It is common practice for service providers, such as cell phone network providers, to utilise relationship marketing strategies in an effort to retain their customers and thereby to increase profitability. Customers with relationship intentions are willing to respond to such efforts while other customers will refrain. Service failures negatively impact relationship marketing efforts and thus complicate service providers’ relationship-building efforts. Therefore, service providers endeavour to restore customers’ post-recovery satisfaction and loyalty through service recovery efforts to retain their customers. However, the influence that customers’ relationship intentions have on this process has not been considered. Previous research on relationship intention in South Africa focussed only on developing a valid and reliable relationship intention measurement scale. For this reason, the primary objective of this study was to determine the influence of relationship intention on customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery within the cellular industry. Supporting the primary objective, a model depicting the influence of respondents’ relationships intentions on satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery was developed. Furthermore, a model depicting the interrelationships of the relationship constructive dimensions of the service recovery process uncovered during this study was also developed. Through non-probability convenience sampling of adults 18 years and older (residing in Johannesburg and the surrounding residential suburbs) who have used a cell phone network provider for three years or longer, 605 respondents completed interviewer-administered questionnaires. Demographic and patronage information, together with respondents’ relationship intentions, attitudes towards complaining, customers’ complaint behaviour, expectations of service recovery, perceived service recovery as well as satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery, were obtained. Results indicated that no associations exist between respondents’ levels of relationship intention and their relationship lengths, as well as whether they had contractual agreements with their cell phone network providers. It is therefore recommended that instead of using relationship length or contractual agreements, cell phone network providers should use customers’ relationship intentions to identify customers for relationship marketing purposes. Findings from this study furthermore include that respondents’ relationship intentions influence their propensities to complain, as well as the likelihood that they will voice a complaint regarding dissatisfactory service delivery. It is therefore recommended that cell phone network providers use the opportunity to identify customers with relationship intentions through customers’ complaint behaviour. This study found that respondents’ relationship intentions influence both their expectations of cell phone network providers to take service recovery action, as well as their perceptions of service recovery. Respondents’ relationship intentions also positively influence their satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery. Based on these findings, it is recommended that cell phone network providers should always take corrective action following service failures (such as billing errors in this study), preferably by including at least an acknowledgement, apology, explanation and rectification of the problem as part of the service recovery efforts. Such a combination of service recovery efforts will increase the satisfaction, loyalty and retention of customers with higher relationship intentions. From the results it can be concluded that customers’ relationship intentions influence their behaviour with regard to propensity to complain, voicing, expectations of service recovery action, perceptions of service recovery, as well as satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery, when service failures occur. The proposed model developed from these findings results in the recommendation that cell phone network providers should view the service recovery process as an interrelated process influenced by customers’ relationship intentions. Cell phone network providers should note that customers with higher relationship intentions will attempt to salvage the relationship when service failures occur, which contributes to their satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery. This study contributes to establishing relationship intention theory by confirming the positive influence of customers’ relationship intentions on constructive behaviour when service failures occur. Moreover, practical recommendations concerning cell phone network providers’ response to billing errors are proposed. Future research should address the methodological limitations of this study by using probability sampling, and data should be collected from all South African provinces. Real-time service failures should be considered as opposed to the scenario-based approach used in this study. Important influences on customer behaviour when service failures occur, such as the perceived severity of service failure, service failure type, perceived justice and attributions, should also be considered with regard to their influence on the constructs of this study. Lastly, the antecedents of or differences with regard to customers’ relationship intentions based on personality, generational cohort or population group deserve further attention to establish relationship intention as study field within the domain of relationship marketing. / PhD (Marketing Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014.

Real-time information that informs transit riders about transit schedules, next bus or train arrivals, and service alerts, is becoming increasingly available, particularly through internet-enabled smartphone applications. However, the extent of communication technology usage amongst transit riders, specifically their access to mobile applications and alternative technologies that can provide real-time information, is largely unknown. Without this information, transit agencies are risking investing in an alternative technology that may not sufficiently supply real-time information to as many as possible riders. The purpose of this study is to identify the differences in individual technology accessibility and prioritize investing in real-time information application development that mirrors the unique characteristics of transit riders. This recognition and development will allow a wider availability of real-time information amongst transit riders. Paired with an investigation of cellular phone usage among transit riders and the general American population, an analysis of Saint Louis Metro’s Onboard Survey was performed. Cross tabulations and chi-squared tests were conducted to examine riders’ communication technology usage. Binary logit models were used to understand how, and whether, the ownership of smartphone applications is dependent on various demographic factors. These analyses identified specific demographic groups that would benefit from supplemental technology methods more conducive to their particular information accessibility. Results showed that communication technology usage has risen substantially in recent years but a portion of riders are still without access to smartphone applications. Specific demographic groups (e.g., riders over 40 years of age) were less likely to own smartphones, and these results indicate that computer-based websites and IVR are the best supplementary alternatives for those groups.

The licence is a regulatory tool that regulatory use to assist in their regulatory functions. Licences restricts operator’s’ functions, but also serve as a guideline of acceptable conduct because a licence is a legally binding document containing prescribed conditions that the licencee must meet. If the licencee does not comply with these prescribed obligations and requirements, the licence may be revoked or the licencee may be penalized (Bladwin & Cave 1999). However, in order fro the mechanism of issuing a licence to be an effective mechanism of regulation, the regulator needs to regulate effectively in order to ensure that the licencee’s performance is of acceptable standard. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between issuing a licence and the licencee’s performance; to investigate whether the performance indicators, as defined by ICASA, are adequate, and to develop appropriate performance indicators in order to evaluate Cell C’s performance. Issuing a licence to licencee does not guarantee that the performance of the licencee, such as Cell C, will be effective. Thus, the licencee needs to be evaluated. The case study design has been used for this project. The methodology includes in-dept interviews, documentary analysis, and implementation evaluation research. The report concludes that Cell C has met its licence obligations, that licencing is coupled with effective mechanisms to ensure that the licencee complies with performance requirements, but that, in order for the licencee to improve its performance, effective regulatory intervention is needed. / Communication Science / MA (International Communication)

Historically, progress in technology development has continually created new opportunities for criminal activities which, in turn, have triggered the need for the development of new security-sensitive systems. Organisations are now adopting mobile technologies for numerous applications to capitalise on the mobile revolution. They are now able to increase their operational efficiency as well as responsiveness and competitiveness and, most importantly, can now meet new, growing customers’ demands. However, although mobile technologies and applications present many new opportunities, they also present challenges. Threats to mobile phone applications are always on the rise and, therefore, compel organisations to invest money and time, among other technical controls, in an attempt to protect them from incurring losses. The computerisation of core activities (such as mobile banking in the banking industry, for example) has effectively exposed organisations to a host of complex fraud challenges that they have to deal with in addition to their core business of providing services to their end consumers. Fraudsters are able to use mobile devices to remotely access enterprise applications and subsequently perform fraudulent transactions. When this occurs, it is important to effectively investigate and manage the cause and findings, as well as to prevent any future similar attacks. Unfortunately, clients and consumers of these organisations are often ignorant of the risks to their assets and the consequences of the compromises that might occur. Organisations are therefore obliged, at least, to put in place measures that will not only minimise fraud but also be capable of detecting and preventing further similar incidents. The goal of this research was to develop a unified fraud management and digital forensic framework to improve the security of Information Technology (IT) processes and operations in organisations that make available mobile phone applications to their clients for business purposes. The research was motivated not only by the increasing reliance of organisations on mobile applications to service their customers but also by the fact that digital forensics and fraud management are often considered to be separate entities at an organisational level. This study proposes a unified approach to fraud management and digital forensic analysis to simultaneously manage and investigate fraud that occurs through the use of mobile phone applications. The unified Fraud Management and Digital Forensic (FMDF) framework is designed to (a) determine the suspicious degree of fraudulent transactions and (b) at the same time, to feed into a process that facilitates the investigation of incidents. A survey was conducted with subject matter experts in the banking environment. Data was generated through a participatory self-administered online questionnaire. Collected data was then presented, analysed and interpreted quantitatively and qualitatively. The study found that there was a general understanding of the common fraud management methodologies and approaches throughout the banking industry and the use thereof. However, while many of the respondents indicated that fraud detection was an integral part of their processes, they take a rather reactive approach when it comes to fraud management and digital forensics. Part of the reason for the reactive approach is that many investigations are conducted in silos, with no central knowledge repository where previous cases can be retrieved for comparative purposes. Therefore, confidentiality, integrity and availability of data are critical for continued business operations. To mitigate the pending risks, the study proposed a new way of thinking that combines both components of fraud management and digital forensics for an optimised approach to managing security in mobile applications. The research concluded that the unified FMDF approach was considered to be helpful and valuable to professionals who participated in the survey. Although the case study focused on the banking industry, the study appears to be instrumental in informing other types of organisations that make available the use of mobile applications for their clients in fraud risk awareness and risk management in general. / Computing / M. Sc. (Computing)

[pt] Na atualidade, o telefone celular é um dispositivo que se encontra presente em praticamente todas as situações do indivíduo, em uma condição de quase onipresença ou Ubiquitous Technology. Assim, em 2003, o número de usuários de aparelhos celulares ultrapassou o de telefonia fixa no Brasil. As trocas freqüentes por celulares com sistemas diferentes e sem estudos centrados no usuário vêm a dificultar o uso desses dispositivos. Um ponto do aparelho onde isso é mais sentido é na agenda de contato, uma das funções mais usadas pelos usuários desde os iniciantes até os mais experientes. Para aumentar o nível de usabilidade dos sistemas de Interação Humano-Computador, diversos autores apontam para a necessidade de aplicação de guidelines. Nesse sentido, este trabalho verificou, através da aplicação de diversas técnicas qualitativas e quantitativas, como entrevistas, focus-group, avaliações cooperativas e questionários, a usabilidade de aparelhos celulares pela ótica da presença de critérios ergonômicos de usabilidade. Tais pesquisas foram conduzidas com foco no uso das agendas de contatos dos telefones celulares. / [en] At present time, cell phone is a device found almost everywhere and in every situations of the people s life as a condition known as Ubiquitous Technology. In 2003, the total cell phone users overcame the total fixed line users in Brazil. The frequently cell phone changes with different systems and without user centered studies increase the cell phone use difficulties. An aspect more evident is with one of most used function, the phonebook. Many authors describe the need of guidelines to help the quality of this Human Computer Interaction. This research applied qualitative and quantitative techniques to verify the relation between cell phone usability and application of usability ergonomic criteria. The techniques applied were Interviews, Focus Group, Cooperative Evaluations and Questionnaires. These techniques were developed with focus on cell phones phonebook use.

Um estudo sobre as principais causas de quedas de chamadas em célula de rede móvel GSM é realizado por meio da análise estatística do tráfego. O objetivo é minimizar o efeito dessas causas, por meio da alteração de parâmetros de cobertura, como controle dinâmico de potência, borda de cobertura entre células e definição correta de células vizinhas. Para uma operadora celular reduzir a taxa de queda de chamadas (TQC), por intermédio da otimização de parâmetros de cobertura, alterados via comandos remotos, elimina os custos com alterações físicas, como altura das antenas e instalações de novas estações rádio base. Entretanto, alterações de parâmetros devem ser cuidadosamente realizadas, pois podem degradar outros indicadores e acarretar redução da área de cobertura e do tráfego. As duas principais causas da TQC são as quedas repentinas, ocasionadas por falha nos equipamentos envolvidos, ou comportamento dos assinantes e falha na execução do handover e as quedas devido ao nível baixo de sinal na interface aérea. Neste trabalho, com base em dados estatísticos do tráfego na rede GSM, foi escolhida uma célula operando em 900 MHz que apresentava alta TQC. Ajustando os parâmetros de cobertura, a TQC mensal passou de 8,6% para 1,6% e não houve degradação nos demais indicadores de desempenho. / A study about the main causes of dropped calls in mobile network cell GSM is made by means of statistical traffic analysis. The aim is to minimize the effect of these causes through coverage parameters changes, such as dynamical potency control, coverage border between cells, correct definition of neighboring cells. The reduction of dropped call rate by means of optimization of coverage parameters, changed via remote commands, eliminates costs with physical changes, such as the height of the antennas and installation of new radio base station. Parameter changes, however, must be carefully made because they can degrade other indicators and bring coverage area and traffic reduction. The two main causes of dropped call are sudden loss of connection, due to failure in the equipment used, behavior of subscribers and the failure in handover and drops due to the low signal strength in the air interface. In this study, based on statistical data of GSM traffic, a cell operating in 900 MHz that presented high dropped call rate was chosen. Adjusting the coverage parameters, the monthly dropped call rate went from 8.6% to 1.6% and there wasn\'t any degradation of any other performance indicators.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att bidra till att öka kunskapen om hur tekniska hjälpmedel kan användas för att underlätta vardagen för vuxna människor med ADHD.  För att åstadkomma detta görs en genomgång av vilka problem som kan föreligga vid ADHD och vilka strukturer och aktörer som finns i samhället för att erbjuda hjälp och stöd som vuxna med ADHD kan ha behov av. Därefter betraktas vilka strategier och metoder som kan vara användbara för att kompensera för de problem ADHD kan innebära och hur teknik, såväl specialtillverkade hjälpmedel som vanliga produkter, kan användas för att kompensera. En översikt görs av hur teknik kan utformas för att bli användbar, såväl generellt som mer specifikt rörande utformning av hjälpmedel. Detta åskådliggörs genom exempel från några svenska hjälpmedelsprojekt följt av en probleminventering där ett antal studiebesök och intervjuer har tjänat som en bakgrund för förståelse av den stora mängd strukturer, aktörer och hjälpmedel som är möjliga men emellanåt svårtillgängliga vägar till hjälp för vuxna med ADHD.   De som i slutänden kan avgöra vilken nytta ett hjälpmedel innebär är brukarna själva. Deras upplevelser och erfarenheter är en ovärderlig källa till kunskap. Under arbetets gång har frågeställningen preciserats till att lyda: "Hur kan vanliga mobiltelefoner användas som hjälpmedel för att underlätta vardagen för vuxna med ADHD?". För att besvara denna fråga har semistrukturerade riktade intervjuer genomförts med fyra kvinnor med ADHD som använder mobiltelefonen som hjälpmedel i sin vardag. Intervjuerna har transkriberats och kategoriserats för att identifiera hur mobiltelefoner används, vad som fungerar bra och mindre bra och vad kan göra att mobiltelefonen upplevs som ett fungerande hjälpmedel.   Resultaten från bearbetning och analys av intervjuerna sammanställs i kapitlet sammanfattande analys i avsnitt med användbara funktioner, användbara egenskaper och perspektiv på stödbehov och hjälparroll. I diskussionskapitlet föreslås sedan vidare användning av resultaten i avsnitten teoretiska implikationer och praktiska implikationer. Min förhoppning är att dessa avsnitt tillsammans med de listor och tumregler som presenterats i den teoretiska referensramen skall kunna vara användbara för att identifiera behov och möjliga lösningar som kan vara värdefulla att pröva i det enskilda fallet.   En person kan behöva stöd för att ta till vara de möjligheter mobiltelefonen erbjuder som hjälpmedel. Hjälpen kan behövas i något eller alla steg från problemidentifiering och införskaffande till införande, fortlöpande uppföljning och utvärdering av hjälpmedelsanvändningen. Stödet kan behöva vara av så väl strukturell och habiliterande art som av teknisk natur för att hjälpmedelsanvändningen skall bli så framgångsrik som är möjligt. Siktet bör vara mot vad som kan innebära kvalitet, mervärde och avlastning för individen i dennes liv, inte vad som är ADHD-symptom och hur dessa skall kompenseras.   Vuxna med ADHD är en mycket heterogen grupp och de resultat som presenteras i uppsatsen är att betrakta som en utgångspunkt för vidare funderingar och prövning snarare än som färdiga lösningar som passar alla med ADHD.

This is a B.Sc. thesis within the Computer Science programme at the Mid Sweden University. The purpose of this project has been to investigate the possibility of using image based surveillance in smart applications on the Internet-of-Things. The goals involved investigating relevant technologies and designing, implementing and evaluating an application that can perform image recognition. A number of image recognition techniques have been investigated and the use of color histograms has been chosen for its simplicity and low resource requirement. The main source of study material has been the Internet. The solution has been developed in the Java programming language, for use on the Android operating system and using the MediaSense platform for communication. It consists of a camera application that produces image data and a monitor application that performs image recognition and handles user interaction. To evaluate the solution a number of tests have been performed and its pros and cons have been identified. The results show that the solution can differentiate between simple colored stick figures in a controlled environment. Variables such as lighting and the background are significant. The application can reliably send images from the camera to the monitor at a rate of one image every four seconds. The possibility of using streaming video instead of images has been investigated but found to be difficult under the given circumstances. It has been concluded that while the solution cannot differentiate between actual people it has shown that image based surveillance is possible on the IoT and the goals of this project have been satisfied. The results were expected and hold little newsworthiness. Suggested future work involves improvements to the MediaSense platform and infrastructure for processing and storing data. / MediaSense

This thesis examines the relationship between work/life balance and Smartphones (Blackberry, iPhone, Android etc.) Academic research has areas where not much research has been done previously including the qualitative research on work/life balance, positive crossover of work/life balance, newness of Smartphone technology, and consequences of constant connectivity. This study hopes to eliminate some of the gaps in these areas of research and proposes two research questions:  So what does owning a Smartphone mean for work life and home life?  Most importantly can this phone help people towards or assist with the balance they are so looking for or do the phones not impact this balance and just assist in the work life and home life realms separately? A qualitative approach using constructionist and interpretivist views were used to conduct the research. Empirical material was collected during phone interviews with participants in the USA, while supporting material was gathered from conference papers, academic articles, websites, and textbooks. There are two major themes within this paper, work/life balance and Smartphone technology. For work/life balance a common understanding was reached that work and personal life should be kept happy but that doesn’t mean equal.  Also discussed is research about people that put up boundaries in their lives to try and separate things, one group of people likes to have work and personal separate but one group likes them combined.  Research also presents that there are consequences for setting up boundaries but that having the ability to choose where these boundaries are makes for a much happier situation.  On the technology side of research there is support for these devices being used to manage people’s different selves through communication from being more connected to people to feeling left out when the technology is not there. Also mentioned is how people adapt the devices to fit new and unique situations that the devices may not have been intended to be used for.

Nowadays, GPS Mobile has already become important part of our life. GPS is widely used for citizen and military. For military, they could use GPS to navigate the missile or space flight. For citizen, people use GPS, especially GPS Mobile, to navigate car. GPS also helps people to find their way to home. GPS are widely use on, police, company manage system, agriculture and so on. GPS Mobile is the most familiar device for all of us to use. To combine use GPS Mobile and Google Map, people can get their currently location and shortcut to their destination. Also, we can get information from the Google map, like shopping place, bus station and so on. The main purpose of our project is to help people reach this aim. By using our software, you can find your location on the Google map. When you travel abroad, you can have your own language map on the GPS mobile, easily and quickly. That’s really convenience. The most wonderful part, you can play game with your friend by using our software. What you need to do, it is just send a message to anyone you care about and then you can get their location and show it on the map. So, even it is a far distance between you and your friend. You can have fun together. That is our software Findyourfriendlocation.