Henri Isaac

A multi-national study of attitudes about mobile phone use in social settings

Mobile phones have taken on the role of providing truly portable and individual communications and computing. Unlike many devices, however, mobile phones can be used anywhere and anytime. Consequently, they are used in social situations such as restaurants and theatres where co-located people can be bothered by their use. How people perceive the impact of mobile phones in these situations may vary by user factors such as age, gender and work status, and by the country in which the user is located. This paper presents the results of a multi-national study of attitudes about mobile phone use in social situations.

A MODEL OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE ACCEPTANCE OF MOBILE PHONE USE IN PUBLIC PLACES

Since the first commercial launch of cellular telecoms by NET in Tokyo Japan in 1979 and the launch of the NMT system in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in 1981, the mobile phone has undergone continual incremental innovation for changing market needs. This study investigates the factors affecting the attitudes towards the social acceptance of mobile phones in public places and how this attitude affects its usage. Theories on innovation and technology acceptance were reviewed, and studies relating demographic factors to technology acceptance were examined. A model was proposed relating the usage frequency and attitudes towards acceptance of mobile phone in public places to demographic factors, such as country, age, education, gender, and work status. A survey was conducted among mobile phone users, and the sample consisted of 1079 respondents in the United States, France, Italy, Turkey, and Finland. A structural equation model was developed to analyze the survey data. Results of the analysis indicate that the attitudes about mobile phone use in public places depend on country, and age factors. This attitude in turn significantly affects the usage frequency of mobile phones. In addition, usage frequency also is affected by gender and work status. Implications of the findings for both academicians and practitioners are discussed

Am I Disturbing You?: A Research Model for Investigating the Use of Mobile Phones in Social Settings

Mobile business is conducted extensively through mobile phones, which, unlike wired e-commerce client computers, can be used anywhere and anytime, and consequently are often used in social settings such as while walking on a sidewalk, eating in a restaurant, driving a car, and waiting for an airplane. Use of mobile phones in these situations affects not only the user but also co-located people who can be bothered by ringing phones, overheard conversations, and clicking keys. The purpose of this paper is to present a research model that we are using to investigate the acceptable use of mobile phones in social situations. The model examines both voice and text use of mobile phones in various social settings, and incorporates the location and time of use. The paper also introduces an empirical research study we are conducting in which we have obtained data from over 1000 people in five countries.