OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

1.0

INTRODUCTION

In 2002, the total number of mobile (cellular) phones in use worldwide exceeded the number of landlines. Current projections suggest that the world will continue to add mobile lines faster than fixed lines; indeed, the next billion new phone users will use primarily mobiles (ITU 2003; Lanvin 2005). Both the developed world and the developing world are participating in this boom, but in different ways. A report from the International Telecommunication Union called Mobile overtakes Fixed explains: the greatest impact of mobile communications on access to communication services in other words, increasing the number of people who are in reach of a telephone connection of any kind can be seen in developing countries. Furthermore In countries where mobile constitute the primary form of access, increased exchange of information services is contributing to development goals; in countries where people fixed-line and mobile communications, the personalized traits of the changing social interaction. (ITU 2003) communications on trade or health commonly use both mobile phone are

Although there are now over a billion mobile phones in the developing world, these changes in social interactions in the developed world have captured the bulk of the research communitys attention to date. Though the number of studies focused on mobiles in the developing world is growing steadily, these studies have appeared in relative isolation from each other, separated by regions, and by disciplines. Many research communities are interested in the topic: those impressed by the function of market mechanisms underpinning the stunning spread of a new technology across the planet; those concerned with economic development who see the mobile as an enabler of broad-based prosperity; and those concerned with describing the social, and cultural implications of its use. By focusing on areas where economic constraint is a pressing concern, and by extending analysis to a broader range of cultural and social contexts, these researchers are contributing to a broader,

OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

more varied understanding of the implications of mobile and personal communication technologies. This paper reviews the increase in mobile phone use in recent years has transformed the way we live, communicate and do business and also be the cause of social or medical problems.

2.0

THE PRESENT SITUATION OF MOBILE PHONES Mobile phones have changed everyones life since their launch in 1973. They are

electronic devices used for telecommunications over a network. An interesting thing about the mobile phone is the fact that it is just a radio, but a more sophisticated one. To understand the premises which lie beyond the manufacturing of a mobile phone, it will be compared to the simple radio communication system of a walkie-talkie. The walkie-talkie communication system has a simplex type of communication method whereby two people communicate with each other on the same frequency, but only one of them at a time. On the other hand, the mobile phone is a duplex device that uses two different frequencies: a frequency for talking, and a second separate one for listening. A walkie-talkie can have dozens of channels, while mobile phones can communicate through 1664 channels. Mobile phones also operate in cells, meaning that they can move from one cell to another. Cells are the basic unit of a cellular system the geographic area that covers a mobile phone company. A walkie-talkie can communicate over a distance ranging from several hundred meters to maximum 10-15 km, while amobile phone user can move to any location of a city and yet maintain the conversation due to these cells. When a mobile phone passes from one cell to another, a computer monitors this transit at the right time and transfers the call to a new cell and a new frequency. This shift takes place so quickly that it is unnoticeable. But how does a cell work? The key consists in the fact that a city can be divided into small cells which allow the reuse of frequencies across a city. This operation is what enables millions of people to own mobile phones. Cells are thought to be circles belonging to a large network. Due to the fact that mobile phones and base stations use low voltage transmitters, the

OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

same frequencies can be reused by remote cells. Each cell corresponds to a base station, which, in turn, is composed of a tower and a small building containing the radio equipment. When a mobile user travels from one country to another, he/she leaves their corresponding mobile network operators cell system. The cell system enables the relocation to another cell system of another mobile operator. This transfer is called roaming. Without a doubt, mobile phones have changed the world. Being at first destined only for conversations, nowadays their applicability has evolved dramatically. You can use them to take photos, create videos, 3G conversations, reminders, play games , serve as a GPS, organize your itinerary, and connect to your email from anywhere. The world is evolving fast and so is the technology of mobile phones (or Smartphones).

3.0

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MOBILE PHONES Mobile phones have revolutionized modern communication and empowered consumers

and users. The advent, acceptance and proliferation of mobile phones has democratized opportunities and avenues for millions of people. Rural, hinterland and underserved areas are now interconnected to urban areas due to cellular communication technologies. However, like many consumer technology applications, mobile phones have their own distinctive disadvantages and advantages. 3.1 The advantages of mobile phone It is hard to imagine a world without cell phones now. From merely being a communication device, mobile handsets have evolved as a technical tool to handle innumerable services. Mobile phones hardware and software industries are one of the biggest markets in the world. The telecoms sector has been the biggest beneficiary of the surge in demands of the mobile phones all across the world. As per Gartner, a reputed analytic agency in the field of IT, the total number of mobile connections in the world reached 5.6 billion in 2011! This number is
3

OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

increasing at a staggering rate with China and India leading the list of mobile subscribers in the world, particularly because of their huge population. As mobile phones have penetrated every strata of the society and are a necessity in today's world, we need to look at what makes them so appealing. What are some of the peculiar advantages that mobile phones have offered in the current world? Why Mobile Phones are the Biggest Craze Today? Undoubtedly, there are various benefits of mobile phones. Some of the most fundamental benefits that the human society has experienced with the growth and ease of access to these phones have been mentioned further. It is essential to remember that this technology has filled a gap in the field of communication technology by making information exchange faster, easier, affordable and available to all, breaking the barriers of international boundaries or economy. Here's a look at some of the basic and advanced benefits of mobile phones in the current world. Ease to Express Yourself By allowing instant access to any desired destination across the globe, mobile phones have changed the landscape of communication. Not only globally, cell phones are important in day-to-day life. You want to talk to someone at home, a friend or your spouse, just give a call! You forget something important at home and now you need it in your office. Give a call at home! So on and so forth...cell phones are a necessity. Aren't they? More than Communication, Entertainment Love listening to music? Or playing video games? Or watching movies? Do all you wish, by purchasing some affordable mobile phones. Entertainment, especially when you're traveling or getting bored, was never so easy. Nowadays, you can even browse Internet on your cell phones. Cell phone manufacturers cater to the needs of every mobile user, with the up-gradation of latest features and technology. There are so many applications and features in mobile phones that people hardly have time to learn all of them!
4

OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

More Safety Although, having cell phones is not a guarantee for safety, it certainly can be helpful for you in emergency situations. Keeping cell phones in your car while traveling is one of the topmost personal safety tips. In case of any accidents or unexpected events, you can inform someone, who can rush to your rescue. Similarly, cell phones can be helpful to old and differently able people. Although, lifts in offices and residential buildings come with phone extension and alarm buttons, cell phones are anytime better to call for help, in case of elevator failure. Similarly, there can be many more instances in daily life, where mobile phones are a necessity. Internet Connectivity I'm not going to say mobile phones are going to replace laptops anytime soon but definitely with the advanced iPhones that are being launched in the market frequently, there is hardly any feature that is now unavailable on these phones. You can send emails, chat with friends, browse websites, book flight tickets, transfer money in banks and what not! Nowadays, it is even possible to pay your shopping bills through these phones, if your bank has a tie-up with the service provider. So, it seems virtually every service is now available on cell phones. So, it won't be a hyperbole if it is said that technology is today on our fingertips. While cell phones have evolved as a necessity, imparting numerous comforts to our lives, not all is positive about them. There are some demerits of mobile phones and they have gained significant media attention in the past couple of years. In a report in 2011, World Health Organization stated that there is a risk of electromagnetic radiation from cell phones and they can lead to serious health problems, particularly cancer. Now, WHO lists cell phones in the category of "carcinogenic hazard" same as lead and engine exhaust. Rigorous studies are being carried out to know more about the negative effects of cell phones and effective measures to counteract the side effects.

OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

It is advised to keep cell phones away from the body especially ears while talking, by using wired headphones or by keeping the phone on speakers. Sleep deprivation, stress and brain problems have also been linked to overuse of cell phones, and are considered to be the possible disadvantages of excessive cell phone usage. Technology has empowered our lives making it more comfortable and luxurious. However, as they say that everything in life comes with some price, so we must not be shocked if we discover some severe disadvantages of technologies like cell phones. Since we can't ignore necessities like cell phone in the current times, we must religiously work upon finding ways to minimize their threat on us as well as on our environment. In that way, we can create a sustainable world, fit for the survival of life on Earth.

3.2

The Disadvantages of Mobile Phones One might say that there are many advantages of mobile phones nowadays and there is

no doubt about that. The main advantages is the mobility factor, you can bring your phone everywhere without missing a call, especially the important ones. With advantages there are disadvantages as well, some greater outweighs the obvious. If you are skeptical to latest technology, you can weigh your options and you may need to know these disadvantages of mobile phones yourself. So the question remains, whether a mobile phone is essential for everyday living or it has more disadvantages for you not to own it. Mobile phones have turn out to be an integral part of contemporary life. Some individuals find it to become a great item, while other people (such as me) possess a much more neutral get on the problem. You will find surely a good deal of good reasons to possess a cellular telephone. Many elements of existence in the modern world are made simpler with cellular phones. But you will find downsides too. You will find many disadvantages to owning a cell phone and there are a lot.

OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

Even though mobile phones allow it to be easier to obtain a hold of individuals, they also allow it to be simpler for people to obtain a hold of you. Before cellular telephones, if somebody wanted to call you, they had to call your house. If you were not in your house, they could leave a message. This helped you a particular level of privacy. This kind of privacy was ruined with mobile phones. Now, with the ubiquity of mobile phone, individuals anticipate you to become available all the time. They know that you have your telephone with you all the time, and expect you to definitely response, no matter how inconvenient it may be for you at the time. I have several friends who have become quite upset when I did not response from their phone call (for very great reasons). But I do not see my telephone as a tool for THEIR comfort; I see it as something to create MY existence easier. This idea is highly debatable - numerous think that you simply should always answer your mobilephone, and to not do so is rude. Mobile phones present a variety of ethical and social problems. Even if you wish to respond to the call, there are many occasions when it is inappropriate to do so. The debate much more than cell telephone use in restaurants rages on - with some people finding it completely okay to ramble on, and others experiencing that talking about what you were doing last night on your cell telephone is incredibly rude. Conflicts more than this kind of conduct is a source of numerous arguments and missing opportunities for the second date. Mobile phones are effortlessly lost or broken which can be very expensive. That is one of the greatest drawbacks of owning a mobile phone. You have to be careful with it. Should you lost it somewhere, you cannot find it easily. If you place it about the roof of the car, do not overlook to take it off. If you forget, you will have a pancake instead than a telephone. It is not a pretty scene. The ones mentioned are the biggest disadvantages of owning your personal mobile phone. Not all the time it is advantageous, sometimes you are more capable without mobile phones. But if you look at it, mobile phones really did make life more easier and more convenient. Sometimes this convenience may become a disadvantage. Mobile phones make you a target for people who are in need and will probably rob you. Most of the marketed mobile phones are quiet expensive and this makes them very desirable for people with bad intentions and to steal them. Many said that these comes with other technology nowadays as well, like laptops and notebooks, but mobile phones are the easiest to snatch and trust me, thieves would
7

OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

love to get them off your hands. If you ask me, mobile phones are a great invention and almost a perfect technological breakthrough. Nevertheless, do not be fooled by these small and beautiful inventions because they carry danger within them. Now that you know most of the disadvantages of mobile phones. The big bulky price tag and losing your privacy are just two of the many disadvantages it carries. But still, mobile phones are something we cannot live without, and we bet you do too.

Conclusion Despite being the most pervasive social networking tools, mobile phones are currently equipped with software applications that are largely unaware of the users social setting. In this paper, we highlight the need for socially-aware mobile phones and the mechanisms needed to enable such social features. Understanding the user and his needs are fundamental to building a socially-aware phone. Therefore, we conducted a cross-cultural user study with a specic focus on interruption management i.e., how can we better manage interruptions to mobile phone users and their surroundings. The study provided useful insights into scenarios and phone features where automation could help. It has also remarked the importance of keeping automated features easy to use. We propose to adopt a semantic policy-based approach to express socially-aware policies that can regulate interruptions on mobile phones. The use of a semantic model enables us to utilize the users fragmented social data and allows support for intensional policy descriptions. The design and implementation of the policy model (and framework), presented in this paper, are still under development. References 1. W. Campbell and T. Russo. The social construction of mobile telephony. Communications Monographs, pages 317334, 2003. 2. N. Damianou, N. Dulay, E. Lupu, and M. Sloman. The Ponder policy specication
8

OUMH2203 ENGLISH FOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

language. In POLICY 2001. 3. L. Kagal, T. W. Finin, and A. Joshi. A policy language for a pervasive computing environment. In POLICY 2003. 4. A. Kahlil. Context-Aware Telephony and Its Users: Methods to Improve the Accuracy of Mobile Interruptions. PhD thesis, Indiana University, 2006. 5. J. E. Katz and M. Aakhus. Perpetual Contact: Mobile Communication, Private Talk, Public Performance. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 2002. 6. M. Sloman. Policy driven management for distributed systems. Journal of Network Systems Management, 2(4), 1994. 7. D. S. Tara Whalen and E. F. Churchill. User experiences with sharing and access control. In CHI 06 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems. ACM Press, 2006. 8. A. Toninelli, et al. A semantic context-aware access control framework for secure collaborations in pervasive computing environments. In ISWC, volume 4273 of LNCS, pages 473486. Springer, 2006. 9. A. Uszok, et al. Kaos policy and domain services: Toward a description-logic approach to policy representation, deconiction, and enforcement. In POLICY 2003.