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Newsletter 31st August 2005
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User Centred Design of Financial Services Project
News Edition 07, August 31, 2005 We are about to embark upon a project which will explore the extent of Mobile Commerce (mCommerce) activity in Australia, and the issues relating to its adoption. At this early stage, the first challenge we have encountered is defining the concept. The literature reveals dichotomous views; some see mCommerce as an extension of eCommerce, while others consider it to be a related, but unique concept. Similarly, the terms mCommerce and mobile Internet are often used interchangeably, however the latter term merely represents an mCommerce channel; wireless and mCommerce applications are not Internet-dependent. A definition arising from the EU describes mCommerce as: “…the use of a wireless terminal, such as a cellular telephone or personal digital assistant (PDA), and a network to access information and conduct transactions that result in the transfer of value in exchange for information, services or goods”. Other definitions of mCommerce restrict the concept to transactions with a monetary value, or at the other end of the spectrum generalise the term to services that include communication, information, transaction and entertainment. It is this wider viewpoint that interests us, because it takes us beyond the realms of commerce in its traditional sense. We can look at the mobile economy as growing in three distinct, but inter-related areas; consumer transactions (including sales of goods and services, most commonly associated with mCommerce), enterprise solutions (e.g. supply chain solutions or logistics applications), and other services to individuals and organisations (e.g. m-banking). Viewed in this manner it could be argued that mCommerce itself is only a minor aspect of the wireless technology landscape. In the coming months we will be further exploring these conceptual issues and we would welcome your views on this subject. The next stage of the project will utilise a case study approach to explore both ‘how’ and ‘why’ wireless technologies and applications are being adopted across both the private and public sectors, and the benefits and challenges associated with them. We will also be considering whether the regulatory framework for mCommerce is sufficient, or whether it requires new regulation and protocols. We look forward to sharing our findings with you along our journey. Carmen Gould ********************************************************************************* Alice, 62, works part time. She is married and they have an annual household income of between $50,000 and $75,000. She and her husband both use the Internet. She started using the Internet five years ago. The best bit according to her is to be able to get to the catalogue of the local library. She uses the email for work and some personal communication. Now and again she wonders whether she would bother with the Internet when she stopped working. At one level she abhors the Internet, particularly the lack of privacy. Nevertheless she finds herself being enthralled by the Internet. She says she goes to the Internet to check work email and before she knows it she is checking something else on Google or following up the recipes for a program she saw on TV. But she uses the Internet with care. Anytime she feels uneasy about where she is, or about the kind of personal information the site wants, she withdraws. She doesn’t use Internet banking and also seldom uses telephone banking. Alice thinks they have used telephone banking once when the credit card payment was due, but were uncomfortable about it. Her husband too feels adamant about not using Internet banking. She at times gives her credit card details over the phone to buy something or sends them off by mail. But in cases like that, her husband sends a cheque. Alice and her husband talk money all the time with each other. The impending retirement is on their mind, but they would not know about their daughters’ finances and how they manage their household money. They don’t speak of money with their friends except one. Alice does not appear to have any difficulty with using electronic money. Her pay and her husband’s pay now comes by direct credit. She began using the credit card four years after they first came in. At that time they cut them up but then had to travel and began using the credit card. She now uses it whenever she can because of the Fly Buys and has begun to buy food on it too. Alice began to use EFTPOS perhaps in 1989 because one day she found that her daughter had taken the money out of her wallet the day before and had not replaced it, so she was at the front of the queue with a trolley full of goods and no money in her wallet. The teller at the counter showed her how to use EFTPOS. She was totally comfortable with it and used it to take out cash. Now that Alice uses the credit card, every Thursday she has to ask her husband for household money for the week. She doesn’t like that but doesn’t want to go to the ATM to withdraw it from their joint account. Alice thinks it would have to be some similar trigger which would make her use the Internet for banking, but then says, no, her husband would never use it. Fly Buys with Internet banking – she would consider it. However her husband has bought air tickets online, most likely because they were cheaper. She is coming more and more to the situation where you are disadvantaged if you don’t do some interactions online, and gives the example of the baby bonus – she was told if it’s an online application you will get it in a few days, but if mailed it would take six months. She says she does not use the Internet because she is inherently conservative. The old ways are working for her and she doesn’t want to lose the personal touch. But at present it is the cash/withdrawal slip at the bank to pay the credit card which takes her to the branch once a month, and everytime the teller would say “Do you know you can do this online”. Alice talked a fair bit about privacy, seeing the Internet as intrusive and did not want her personal details to be broadcast. However there was no sustained discussion of the different concepts in the project. She appeared to trust the banks over credit card transactions but she was “suspicious” about the Internet. Alice talked a lot more about her perception of the Internet as the interviewer was leaving and the tape recorder was off. Lack of security, lack of privacy of the Internet was responsible for them not using the Internet for banking. She did not see that there was anything the banks could do which would make them think the Internet was secure. ********************************************************************************* * International Conference on Mobile Business, 26-27 June 2006,
Copenhagen, Denmark *Participatory Design Conference, 31 July - 5 August 2006, Trento, Italy Participatory design (PD) is a diverse collection of principles
and practices aimed at making technologies and social institutions
more responsive to human needs. A central tenet of PD is the direct
involvement of people in the co-design of the systems they use.
The theme of the PD Conference 2006, is 'Expanding Boundaries in
Design'. Deadline for submissions is January 16, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *13th International Product Development Management Conference, 11-13 June 2006, Milan, Italy The 13th International Product Development Management Conference, organized by the EIASM (European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management), will take place in Milan, Italy. The conference is a unique opportunity for researchers who study management of product innovation to present their work and exchange views. Deadline for submission of extended abstracts is October 31, 2005. http://www.eiasm.org/frontoffice/event_announcement.asp?event_id=411 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Wireless Applications in Australia Continuing on from our editorial on mCommerce, we present examples of wireless applications across different sectors, from around Australia. Banking Manufacturing & Resources Retail and Wholesale Telecommunications and Media Logistics, Transport and Utilities Education Healthcare Government and Defence Other ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crackdown on hackers in Brazil Phishers move to counteract bank security programmes Nearly half of US adults have been phished (5% have been a victim) ********************************************************************************* * European Journal of Information Systems - Special Issue on Mobile User Behaviour The EJIS are calling upon IS researchers to develop new models
that either advance new theory in the area of mobile user behaviour,
or build upon existing behavioural models in IS, relating to the
ways in which the mobility of the users and their devices violates
some of the assumptions traditionally associated with the use of
information Hans van der Heijden, University of Surrey, h.vanderheijden@surrey.ac.uk |