreat from everyday social interaction. The authors argue that these forms of escape seem to be necessary for young people to be able to maintain a "sense of being" (as defined by Heidegger in 1962) in their everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baby boomers are characterised as being technophobes who are slow to adopt new technology and when they do, they struggle to understand how to use it. This paper aimed to uncover whether baby boomers have embraced mobile phone technology and, if not, their reasons why. It sought to provide an understanding of mobile phone use among Australia's ageing population, and the ways they are using and interpreting this technology. The research was conducted using a combination of face-to-face interviews and an online survey. The results indicated that although baby boomers' general uptake of mobile phone technology was high, they have a limited use and understanding of functions beyond voice calls and SMS. With baby boomer demographics and consumer spending expected to dominate in years to come, the findings support the need for further investigation into handset design, marketing approaches and sales techniques which are tailored to this lucrative market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In Australia, youth are the most prolific users of mobile phones, however, there is little research investigating this phenomenon. This paper reports a qualitative exploration of psychological factors relating to mobile phone use amongst Australian youth. 32 participants, aged between 16 and 24 years, took part in focus group discussions. Thematic data analysis focussed on identifying the psychological benefits arising from mobile phone use and whether mobile phone addiction was occurring amongst this group. Mobile phone use was believed to provide numerous benefits to users and is an intrinsic part of most young people''s lives. It emerged that some young people are extremely attached to their mobile phone with symptoms of behavioural addiction revealed in participants’ descriptions of their mobile phone use. The study provides a solid foundation for further work investigating addictive patterns of mobile phone use amongst youth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, the validity of Recommendation ITU-R P.1546 in a short-range terrestrial environment is analyzed. Its three versions (P.1546, P.1546-1, and P.1546-2) are compared against simple models and evaluated using measurement results that were obtained by utilizing the pilot signal of a commercial code-division multiple-access mobile telephone network. Measurement results show that P.1546-2, on average, underestimates the field strength by more than 10 dB for typical Australian rural areas. However, it improves the error standard deviation compared to previous versions. The causes of these effects and the suggestions for further development of the Recommendation are discussed and evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile phones in Australia record one of the world's highest rates of ownership among children under 18. This paper examines issues of mobile phones and Australian children and the various discourses (systematic frames) used in discussing their effects. These are the optimistic (gains); pessimistic (losses, costs or harms); pluralistic (technology per se is neutral but how it is used matters); historical development (importance and skills learnt); futuristic predictions (promises and dangers); current uses (connectivity, convergence and interactivity); and techno-realist view (as a mixed blessing). Taking the Justification View of Technology that sees technological adoption as a gamble and borrowing from Joshua Meyrowitz, it examines how mobile phones have eroded parental power over how, when, where and with whom their children communicate, while at the same time, becoming a 'digital leash' for parents to re-establish their control and an 'umbilical cord' of children to remain connected with parents at all times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]