This study examines the effects that individual personality traits have on technology acceptance. Previous research on technology acceptance focuses primarily on exogenous variables such as trustor’s perceptions, attitudes, computer anxiety, positive or negative affect, age, and experience. This research seeks to improve our understanding of technology acceptance by examining user interpersonal traits as the underpinnings of user perceptions of technology and disposition to trust. A general theory of personality, the interpersonal circumplex (IPC) model, is used here as a framework to explain IT-users’ computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, and perceptions about- and trust in technology. The interpersonal circumplex model is well established and provides a strong foundation for understanding interaction styles and interpersonal trust. Based on the interpersonal circumplex model, I develop predictions about how various personality types will interact with technology acceptance model (TAM) related variables: that is, I predict how individuals with different interpersonal traits will rate the following: their computer selfefficacy, computer anxiety, and perceptions of an information system’s performance; the system’s trustworthiness, ease of use, usefulness; as well as the user’s behavioral intention to use the system in the future. In general, I hypothesize that a computer user’s blend of the primary interpersonal dimensions of Control and Affiliation influences his or her responses to computer usage related questions. In this study, student-participants completed an on-line assessment of their interpersonal dispositions, using the Circumplex Scales of Interpersonal Values (CSIV; Locke, 2000); subsequently the studentparticipants reported their perceptions of- and trust in a computer-based learning system that they used as part of their class. In particular, this research suggests that the Communality (Affiliation) dimension of personality, as measured by the CSIV, indicates particular and significant correlations to user’s computer anxiety, perceived system performance, perceived usefulness (of the technology), and behavioral intent to use (IT) in the future. The Interpersonal Circumplex demonstrates improved acuity in detecting personality differences that may impact the way users respond to, perceive, and evaluate technology. As a new tool for information systems research, the IPC shows potential to provide further insight into IS theory by building a bridge between interpersonal theory and technology acceptance models.

The Republic of Moldova is losing many of its citizens to more lucrative economic opportunities abroad.  Remittances from emigrants, in many various forms, have become vital agents in the Moldovan economy.  This thesis investigated whether remittance activity among immigrants from Moldova in the United States and Canada might be used as a model for an effective strategy to spread public health information amongst Moldovans.  Specifically, two studies examined whether remittance behavior among Moldovans living in The United States and Canada predicted their perceptions that a "knowledge remittance" strategy for public health information would be effective and their interest in participating in a knowledge remittance effort.  Grounded in the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM2), two studies evaluated the remittance relationship. Study 1, an exploratory online survey (n = 15), indicated that Moldovan immigrants living in the United States and Canada that have a generally positive attitude towards capital and knowledge remittances will tend to perceive the transmission of knowledge remittances as useful. There was tentative support for the correlation of perceived usefulness with the intention to remit knowledge.  Study 2 (n = 5) consisted of qualitative interviews and found that Moldovan immigrants living in the United States and Canada have access to the Internet and frequently use the technology to contact family in Moldova at home. Interviewees had a generally positive view of both capital and knowledge remittances, though they were in disagreement on the major health risks facing Moldova. The findings of these studies suggest that a remittance propagated health campaign is a possible resolution to poor health knowledge in Moldova. / Master of Arts

Each year, companies will spend millions of dollars developing or migrating to new software systems in their business processes. Much of the focus of development and implementation has been based upon customer need (i.e., requirements), and rightly so. Equally important to requirements, however, are the users' perceptions of the software. Does a user actually think a piece of software would help them meet the need identified? Does the user think it would be easy for them to implement this software as a solution? What do the people around the user think and how does that opinion affect theirs? It is important to understand what factors determine whether a potential user will adopt a software application and how much they will use it? A commonly used model for explaining this is the Technology Acceptance Model. Davis (1989) found that subjective belief about a software system is most closely related to the actual intention to use it. Specifically, Davis uses Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use in the Technology Acceptance Model to model intention to use a software system statistically. Neither of these subjective views are formed by a potential user in isolation. The opinions and behavior of others can potentially exert a great deal of influence on an individual's perception of these factors. Davis himself points out the omission of social influence in the original Technology Acceptance Model was due to measurement difficulties rather than to its potential value in the model. Difficulty in measuring social influence is evidenced by the lack of a definitive scale of social influence. By its common use in many studies, Subjective Norm has become the "defacto standard" for measuring social influence but this has not resulted in a consistently significant measure of social influence. The goal of this current study is two-fold. The primary goal is to incorporate a validated scale of social influence into the original Technology Acceptance Model which preserves the model's parsimony while significantly increasing its explained variance. Secondarily, in doing so, a modified scale based upon Subjective Norms will be verified and tested. In response to a recognized shortcoming of Subjective Norm, a cognitive element will be included into the modified scale. In this current study the modification of Subjective Norm was developed based upon existing research on the topic. The Technology Acceptance Model is augmented by the proposed scale and tested over four surveys. Two systems are chosen for study because of the nature of their use; use of one (Filebox) is voluntary, and use of the other (Blackboard) is compulsory. The results of the survey were consistent across all four surveys, with the model predicting over 40% of the variation in behavior every time. Including the modified scale of Subjective Norm significantly increased the explained variance of the model (i.e., R2) in every survey. The results verify the reliability and validity of the modified scale of Subjective Norm. These four studies make a strong case for including this scale of social influence as a regular scale in the Technology Acceptance Model for future research. Future directions for studying the scale and the resulting model are also discussed. The resulting behavioral model is a valuable tool that will give software developers and managers more forethought and insight into the development of and migration to specific software systems. / Ph. D.

Although the software development industry is one of the fastest growing sections in the labour market currently, computer science is one of the subject fields with the least growth in number of enrolments at tertiary institutions. Low enrolment figures and high dropout rates are common in computer science courses. Apart from the fact that programming is a difficult skill to master, irrelevant course material and out-dated teaching and learning strategies could be to blame for this phenomenon. When comparing modern technology with which young people engage outside the class room to the stereo typed old fashioned technology they are confronted with inside classrooms, it is discouraging. Games have been identified as a powerful and effective tool to create an attractive learning environment. Students find the competitive, fast-paced and interactive environment which serious games provide appealing. Progress has recently been made in incorporating digital educational (serious) games into the learning environment. Research on understanding the value that serious games can add to learning in computer science courses is limited. The purpose of this study is to address this issue by investigating the characteristic of serious games and establish the value these can add to learning in the computer science class. The identified characteristics were utilised as external variables in the technology acceptance model (TAM) in order to determine the students’ attitude towards the use of serious games in the computer science class. The TAM is a well-known predictor of the users’ attitude towards perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as the internal factors motivating the acceptance of technology. These internal factors can be influenced by external factors which may differ in accordance to the technology being evaluated. The target population of this study comprised full-time computer science students enrolled at South African registered public higher education institutions (HEIs). For this study, a convenience sample of 547 computer science students was drawn from one traditional university and one university of technology. These two universities were selected by means of a non-probability judgement method. A self-administered questionnaire was hand-delivered to lecturers at each of the two HEIs. The questionnaire requested the participants to indicate on a six-point Likert scale the level of their agreement or disagreement on 41 items, designed to measure their attitude towards the use of serious games in the computer science class. Findings from this study suggest that computer science students exhibit a positive attitude towards using serious games in class. Usefulness was identified as the most significant internal variable predictor of attitude, with relevance to classwork, as the most significant external predictor of usefulness. Relevance of serious games to class work emerged as the strongest predictor of ease of use, followed by experienced and perceived enjoyment. Insights gained from this study will assist educators in designing and planning the implementation of serious games as part of the learning experience in class. Furthermore, educators can gain insights from the factors that students indicated to be the most significant in terms of serious game in class. The proposed model can be used by educators to evaluate the attitude of computer science students towards the implementation of a serious game in class. / MSc (Computer Science)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

A vast body of literature shows that the populations of older persons aged 60+ are growing faster all over the world. South Africa has also shown a tremendous growth in the size of the older population, from 3.7 million in total in the year 2009, which is expected to count 4.25 million in 2015. Similarly, the level of mobile phone penetration in Africa and Sub-Saharan countries has grown significantly. This study aimed to explore older persons‟ competence in using a mobile phone in the Tlokwe municipal area, South Africa. The current study formed part of the iGNiTe sub-study, which is a sub-study of a larger project (An exploration of enabling context) and focuses on the user patterns of mobile technology by older people by using both qualitative and quantitative data. The current study aimed to explore older persons‟ competence in using mobile phones. Although the iGNiTe sub-study involved both qualitative and quantitative data-gathering methods, the current study only focused on the qualitative data aspect. This study is also the first to directly explore older persons‟ competencies regarding the use of mobile phones in the South African context. The study incorporated the Multiple Intelligences Theory, Technology Acceptance Model and The Mobile Phone Technology Acceptance Model to explain older persons‟ attitudes to and intentions for using a mobile phone as well as the knowledge and skills they possess regarding the use of mobile phones. The keywords that were used in different search engines included older persons, mobile phones, competencies, skills, knowledge and attitude. Participants included in the sub-study were older persons aged 60+ who met the inclusion criteria from a total sample of 128 older persons in three old-age day-care centres in the Tlokwe municipal area of the North West Province, South Africa. Since the current study only focused on the qualitative aspect of the sub-study, the study only used 48 participants who took part in semi-structured interviews and the Mmogo-method® in the sub-study. The study used a descriptive research design to understand meaning and experiences of older persons‟ competences in using mobile phones by using semi-structured interviews and the Mmogo-method®. The goal of this study was achieved by conducting a thematic analysis within a secondary dataset from the iGNiTe sub-study. Older persons‟ competencies in using a mobile phone were extracted from the interviews. The data revealed that levels of competences revealed by older persons differed according to the individual‟s experiences in using mobile phones. Both positive and negative impact of mobile phone complexities on older persons‟ abilities to use a mobile phone were found in the current study. The study suggests that, based on the findings, mobile phones be made more learnable and adapted to the needs of different age groups. / MSc (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

A vast body of literature shows that the populations of older persons aged 60+ are growing faster all over the world. South Africa has also shown a tremendous growth in the size of the older population, from 3.7 million in total in the year 2009, which is expected to count 4.25 million in 2015. Similarly, the level of mobile phone penetration in Africa and Sub-Saharan countries has grown significantly. This study aimed to explore older persons‟ competence in using a mobile phone in the Tlokwe municipal area, South Africa. The current study formed part of the iGNiTe sub-study, which is a sub-study of a larger project (An exploration of enabling context) and focuses on the user patterns of mobile technology by older people by using both qualitative and quantitative data. The current study aimed to explore older persons‟ competence in using mobile phones. Although the iGNiTe sub-study involved both qualitative and quantitative data-gathering methods, the current study only focused on the qualitative data aspect. This study is also the first to directly explore older persons‟ competencies regarding the use of mobile phones in the South African context. The study incorporated the Multiple Intelligences Theory, Technology Acceptance Model and The Mobile Phone Technology Acceptance Model to explain older persons‟ attitudes to and intentions for using a mobile phone as well as the knowledge and skills they possess regarding the use of mobile phones. The keywords that were used in different search engines included older persons, mobile phones, competencies, skills, knowledge and attitude. Participants included in the sub-study were older persons aged 60+ who met the inclusion criteria from a total sample of 128 older persons in three old-age day-care centres in the Tlokwe municipal area of the North West Province, South Africa. Since the current study only focused on the qualitative aspect of the sub-study, the study only used 48 participants who took part in semi-structured interviews and the Mmogo-method® in the sub-study. The study used a descriptive research design to understand meaning and experiences of older persons‟ competences in using mobile phones by using semi-structured interviews and the Mmogo-method®. The goal of this study was achieved by conducting a thematic analysis within a secondary dataset from the iGNiTe sub-study. Older persons‟ competencies in using a mobile phone were extracted from the interviews. The data revealed that levels of competences revealed by older persons differed according to the individual‟s experiences in using mobile phones. Both positive and negative impact of mobile phone complexities on older persons‟ abilities to use a mobile phone were found in the current study. The study suggests that, based on the findings, mobile phones be made more learnable and adapted to the needs of different age groups. / MSc (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Although the software development industry is one of the fastest growing sections in the labour market currently, computer science is one of the subject fields with the least growth in number of enrolments at tertiary institutions. Low enrolment figures and high dropout rates are common in computer science courses. Apart from the fact that programming is a difficult skill to master, irrelevant course material and out-dated teaching and learning strategies could be to blame for this phenomenon. When comparing modern technology with which young people engage outside the class room to the stereo typed old fashioned technology they are confronted with inside classrooms, it is discouraging. Games have been identified as a powerful and effective tool to create an attractive learning environment. Students find the competitive, fast-paced and interactive environment which serious games provide appealing. Progress has recently been made in incorporating digital educational (serious) games into the learning environment. Research on understanding the value that serious games can add to learning in computer science courses is limited. The purpose of this study is to address this issue by investigating the characteristic of serious games and establish the value these can add to learning in the computer science class. The identified characteristics were utilised as external variables in the technology acceptance model (TAM) in order to determine the students’ attitude towards the use of serious games in the computer science class. The TAM is a well-known predictor of the users’ attitude towards perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as the internal factors motivating the acceptance of technology. These internal factors can be influenced by external factors which may differ in accordance to the technology being evaluated. The target population of this study comprised full-time computer science students enrolled at South African registered public higher education institutions (HEIs). For this study, a convenience sample of 547 computer science students was drawn from one traditional university and one university of technology. These two universities were selected by means of a non-probability judgement method. A self-administered questionnaire was hand-delivered to lecturers at each of the two HEIs. The questionnaire requested the participants to indicate on a six-point Likert scale the level of their agreement or disagreement on 41 items, designed to measure their attitude towards the use of serious games in the computer science class. Findings from this study suggest that computer science students exhibit a positive attitude towards using serious games in class. Usefulness was identified as the most significant internal variable predictor of attitude, with relevance to classwork, as the most significant external predictor of usefulness. Relevance of serious games to class work emerged as the strongest predictor of ease of use, followed by experienced and perceived enjoyment. Insights gained from this study will assist educators in designing and planning the implementation of serious games as part of the learning experience in class. Furthermore, educators can gain insights from the factors that students indicated to be the most significant in terms of serious game in class. The proposed model can be used by educators to evaluate the attitude of computer science students towards the implementation of a serious game in class. / MSc (Computer Science)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

A problem of non-acceptance of new information technologies becomes a predominant obstacle that results in companies’ losses and represents an arena of avid debate for researchers. Hereof this netnographic study explores changes in the individual beliefs that contribute to new information system acceptance such as autopilot in the light of the Technology Acceptance model (TAM). The research takes place within three automobile communities related to Tesla Motors and uses content analysis for its collected data. Based on the findings new influencers on individual beliefs emerge hence the research proposes to incorporate these determinants into the adopted TAM model. This study has theoretical, practical and methodological contributions.

This cross-sectional study examined whether the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) apply to psychologists’ openness to using telepsychology, and to identify significant personal or environmental predictors of telepsychology adoption. A total of 1,791 licensed psychologists currently practicing psychotherapy in the United States were recruited to complete a previously developed 21-item pool. Personal and environmental characteristics were also collected. Path models representing the TRA, TAM, and a hybrid of both were tested. Also, a logistic regression was used to identify personal and environmental predictors of current use of telepsychology. Results indicated the TRA and TAM were a poor fit for modeling psychologists’ openness to using telepsychology. Adequate fit was found with a third model in which the perceived attitudes of others concerning telepsychology were associated with the perceived ease of use and usefulness of telepsychology. Perceived ease of use and usefulness of telepsychology were both uniquely associated with current use of telepsychology. Receiving telepsychology training, organizational policies concerning the use of telepsychology, treatment emphases, treatment setting, and practicing within a rural area were significant predictors of current use; however, individual characteristics such as age, race/ethnicity, and years of practice were not. Organizations interested in encouraging psychologists to adopt telepsychology should create policies supporting the use of telepsychology and provide adequate training. Government and regulatory entities seeking to ensure treatment for individuals currently restricted from mental health services by time or geography should create clear and consistent laws permitting and governing the use of telepsychology.

New information systems will only improve organisational performance if they are accepted and used to their full capacity. It is therefore important to be able to understand, explain and predict the factors affecting technology acceptance. One model which has been successful at this is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1986). This study tests an extension of the TAM in a mandatory usage environment. The extended TAM proposed here incorporates two new independent measures; past behaviour and perceived behavioural control. Participants were 285 members of an Australian Government Department who had been using a new information system for approximately 4 months. Usage of the system was mandated in organisational policy and there were no alternative systems or processes available to participants to complete their job requirements. Results indicate that when information system usage is mandatory (or nonvolitional) perceived behavioural control significantly increases the ability of the extended TAM to predict system acceptance behaviour. Furthermore, self-reports of system usage were not related to the participants intention to use the system and user satisfaction was the only dependent variable accurately predicted by the model. Past behaviour did not predict either behavioural intention or behaviour in this study. The implications of these findings for technology acceptance in modern organisations and areas for future research are discussed.