Roba Abbas

Exploring the Social Implications of Location Based Social Networking: An Inquiry into the Perceived Positive and Negative Impacts of Using LBSN between Friends

Location based social networking (LBSN) applications are part of a new suite of emerging social networking tools that run on the Web 2.0 platform. LBSN is the convergence between location based services (LBS) and online social networking (OSN). LBSN applications offer users the ability to look up the location of another “friend” remotely using a smart phone, desktop or other device, anytime and anywhere. Users invite their friends to participate in LBSN and there is a process of consent that follows. Friends have the ability to alter their privacy settings to allow their location to be monitored by another at differing levels of accuracy (e.g. suburb, pinpoint at the street address level, or manual location entry). This paper explores the impact of LBSN upon society, especially upon trust between friends. The study used focus groups to collect data, and a qualitative approach towards analysis. The paper concludes that while there are a great many positive uses of LBSN, there are some significant problems with current applications, and that better design is required to ensure that these technologies are not exploited against a user to commit harm.

The Regulatory Considerations and Ethical Dilemmas of Location-Based Services (LBS): A Literature Review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively review existing literature regarding the ethical dilemmas posed by location-based services (LBS) and their impact upon the adoption of a regulatory framework. Design/methodology/approach – This paper employs a qualitative approach for reviewing LBS scholarship, in which existing knowledge is presented in narrative form and is critiqued thematically. Findings – In reviewing contemporary scholarship, the value of technical, social and environmental considerations is demonstrated. This encourages an understanding of the complexities, multiple interests and contextual factors that must be incorporated into the examination of LBS regulation in any social context. Practical implications – Approximately 85 per cent of handsets now have a global positioning system chipset on board. LBS affect a great number of mobile users. This research will create awareness among users of the potential benefits and harms that can come from the (mis)use of the technology....

Location-Based Social Networking: Impact on Trust in Relationships

Location-based social networking (LBSN) is a service that utilizes location information to facilitate social networking. LBSN applications allow users to view the locations of their “friends.” They also may allow users to view information about other users of LBSN applications that are located in proximity. Users invite their friends to participate in LBSN. A process of consent follows in which users provide permission for their location information to be viewed to varying levels of detail depending on their chosen settings. The manner in which LBSN applications work is illustrated simplistically in Fig. 1, although variations to this model exist. LBSN applications such as Loopt, Fire Eagle, Navizon, iPoki, Locago, ZinTin, iFob, WhosHere, and Google Latitude enhance a users ability to perform overt or covert social surveillance. These applications enable users to view and share real-time location information with their family and friends. With the emergence of this technology it is crucial to consider, as suggested by Kling [1], that “technology alone, even good technology alone is not sufficient to create social or economic value.” Further to not contributing “sufficient” economic or social value, Kling and other scholars, such as Kraut et al. [2], have identified that technologies can have negative impacts on society.

Location-Based Services for Emergency Management: A Multi-stakeholder Perspective

This paper investigates the deployment of location-based services for nationwide emergency management by focusing on the perspectives of two stakeholders, government and end-users, in the cellular mobile phone value chain. The data collected for the study came from a single in-depth interview and open comments in a preliminary end-user survey. The themes presented have been categorised using a qualitative analysis. The findings indicate that although governments and end-users believe that location-based services have the potential to aid people in emergencies, there are several major disagreements over the proposed deployment. This paper is an attempt to help determine the underlying motivations and impediments that would influence the decisions of both stakeholders and also towards providing a better understanding of the anticipated role of each party in such a deployment.

Emerging Forms of Covert Surveillance Using GPS-Enabled Devices

This case presents the possibility that commercial mobile tracking and monitoring solutions will become widely adopted for the practice of non-traditional covert surveillance within a community setting, resulting in community members engaging in the covert observation of family, friends, or acquaintances. This case investigates five stakeholder relationships using scenarios to demonstrate the potential socio-ethical implications that tracking and monitoring will have on society. The five stakeholder types explored in this case include: i husband-wife partner-partner, ii parent-child, iii employer-employee, iv friend-friend, and v stranger-stranger. Mobile technologies like mobile camera phones, global positioning system data loggers, spatial street databases, radio-frequency identification, and other pervasive computing can be used to gather real-time, detailed evidence for or against a given position in a given context. Limited laws and ethical guidelines exist for members of the community to follow when it comes to what is permitted when using unobtrusive technologies to capture multimedia and other data e.g., longitude and latitude waypoints that can be electronically chronicled. In this case, the evident risks associated with such practices are presented and explored.

The social implications of location-based services: an observational study of users

Location-based services (LBS) are applications capable of utilising the position of a device, and its user, in the provision of a value-added service. With such applications comes the ability for an individuals location to be monitored either willingly or covertly by others, thus introducing a set of challenges from a social perspective. This article reports on the results of an observational study that required participants to maintain a digital location chronicle – global positioning system data log, daily diary entry and personal reflection – over a 2-week period. The primary aim of this exercise was for participants to observe, reflect and record their experiences during and at the completion of the participant observation, in order to reveal the ensuing collective implications. This study is a further research based on previous work concerning LBS user attitudes (Abbas 2010), and as such concentrates on the Gen-Y or young adult consumer group. This investigation considers additionally the importance of LBS within a social context, whereby participants are prompted to reflect on their willingness to be monitored or tracked by a partner, parent, friend, employer and/or stranger. The results are presented in terms of the social implications. The dominant themes in the respective relationship categories are presented in each context. It was noted that participants’ readiness to grant access to their location information is heavily dependent on the amount of trust existing within a specific relationship, whether there is a perceived privacy threat, the amount of control a participant wishes to maintain, and if there is concern in relation to personal security and safety being compromised. Additional technological and device-related issues were also observed.

Monitoring people using location-based social networking and its negative impact on trust

Location based social networking (LBSN) applications are part of a new suite of social networking tools. LBSN is the convergence between location based services (LBS) and online social networking (OSN). LBSN applications offer users the ability to look up the location of another “friend” remotely using a smart phone, desktop or other device, anytime and anywhere. Users invite their friends to participate in LBSN and there is a process of consent that follows. This paper explores the potential impact of LBSN upon trust in society. It looks at the willingness of individuals to share their location data with family, friends, co-workers, the government, commercial entities and even strangers. The study used focus groups to collect data, and a qualitative approach towards analysis. The findings of the paper indicate that while most people are willing to share their real-time physical location with persons that they trust (e.g. family and close friends), they are generally reluctant to share such data with co-workers, government agencies and commercial entities. Even within the family context, people set limits to transparency depending on their personal circumstances (e.g. the parent-child relationship is quite different to the sibling relationship).

The Current State of Commercial Location-Based Service Offerings in Australia

Location-based services (LBS) provide geographic data for a variety of purposes, and through numerous devices such as mobile phones, GPS navigation systems, palm pilots and increasingly desktop computers. Presently, there is scant information relating to the current state of the LBS market, specifically location-based service applications in Australia. This study makes use of usability context analyses to examine Australia’s three leading telecommunications operators- Telstra, Optus and Vodafone- with a view to providing an overview of the types of services and solutions presently offered and targeted at the consumer, business and emergency segments. There are two units of analysis (i) the company at the upper level, and (ii) the usability context at the lower level. A number of general, regulatory and future considerations and questions are also posed in the paper to indicate the future research direction.

Location Based Privacy, Protection, Safety and Security

This chapter will discuss the interrelated concepts of privacy and security with reference to location-based services, with a specific focus on the notion of location privacy protection. The latter can be defined as the extent and level of control an individual possesses over the gathering, use, and dissemination of personal information relevant to their location, whilst managing multiple interests. Location privacy in the context of wireless technologies is a significant and complex concept given the dual and opposing uses of a single LBS solution. That is, an application designed or intended for constructive uses can simultaneously be employed in contexts that violate the (location) privacy of an individual. For example, a child or employee monitoring LBS solution may offer safety and productivity gains (respectively) in one scenario, but when employed in secondary contexts may be regarded as a privacy-invasive solution. Regardless of the situation, it is valuable to initially define and examine the significance of “privacy” and “privacy protection,” prior to exploring the complexities involved.

The Value of Government Mandated Location-Based Services in Emergencies in Australia

The adoption of mobile technologies for emergency management has the capacity to save lives. In Australia in February 2009, the Victorian Bushfires claimed 173 lives, the worst peace-time disaster in the nations history. The Australian government responded swiftly to the tragedy by going to tender for mobile applications that could be used during emergencies, such as mobile alerts and location services. These applications have the ability to deliver personalized information direct to the citizen during crises, complementing traditional broadcasting mediums like television and radio. Indeed governments have a responsibility to their citizens to safeguard them against both natural and human-made hazards and today national security has grown to encapsulate such societal and economic securitization. However, some citizens and lobby groups have emphasized that such breakthrough technologies need to be deployed with caution as they are fraught with ethical considerations, including the potential for breaches in privacy, security and trust. The other problem is that real world implementations of national emergency alerts have not always worked reliably and their value has come into question as a result. This paper provides a big picture view of the value of government-mandated location-based services during emergencies, and the challenges ensuing from their use.