The extensive growth and expansion of smartphones and tablets and therewith the use of mobile web applications that utilize HTML5 and related technologies are frequently discussed and debated in media as possible replacements for native applications. The aim of this study was to explore the viability of replacing native applications with mobile web applications in a developing country setting. Two mobile web applications were developed. The first mobile web application tracked runs and the second mobile web application was a booking system for scheduling â??slum runsâ?. The subjects who tested these apps were elite, semi-professional Kenyan runners primarily from the Kibera slum area outside of Nairobi. After a 6-month test period the participants concluded and results indicated that the mobile web application for tracking runs performed poorly compared to native applications due to poor GPS performance, while the mobile web application for booking slum runs performed well. The conclusion from this study is that mobile web applications that require hardware interaction such as using the GPS, GPU, or camera are not yet viable alternatives for native applications. However, mobile applications that only require a native interface and content consumption are suitable substitutes for native applications.

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Background Children with long-term illnesses frequently experience symptoms that could negatively affect their daily lives. These symptoms are often underreported in health care. Despite a large number of mobile health (mHealth) tools, few are based on a theoretical framework or supported by scientific knowledge. Incorporating universal design when developing a product can promote accessibility and facilitate person-centered communication. Objective The aim of this study is to identify the symptom-reporting needs of children with cancer and congenital heart defects that could be satisfied by using a mobile app. Another aim is to evaluate how the child might interact with the app by considering universal design principles and to identify parents’ views and health care professionals’ expectations and requirements for an mHealth tool. Methods User-centered design is an iterative process that focuses on an understanding of the users. The adapted user-centered design process includes 2 phases with 4 stages. Phase 1 involved interviews with 7 children with long-term illnesses, 8 parents, and 19 health care professionals to determine their needs and wishes for support; a workshop with 19 researchers to deepen our understanding of the needs; and a workshop with developers to establish a preliminary tool to further investigate needs and behaviors. Phase 2 involved interviews with 10 children with long-term illnesses, 9 parents, and 21 health care professionals to evaluate the mock-up (prototype) of the mHealth tool. Data were synthesized using the interpretive description technique. Results A total of 4 aspects of needs emerged from the synthesis of the data, as follows: different perspectives on provided and perceived support; the need for an easy-to-use, non–clinic-based tool to self-report symptoms and to facilitate communication; the need for safety by being in control and reaching the child’s voice; and a way of mapping the illness journey to facilitate recall and improve diagnostics. The children with long-term illnesses expressed a need to not only communicate about pain but also communicate about anxiety, fatigue, fear, and nausea. Conclusions The findings of this study indicated that the PicPecc (Pictorial Support in Person-Centered Care for Children) app is a potential solution for providing communicative support to children with long-term illnesses dealing with multiple symptoms and conditions. The interview data also highlighted symptoms that are at risk of being overlooked if they are not included in the mobile app. Further studies are needed to include usability testing and evaluation in hospitals and home care settings.

<p class="2">Many research studies have highlighted the low completion rate and slow progress in PhD education. Universities strive to improve throughput and quality in their PhD education programs. In this study, the perceived problems of PhD education are investigated from PhD students’ points of view, and how an Information and Communication Technology Support System (ICTSS) may alleviate these problems. Data were collected through an online open questionnaire sent to the PhD students at the Department of (the institution’s name has been removed during the double-blind review) with a 59% response rate. The results revealed a number of problems in the PhD education and highlighted how online technology can support PhD education and facilitate interaction and communication, affect the PhD students’ satisfaction, and have positive impacts on PhD students’ stress. A system was prototyped, in order to facilitate different types of online interaction through accessing a set of online and structured resources and specific communication channels. Although the number of informants was not large, the result of the study provided some rudimentary ideas that refer to interaction problems and how an online ICTSS may facilitate PhD education by providing distance and collaborative learning, and PhD students’ self-managed communication.</p>

This research describes the predicted outcomes of a Kenyan Cloud School (KCS), which is a MOOC that contains all courses taught at the secondary school level in Kenya. This MOOC will consist of online, ongoing subjects in both English and Kiswahili. The KCS subjects offer self-testing and peer assessment to maximize scalability, and digital badges to show progress and completion to recognize and validate non-formal learning. The KCS uses the Moodle LMS with responsive web design to increase ubiquitous access from any device. Access is free and open, and the KCS intends to be a contextualized open educational resource for formal secondary institutions to support blended learning and a free source of non-formal education for lifelong learning. The expected outcomes are that this effort will reduce secondary school dropout rates, improve test scores, become a quality resource for blended learning, as well as validate and recognize lifelong learning in Kenya.