Nomads at Last? Understanding the Impact of Mobile Technologies on Human Spatial Behavior

Published:
Presentations and Seminars
Author(s) and Contributors:
Author(s): Filippo dal Fiore
Source(s) and Collection(s):
Sources(s): EDUCAUSE Research Collection(s): Presentations
ParentTopics:
Mobile Apps Mobile Computing

Abstract

Presentation at the 2010 ECAR Symposium, December 7, 2010, in Carlsbad, California. Billions of people all over the world carry a mobile device while traveling, be it a cell phone or a portable computer. Doing so allows them to access information, carry out digital work, and be instantly reachable at most times and places; these factors likely impact their travel behavior. Researchers collected data on daily movements of 98 students on the MIT campus and discovered that subjects equipped with a laptop spend more time away from their households and are involved in a larger number of trips per day. Laptop use turns out to be a statistically significant predictor of such behavior, controlling for other variables by means of regression analysis. This session will present results of this research, illustrating that causality runs in both directions, since technology and travel co-evolve: moved by a need for a new behavior, subjects adopt mobile technologies that facilitate it.

How to Cite This Work: dal Fiore, Filippo. "Nomads at Last? Understanding the Impact of Mobile Technologies on Human Spatial Behavior." Presentation at the 2010 EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research Symposium, Carlsbad, CA, December 7, 2010, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

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