Lakshmi Manasa Kalanadhabhatta

Bio: Lakshmi Manasa Kalanadhabhatta is an academic researcher from Shiv Nadar University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Peer group & Social group. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 4 publications receiving 19 citations.

Moving Beyond Market Research: Demystifying Smartphone User Behavior in India

Abstract: Large-scale mobile data studies can reveal valuable insights into user behavior, which in turn can assist system designers to create better user experiences. After a careful review of existing mobile data literature, we found that there have been no large-scale studies to understand smartphone usage behavior in India -- the second-largest and fastest growing smartphone market in the world. With the goal of understanding various facets of smartphone usage in India, we conducted a mixed-method longitudinal data collection study through an Android app released on Google Play. Our app was installed by 215 users, and logged 11.9 million data points from them over a period of 8 months. We analyzed this rich dataset along the lines of four broad facets of smartphone behavior -- how users use different apps, interact with notihcations, react to different contexts, and charge their smartphones -- to paint a holistic picture of smartphone usage behavior of Indian users. This quantitative analysis was complemented by a survey with 55 users and semi-structured interviews with 26 users to deeply understand their smartphone usage behavior. While our first-of-its-kind study uncovered many interesting facts about Indian smartphone users, we also found striking differences in usage behavior compared to past studies in other geographical contexts. We observed that Indian users spend significant time with their smartphones after midnight, continuously check notifications without attending to them and are extremely conscious about their smartphones’ battery. Perhaps the most dramatic finding is the nature of mobile consumerism of Indian users as shown by our results. Taken together, these and the rest of our findings demonstrate the unique characteristics that are shaping the smartphone usage behavior of Indian users.

Smartphone-based Qualitative Analyses of Social Activities During Family Time

Abstract: With the evolution of nuclear families and diverse career options, families as social groups are spending lesser time together than in the past decades. In this work, we study both quantitative as well as qualitative aspects of time spent with family members through a smartphone-based pervasive study on a sample of 12 families over 14 days. Further, we also examine the perception of 78 millennials on what they feel about, and expect from, the time they spend with their families, however long it may be. We aim to identify the key parameters that shape family life in this day and age, along with examining the participation of individuals of various roles within the family in activities such as conversations, workout sessions, eating together and other social interactions. Among all activities detected to be performed by families reporting high satisfaction with familial life, Eating Together and Using Smartphones Together emerged as the most prominent ones. We discover a greater disparity among the habits of family members, especially millennials, staying away from each other as compared to those staying together.

Application overchoice: preliminary lessons from a longitudinal study

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate how smartphone users navigate the dilemma of application overchoice, i.e., the scenario of having multiple competing apps available to serve a similar purpose. We analyze app installs, app usage behavior and notification attendance behavior to paint an initial picture of app overchoice and to explore how overchoice is impacted by smartphone notifications. We hope that this paper will provoke discussions and more research in the UbiTtention community on developing systems that help users navigate the dilemma of overchoice.

Analysis of Peer Group Behavior Among University Students

Abstract: Satisfactory peer group interactions within a university, through the formation of close associations, define a student's personality and help in deterring the rise of depression caused by academic, financial or emotional troubles. In this work, we conduct a pre-study survey of 177 students in a University setting to assess the requirement for a smartphone-based study to detect and monitor group formation, evolution and engagement. The preliminary results from this investigation reveal that students social interactions are not limited to one but several groups, and the satisfaction levels associated with each type of group are indicative of the average time spent engaging with said group(s). Intra-group bond strength took precedence as a satisfaction determinant over the location or activity engaged in. Further, we present design recommendations for a minimally invasive smartphone-based study.

Passive Sensing of Health Outcomes Through Smartphones: Systematic Review of Current Solutions and Possible Limitations

Abstract: Background: Technological advancements, together with the decrease in both price and size of a large variety of sensors, has expanded the role and capabilities of regular mobile phones, turning them into powerful yet ubiquitous monitoring systems. At present, smartphones have the potential to continuously collect information about the users, monitor their activities and behaviors in real time, and provide them with feedback and recommendations. Objective: This systematic review aimed to identify recent scientific studies that explored the passive use of smartphones for generating health- and well-being–related outcomes. In addition, it explores users’ engagement and possible challenges in using such self-monitoring systems. Methods: A systematic review was conducted, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, to identify recent publications that explore the use of smartphones as ubiquitous health monitoring systems. We ran reproducible search queries on PubMed, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Scopus online databases and aimed to find answers to the following questions: (1) What is the study focus of the selected papers? (2) What smartphone sensing technologies and data are used to gather health-related input? (3) How are the developed systems validated? and (4) What are the limitations and challenges when using such sensing systems? Results: Our bibliographic research returned 7404 unique publications. Of these, 118 met the predefined inclusion criteria, which considered publication dates from 2014 onward, English language, and relevance for the topic of this review. The selected papers highlight that smartphones are already being used in multiple health-related scenarios. Of those, physical activity (29.6%; 35/118) and mental health (27.9; 33/118) are 2 of the most studied applications. Accelerometers (57.7%; 67/118) and global positioning systems (GPS; 40.6%; 48/118) are 2 of the most used sensors in smartphones for collecting data from which the health status or well-being of its users can be inferred. Conclusions: One relevant outcome of this systematic review is that although smartphones present many advantages for the passive monitoring of users’ health and well-being, there is a lack of correlation between smartphone-generated outcomes and clinical knowledge. Moreover, user engagement and motivation are not always modeled as prerequisites, which directly affects user adherence and full validation of such systems.

The Big Disconnect : Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age

Abstract: Knjiga Prekinuta veza: zastita djetinjstva i obiteljskih odnosa u digitalnome dobu usmjerena je razvoju kvalitetnih i cvrstih odnosa unutar obitelji na osnovi kojih ce se i pojedini clanovi obitelji i obitelj kao zajednica moci lakse snalaziti u vrijeme nekontrolirane upotrebe tehnologija i medija. Knjiga nije namijenjena samo roditeljima i djeci nego i prakticarima i istraživacima u sustavu odgoja i obrazovanja kojima ce služiti kao prirucnik za strucno djelovanje. U toj se svrsi ogleda najvažniji doprinos ove knjige. Autorica na zanimljiv nacin sintetizira teorijsko znanje i podatke koje je dugi niz godina prikupljala svojim terapeutskim radom s djecom i obiteljima. Intenzivno naglasava da je suvremena obitelj u krizi zbog napretka tehnologije sto na nju i njezine clanove, bez izgradnje zastitnih mehanizama, može ostaviti dugotrajne i ozbiljne posljedice. Tehnologija ne može biti zamjena za jedinstvene i bliske interakcije među osobama. U svim poglavljima autorica, osim sto prezentira niz primjera iz stvarnoga života, nudi i konkretne savjete u obliku smjernica roditeljima s ciljem izgradnje autoriteta, potpunijega razumijevanja djece i autonomije u kulturi življenja i nacinu uporabe tehnologije i medija. Partnerski pristup skole, roditelja i sirega okruženja može služiti kao preduvjet za kulturu socijalne interakcije koja ce prednjaciti nad nekontroliranom uporabom tehnologije i medija i zaokupljenoscu njima. Pristup Catherine Steiner-Adair svakako proizlazi iz osobnih kompetencija koje stavlja u funkciju dobrobiti obitelji s ciljem njezine zastite u digitalnome dobu.

Smartphone Sensing for the Well-Being of Young Adults: A Review

Abstract: Over the years, mobile phones have become versatile devices with a multitude of capabilities due to the plethora of embedded sensors that enable them to capture rich data unobtrusively. In a world where people are more conscious regarding their health and well-being, the pervasiveness of smartphones has enabled researchers to build apps that assist people to live healthier lifestyles, and to diagnose and monitor various health conditions. Motivated by the high smartphone coverage among young adults and the unique issues they face, in this review paper, we focus on studies that have used smartphone sensing for the well-being of young adults. We analyze existing work in the domain from two perspectives, namely Data Perspective and System Perspective. For both these perspectives, we propose taxonomies motivated from human science literature, which enable to identify important study areas. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of diversity-awareness in smartphone sensing, and provide insights and future directions for researchers in ubiquitous and mobile computing, and especially to new researchers who want to understand the basics of smartphone sensing research targeting the well-being of young adults.

Typical phone use habits: intense use does not predict negative well-being

Abstract: Not all smartphone owners use their device in the same way. In this work, we uncover broad, latent patterns of mobile phone use behavior. We conducted a study where, via a dedicated logging app, we collected daily mobile phone activity data from a sample of 340 participants for a period of four weeks. Through an unsupervised learning approach and a methodologically rigorous analysis, we reveal five generic phone use profiles which describe at least 10% of the participants each: limited use, business use, power use, and personality- & externally induced problematic use. We provide evidence that intense mobile phone use alone does not predict negative well-being. Instead, our approach automatically revealed two groups with tendencies for lower well-being, which are characterized by nightly phone use sessions.