Mobile Services Research Articles

Multimodal urban mobility solutions for a smart campus using artificial neural networks for route determination and an algorithm for arrival time prediction

Artificial intelligence algorithms play a key role in solving multimodal urban mobility problems, this study outlines a scheme covering bus, boat, and pedestrian transport modes. This involves designing an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to classify the most suitable routes for passengers, together with an algorithm capable of estimating the arrival times of various transportation modes at designated stopping points or buildings within the smart campus. The information used to train the ANN is obtained from an Internet of Things (IoT) network and a database that includes the available routes within the campus (which is situated in the Brazilian Amazon), where there is a multimodal electric mobility service. In seeking to achieve the objectives, this ANN relied on the user's geographic location in the input layer, and route mapping data stored in the database in the output layer, as well as the backpropagation algorithm for computational processing and adjustments of synaptic weight. The algorithm for modal arrival time prediction used real-time geographic location data, together with the Haversine formula to calculate geographic distance, while the average speed was obtained from the IoT network. A range of different ANN parameters were included in the experiments. In the study case, the ANN results show an improvement of above 92% for determining the best routes and predicting arrival times. The findings show that ANNs can effectively find the best route within a real-world smart campus environment. Moreover, the results show the arrival time can be estimated by using real-time geographic location data.

Operationalising the 15-minute city with New Mobility services

The 15-minute city concept has gained significant traction in recent years but faces implementation challenges across diverse geographical, spatial, and political contexts. This 15-minute concept proposes that primary functions should be accessible within 15 minutes by walking, cycling, or public transport. However, it provides little guidance on the placement of these functions or the modalities of access. Additionally, it does not consider various new mobility modes and services, nor emerging technologies such as telecommuting and e-commerce. The main challenge is that the 15-minute city presents an alternative planning paradigm to the existing automobility paradigm, which has dominated global city planning over the past century. While cars can facilitate all types of trips, no other transport mode can claim the same versatility. To transition to a new mobility paradigm, we must consider unbundling these trips to allow for the rightsizing of vehicles according to trip purposes, better aligning with factors such as cost, environmental impact, and spatial constraints. This article will showcase how the New Mobility Assessment Framework has been applied to the new development of Hinna Park, outside of Stavanger, Norway. The project provides insights for the public transport authority, Kolumbus, on optimising the deployment of shared mobility services such as bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, shared cars, and car-pooling. It also provided insights to allow key discussions between Kolumbus and the property developer to plan the new districts to support sustainable modes of transport. The framework aims to operationalise the mobility principles of the 15-minute city through public-private collaboration, assessing market potential, setting ambition levels for behaviour change, and developing pricing and investment strategies.

Navigating Social Services from the Perspective of Finnish Older Adults with Complex Needs: An Examination of Different Dimensions of Access

This study aims to increase understanding of accessing social services for older adults with complex needs. Individual interviews (18) with older clients of gerontological social work and diaconal social work in Finland were analyzed using abductive content analysis. The conceptual framework of access to services, consisting of five interrelated dimensions by Penchansky and Thomas (1981) and the sixth dimension, awareness, by Saurman (2016), was used as a basis for analysis and reporting of results. The findings showed that accessing services was affected by all six dimensions and factors related to both the service system and the clients. The main results showed that available services did not always meet the needs of older adults (Availability), or they did not have enough information about the services (Awareness). Attitudes toward both the service system and older adults affected their experiences (Acceptability), as well as the perceived approachability of the services (Accommodation). In addition, mobility of services and physical abilities of clients (Accessibility), together with the perceived worth of services in relation to their cost (Affordability), influenced older adults’ access to services. Overall, this study emphasizes the significance of considering different aspects of access in service design and policies for services for older adults.

Benefits and challenges of geographic information systems (GIS) for data-driven outreach in black communities experiencing overdose disparities: results of a stakeholder focus group

BackgroundBlack individuals in the U.S. face increasing racial disparities in drug overdose related to social determinants of health, including place-based features. Mobile outreach efforts work to mitigate social determinants by servicing geographic areas with low drug treatment and overdose prevention access but are often limited by convenience-based targets. Geographic information systems (GIS) are often used to characterize and visualize the overdose crisis and could be translated to community to guide mobile outreach services. The current study examines the initial acceptability and appropriateness of GIS to facilitate data-driven outreach for reducing overdose inequities facing Black individuals.MethodsWe convened a focus group of stakeholders (N = 8) in leadership roles at organizations conducting mobile outreach in predominantly Black neighborhoods of St. Louis, MO. Organizations represented provided adult mental health and substance use treatment or harm reduction services. Participants were prompted to discuss current outreach strategies and provided feedback on preliminary GIS-derived maps displaying regional overdose epidemiology. A reflexive approach to thematic analysis was used to extract themes.ResultsFour themes were identified that contextualize the acceptability and utility of an overdose visualization tool to mobile service providers in Black communities. They were: 1) importance of considering broader community context; 2) potential for awareness, engagement, and community collaboration; 3) ensuring data relevance to the affected community; and 4) data manipulation and validity concerns.ConclusionsThere are several perceived benefits of using GIS to map overdose among mobile providers serving Black communities that are overburdened by the overdose crisis but under resourced. Perceived potential benefits included informing location-based targets for services as well as improving awareness of the overdose crisis and facilitating collaboration, advocacy, and resource allocation. However, as GIS-enabled visualization of drug overdose grows in science, public health, and community settings, stakeholders must consider concerns undermining community trust and benefits, particularly for Black communities facing historical inequities and ongoing disparities.

Dynamic Operations of a Mobile Charging Crowdsourcing Platform

This paper investigates the operation of a novel electric vehicles (EVs) charging service mode, that is, crowdsourced mobile charging service for EVs, whereby a crowdsourcing platform is established to arrange suppliers (crowdsourced chargers) to deliver charging service to customers’ electric vehicles (parked EVs) at low-battery levels. From the platform operator’s perspective, we aim to determine the optimal operation strategies for mobile charging crowdsourcing platforms to achieve specific objectives. A mathematical modeling framework is developed to capture the interactions among supply, demand, and service operations in the crowdsourced mobile charging market. To design an efficient solution method to solve the formulated model, we first analyze the model properties by rigorously proving that a crucial variable set for operating the mobile charging crowdsourcing system includes charging price, commission control, and period-specific aggregate demand control. Besides, we provide both an equivalent condition and a necessary condition for checking the feasibility of these crucial variables. On top of this, we construct a search tree according to the operation periods in a day to solve the optimal operation strategies, wherein a nondominated principle is adopted as an accelerating technique in the searching process. The solution obtained from the proposed solution algorithm is proved to be sufficiently close to the actual global optimal solutions of the formulated model up to the resolution of the discretization scheme adopted. Numerical examples provide evidence verifying the model’s validity and the solution method’s efficiency. Overall, the research outcome of this work can offer service operators structured and valuable guidelines for operating mobile charging crowdsourcing platforms. Funding: This work was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education [Grant RG124/21]. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2023.0126 .

Palliative mobile care service as an integrated care model

A palliatív ellátás a krónikus, progresszív betegségben szenvedő, előrehaladott stádiumú betegek gondozási formája, melynek célja az életminőség javítása. Ezen ellátási forma feladata a komplex tüneti terhek csökkentése, a túlkezelések elkerülésének biztosítása, valamint az ellátás előzetes tervezésének segítése. A palliatív ellátás alkalmazása nemcsak a daganatos, hanem a súlyos szervelégtelenségben vagy dementiában szenvedő betegek esetében is szükséges. A be gyógyászati fekvőbetegosztályok nagyszámú idős, súlyos állapotú, jelentős komorbiditásokkal bíró betegeinek terápiájában ennek megfelelően a szokványos kezelésekkel együtt történő alkalmazása kiemelt fontosságú. Munkánkban a pécsi integrált palliatív betegellátási rendszer részeként működő Klinikai Palliatív Mobil Team rövid ismertetését követően bemutatjuk a palliatív ellátási rendszer kialakításának folyamatát belgyógyászati osztályunkon. A rendszer létrehozásához az ellátási forma kiépítésére nyitott intézetvezetés, a szakápolók és az orvosok oktatása, a speciális gyógyszerek naprakész hozzáférésének megteremtése, valamint a betegvizitek folyamatának kidolgozása is rendkívüli fontosságú. Közleményünk célja, hogy a folyamat ismertetésével segítsük hasonló palliatív ellátórendszerek kialakítását a fekvőbeteg-ellátás súlyos állapotú betegeinek kezeléséhez. Az ellátási forma a betegek életminőségének javításán túl a kezelés költségét is csökkenti. Orv Hetil. 2024; 165(31): 1186–1190.

Indigenous knowledge and digital financial inclusion: a comparison between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT M-Pesa is one leading example of mobile money services. It reveals the importance of digital financial inclusion (DFI) in countries still largely unbanked, and of institutional factors in shaping DFI. Yet, extant research has not investigated the combined effect of these factors, informal (indigenous knowledge) and formal (regulatory) institutions, on DFI. This study intends to do so leveraging the institutional theory and applying regression techniques to data from 1000 digital-finance users. It reveals different effects of institutional factors across regions. In Europe, strong formal institutions shape DFI. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), weak institutions combined with high indigenous knowledge increase DFI. These findings are crucial for countries’ development, as financial inclusion is considered a key enabler of several SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). They could help adapt financial-inclusion programs by including the indigenous-knowledge component in countries facing weak formal institutions, to maximize their chances of success in fostering development and growth.

Unveiling the Future: Decrypting Mobile Investment Resistance with Multi-Stage SEM-ANN-NCA Approach

Mobile commerce has transformed business over the past decade with various m-commerce applications. Despite the growing popularity of digital investment, there is still global resistance to using mobile applications for investment purposes. This work aims to develop a model for analyzing and predicting mobile investment resistance (MIR) by investigating the main hurdles identified in Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT). In addition, this study has extended the IRT theory by integrating demographic factors and mobile innovativeness. Data has been collected from 920 investors. The tri-stage SEM-ANN-NCA strategy, which introduces a new methodological paradigm for mobile investment resistance forecasting, makes this academic study powerful and exceptional. The researchers found that risk is the most influential barrier, followed by usage, tradition, value, image, education, age, and mobile innovativeness. This study helps mobile investment service providers and Fintech companies identify the most significant challenges, solve them, and improve the user experience for mobile investors.

Effectiveness of Seating & Mobility Services on the Occupational Performance of Individuals With Disabilities in Guatemala

Abstract Date Presented 03/21/24 Are seating and mobility services delivered through an international service learning (ISL) model effective at improving occupational performance of people with disabilities in low- to middle-income countries? Primary Author and Speaker: Nathan Short Additional Authors and Speakers: Patricia A. Henton, Emily Smitson, Anna Barg, Leah Baumgartner, Taporia Brown, Makayla Jurek, Kaitlyn Langbein

A two-sided equilibrium model of Vehicle-to-Vehicle charging platform

A novel mobile charging service utilizing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) charging technology has been proposed as a complement to fixed charging infrastructure (CI), enabling electric vehicles (EVs) to exchange electricity. This study develops a two-sided equilibrium model for a V2V charging platform, where the demand-side charging vehicles (CVs) choose between charging piles and the V2V platform, and the supple-side discharging vehicles (DVs) decide whether to provide discharging services. The V2V platform matches CVs with DVs, receiving compensation from CV owners and reimbursing DV owners. To explore the strategic interactions between the V2V platform and fixed CI operators, we construct an analytical bi-level model that examines different operation regimes, including competitive and cooperative scenarios, i.e., non-cooperative game and Nash Bargaining game. The lower-level model is a two-sided equilibrium model that quantifies charging and discharging choices of EV owners, while the upper-level model optimizes the pricing decisions of the V2V platform and fixed CI operator. Numerical results indicate that the introduction of the V2V platform can reduce the overall charging costs, thus encourage the use of public charging services. Furthermore, it is suggested that the V2V platform be managed by independent enterprises, rather than existing fixed CI operators, to promote the EVs at relatively low charging costs.

A Data-Driven Spatiotemporal Simulator for Reinforcement Learning Methods

Spatiotemporal applications such as taxi order dispatching and warehouse task scheduling depend critically on the algorithms for operational efficiency. However, the inherent dynamic nature of these applications presents challenges in algorithm design. The growth of mobility services has facilitated the collection of extensive spatiotemporal data, which in turn prompted algorithm designers to use data-driven methods. Reinforcement learning (RL), recognized for its strong performance and suitability for spatiotemporal contexts, has garnered considerable research interest. Despite their potential, RL algorithms necessitate the use of a simulator for both training and validation purposes. However, no specific simulation system has been developed for spatiotemporal algorithm design. This vacancy hinders the progress of spatiotemporal algorithm designers. In this demo, we build a system called Data-driven Spatiotemporal Simulator (DSS), hoping to bring convenience for spatiotemporal algorithm designers. DSS is adept at handling problems related to taxi order dispatching and warehouse task scheduling and possesses the versatility to be expanded for other user-defined scenarios. The system includes visualization modules that offer insightful panels, alongside developer tools designed to streamline the development process. This enables designers to efficiently craft, evaluate, and refine their algorithms, potentially accelerating innovation in spatiotemporal application development.

Feasibility of using electrodermal activity responses to assess level of crowdedness of pedestrian paths

As urban populations grow, it's imperative to evaluate and enhance the quality of pedestrian paths from the user's perspective. Crowdedness, associated with discomfort and safety, is crucial in determining the overall walking quality and user experience. Previously utilized methods for measuring crowdedness, such as travel diaries and floating population surveys, were limited to collecting perceptual data from sporadic surveys with restricted spatial coverage. Similarly, methods based on CCTV or mobile service data have been used but present issues with blind spots and fail to consider pedestrian perspectives. Against this background, this study explores the feasibility of assessing crowdedness levels by measuring subjects' physiological responses in a laboratory setting based on visual images of real and virtual environments. This study hypothesizes that the amount of people or vehicles passing by affects the electrodermal activity (EDA) of pedestrians, indicating the comfort level of using the environment. Experimental EDA data were measured using a wearable device while the subjects were watching videos showing different pedestrian traffic flows. Representative EDA signal features (e.g., skin conductance responses) were extracted after data pre-processing. Noticeable changes in EDA responses are observed when subjects countered specific environmental variations, such as differing volumes of passing people, on pedestrian paths. The findings suggest that EDA data can be instrumental in differentiating crowdedness levels on pedestrian paths. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by demonstrating the potential of EDA data to characterize the crowdedness experienced by pedestrians. This aids in the development of a novel, quantitative method to gauge pedestrian path crowdedness and to discern contributing factors, such as path width.

Longer Pick-Up for Less Pay: Towards Discount-Based Mobility Services

Longer Pick-Up for Less Pay: Towards Discount-Based Mobility Services

Keeping Verticals’ Sovereignty During Application Migration in Continuum

Competing service providers in the cloud environment ensure services are delivered under the promised security requirements. It is crucial for mobile services where user’s movement results in the service’s migration between edge servers or clouds in the Continuum. Maintaining service sovereignty before, during, and after the migration is a real challenge, especially when the service provider has committed to ensuring its quality following the Service Level Agreement. In this paper, we present the main challenges mobile service providers face in a cloud environment to guarantee the required level of security and digital sovereignty as described in the Security Service Level Agreement, with emphasis on challenges resulting from the service migration between the old and new locations. We present the security and sovereignty context intended for migration and the steps of the migration algorithm. We also analyze three specific service migration cases for three vertical industries with different service quality requirements.

Exploring the Influence of Financial Literacy on Mobile Financial Service Usage: An Ordered Probit Analysis

Mobile financial service, an emerging form of financial services that has developed alongside the internet and mobile devices, are becoming increasingly significant in the global financial market. Financial literacy is crucial for safely and effectively using these services, as it equips individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the digital financial landscape, make informed decisions, and manage their finances responsibly. This study explores the link between financial literacy and the use of mobile financial services, aiming to promote financial inclusion and help users benefit from mobile banking technologies. The results indicate that the impact of objective financial literacy varies significantly across different types of mobile financial services. It boosts the utilization of mobile banking services, with coefficient 0.025 (p<0.01), while simultaneously reducing the frequency of mobile payments and transfers, with coefficients -0.041 and -0.012 respectively (p<0.01). The results also show that subjective financial literacy always positively relate to the use of mobile banking, mobile payments and mobile transfers, with coefficients 0.038, 0.044 and 0.03 respectively (p<0.01). Further, this paper investigates how financial literacy miscalibration affects the use of mobile financial services. The results show that individuals who over-evaluated their financial literacy are more likely to use mobile financial services than individuals who under-evaluated or correct-evaluated their financial literacy. The results serve as decisive evidence for policymakers to enhance consumer financial literacy, thereby improving their use of mobile financial services. Future studies could delve deeper into the underlying reasons for the differential impact of objective financial literacy on various MFS types.

Deep learning‐based location prediction in VANET

AbstractIn recent years, Vehicular Ad‐hoc Network (VANET) has become an essential component of intelligent transportation systems that, along with the previous systems such as traffic condition, accident alert, automatic parking, and cruise control, use the communication of vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to the roadside unit to facilitate road transportation. Several challenges hinder efforts to improve traffic conditions and reduce traffic fatalities through VANET. A critical challenge is achieving highly accurate and reliable vehicle localization within the VANET. Additionally, the frequent unavailability of Global Positioning System (GPS), particularly in tunnels and parking lots, presents another significant obstacle. Traditional methods like Dead Reckoning offer low accuracy and reliability due to accumulating errors. Similarly, GPS positioning, map matching with mobile phone location services, and other existing solutions struggle with accuracy and economic feasibility. In this article, two Kalman filter approaches are used based on signal statistical information and the other learning‐based networks, including traditional neural network, deep neural network and LSTM (long short‐term memory) to locate the car. The prediction error of car position with root mean square measures. The squared error and distance prediction error are evaluated. It is shown that in terms of prediction time and processing time of vehicle localization, all the vehicle localization methods are efficient in terms of response time for localization, and Kalman filter methods, traditional neural network and deep neural network are faster than LSTM method. Also, in terms of localization error, Kalman filter works better than learning‐based methods, and in learning‐based methods, both deep neural network and LSTM methods perform better than traditional neural network in terms of localization error.

How cybercrime sentiment shapes mobile banking adoption in Islamic banking

Purpose – This study aims to identify the factors influencing the adoption of mobile banking in the context of cybercrime issues in digital banking services by focusing on a case study of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) customers.Methodology – This study examined five independent variables as mediators: cybercrime issue sentiment, security perceptions, convenience, digital literacy, cybersecurity awareness, and trust. It involves 100 BSI customer respondents and is analyzed using the SEM-PLS method.Findings – The findings indicate that Cybercrime issue sentiment and perceived security positively impact trust. However, this trust does not influence mobile banking adoption, suggesting that other factors may dominate adoption decision-making. Convenience and cybersecurity awareness affect mobile banking adoption, whereas digital literacy does not.Implications – Cybercrime is a crucial aspect of mobile banking usage, making customer awareness essential. To increase customer trust, BSI needs to strengthen and enhance digital security and educate customers about cybersecurity risks. Improving the convenience of mobile banking services is crucial to attracting more users. Cybersecurity awareness is also essential; therefore, BSI needs to conduct educational programs and campaigns to improve digital literacy and reduce the negative impact of cybercrime.Originality – The implications provide insights for banks, especially BSI, in maintaining customer trust and increasing mobile banking adoption. The results are expected to assist customers and BSI in focusing on cybersecurity, protecting personal data, and enhancing user convenience. Understanding the factors influencing mobile banking adoption in the continually evolving digital banking environment can help banks take relevant action and focus on customer needs.

Determinants of Consumption Value on Intention to Use Shariah Mobile Banking: Exploring the Role of Consumer Preference

This study analyzes the use of mobile banking by both Islamic and conventional bank customers using the theory of consumption value. The aim of this research is to evaluate the factors influencing customers' decisions to use dual mobile banking services. The proposed hypothesis is that the intention to use Islamic mobile banking services is influenced by functional, conditional, social, emotional, and epistemic values mediated by consumer preferences. The method used is structural equation modeling with partial least squares (SEM-PLS) with a sample of 191 people, all of whom use both conventional and Islamic mobile banking. The results show that the theory of consumption value does not directly affect the interest in using mobile banking, either conventional or Islamic, except for the emotional value variable. Consumer preferences mediate the effect of functional, conditional, emotional, and epistemic values on the intention to use conventional mobile banking. Meanwhile, conditional, emotional, and epistemic values influence the interest in using Islamic mobile banking, which is mediated by consumer preferences. These findings indicate that the consumer's intention to use mobile banking is influenced by the theory of consumption value regardless of whether the service is Islamic or not. The implication of this research is that Islamic mobile banking services need to improve their service quality by considering consumer preferences and the theory of consumption value, thereby enhancing the usage of services by both conventional and Islamic bank customers.

FACTORS FACILITATING APPLICATION OF MOBILE PHONES FOR INFORMATION SERVICES PROVISION IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the factors facilitating applications of mobile phones for information service provision in university libraries in Kano State, Nigeria. Quantitative methodology was adopted using descriptive survey research for the study. The population comprised all the one hundred and seven (107) librarians in public universities in Kano state, Nigeria and out of these numbers, one hundred and three (103) were retrieved and used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was the resear chers developed questionnaire and these were analysed using descriptive statistics using frequency and percentages. Findings from the study revealed these librarians to understand the factors that would likely facilitate the application of mobile phones in their respective libraries and these ranged from external factors related to current trends in the use of mobile, competition from other service providers, and demand from patrons for mobile services. Others include internal factors such as management support and involvement of librarians in decision-making as well as positive attitudes of librarians towards mobile phone library services, among others. Based on the findings, it was recommended that: every necessary action should be taken by the library leadership to at least minimize the potentially negative effects of these challenges before the implementation. Collaboration should be done with ICT experts and telecommunications service providers in order to determine the appropriateness of the information services. Need to adopt all the perceptions from individuals’ librarians for making mobile phone more effective in information service delivery.

Development and execution of a notification system for lectures in universities

The aim of this work is design and implementation of a lecture alert system for Computer Science Department which makes use of Short Message Service (SMS) to enable lecturers to know when they have lectures and also deliver the venue, department, day, date and time to their phones. The motivation for this work is due to the challenges of the consistence report of errors in the process of filling and allocating the lectures on the time table, lack of effective record system or database system to store the record of time table and clashes of lecture because one venue can be allocated to different lecturers at the same time. The methodology that will be employed in this study is the object-oriented analysis and design methodology (OOADM) which will make use of the following programming languages; JavaScript for controls and flexibility, PHP for effective linking and communication with the database machine, HTML for browser communicator, a database machine, MySQL, and macromedia flash (11.0) for the video output display. The expected result that will be obtained is to a design a conventional lecture alert system using Short Messaging Service (SMS), also to provide a new method of checking lectures using mobile phone short messaging service work and to alert students ahead of their lectures and inform them of the venue of the lecture.