“It’s a generational thing,” Ms. Beaudreault said. “I could be out with my friends, and we’re all on our phones, still carrying on the conversation, and it’s not weird to anyone.”

For people of a certain technological proclivity, this has become the new multitasking: to live simultaneously in the physical world and in their smartphones, without missing out on either.

Is life more interesting through the filter of a phone? Or are the heavy users like the 30 percent of young adults in a recent survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project who said they sometimes used their phones to avoid interacting with the people around them?

Read the rest here.

Language plays an important role in our lives: it helps us express our feelings, communicate ideas and information, and build relationships. Most of us accomplish these tasks with ease; however, for those with a communication impairment such as aphasia, expressing a thought can be a difficult and frustrating task. Though a number of computerized devices have been developed to help those with speech and language difficulties, these devices have not been well adopted. In this talk, I will present findings from two research projects aimed at improving communication technology for individuals with aphasia. In the first, we used a survey and a series of focus groups, to gain clinician perspectives on why current aids are not being adopted. From these findings, we identified opportunities for improving design. In the second, we developed a novel communication aid that leverages the location-sensing capabilities of smartphones to better predict the user’s communication needs and refine the support provided. A field trial of this device is currently underway. The talk will close with additional discussion of unmet needs and future directions for research.

Karyn Moffatt is an assistant professor in the School of Information Studies. Previous to joining McGill, she was a postdoctoral fellow with the University of Toronto Department of Computer Science, supported by NSERC and the CIHR-STIHR in Health Care, Technology, and Place. Her research explores the ways in which technology can be employed to meet human needs and enable individuals to overcome everyday challenges and obstacles. She focuses this work primarily on the needs of older adults and individuals with disabilities. Karyn received her PhD in Computer Science in 2010 from the University of British Columbia, where she worked with Professor Joanna McGrenere on methods for increasing the accessibility of pen-based interaction for older adults.

http://wift.com/2011/05/iwdms/

Women in Film and Television presents a conference about women in leadership roles in digital media.

From the website:

“The iWDMS 2011 is set to bring together professionals from traditional and digital media communitites, as well as educational/research institutions from around the world.  With high level keynotes, cross-sector dialogue, expert panelists, controversial debates and structured networking, the Summit will promote knowledge-sharing, and will explore innovation, skills gaps, policy and research in digital media–including gaming, mobile, and social media–and the impacts on and advancements by women globally.  Through engagement with a range of topics the iWDMS promises a fresh and exciting look at the ever expanding field of digital media, including:

Women in Leadership – Technology, Corporations and Entrepreneurs
New Media Literacy
Gender and Technology
Evolution of Business Models (particularly in female-led businesses)
Emerging Technologies
International Innovation
Labour Market Research for Women in Digital Media
Applications of Digital Media in Crossing the Digital Divide
Transmedia Content Creation
2012 Predictions….and more!”

Here’s a slideshare presentation by Prof. Jessie Daniels of CUNY that might be of interest to some:

http://www.slideshare.net/JessieNYC/lgbt-youth-of-color-and-mobile-technology

There is some quantitative data on race, ethnicity and age as well…

Happy summer!

Abstract

The objective of the article is to examine the role of the Village Phone (VP) Program of the Grameen Bank in the empowerment of women. The article takes a case study approach that draws on a close examination of the literatures on the VP Program in Bangladesh, its role in providing telephone service to rural people, creating income opportunities for the rural women (who predominantly operate the owner-operated village pay-phone program) and thereby empowering them. We find that the VP empowered village women economically and socially by reducing and/or eliminating their dependence on other members of their families and giving them increased roles in family decision making. The empowering role of the VP also spilled over to its users. The article demonstrates how an innovative idea by social entrepreneurs in the Information and Communication Technology ( ICT) sector can act as change agent in transforming the lot of rural poor women by empowering them and making them self reliant.

Link to the full text: here

 A graduate student symposium on mobile media and wireless communications

Hexagram Resource Room: EV 11-705,  1515 St Catherine Street, West, H3G 2W1

Wednesday, April 20 from 1 pm – 5 pm

Thursday, April 21 from  10am – 5pm

Sessions:

Wednesday, April 20

 Wed 1:00- 3:00: Transforming Practices, Mobile Productions. Transformation des Pratiques, Productions Mobiles

Moderated by Chantal Francouer, Department of Journalism, Concordia University

« No need, we’re already here », Mobile Media, Social Networks, and the Displacement of Traditional Media

Alexandre Cayla-Irigoyen, Université du Québec à Montréal

Les journalistes citoyens n’ont pas encore tués le journalisme : les impacts des technologies mobiles de communication sur l’information journalistique

Marc-Olivier Goyette, Université du Québec à Montréal

Media production in flux: Kickstarter as mobile assemblage

ME Luka, Concordia University

*coffee: 2:30- 3.

3:30- 5:00 pm: Music in Motion: From Podcasting to Mobile Composing. Musique et déplacements: du podcasting à la création mobile.

Moderated by Olivier Asselin, Département d’histoire de l’art et d’études cinématographiques, Université de Montréal

Moving Outside the Sound Bubble: RJDJ and the ‘Reactive Music Revolution’

Samuel Thulin, Concordia University

L’imaginaire de la mobilité et la pratique du podcasting indépendant

Mélanie Millette, Université du Québec à Montréal

THURSDAY, April 21.

10- 11:30: Knitting, Designing, Hacking. Tricot, design et hacking : femmes et mobilités

Moderated by Leslie Shade, Communication Studies, Concordia University

Yarn Bombing, Knit Graffiti and Underground Brigades: A Study of Craftivism and Mobility

Jacqueline Wallace, Concordia University

Jailbreak Me, Possess Me — DIY Practices and Mobile Phones

Christina Haralanova, Concordia University

11:30- 1 Lunch

1- 2:30: Relational identities: dis/ability and affect. Identités relationnelles : in/habileté et affect.

Moderated by Steven High, History Department, Concordia University

La normalisation de l’utilisation pratique et identitaire du téléphone mobile: une réflexion

Joëlle Rouleau, Université de Montréal

Habiter l’espace, au croisement du réseau géo-social mobile et de l’amitié

Maude Gauthier, Université de Montréal

*coffee: 2:30- 3.

3-5:00:  Virtual Politics, Sacred Spaces. Politiques du virtuel (ou politiques virtuelles?) et espaces sacrés, Moderated by Darin Barney, Department of Art History & Communication Studies, McGill University

Virtual Citizens and Emancipatory Politics

Timothy Swiffen, Concordia University

“Tweeting Out A Tyrant”: Social Media and the Tunisian Revolution

Mariam Esseghaier, Concordia University

Tweeting from Mecca: Mobile media, time, and sacred experiences

Krista Riley, Concordia University

This symposium is organized by Kim Sawchuk, Professor, Communication Studies, Concordia University as a part of the Doctoral Seminar, Mobile Media, Wireless Communications Coms 893J.

Thank you to: The Department of Communication Studies, The Mobile Media Lab-Concordia, Mediatopias working group-McGill, and Hexagram.

One article I found very good was

Green, N, Harper, R.H.R., Murtagh G, and G.Cooper. “Configuring the Moble User: Sociological and Industry Views”. Personal and Ubiquitous Comupting, 2001 (5), 146-156.

Even if dated for the fast development of the mobile industry, this article provides an important mapping of the social science research done with respect to the mobile users, in comparison with the industy ones (service providers, network operators, resellers).

Good points in the article related to users’ behaviour, the techniques of collection of data by service providers and other companies on the users and what they do with them. They also point out the difference between social science research and the industry (including marketing).

Recommended for the user -centered researchers.

http://lifehacker.com/#!5791888/the-best-mac-apps-exclusive-to-the-mac-app-store

Issue 26(5) October 2012  Wising Up: revising mobile media in an age of
smart phones

Editors: Larissa Hjorth, RMIT University;
Jerry Watkins, Swinburne University;
Ilpo Koskinen, Aalto University

This issue of Continuum explores the impact of smartphones on
individuals, families, communities and organisations. A smartphone is a
mobile phone which uses 3G and/or WiFi networks to connect to
internet-based applications and services. Popular operating systems
include Android, Blackberry OS, OS X iPhone, and Windows Mobile. Online,
the smartphone can function as a social media portal, a games console, a
navigation device and an app platform. It can connect users to services
including banking, e-commerce and health. Offline, the smartphone can
function as an entertainment deck, a multimedia capture and editing
device, and a mobile office. Traversing the online and offline
seamlessly, the smartphone represents a new generation in ubiquity and
Web 2.0 practices.

The ubiquity, usability and processing power of the smartphone can
stimulate a range of innovative interactions and experiences for
consumers, businesses and content providers. Whilst global sales of
mobile phones are in decline, smartphone sales are growing. A
corresponding growth in mobile data is attributed to video traffic from
smartphones. Content shares such as YouTube and social networks such as
Twitter are experiencing increases in content uploads from smartphones.

We are interested in papers from a range of disciplinary approaches
which critically examine the current and future contribution of
smartphone devices and related applications, portals and networks. We
are also interested in papers which discuss the wider socioeconomic,
sociocultural or sociotechnical policies that are impacted by, and
shaping, smartphone practice. Contributions should be consistent with
the journal's overall focus on media and cultural studies. Papers could
be related - but not limited - to the following questions:
*       What is the impact of cultural context upon smartphone usage?
What part do lifestyle practices play in smartphone adoption?
*       How, if at all, do smartphones help to mobilise people in times
of disaster or political unrest?
*       How do smartphones and context-aware services change the
experience of place and co-presence? What do they contribute to everyday
modes of communication conducted on the run?
*       What types of media literacy and creativity are emerging through
smartphone practices?
*       How can smartphones be applied to developing economies and
regional and rural environments? Are smartphones just a device for
developed countries?
*       What types of ideological and image-making processes are going
on behind the iPhone versus Android competition?
*       Is a policy focus on fibre-based broadband network provision
appropriate given the capabilities of smartphones? What policy and
regulatory challenges and opportunities do smartphones present?
*       Will smartphones facilitate alternative modes of communication,
or will network tariffs, premium content prices, Managed Device
Platforms or other barriers to participation mean that they remain 'too
smart by half' for those without sufficient digital literacy or economic
means?

Timing, length, style
Please send abstracts of no more than 200 words and a brief bio by May
2011 to larissa.hjorth@rmit.edu.au Articles will be due by October 2011.
They will be evaluated by the editorial committee and anonymously by
external referees. The maximum length is around 6000 words.

About the journal
Continuum is an academic journal of media and cultural studies. For over
two decades it has contributed to the formation of these disciplines by
identifying new areas for investigation and developing new agendas for
enquiry in the fields. The journal has consistently provided a space for
important new voices in media and cultural studies, while also featuring
the work of internationally renowned scholars. Continuum is now one of
the most highly regarded and most cited journals in media and cultural
studies.
The journal is of central importance to all scholars involved in the
research and teaching of media and cultural studies. It provides vital
information and ideas for thinking about the formations of media in
culture and the culture of media.
Continuum is edited from Australia, with an international scope. It is
affiliated with the Cultural Studies Association of Australia. More
information is available at:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/10304312.asp

* Empirical studies of preteen use of mobile technology, including use for communication among friends and family. Empirical analysis of themes, opportunities, coping strategies and mediation is also welcomed.

* Case studies of campaigns and other efforts to improve media literacy skills, and child-child and child-adult mediation, with particular emphasis on the development of best practices, as well as theoretical work on topics such as child-child or child-adult mediation.

* Presentations of innovative solutions and concepts that improve family life and child empowerment. The solutions will likely include mobile aspects, but may include also other media sources, such as the Web.

Position paper’s deadline is on April 24th.

More information: http://familyinteraction.wordpress.com/