Advances in mobile phone app development and their relevance for social entrepreneurs The WritePass Journal

Advances in mobile phone app development and their relevance for social entrepreneurs Abstract Advances in mobile phone app development and their relevance for social entrepreneurs ).   Mobile technologies offer hold great prospect in providing the poor with accessibility to public and private services. Although a large number of these subscribers use mobile phones mainly for voice and texting purposes, social entrepreneurs can use its platform to develop a wide range of applications for delivering a broad set of services. Social entrepreneurs can collaborate with a wide range of service providers to launch such applications. This study looks at the prospects of using mobile phone platforms and applications for social entrepreneurship. It will present a literature review which will elaborate the concept of social entrepreneurship and provide examples of various mobile phone applications currently being used for social entrepreneurship. Using a case study approach, this study will then assess a social entrepreneurship initiative in Kenya named ‘M-PESA’. The findings this study will analyze the relevance of mobile technologies in creating social va lue. It will be followed by the analysis of the findings and some recommendations. Literature Review Social entrepreneurs are those that act as â€Å"change agents in the social sectors by adopting and working towards a mission that creates and sustain social not private value, by identifying new opportunities to serve the mission, by involving themselves completely in the process of continuous innovation, adaption and learning, by exhibiting a bold behaviour by not being limited to the current available resources and showing a great sense of responsibility and accountability for the set outcomes and goals†Ã‚   (Dees, 1998). Due to the widespread prevalence of mobile technologies among the mass population in both developed and developing societies, it can play a critical role in assisting social entrepreneurs in confirming to the aforementioned characteristics. Multidisciplinary research on using mobile applications for social entrepreneurship and its impact in delivering benefit to the mass population is at an emerging stage (Karippacheril, et al. 2013). It highlights the po tential of using mobile technologies and application â€Å"for social and economic empowerment, ethnographic, anthropological and telecommunications aspects†. Academic literature mobile phone application largely focuses upon the acceptance, use and impact of mobile services (Andonova, 2006; Donner, 2008; Garbacz Thompson, 2007; Minges, 1999). Numerous studies have shown that mobile phone applications can significantly affect the economic and social life of people living at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP). For instance, a five- year study in India proves that mobile phone application can be used to increase the efficiencies of market, reduce price dispersion and minimize price fluctuations among fishermen (Abraham, 2008; Jensen, 2007). Likewise, another study shows that mobile phone coverage was linked with a 10% increase in the farmer’s market participation rate in Uganda. The same effect was greater for the farmer living in isolated communities away from district centres (Muto Yamano, 2009). Similarly, mobile phones usage in Niger by grain traders reduced its price dispersion by 10% (Aker, 2008). Similar results were observed for the over farming households in rural Tanzania (Souter, McKemey, Scott, 2005). Mobile phones are particularly important in enhancing the lives of rural poor and generally for impr oving the lives of masses because it breaks down the two primary elements of the digital divide; poverty and isolation (Navas Sabater, Dymond, Juntunen, 2002). Pertaining to the platform theory, mobile phones provide platforms (both feature and smart phones) are vital for local providers, developers and social entrepreneurs in creating services that can be made available to a wide population in a trouble-free and affordable way. The goal of social entrepreneurs is to assess how these application platforms can be used in an innovative way to bridge access to the service gap for mass population. Research Question and Method This paper focuses on the advances in mobile phone application development and their relevance for social entrepreneurs. It research questions are: Are the advances in mobile phone platform/applications relevant for social entrepreneurs? How can mobile application be used to by social entrepreneurs to create and sustain a social value? How effective are mobile phone platform/applications in enabling the identification of new opportunities and continuous innovation in serving the social objective? This study assesses how mobile phone platforms and applications are been used by social entrepreneurs to bridge the access to the services gap especially for the communities living at the base of the economic pyramid. This study aims to collect and analyze information regarding M-PESA initiative in Kenya to achieve its research goal. The research can opt for either of the two popular research approaches for this purpose. If the researcher wishes to get a broad and representative data, he/she can opt for a survey approach; while for getting in-depth understanding of a particular situation, case study approach is most suitable (Fisher, 2004). Fisher contends that although â€Å"case studies inevitably lose their representativeness, the power of case study just lies in its capacity to provide insights and resonance for the reader, and it is not true to claim that case studies lack generalisability† (Fisher, 2004, p52). Moreover, generalisability of case studies is deemed more valuable and insightful when it is about organizational processes and business strategies (Tony, 1994 cited in Fisher, 2004). Indeed case studies can be used as experiments to test a theory and if a case study shows a the ory to be untrue, the rejection of the theory can be generalized (Yin, 1994). Considering the scope and purpose of this essay, which is essentially focused on a particular application/platform or business situation, case study method is deemed as most appropriate. Analysis and Results M-PESA is a social entrepreneurial initiative which provides mobile money transfer service. It was launched in Kenya in 2007. Plyler et al, (2010) describe M-PESA as â€Å"an agent-assisted, mobile phone-based, person-to-person payment and money transfer system, was launched in Kenya on March 6, 2007M-PESA an agent-assisted, mobile phone-based, person-to-person payment and money transfer system†. Its social objective is to facilitate financial transactions for those who do not possess a bank account in Kenya. M-PESA allows users to store money on their mobile phones in an e-account and deposit or withdraw money in the form of hard currency at one of M-PESA’s numerous agent locations (Plyler et al, 2010). It does not pay interest on deposits, nor does it make loans (GSMA, 2010). According to Safaricom, the company behind this initiative, there are as many as 9.7 million 30-day active customers currently registered with the company in Kenya (Levin, 2012). Overall, company has 15 million Kenyan registered. M-PESA service facilitates an incredible $1.4 billion USD in payment ever month (Leishman, 2012). M-PESA Technology M-PESA is delivered through a Sim Toolkit (STK) technology which is part of the GSM standard and can work on almost every mobile phone available in the market. It is vital that this service is based on STK technology as advance applications requiring an operating system platform available in smartphones would render this service ineffective due to the inaccessibility of smartphone technology to the wide Kenyan population. With STK, this application can be stored on a SIM card which can be accessed through a phone’s menu. With this, the application is highly secured unlike other internet enabled applications. It does not require SIM card to be swapped (GSMA, 2009). M-PESA service accepts cash deposits from customers having a Safaricom SIM card and resgistred with M-PESA as a user. Resgistration process is simple as it only requires any official identity document such as national ID card or a passport. In exchange for the cash deposit, the service offers a commodity called ‘e-float’, which is measured in the same unit as money and held under the account of the depositor. These e-floats can be transferred to another user, who can redeem it in cash from any M-PESA service agent. The withdrawals are charged by the company at 40 US cents flat rate. Due to the widespread prevalence of this service, e-floats are widely used as an alternative to cash payments in Kenya (Jack and Suri, 2010). The success of this service has led to the emergence of several similar services in Tanzania, Zambia (GSMA, 2009) among various other developing countries. Research indicates that M-PESA has had an overwhelming impact â€Å"in reducing the cost, time and security issues of sending money to family members, receiving payments and improving efficiency for small businesses in the informal sector† (Reid, 2012). Over the years, the ease of money transactions facilitated by M-PESA has had a significant positive impact upon: food security; by impacting upon the local agricultural production, increasing the purchasing power of consumer’s, food availability water security; by impacting upon agricultural productivity and business expansion overall community; in terms of local economic expansion, security, capital accumulation and business environment (see GSMA, 2010 for details) The provision of M-PESA service was enabled by the mobile phone technology platform and its success was partly due to the prevailing widespread use of the mobile phones in Kenya. It is vital that this service is based on STK technology as advance applications requiring an operating system platform available in smart phone would render this service ineffective due to the inaccessibility of smart phone technology to the wide Kenyan population. In context of the platform theory, the enablement of this social entrepreneurship through the STK technology confirms the relevance of mobile phone applications as a platform in creating innovative solutions for the society. Discussion and Implications Referring back to the research questions, the findings of this study confirm the significant relevance of mobile phone platforms and application for social entrepreneurship. The impact of M-PESA upon the Kenyan rural communities and people living at the base of economic pyramid affirms this contention. Moreover, the usage of this application by 15 million people, and the amount of economic activity being performed over it shows that this mode of service is reliable and creates sustainable social value for the users. The rise of such applications in various other developing countries also affirms the contention that mobile application enables the identification of new opportunities and continuous innovation in serving the social objective. It should be noted that the success story of M-PESA does not necessarily imply that every other social entrepreneurial initiative using mobile phone application will be as successful as this. This study is limited in its scope in that it does not detail the particular factors that contributed towards the success of this social entrepreneur initiative. Conclusion and Recommendations Mobile phone application offers an effective means of creating social value through innovative and sustainable solutions and services to people living at the base of economic pyramid. The low-cost of handsets and increasing penetration of mobile phone networks across the globe provides millions of people who do not have regular access to computer based information technologies or fixed-line telephones to communicate and transfer data through mobile phone applications. M-PESA is an exemplary social entrepreneurial initiative which uses mobile phone application platform to enable more than 15 million users in Kenya to transfer money electronically without having a bank account.   The ease of financial transactions has triggered numerous social and economical benefits to poor masses. Based on the finding of this research, this study proposed several recommendations for making a social entrepreneurial initiative successful through the use of mobile application. These are: A social entrepreneur planning to launch a mobile application service should build a clear proposition for potential users. For instance, in the case of M-PESA, there was a well established urban-rural remittance corridor in Kenya which was further enhanced by Safaricom through this mobile application A social entrepreneur should carefully consider the unique country context in creating a tailored mobile application solution for potential users. M-PESA application was developed using STK technology considering the demographics of the population. The service also integrated with the existing remittance stream (service agents) which led to its widespread acceptance. References Abraham,R. (2008). Mobile phones and economic development: Evidence from the fishing industry in India. Information Technologies and International Development, 4(1), 5–17. Andonova, V. (2006).Mobile phones, the Internet and the institutional environment Telecommunications Policy, 30(1), 29–45. Bruin, A. and Dupuis, A (2003). Entrepreneurship:  New Perspectives in a Global Age. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Dees, J. G., Emerson, J. Economy, P. (2001) Enterprising Non-profits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs. New York: Wiley Sons, Inc. Donner, J. (2008). Research approaches to mobile use in the developing world: A review of the literature. The Information Society, 24(3), 140–159. Fisher, C. (2004), Researching and Writing a Dissertation – For Business Students, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Garbacz,C.,Thompson,H.G.,Jr.(2007).Demand for telecommunication services in developing countries. Telecommunications Policy, 31(5), 276–289. GSMA. (2009) Mobile Money for the Unbanked. Annual Report 2009 GSMA. (2010) Mobile Money for the Unbanked. What Makes a Successful Mobile Money Implementation? Learnings from M-PESA in Kenya and Tanzania Jack. W. And Suri, T. (2010) The  Economics  of  M†PESA. Available from gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/economics_MPESA.pdf (cited on 4th, April, 2013) Jensen,R.(2007).Thedigitalprovide:Information(technology),marketperformance,andwelfareintheSouthIndianfisheriessector. Quarterly Journalof Economics, 122(3), 879–924. Minges, M.(1999).Mobile cellular communications in the Southern African region. Telecommunications Policy, 23(7), 585–593. Navas-Sabater, J., Dymond, A., Juntunen, N. (2002). Telecommunications and information services for the poor: Towards universal access. World Bank discussion paper no. 432. Available from  Ã‚   /http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2002/05/03/000094946_ 02041804225061/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdfS. Plyler, M., Hass. S., and Nagarajan, G. (2010) Community-Level Economic Effects of M-PESA in Kenya: Initial Findings. Financial Service Assessment. Available from gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Community-Level-Economic-Effects-of-M-PESA-in-Kenya.pdf (cited on 4th March, 2013) Souter, D., McKemey, K., Scott, N. (2005). The economic impact of telecommunications on rural livelihoods and poverty reduction. DFID. Yin, R.K. (1994), Case Study Research – Design and Method, 2nd ed., Sage, Newbury Park, CA.

Write a tight, spare story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Write a tight, spare story - Essay Example Henry was in his office when Alice, boss’s wife came into his room, she dressed to kill in a red tightly fitted dress. She stood there in front of his desk staring right into Henry’s eyes. Henry inhaled. He clearly knew what the woman was all after and the thought of it terrified him to his bones. He lit a cigarette to try and ease the tension that had started to build up. A chemical smolder build in his lungs, somewhat stinging the raw flesh of his body, through his throat to his nose making his eyes water. Exhaling into the dark room Alice was still there standing plotting on how to trick this man into her fantasy. After a while they chanted about all sorts of things and the relationship between them started to blossom gradually. That day was the beginning of their clandestine relationship. They began to meet often for dinner and would occasionally spend the night at restaurants without the knowledge of anyone who knew them. However, as time went by, the husband, the boss, began suspecting the two after observing some of the behaviors the two showed towards each other. He decided to hire a private investigator to look into the matter well. It was a fateful evening when Henry and Alice embarked on their affairs as usual in one of the most secluded hotels in town near the beach. The sky was calm and so was the breeze. The two were enjoying their lustful acts when the boss emerged all of a sudden in the hotel room they were! The two were perplexed and petrified beyond words; the bossed looked at them disappointed and then left without uttering a word. The following morning Henry was sacked and embarked on a journey back to London wondering where to

Attila the Hun Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Attila the Hun - Term Paper Example Very little is known about Attila’s childhood except that, at the young age of twelve, he was sent to the Roman Court as a child hostage (Matyszak 14). A child of the Romans was sent to the Huns in Attila’s place. When he was twenty-seven years old, Attila’s uncle, Rugila, died and left Attila and Attila’s brother, Breda, the Empire of the Huns. Prior to Rugila’s death, to prevent the Huns from invading, Rugila made it a requirement of the Romans to annually pay the Huns money. When Attila and Breda took over the empire after Rugila’s death, the Romans ceased paying the money, prompting Attila to invade the Eastern Roman Empire. Attila’s fierceness motivated the Romans to never miss a payment again, though they had to start paying double the original amount. After Attila’s success in making it clear to the Romans that he was the man in charge, he then decided that the same should also apply to his brother. Tired of sharing his rule, Attila and his allies murder Breda. With nobody standing in his way of being the emperor, Attila had no problem taking complete charge of his empire and the surrounding areas. To make his strength known among others, Attila raided the Eastern Roman Empire once again, in 447 AD and conquered the Thermopylae. After his success, Theodosius II, the ruler of the Roman Empire, resigned the peace treaty, though now Attila was expecting him to pay four times the original amount to prevent being invaded again. Attila had a winning streak, one that was successful more out of evilness and threat than actual luck, but it was not meant to last. Though he instilled his terror throughout the hearts of everyone who knew him, he still met his downfall in 450 AD during a war against the Western Roman Empire. Earlier that year, Attila had received a letter from Princess Honoria of the Western Roman Empire asking for his hand in marriage so that she could escape an unwanted impending marriage. Attila declared war against

Science And God In Frankenstein

Science And God In Frankenstein What is science? In the nineteenth century many believed it was attempting to play God. During this era new scientific discoveries in Europe were immense, and controversy over them was extreme. Not only did this new movement challenge the principles of Christianity but the belief in God. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein through Victor Frankensteins perilous journey shows the destruction behind mans thirst for scientific knowledge and the ethical reasons as to why man should not play God (cite). Victor Frankenstein attempts to go beyond human bounds and undertake in the greatest mistake of his life. Victors experiment created in the name of science holds the key to which Victor believes is his future success (cite). The Accomplishment of his toils is described as a wretched male figure formed from the corpses of others (Frankenstein, 34). Through his efforts, Frankenstein brings this figure to life, and his desire to succeed and discover impel him to play God. It was the secrets of heaven and earth that [he] desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied [him] (22) (cite.) However, Frankenstein is so deeply captivated with bringing about life that he fails to recognize the moral affects the creature will have on society, and most importantly that there could possibly be an explanation we cant create life unnaturally or be immortal. After the completion of his experiment, Frankens tein begins to recognize some of the consequences when he states, how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pain and care I had endeavoured to form?(34) (cite). Is it not irresponsible and foolish to create life from death, while what is alive is not fully comprehended? When Frankenstein saw his creation and admitted his dissatisfaction, some may ask why he would create such a monster knowing it would definitely not fit into society. The clear explanation would be he fears his own death, thus trying to obtain the knowledge of life to prevent it. Frankensteins scientific pursuit is for his selfish means, not for the betterment of society. Frankenstein remarks by saying, The labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turning to the solid advantage of mankind (34). The novel goes on to prove this could be no farther from the truth. By simply addressing the issue that some scientists may be erroneously directed, Frankenstein shows he is considering the ulterior motives of his plans. He is recognizing that his motives may not be for the advantage of mankind, and that this would be simply a bi-product of his creation. Frankenstein also fails to realize what society would think of his creature and how the creature would be affected by the general public. The creature is sent out into the world with the temperament of man, but entirely lacking the guidance and nurturing that all creatures need. This role playing of God is not what man was intended for, and children are made of a sperm and egg, not the hands of man. Who could handle the responsibility of controlling life? Only a Divine Power could control such an intricate process, and is a responsibility no person could endure. Victor takes many simple things for granted in his life, which are symbolized through the monster. I am alone and miserable: man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me (129). All the monster requests is someone to share his life with, to live happily, and be loved; and through these pleasures the monster witnesses happiness. Victors scientific pursuit interferes with his life and ruins his happiness. He loses the desire for companionship because of his endeavors, and though Elizabeth longs for his return, he is too engaged in his work. Frankenstein has an opportunity to be happy, but the monster is never given the chance. This presents Shelleys argument that when you allow things such as science to get in the way of your true needs, such as love, you will not live a life worth living. Frankenstein and his monster are both miserable because they both live their life without love. He solved the most incomprehensible question, he reached the peak of scientific understanding, he accomplished his goals, yet he is miserable. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart (42). Shelley purposely lets Frankenstein accomplish his goal, but she makes a point that if the scientific knowledge of life cant bring happiness then no scientific knowledge can. Victor is so infatuated with completing his task and achieving fame that he fails to realize the lasting affects or consequences of his breakthrough. Shelley makes a valid argument that in many ways, we would all be better off without complex scientific thought: Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow (38). Victor advises Walton by declaring, Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries (200). This passage evidently discusses Victors selfishness in fulfilling his objective. Shelley argues that scientists who are only seeking fame and fortune do not consider the long term effects and will be considered notorious.

Essay --

According to the Victim oriented multi-disciplinary responses to statutory rape training guide, â€Å"Law enforcement often assigns statutory rape cases a much lower priority than incest and forcible rape cases with young children. There is a belief among criminal justice officials that investigation and arrest are a waste of time because prosecutors will not prosecute except in most egregious cases† (Elstein & Smith, 1998). Statutory rape laws should be just as much of a priority as child abuse and forcible rape. Throwing away statutory rape cases is not effective regardless of how hard it is to prosecute. A minor does not know what is best for him or her it should not matter whether or not the victim is willing to testify. If proof that a minor is indeed involved in a cases where his or her partner is considered an adult by law then that person should be convicted. It is hard to prosecute statutory rape cases because most of the ‘victims’ are not willing to test ify against their partners. The minors involved in the cases are usually in the relationship because they want to be not becaus...

Nancy Werlin Report Essay

She currently resides near Boston, Massachusetts. She received a Bachelors degree in English from Yale University. She was formerly a software writer for various companies. She is also the author of Are You Alone on Purpose? in 1994, The Killer’s Cousin in 1998, Locked Inside in 2000, and Black Mirror in 2001. She was the recipient of many awards including the Publishers Weekly Flying Start award, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and the Edgar Award. Her favorite reading matter included the â€Å"Nancy Drew† and â€Å"Cherry Ames† series, Ray Bradbury’s science fiction, historical novels of all sorts, and classics such as Little Women, Jane Eyre, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. Werlin is the youngest of three daughters. She grew up with an autistic sibling. Her parents had a very laid back way of parenting. Werlin had a complicated family in her childhood years. Double Helix is about 18-year old Eli Samuels, who works for a famous molecular biologist named Dr. Quincy Wyatt. There is a mysterious connection between Dr. Wyatt and Eli’s parents, and Eli knows that the connection has something to do with his mother, who has Huntington’s Disease. Because of the connection between Dr. Wyatt and the Samuels family, Eli’s father is strongly against Eli working there. The job is perfect, and the wages are great, but Eli can’t help but notice that Dr. Wyatt seems to be a little too interested in Eli. Later on, as Eli continues to work in the lab, he discovers with the help of Kayla Matheson, Dr. Wyatt’s supposed â€Å"niece,† that he and Kayla are the product of a highly unethical genetic experiments All the characters in the book had some moral and ethical flaws, but to me Dr. Wyatt has the least morals and ethics. He used Ava’s eggs to experiment with and that is extremely bad ethics. I think Eli had the most ethics, because he stood in there for Kayla as a brother even though he’d just learned of his own beginnings and even though they were virtually strangers. Both Kayla and Eli also share some of the characteristic such as they are both gifted athletes, extremely intelligent, and physically attractive. I think they share these same qualities because of two reason. The first is that they both have the same mother. The second is that they were genetically experimented on so what was stopping them from putting those genes in their DNA. I do not think that human life should be created in a laboratory. I think that there are numerous things that could go wrong in an experiment like that. I think that humans will eventually start cloning themselves. I think that this will happen in the not so distant future also. I think that genetic manipulation is ethical when you are trying to better the human race. I however do not think it is ethical for you to genetically manipulate something for personal gain. I enjoyed this book. At first I wasn’t too sure what to think of it because it seemed to be pure science fiction. It surprised me and turned out to be a decent book.

The Struggles of Immigant Woman Searching for Employment...

Based on the preliminary research I conducted, I have been able to identify two key topic areas that are of interest to me and these include: immigrant women attaining jobs in Ontario and violence experienced by women in Canada. In regard to immigrant women attaining jobs, there are significantly higher unemployment rates and lower wages that they are faced with, in comparison to other immigrant men and Canadian-born men and women. The debate circulating around this issue seeks to answer whether gender, immigrant class, age, ethnicity and sexuality all play a role in an immigrant woman’s ability to be employed (TIEDI, 2010, p.1). Some key questions that have arisen focus on workplace policies and programs that create further disparity†¦show more content†¦It is evident that transhistorical approaches have reduced the complexity of this issue and the positions of these women seek to take a macro-level approach in order to identify the factors that lead up to violent ac ts against girls and women. d) From the preliminary research I conducted on the two topics, I will specifically focus on immigrant women and girls attaining jobs in Ontario and the many obstacles they encounter due to sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, class and age. Since this is such a broad topic, I will focus on specific areas that analyze how cultural norms/traditions/stereotypes and government and workplace gendered policies/regulations all impact women and girls’ abilities to be employed. I will seek to answer questions that explain what factors lead up to immigrant women ending up in these circumstances, why it occurs so frequently and what possible solutions are available to bring about change. As identified by Papp (2010), a key issue of concern is that many immigrant women of South Asian communities, who are sponsored by their husbands to reside in Canada, are not adequately educated about their rights and freedoms. The lack of information can lead to women continuing with their practices of cultural norms from their home country, which often involves being forced