Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

2.1 Review of Related Literature

phones: The new talking drums of everyday Africa: Since the late 1990s, there has been great

enthusiasm expressed about the positive impact that can be obtained for poor and disadvantaged

people from information and communication technologies (ICTs). This school of thought among

researchers and practitioners is identified as ICTs for development (ICT4D). By contrast, a

growing number of researchers eschew the technologically deterministic nature of the claims

being made for development progress and seek to understand the role of technology in people’s

lives, primarily through ethnographic studies. This book, which focuses on mobile telephony on

the African continent, fits into the latter body of literature, with several authors explicitly stating

they are examining social and cultural settings and are not taking a technologically deterministic

view. The book captures the diverse ways various communities are using this communication

technology. It adds to the burgeoning field of mobile phone studies, in which an increasing

number of studies is emerging from developing countries.

Opening in an innovative manner, the book commences with an excerpt from a novel by

Francis B. Nyamnjoh. This may catch some academic readers off guard, but most readers would

be quickly drawn into the scene, in which a young woman has accidentally left her mobile phone

in a taxi. The novel excerpt is short and allows the book’s editors to present an imagined reality

in which mobile phones exist in people’s lives in stereotypical or unexpected ways. For example,

a story is relayed of criminals who used their mobile phones to coordinate a roadside robbery.

These fictional circumstances allow the reader to consider the varied uses of mobile phones.

Abstract: 'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment

when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the

communication landscape in many urban and rural areas of Africa and the growth of mobile

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telephony is amazing: from 1 in 50 people being users in 2000 to 1 in 3 in 2008. Such growth is

impressive but it does not even and how they are transforming or are being transformed by

society in Africa. This volume begin to tell us about the many ways in which mobile phones are

being appropriated by Africans ventures into such appropriation and mutual shaping. Rich in

theoretical innovation and empirical substantiation, it brings together reflections on

developments around the mobile phone by scholars of six African countries (Burkina Faso,

Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Sudan and Tanzania) who explore the economic, social and cultural

contexts in which the mobile phone is being adopted, adapted and harnessed by mobile Africa.

Mirjam de Bruijn is Professor in African Studies at Leiden University and a researcher at

the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The Netherlands. Francis B. Nyamnjoh joined the University

of Cape Town in August 2009 as Professor of Social Anthropology from the Council for the

Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal, where he

served as Head of Publications from July 2003 to July 2009. He has taught sociology, anthropology

and communication studies at universities in Cameroon and Botswana, and has researched and

written extensively on Cameroon and Botswana. In October 2012 he received a University of Cape

Town Excellence Award for “Exceptional Contribution as a Professor in the Faculty of

Humanities”. He is recipient of the “ASU African Hero 2013” annual award by the African

Students Union, Ohio University, USA. He is: a B1 rated Professor and Researcher by the South

African National Research Foundation (NRF); a Fellow of the Cameroon Academy of Science

since August 2011; a fellow of the African Academy of Science since December 2014; a fellow of

the Academy of Science of South Africa since 2016; and Chair of the Editorial Board of the South

African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Press since January 2011. His scholarly books

include: Africa’s Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging (2005); Insiders and Outsiders:

Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa (2006); “C'est l'homme qui fait

l'homme”: Cul-de-Sac Ubuntu-ism in Côte d'Ivoire (2015); and #RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at

Resilient Colonialism in South Africa (2016). Inge Brinkman has been attached to the African

Studies Centre since April 2008 while she carries out research into communication technologies

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and social relations in Angola. She is engaged in studying the historical relations between

literacy/orality, elite-formation and the introduction of the mobile phone in Northern Angola, and

coordinating a case-study on returnees, 'development' and new ICT in south-east Angola. These

case-studies form part of a larger program, entitled 'Mobile Africa Revisited, aimed at studying

the relations between mobile telephony and social hierarchies.

The Content of the book have nine chapters. The chapter one is all about the Introduction

which is the Mobile communication and new social spaces in Africa by Mirjam de Bruijin,

Francis Nyamnjoh & Inge Brinkman The introduction discusses the novel excerpt and explains

its relevance. The book’s editors suggest “Africa’s communication landscape has undergone

tremendous change since the introduction of mobile telephony” (p. 11), and detail the rapid

increase in mobile phone penetration over the last decade. They furthermore suggest that in

Africa “the changes induced by the mobile phone are remarkable” (p.17). Two is all about the

Phoning Anthropologists: The mobile phone’s (re-)shaping of Anthropological research by Lotte

Pelckmans The second chapter is unusual as it looks at the advantages and disadvantages of

mobile phone use by researchers. In particular, it explores anthropologists’ use of this device to

keep in touch with loved ones at home while they are in the field. It questions whether this

change makes the field researcher more emotionally stable and therefore better suited to the

work, or conversely whether it makes them less engaged with the new culture (p. 23).Three is all

about From the elitist to the commonality of voice communication: The history of telephone: in

Buea, Cameroon (p.50) by Walter Gam Nkwi. In Chapter Three, Walter Gam Nkwi examines the

role of the mobile phone in a university town in Cameroon. In keeping with later chapters in the

book, this chapter reminds the reader that mobile telephony is generally viewed as a positive

development, and therefore there is a need for research which does not commence from a biased

Standpoint. Nkwi asserts that “society shapes the technology as much as the technology shapes

society” (p. 51). He includes a useful history of phones in this town (dating back to the first use

of the telegraph in 1893), but focuses on present‐day use of ‘call boxes’ (small businesses which

offer competitive rates for mobile phone calls), painting the scene vividly and clearly.

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Chapter four is all about The mobile phone, ‘Modernity’ and change in Khartoum, Sudan by

Inge Brickman, Mirjam de Bruijin and Hisham Bilal. Young students in Sudan are the research

subjects in Chapter Four, by Inge Brinkman, Mirjam deBruijn and Hisham Bilal. Gender issues

are also explored, such as the use of the mobile phone in courtship and in women’s businesses.

Once again, the authors are interested in social responses to mobile telephony. Although the

authors highlight some interesting uses of the mobile phone, they acknowledge its impact is

limited: “the mobile phone is not a ‘revolutionary’ factor in Sudanese society: it largely confirms

existing inequalities” (p. 87).Chapter five is all about Trading places in Tanzania: Mobility and

marginalization at a time of travel-saving technologies (p.92) Chapter Five presents research by

Thomas Molony into the experience of farmers in Tanzania who grow perishable foods like

tomatoes and potatoes. Unlike the economic benefits of mobile telephony anticipated by ICT4D

advocates, Molony concludes the mobile phone is of limited benefit as the farmers “have little

choice but to accept the price they are given” (p. 107). Chapter six is all about Telephone

mobiles: L’appropriation du sms par une “societe del’oralite” (p.110) by Ludovic Kibora.

Chapter seven is all about the healer and his phone: Medicinal dynamics among the Kapsiki/Higi

of North Cameroon. (p.125) by Wouter Van Beek. Chapter eight is all about the mobility of a

mobile phone: Examining ‘swahiliness’ through an object’s biography. (p.134) by Julia Pfaff and

lastly Chapter nine is all about could connectivity replace mobility? An analysis of internet café

use patterns in Accra, Ghana (p.151) by Jenna Burrell.

In a book which is otherwise written in English, it is surprising to find a chapter

presented in French. Ludovic Kibora looks at text messaging in the oral culture of Burkina Faso.

He emphasizes the very low level of landline telephone penetration and the explosion of mobile

phone use after the addition of commercial providers to the market since 2000. Voice

communication appears to sit well in a country where the oral tradition is strongly embedded. A

brief but very specific study of the use of the mobile phone by a traditional healer in Cameroon is

contributed by Wouter van Beek. Related to local beliefs about the transmission of illness, the

author suggests the mobile phone helps the healer to maintain safety through physical distance

from the patient. The photographs in the chapter assist the reader’s comprehension of the

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healer’s practices. from the patient. The photographs in the chapter assist the reader’s

comprehension of the healer’s practices.

Julia Pfaff’s contribution tracks an actual mobile phone handset; a research practice

termed “object geography” (p. 147). Without being technology‐centred, Pfaff presents mobile

phone‐related behaviors by profiling the individuals who bought, owned, used and sold that one

handset in Tanzania. The final chapter, by Jenna Burrell, is not specifically about mobile phones.

It portrays Internet cafe use amongst young people in Ghana. Burrell does mention mobile

phones, but these references are very minor. Given that this is the final chapter, it is a surprising

conclusion to a book which has otherwise focused quite specifically on the technology referred

to in the book’s title.

Overall, this is a valuable book for readers interested in the contemporary role of mobile

telephony in the lives of poor people in developing countries. It would have been enhanced by a

concluding chapter which could have drawn together the disparate pieces of research presented

to synthesis themes and explain what it means for the African context and communication

research more generally. This conclusion could also have explained more clearly the concept of

societies influencing technology and could have pinpointed specific examples from the earlier

chapters. Whatever the tensions between the technology‐driven and ethnographic approaches, the

evidence in this book supports the view on both sides that very important and fundamental

changes are underway. Some themes clearly emerge, such as: astoundingly wide uptake

compared to previous modern communication technologies; questions of the economic impact;

potential uses emerging in social relations like courtship and also in crime, and adaptation of the

mode of communication to traditions like an oral culture. It was disappointing that there was no

specific reference to the ‘talking drums’ of the title: is there research which shows that Africans

compare the mobile phone to traditional communication techniques? Nonetheless, this is a

worthy book which highlights the cultural uses of communication technologies, and counters

some of the inflated expectations about such technologies solving a range of social issues.

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2.2 Review of Related Studies

Foreign According to (Miller, 2013), a mobile phone is a wireless electronic device used

for telephone and multimedia communications. Which means people can bring it and can

communicate anywhere at any time (Singh, 2011) said that communication is the process to

express thoughts, ideas, and messages, from one person to other person for the sake of personal

interest or business interest.

Communication is more effective if the respondents receive the response from other

person. Respondents can express their thoughts to another person by verbal communication, non-

verbal communication or by mass communication.

(McGuigan, 2013) Stated that Text messaging is a term for short communications made

through cell phones. It uses what is called the Short Message Service, and so is often called SMS

for short. It is also sometimes referred to as texting, using the shorthand common in such messages

as a way of dealing with short character limits and often bulky interfaces. (Ziggs, 2011) proposed

that ages 13 to 17 ends the highest number of text messaging, sending and receiving an average of

1,742 text messages per month. (Jenna Langer, 2009) said that men prefer to use communication

to gain social status and use their social networks in a task-oriented manner

Face-to-face communication differences between genders and has been shown to cross

over into e-mail and computer-mediated communication makes women communicate more

thoroughly because of the lack of nonverbal cues. (Amanda Lenhart, 2010) One major influence

has to do with the economics of the cell phone – who pays for the costs associated with the cell

phone and its use and what are the limitations on the service plan for the phone?

Does the user have unlimited minutes to talk or the ability to share minutes? Does the user

have an unlimited or pay-as-you-go text messaging plan? And regardless of who pays, what type

of plan does the teen have? A shared family plan, an individual plan with a contract, or a contract-

less pre-paid phone? Each of these variations can influence how teens and adults use their mobile

phones.

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(Amanda Lenhart, 2010) About one in five teen cell phone users (18%) are part of a prepaid or

pay-as-you-go plan, and just one in ten (10%) have their own individual contract.

Games have both positive and negative effects on people, especially students. One of the

negatives is this. Many cases among students are addiction. And this addiction may lead to worse

problems. The students might steal money. They may become lazy when it comes to studying and

prefer playing the whole day long. Some may even skip school in order to have more playing time.

(Sujat Ali Hamzah) Addicted gamers spend so much time playing that their personal relationships

get neglected and sometimes disappear altogether. Among addicted gamers who are married, up

to 50 percent report a strain in their marriage as a result of their addiction. Addicted gamers also

neglect there’s possibilities of everyday life such as school and work. (UNC-OASIS).In the world

of today, there are different genres of online games. First are the console games. Console games

are more commonly referred to as videogames. They are played on a device specially made for

game play called a videogame console. The player interacts with the game through a controller, a

hand-held device with buttons and joysticks or pads. Video and sound are received by the gamer

though a television. Examples of consoles include the Microsoft Xbox, Sony Play station,

Nintendo GameCube, and Nintendo Wii. Second are the real-time strategy games. This is a type

of video game in which players exercise strategy along the way, typically to conquer enemies and

reach a final destination without being eradicated. For example, to win, players decide which

routes to take, what needs to be done and how to do it. Contrast with first-person shooter .Third

are the cross-platform online games. Developing software for, or running software on, more than

one type of hardware platform. The most universal cross platform application is the Web browser.

Written for every desktop computer and mobile platform, Web browsers render Web pages

"almost" the same no matter which computer they run on.

The use of mainstream games in education is relatively novel, but growing rapidly. Research is

mainly concerned with the development of related competences and literacies during game play,

or the role of games in the formation of learning communities either while gaming or related to

game play.

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Use of mainstream games in schools remains rare, and is unlikely to be integrated into the

curriculum.

The motivations for games playing have been carried out by researchers across a number

of disciplines. One of the earliest, and most cited, research works is by Thomas Malone (Malone

1981) who identified three main ways in which games were able to motivate players: fantasy,

challenge and curiosity. Other research confirms these findings; for example, in research using

educational software, Amory et al (1988) identified curiosity (“what happens if I do this”) as a

common motive in playing a game. Presumably the fact that something does happen encourages

players to proceed, and the quality of what happens in terms of user engagement is the factor that

keeps them playing. The TEEM data suggests that degree of difficulty is important here; for

children to enjoy playing, the game must be neither too difficult nor too hard (McFarlane et al

2002). A key concept that frequently emerges in the literature is that of ‘flow’, first discussed by

Csikszentmihalyi (1990). This is summarized by several researchers as “the state in which we are

so involved in something that nothing else matters”, which has clear relevance to research into

games and play. Debate on the issue of ‘flow’ centres around how the ‘state’ can be created in an

individual, and measuring how it might make a person more receptive to receiving, comprehending

and using educational-based content and skills (we will go on to discuss in more detail how ‘flow’

might apply to the design of learning games in Section 4). Therefore, no clear consensus emerges

on the reasons why people play digital games. This is unsurprising since the games themselves

vary enormously and, as some researchers point out, the individuality of the player provides a

sometimes complex set of reasons for game play. Poole (2000) notes that “Videogames are

powerful, but they are nothing without humans to play them. So the inner life of videogames - how

they work - is bound up with the inner life of the player.”

The impression of much of the mass media, and some research, is often of a population of

children playing video games to the exclusion of all other activities. The implication often being

that time traditionally dedicated to ‘better activities’ such as social play and physical recreation, is

spent on anti-social, physically unhealthy and mentally numbing game playing, possibly leading

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to addictive patterns of use. Though research is often oriented towards ‘snapshot’ results as

opposed to tracking game-players over longer periods of time, longitudinal research does not show

a long-term significant commitment to games over other activities.

Creasey’s study (1986) of American 9 to 16 year-olds shows an initial rise in game playing

time at the expense of other leisure activities when such a medium is introduced, but this soon

decreased. Some research evidence suggests younger children (at primary or lower secondary

levels) are more likely to play games regularly than children in the upper years of secondary school

(Facer 2001, McFarlane et al 2002). Durkin (1995) concludes that what appears to be game-

playing addictions are: “…actually transient phases of excessive involvement rather than enduring

dependencies from which the victim will find it very difficult to escape.” (Marsh 2001) analyzed

the activities of a sample of English families and discovered that 3 to 4 year-olds watched

television for time periods far greater than involvement in any other ‘leisure pursuit’, including

the playing of video games. Other studies support this, such as a European comparative study in

1997/1998 which showed that people aged between 6 and 16 spent on average 32 minutes per day

playing electronic games, but 136 minutes watching television. Recent informal comment

indicates an increasing awareness amongst the general public that games offer various forms of

mental stimulation (BBC 2003), often in comparison to a perceived ‘dumbing down’ in the content

of television programs. Gender differences in game players and the games they play have been

increasingly discussed across a range of research and media during the last decade, but clear

conclusions remain elusive. Circumstantial/informal evidence points to a substantial proportion of

players of video games being female. It is difficult to identify any historical trends in gendered use

of digital games, or how the attitude of boys or girls towards games change as children grow older.

While games are no longer exclusively the preserve of teenage boys, it is still the case that the

intense games players are more likely to be boys than girls, with figures varying between research

reports according to the criteria used. Girls may play the same games as boys, but they may play

them differently (McFarlane et al 2002). From an analysis of surveys Fromme (2003) hypothesises

that girls generally lose interest in games as they age and use PCs for other uses, while boys still

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use PCs primarily as games machines. McFarlane (2002) surveyed English schoolchildren and

discovered that “There is a tendency among girls to play games when they are bored or have

nothing more interesting to do, whereas boys are more likely to play games as a first choice

activity.”

The issue of violence within games is an important one, as it crucially affects the

acceptability of digital games in general and especially in the educational sector. Views on

violence and game players are often polarized and entrenched, even amongst academic

researchers.

Researchers have focused on children’s interactions with individual games in order to attempt to

identify ‘what children have learnt’ from playing. Since games are often characterized by a

trialand-error approach to overcoming challenges or obstacles, commentators have suggested that

these games can support the development of logical thinking and problem solving skills (Inkpen

et al1995; Higgins 2000; Whitebread 1997). Much of this research has focused on ‘strategy or

adventure games’, which encourage students in exploratory quest-like scenarios with a high degree

of control over their progress (Malone 1983; Russell 1990). To date, however, it could be argued

that much of this research relies on inference from the structure of computer games and

psychological theory rather than direct and sustained empirical evidence. Recent studies at

Futurelab have raised some questions as to whether children are in fact able to move from intuitive

problem solving in the game to an understanding of effective processes for identifying problems

and generating hypotheses and solutions in other contexts. Other research has identified that

children’s use of computer games may play a significant role in developing effective use of

computer-mediated information resources. Mackereth (1998) for example, argues that “there is

evidence to suggest that familiarity with, and interest in, video games can influence children’s

confidence when using computers for more professional applications” and goes on to argue that

children unfamiliar with video games: “…may not develop the skills necessary to relate with

electronic media, such as dealing with dynamic visual change, parallel processing of multiple

streams of information and the ability to experiment in free-form, ill-defined problem domains.”

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Two studies of children’s use of computers in the home argue that children’s early interactions

with computer games encourage them to develop a playful approach to computers (Downes 1998),

which develops the expectation that ‘trial and error works’, and that linear progressive models for

using computers (such as those characterized by worksheets or computer manuals) are often the

Least effective way of engaging with computer-based technologies (Facer et al 2003). This could

have implications for the way that children approach computer based learning tasks, making it

difficult to integrate these with other resources or activities. Massanari (1998) also records

teachers’ concern that gaming in schools may make it harder to engage children with the computer

as a tool in more conventional learning tasks.

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