Mobile Technology Solutions Research Articles

Improving Halal Accessibility in India: Identifying Barriers, Adopting Mobile Technology Solutions

This research paper explores the challenges faced by Muslims in accessing halal food in India and proposes a mobile application as a solution to enhance halal accessibility. The study utilizes a combination of secondary and primary research methods, including surveys and literature reviews, to investigate the prevalent issues and potential solutions. The findings reveal that the lack of awareness among non-Muslims, coupled with misconceptions about halal certification, contributes to the limited availability of halal options. Additionally, political tensions and cultural norms further hinder halal accessibility in India. To address these challenges, the paper suggests the development of a mobile application that provides users with information about halal-certified restaurants and products, as well as a platform for community engagement. The proposed app aims to empower Muslim consumers and promote inclusivity within the food ecosystem. Keywords : Halal accessibility,Mobile application,Muslim consumers,India,Challenges

Impact of Mobile Technology and Use of Big Data in Physics Education During Coronavirus Lockdown

The speed of spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 led to global lockdowns and disruptions in the academic sector. The study examined the impact of mobile technology on physics education during lockdowns. Data were collected through an online survey and later evaluated using regression tools, frequency, and an analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed that the usage of mobile technology had statistically significant effects on physics instructors' and students' academics during the coronavirus lockdown. Most of the participants admitted that the use of mobile technologies such as smartphones, laptops, PDAs, Zoom, mobile apps, etc. were very useful and helpful for continued education amid the pandemic restrictions. Online teaching is very effective during lock-down with smartphones and laptops on different platforms. The paper brings the limelight to the growing power of mobile technology solutions in physics education.

Exploring Saudi Individuals' Perspectives and Needs to Design a Hypertension Management Mobile Technology Solution: Qualitative Study.

Hypertension is a chronic condition caused by a poor lifestyle that affects patients’ lives. Adherence to self-management programs increases hypertension self-monitoring, and allows greater prevention and disease management. Patient compliance with hypertension self-management is low in general; therefore, mobile health applications (mHealth-Apps) are becoming a daily necessity and provide opportunities to improve the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, including hypertension. This research aims to explore Saudi individuals’ perspectives and needs regarding designing a hypertension management mobile app to be used by hypertension patients to better manage their illnesses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 Saudi participants to explore their perspectives and views about the needs and requirements in designing a hypertension mobile technology solution, as well as usability and culture in the Saudi context. The study used NVivo to analyze data and divided the themes into four main themes: the app’s perceived health benefits, features and usability, suggestions for the app’s content, and security and privacy. The results showed that there are many suggestions for improvements in mobile health apps that developers should take into consideration when designing apps. The mobile health apps should include physical activity tracking, related diet information, and reminders, which are promising, and could increase adherence to healthy lifestyles and consequently improve the self-management of hypertension patients. Mobile health apps provide opportunities to improve hypertension patients’ self-management and self-monitoring. However, this study asserts that mobile health apps should not share users’ data, and that adequate privacy disclosures should be implemented.

Impact of Mobile Technology Solution on Self-Management in Patients with Hypertension: Advantages and Barriers

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It is a condition that increases the high risk of heart, liver, and other diseases. Since hypertension is one of the biggest global public health issues, patients require more interventions to manage their blood pressure. The vast use of mobile phones and applications with medication features has turned a smartphone into a medical device. These tools are helpful for a physician in the treatment of hypertension. Mobile health applications are utilised to manage hypertension at the moment; however, there is a lack of information regarding their efficacy. Smartphones and their applications are evolving quickly hence the rise in the innovation of mobile health applications. Mobile-based applications are helpful in-patient education and reinforce the behaviour through constant reminders, medication, and appointment alarms. The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of mobile health applications on self-management in patients with hypertension and its advantages and disadvantages. We used publications from 2015 and later as a time frame and searched on the first five pages of Google Scholar, JSTOR, Hindawi, PubMed, and ResearchGate. We group all associated terms that might turn up articles on this subject in the search results. The total number of database records that we identified were 213, and the duplicate identified and removed were 117; hence the screened records were 96. The reports excluded based on abstract and title were 31. Articles with full text and have been accessed for final inclusion were 65. The excluded articles were 51, and the studies included in the qualitative analysis were 14.

Improving Workforce Readiness Skills Among Community College Adult Learners Through New Technologies:

Employers report struggles to find work-ready candidates who possess a desired combination of job-specific technical, general math and reading, and social and behavioral skills. Community colleges are ideally situated to address these shortages, delivering a trained local labor force and often collaborating directly with employers and regional development boards to ensure the employability of their students and the economic vitality of their regions. One tactic to address these shortages is to introduce trainings geared directly toward soft and basic skill development. This paper presents case studies of two schools that use technology-enhanced trainings to incorporate work-readiness skill trainings in career technical education programs that are (1) flexible and learner-centric due to technology-enhanced delivery, and (2) use evidence-based assessment and intervention strategies to promote soft skill and literacy expectations. The trainings were provided by a non-profit education research and measurement company, which served as developer and research partner for the community colleges. Results demonstrate adult learner satisfaction and commitment with these blended learning and mobile technology solutions. Factors that facilitate training success, which include securing student buy-in and developing collaborative partnerships, are discussed.

Use of Technology-Based Strategies for Older Driver Risk Mitigation

Older drivers present a unique challenge to transportation system throughout the world. A need for balancing mobility needs and safety issues for elderly drivers has been well documented. Past research has shown that older drivers are more involved in left turn crashes and crashes involving complex maneuvers, in comparison to other driver age groups. Recent integration of mobile technology solutions and increased familiarity of older driver population with technology, especially in younger cohorts, presents a unique opportunity to develop potential solutions. The objective of this research is to identify automated route finding that may be used by older drivers to identify “safest” routes through increased risk assessment and guidance on route choice, time of travel and required maneuvers at intersections, to reduce the overall crash representation of this driver population. This research is based on specific case study and it used the ArcGIS Network Analyst extension to develop a scoring for routes and optimize them based on minimizing exposure to turns while balancing route length. The results showed that it is feasible to identify safer routing choices for older drivers. These “safe” routes are also significantly differentiated from routes optimized by travel time alone. Moreover, safe routing may be quantified easily from readily available information sources, such as by limiting or eliminating the need to make a left turn.

The Usage of Cloud and Web Based Mobile Applications by Students at Higher Education: The Two-Step Cluster Analysis

It is possible to see the successful implementation of cloud and web based mobile technology solutions in key industries such as finance, retailing, healthcare, manufacturing, etc. Along with these key industries, cloud and web based technologies also have its significant effect in education sector. These technologies are significantly changing the learning and teaching landscape in various types of educational institutions. The way students learn, teachers teach and educational institutions maintain their key functions have been transformed and become more effective and efficient via these technologies. This research focuses on the students’ use of cloud and web based mobile educational tools in higher education. In this research, Two-Step cluster analysis has been conducted in order to identify different student groups with respect to their use of cloud and web based mobile apps in higher education. Cluster analysis has been conducted around seven key attributes. Five of these attributes have been adopted from the “Diffusion of Innovations” theory which is one of the well-known social sciences theories that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new technological ideas spread across societies. These factors are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. The other two factors are perceived data security and perceived social pressure. As a result of Two-Step cluster analysis, four different student groups have been identified. Behavioral characteristics of each student group has been discussed with respect to their use of such key technologies in higher education context. Results of this study are expected to guide practitioners and marketers to develop more effective cloud and web based mobile apps and associated marketing strategies to improve the adoption and usage rate of their apps in higher education.

Integration of mCare and T2 Mood Tracker: Illustrating mHealth Usability Testing

Military operational requirements potentially limit access to behavioral health care for service members. Although mobile technology solutions are increasingly viable, a secure method for mobile data exchange between patients and providers has yet to be adopted in military health care. Usability testing is the industry standard prior to implementing new technology. This paper demonstrates usability testing on a secure data exchange system between mCare and T2 Mood Tracker. Sixteen civilian providers in an outpatient behavioral health clinic tested the mCare Provider Portal, and nine uniformed proxy patients tested the Mood Tracker app. The System Usability Scale (SUS) was used as an outcome measure, which is composed of usability and learnability sub-factors. Proxy patients rated the mobile app as acceptable on the SUS, with average usability and above average learnability. Providers had less favorable views of the mCare Provider Portal, which they rated as marginal across all domains. Participants expressed enthusiasm about the potential of the provider web portal/patient smartphone app system, but had concerns about technical difficulties and ethical issues when exchanging data electronically. The results suggest a willingness to use technology to share data between patients and providers, but also a need for refinement of system usability before full-scale implementation.

Assessing the impacts of mobile technology on public transportation project inspection

Abstract Advancements in mobile technology capabilities and affordability allow many Departments of Transportation (DOT) the opportunity to use these technologies to improve the time-consuming nature of collecting, documenting, and distributing project inspection information. A mobile technology system for project inspection, called HeadLight, is piloted with the Washington, Minnesota, and Texas Departments of Transportation on 31 projects over a 3-month time span. Field measurements and interviews are used to quantify improvements offered by mobile technology over current practice. This empirical data is evaluated using standard software and process change evaluation metrics: time savings, data volume, data variety, data completeness, data timeliness, and data availability. Results indicate that project inspectors using the mobile technology system experienced productivity gains on the order of 25%, collected and shared twice as many observations, and improved the timeliness of daily reports and overall data availability. Additionally, the mobile technology solution is found to enable more complete and consistent data, improved accessibility throughout a project office and DOT. All these outcomes indicate mobile technology for project inspection allows the inspection workforce to work more efficiently. Further study into improved data quality and availability may identify more impacts within the construction inspection process and to a DOT's decision making processes.

The Archeology Field in the Mobile Era: A Roadmap to Catch-up

The field of archeology is undoubtedly left behind in the mobile era compared to other scientific domains. The deployment of mobile technology solutions is of meagre contribution to the field. In fact, almost no mobile apps are designed as per archeologists’ work requirements in the excavation site. This study aims to tackle this dilemma through a roadmap to pave the way for the community to recover this digital divide. The roadmap encompasses a comprehensive methodology on how to develop mobile apps that meet the requirements of its respective audience. The development of two apps is introduced to illustrate the implementation of the methodology. The result of adopting this ‘roadmap’ study improves the data collection, processing and usage. It enhances information accuracy and sharing. Besides, it reduces the ‘destructive’ aspect of the archeology investigations and provides archeologists with handy solutions that they can use ubiquitously. The refinement of the first versions of mobile apps for archeology will make the measurements more accurate and improve the level of maturity of the field vis-à-vis the mobile technology sector. Most significantly, this study opens the door, eventually, for a new era wherein the community starts by deploying mobile technology solutions to ultimately go beyond the current dating techniques, such as the radiocarbon dating method. An ultimate future work could be the exploration of developing mobile apps, in an interdisciplinary context, that measure the age of archeological items by few clicks and prepare the field for the forthcoming post-device era.

The relationship between young consumers’ decision-making styles and propensity to shop clothing online with a smartphone

Consumer behavior in retail is changing due to the adoption of technologies such as the Internet and the smartphone. This study focuses on studying the relationship between young consumers’ decision-making styles and their propensity to shop clothing online with a smartphone. The Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI) is used as base for a survey with young adult students. The results indicate that four out of eight CSI measurements, namely brand consciousness, fashion consciousness, impulsiveness and recreational shopping behavior, positively correlate with the respondents’ frequency to look at and/or buy clothing online with a smartphone. These findings are important for retailers that strive to increase economic earnings from mobile technology solutions. Managerial and practical implication are discussed, together with future research.

Mobile technology and the tourist experience: (Dis)connection at the campsite

Mobile technology is playing an increasing role in the tourist experience and a growing body of tourism research has focused on this area. There is often an implicit assumption that tourists embrace mobile connectivity and relatively little research has explored the tourist experience of disconnection, whether purposeful or imposed by technological limitations. This study explores the desire for digital (dis)connection during camping tourism. Data compiled using interviews and a survey revealed that the tourist is not ‘always connected’ and up to 50% have some desire to disconnect. There is ambiguity about mobile technology use in tourism with dilemmas regarding the value of connectivity versus the desire to ‘get away from it all’. The analysis found digital engagement had a small effect on desire for disconnection however, patterns were not marked. The findings have implications for mobile technology solutions in tourism.

Innovation Practice Using Pervasive Mobile Technology Solutions to Improve Population Health Management: A Pilot Study of Gestational Diabetes Patient Care in Australia.

Healthcare service delivery is moving forward from individual care to population health management, because of the fast growth of health records. However, to improve population health performance, it is necessary to leverage relevant data and information using new technology solutions, such as pervasive diabetes mobile technology solution of Inet International Inc., which offers the potential to facilitate patient empowerment with gestational diabetic care. Hence, this article examines the pilot study outcomes of a small clinical trial focusing on pregnant patients affected by gestational diabetes mellitus, in an Australian not for profit healthcare context. The aims include establishing proof of concept and also assessing the usability, acceptability, and functionality of this mobile solution and thereby generate hypotheses to be tested in a large-scale confirmatory clinical trial.

Using Smartphones for Accountable Care and Evidence-based Decision Making in Managing Gestational Diabetes: An Australian Case Study

Better managing diabetes has become a global priority, especially given the exponential increase in the number of diabetes patients and the financial implications of treating this silent epidemic. In this paper, we focus on how it might be possible to use a mobile technology solution to support and enable superior diabetes monitoring and management. To test this solution, we examined the context of gestational diabetes and adopted a non-blinded randomized control trial with two-arm cross over applied to a private hospital in Victoria, Australia. Further, we use an accountable care system as the theoretical lens and, from this, develop a conceptual framework to bridge evidence-based management with technologies. Theoretically, we unpack McCleallan, McKethan, Lewis, Roski, and Fisher’s (2010) study with our conceptual framework that comprises providers for information (evidence-based management) and technology (smartphone). We enhance Muhlestein, Croshaw, Merrill, Pena, and James’ (2013) accountable care paradigm with three concepts: 1) quality of life, 2) evidence-based management, and 3) affordable care. From the perspective of practice, far-reaching implications have arisen particularly for hospital management pertaining to the cost and quality of care issues. In particular, it appears that adapting mobile technology solutions such as smartphones to support various aspects of care and patient-clinician interactions is a prudent choice to minimize costs and yet provide highquality care.

General practitioners’ reasoning about using mobile distance‐spanning technology in home care and in nursing home care

The trend for health care and nursing care turns from hospital to health care and nursing care at home. Studies have shown that health care professionals have no access to patient records in home and nursing home settings. Technological development creates opportunities for a host of mobile technology solutions. The aim of this study was to describe the reasoning among general practitioners (GPs) about the use of mobile distance-spanning technology (MDST) in care at home and in nursing homes. Seventeen GPs were divided in five groups for a group interview. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The qualitative content analysis resulted in four areas about the MDST, MDST has an impact on GPs' work, the nurses' profession, and the patient and the family, with nine adherent categories. The findings were interpreted and formulated in the theme: MDST should be used with caution. The results show quite a few expressions about the MDST as useful and valuable in health care at home and in nursing home settings; however, in every category, there were text that we interpreted as caution when using the MDST. The MDST cannot be used in all situations and cannot replace human meetings in health care and nursing care at home and in nursing homes. The MDST should primarily be a tool for the profession, and understanding the professions' reasoning about technology use in health care at home and in nursing home settings must be the base for implementing MDST.