Understanding the asymmetric perceptions of smartphone security from security feature perspective: A comparative study

Smartphones are being used and relied on by people more than ever before. The open connectivity brings with it great convenience and leads to a variety of risks that cannot be overlooked. Smartphone vendors, security policy designers, and security application providers have put a variety of practical efforts to secure smartphones, and researchers have conducted extensive research on threat sources, security techniques, and user security behaviors. Regrettably, smartphone users do not pay enough attention to mobile security, making many efforts futile. This study identifies this gap between technology affordance and user requirements, and attempts to investigate the asymmetric perceptions toward security features between developers and users, between users and users, as well as between different security features. These asymmetric perceptions include perceptions of quality, perceptions of importance, and perceptions of satisfaction. After scoping the range of smartphone security features, this study conducts an improved Kano-based method and exhaustively analyzes the 245 collected samples using correspondence analysis and importance satisfaction analysis. The 14 security features of the smartphone are divided into four Kano quality types and the perceived quality differences between developers and users are compared. Correspondence analysis is utilized to capture the relationship between the perceived importance of security features across different groups of respondents, and results of importance-satisfaction analysis provide the basis for the developmental path and resource reallocation strategy of security features. This article offers new insights for researchers as well as practitioners of smartphone security.     

The paradox of technology innovativeness and risk perceptions – A profile of Asian smartphone users

Risk perceptions and technology innovativeness are the two primary factors related to the adoption of mobile technologies. The current study examines the role of technology innovativeness and risk perceptions on smartphone use and dependence in an Asian context. A total of 9086 participants were recruited through online surveys from ten Asian countries. Ordinary least squares regression analyses revealed the effects of technology innovativeness, information security, privacy concern, and their interactions on smartphone use and dependence. Moreover, based on users’ smartphone usage patterns and perceptions, this paper identified four homogeneous groups using cluster analysis. Results shows that Asian smartphone users can be segmented into four groups: innovators, conservatives, moderators, and laggards. The four clusters show significant differences in demographic features. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed based on these findings.     

Relationships among boredom proneness,sensation seeking and smartphone addiction among Chinese college students: Mediating roles of pastime,flow experience and self-regulation

Smartphones are indispensable for many young people, which in turn increases the risk of smartphone addiction. Previous studies have discovered significant and positive influences of boredom proneness, sensation seeking and smartphone addiction. This study further explored these influences, their underlying mechanisms, and the mediating effects of pastime, flow experience and self-regulation on smartphone addiction. A total of 442 Chinese college students completed a survey focusing on boredom proneness, sensation seeking, pastime, flow experience, self-regulation and smartphone addiction. The results indicated that boredom proneness positively affects smartphone addiction. Contrary to expectations, the results showed that there is no significant relationship between sensation seeking and smartphone addiction. Moreover, pastime and self-regulation have partial mediation effects on the relationship between boredom proneness and smartphone addiction, while the effect of sensation seeking on smartphone addiction is completely transmitted with the help of flow experience and self-regulation. The findings and their implications are discussed.     

Using the theory of inventive problem solving to brainstorm innovative ideas for assessing varieties of phone-cameras

Today, to survive in an extremely turbulent business environment, traditional products characterized by limited capabilities cannot satisfy diverse customer requirements. In particular, it is observed that the boundaries between smart phones, digital cameras, and tablets are becoming more and more blurred than before. Therefore, for attracting the ad-hoc segments, global companies began to develop hybrid pad-phones and phone-cameras. Unfortunately, some of these products are facing poor sales without incurring much market attention. In order to overcome the aforementioned difficulty, this paper presents a novel framework to reduce the gaps between producer expectation and user perception. By means of the TRIZ (the theory of inventive problem solving), a contradiction matrix is applied to handle engineering conflicts among multi-functional alternatives to seek inventive solutions. Then, ARM (association rule mining) is conducted to identify critical features that formulate customer dissatisfaction (purchase intention). Finally, CA (conjoint analysis) is employed to derive customer utilities for benchmarking varieties of design concepts. In summary, the proposed framework cannot only help product planners efficiently generate innovative ideas, but also effectively justify the validity of design concepts.     

The implementation of a smartphone-based fall detection system using a high-level fuzzy Petri net

The falling down problem has become one of the very important issues of global public health in an aging society. The specific equipment was adopted as the detection device of falling-down in the early studies, but it is inconvenient for the elderly and difficult for future application. The smart phone more commonly used than the specific fall detection equipment is selected as a mobile device for human fall detection, and a fall detection algorithm is developed for this purpose. What the user has to do is to put the smart phone in his/her thigh pocket for falling down detection. The signals detected by the tri-axial G-sensor are converted into signal vector magnitudes as the basis of detecting a human body in a stalling condition. The Z-axis data sets are captured for identification of human body inclination and the occurrence frequencies at the peak of the area of use are used as the input parameters. A high-level fuzzy Petri net is used for the analysis and the development of identifying human actions, including normal action, exercising, and falling down. The results of this study can be used in the relevant equipments or in the field of home nursing.     

The smartphone and its punishment: Social distancing of cellular transgressors in ultra-Orthodox Jewish society,from 2G to the Corona pandemic

Over the past 20 years, the leaders of Israel's ultra-Orthodox (haredi) community carried out an intensive campaign against the diffusion of mobile phones in their enclave society. It included a variety of resistance strategies that escalated in parallel to the consistent increase in mobile phone penetration into the community. If at first the “cellphone danger” was contained by the successful “kosherphone,” a new threat appeared in the form of the smartphone. In this article we explore the severe rabbinic sanctions directed against those who deviate from the communal norm by using a smartphone. We analyze the general “lawfare” strategy of social distancing they adopted, and offer a close reading of the specific religious-law decrees, interpreting them through the historical and legal lens of halakhah (Jewish law). This socio-legal analysis constructs the way haredi leadership understands the role of the smartphone in two contexts. One is the rapidly changing contemporary media environment; the other is the social dynamic affecting this island community, as it encounters the surrounding national and global culture through digital media. The article concludes with a preliminary analysis of the implications of the Corona pandemic on the campaign against the smartphone.     

Is job performance conditioned by work-from-home demands and resources?

Substantial research has been dedicated to describing remote work, yet the understanding of working from home since the Covid-19 pandemic remains rather limited. While recognising the necessity for exploring employees' perceptions and interaction with technology as the ultimate requirement for a functional work-from-home, this study observes the factors that would determine job performance. Thus, adhering to the Job Demands-Resources theory, we argue that employees' ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) anxiety and smartphone addiction can inhibit their work progress by provoking interruptions in the course and reducing the efficacy, further affecting performance. PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modelling) was employed to analyse the data collected by 363 employees working from home due to Covid-19 restrictive measures. The results reveal that employees’ reluctance and apprehensiveness related to the use of ICT and their dependency on smartphone usage act as distractions that impact the efficient achievement of work goals. The ensued findings valuably contribute to the relevant body of knowledge, while the implications offer helpful strategies for improving work-from-home. Finally, companies must simplify the transition to the home office, providing employees with job management and tools to ensure uninterrupted and productive working processes.     

Spectral influence of the normal LCD,blue-shifted LCD,and OLED smartphone displays on visual fatigue: A comparative study

In this study, we investigated the influence of the light spectra of the normal LCD, blue-shifted LCD, and OLED smartphone displays on visual fatigue based on subjective and objective measurements. The illuminance of the retinal photoreceptors was calculated for the three displays to quantify the components of the light spectra. The results showed that the accumulated visual fatigue decreased for the display with lower retinal illuminances of the S-, M-, and L-cones, and ipRGCs when the luminance and CCT were the same. In addition, the display with larger retinal illuminances of the M- and L-cones induced more visual fatigue related to dry eye. Hence, a slight shift of the blue light peak toward a longer wavelength is recommended for reducing visual fatigue. Furthermore, an evaluation model of the overall visual fatigue level is proposed.     

More screen operation than calling: The results of observing cyclists' behaviour while using mobile phones

Operating a mobile telephone while riding a bicycle is fairly common practice in the Netherlands, yet it is unknown if this use is stable or increasing. As such, whether the prevalence of mobile phone use while cycling has changed over the past five years was studied via on-road observation. In addition the impact of mobile phone use on lateral position, i.e. distance from the front wheel to the curb, was also examined to see if it compared to the results seen in previous experimental studies.     

The action of looking at a mobile phone display as nonverbal behavior/communication: A theoretical perspective

This study investigates the now-common action of looking at a mobile phone display, thereby offering insight into the present communication situation in an era in which the use of high-performance mobile phones has become ubiquitous. In this study, the action of looking at a mobile phone display is considered nonverbal behavior/communication. This study applies a basic, general model to elucidate the present situation of face-to-face communication in light of the increasing prevalence of social interaction via mobile phone use. The results derived from the model include mobile phone users’ increasing social power and an accumulation of potential discontent in relation to different interpretations. This study concludes that in an era of high-performance mobile phones, the social context in face-to-face communication can be influenced by the act of looking at a mobile phone display.