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Most studies in the mobile communication field focus on the acceptance of the technology rather than the resistance of it, a trend that makes researchers try to understand only the powerful actors in society. Instead, this paper explores the socio-economic characteristics of mobile phone service have-nots. Based on an analysis of samples from three consecutive nationwide annual surveys in Sweden, this study finds that two socio-economic factors – age and the household income – remain significant to explain non-usage of mobile phone services. Other variables dynamically change over time without a significant effect. This finding supports the argument that most socio-economic factors are transient at different stages of the adoption of innovation. Since the benefits of mobile phones are related to social networks (the more people you know, the more beneficial), it is not surprising that, in the long run, elderly people with low income, who typically have a decreasing social network, find this technology no longer purposeful and finally refuse it. This indicates that the status of the have-nots may not reflect socio-economic inequalities in general, but rather individuals’ preference when managing their social situation. This is relevant with the argument that a universal service policy should be based on connectivity, that is, people’s need for communication rather than solely promoting subsidizing a particular technology or service. The policy, therefore, should consider the technological frame sharing – the interpretation of the technology shared by members of a relevant social group, that is, users, service providers and regulators, to bring a more socially constructed technology that can protect individuals with less socio-economic power from being socially excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Six palimpsest folios – or, to be accurate, three bifolios – of the Verona manuscript, Biblioteca Capitolare XL (38), contain fragments of a Latin translation of Euclid's Elements: fols. 331v–r and 326v–r, 341r–v and 338r–v, 336r–v and 343r–v. The folios are dated to around a.d. 500, and the text is written in capital script in two columns. Unfortunately the folios have suffered severe damage from various chemical substances, which were used by nineteenth-century scholars in attempts to retrieve the underlying text. Nevertheless, an edition of the fragments finally appeared in 1964 by M. Geymonat. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the price plans offered by Thai mobile operators and analyse the role of demand characteristics in the development of new price plans. The paper also shows how demand affects a firm's degree of innovativeness in terms of the number of new price plans.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical qualitative analysis is based on an original data set from several secondary data sources and includes all the price plans offered in the history of the Thai mobile communications market between 2002 and 2010.Findings – The results show that mobile operators have introduced several innovative price plans to attract and retain their consumers. Although a greater number of price plans can increase competition among operators, some have complex combinations that may lead to confusion for consumers.Practical implications – A price comparison programme should therefore be implemented by the telecom regulator to ensure that consumers receive correct and complete information about the price plans.Originality/value – Most studies, by far, have not extensively discussed this mobile communications market in detail and the effect of innovation on competition between firms in the mobile communications industry, in particular the development of innovation in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]