Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T14:48:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal1.pdf: 1798793 bytes, checksum: a622918fa2dff41a673786c6c71acfcb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this study, the research model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) (DAVIS et al., 1989) and innovation diffusion theory (IDT) (ROGERS, 2003) was used to analyze the relation between the characteristics of innovation and teacher s behavior in the process of adoption and use of Moodle in the undergraduate courses at distance. Survey was applied with 162 teachers at distance of Universidade Federal da Paraíba Virtual, issue focusing on the perceived characteristics of innovation, attitude and intention about the use of Moodle. Multivariate statistical techniques were performed: 1) content-vality to analyze the complete structure of scale for relevance and representativeness of items and to verify which items refer to construct in question; 2) exploratory factory analysis to know the structure of interrelationship of the original variables of IDT; 3) confirmatory factor analysis to guarantee conceptual validity for the pattern observed; 4) coefficient alpha to verify the homogeneity of set of items; 5) ANOVA to verify the likely differences between the groups of respondents; and 6) multiple regression analysis to analyze the relation between constructs. Results showed that not all factors of IDT had effect on attitude and intention. Only three constructs had significant effect on attitude and/or intention: relative advantage+compatibility for work style (β = 0,792), visibility (β = 0,166) and result demonstrability (β = 0,152). Moreover, teachers had a positive attitude in relation to use of Moodle and a positive intention in relation to use in the future. It was not possible to confirm all the relation of TAM, probably this verification was been compromised for some problems in the measurement process, thus, the only unsupported relationship of TAM was the effect of complexity on attitude. An academic contribution was that although some constructs of IDT did not show effect on the constructs of TAM, the model provided evidence of appropriated application of constructs of TAM with IDT to measure attitude and intention of use of Moodle. A management contribution was the understanding and prediction the teacher s behavior in relation to adoption and use process of Moodle, being possible to verify the effectiveness of innovative project of distance learning in the UFPB Virtual. / Nesse estudo, o modelo de pesquisa baseado no modelo de aceitação da tecnologia (Technology Acceptance Model - TAM) (DAVIS et al., 1989) e na teoria da difusão da inovação (Innovation Diffusion Theory - IDT) (ROGERS, 2003) foi usado para analisar a relação entre as características de inovação e o comportamento dos docentes no processo de adoção e de uso do Moodle em cursos de graduação a distância. Foi utilizada uma estratégia de levantamento (survey) aplicado a 162 docentes a distância da Universidade Federal da Paraíba Virtual, focando questão sobre as características percebidas de inovação, atitude e intenção em torno do uso do Moodle. Foram realizadas técnicas estatísticas multivariadas: 1) validação de translação para analisar a estrutura completa das escalas em relação à pertinência e representatividade dos itens e a verificação de que os itens propostos remetem ao construto em questão; 2) análise fatorial exploratória para conhecer a estrutura das inter-relações das variáveis originais da IDT; 3) análise fatorial confirmatória para garantir a validade conceitual para os padrões observados; 4) alpha de Cronbach para verificar a homogeneidade do conjunto de itens das escalas; 5) ANOVA para verificar as possíveis diferenças entre os grupos de respondentes; e 6) análise de regressão múltipla para analisar a relação entre os construtos. Os resultados revelaram que nem todos os fatores da IDT tiveram efeito sobre atitude e intenção. Apenas três construtos apresentaram efeito significativo sobre a atitude e/ou intenção: avanço relativo+compatibilidade por estilo de trabalho (β = 0,792), visibilidade (β = 0,166) e demonstrabilidade de resultado (β = 0,152). Além disso, os docentes tiveram uma atitude positiva em relação ao uso do Moodle bem como uma intenção positiva em relação ao seu uso futuro. Não foi possível confirmar todos os relacionamentos do TAM, provavelmente essa verificação foi comprometida por alguns problemas no processo de mensuração das escalas, sendo assim, o único relacionamento do TAM não suportado foi o efeito de complexidade sobre atitude. Uma contribuição acadêmica foi que apesar de alguns construtos da IDT não terem apresentado efeito sobre os construtos do TAM, o modelo forneceu evidência de aplicação apropriada dos construtos do TAM com os da IDT para medir a atitude e intenção de uso do Moodle. Uma contribuição gerencial foi a compreensão e previsão do comportamento dos docentes EaD em relação ao processo de adoção e uso do Moodle, possibilitando verificar a efetividade do projeto inovador de EaD na UFPB Virtual.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:53:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BelchiorOR.pdf: 1696414 bytes, checksum: 5786f663eb3492765f7fd96b27c3309f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-19 / The last decade, characterized by the vertiginous growth of the computers worldwide net, brought radical changes in the use of the information and communication. Internet s use at business world has been largely studied; however, few are the researches about the academic use of this technology, mainly if we take into consideration institutions of technologic education. In this context, this research made an analysis of internet s use in a technologic education institution in Brazil, analyzing, in particular, the Centro Federal de Educa??o Tecnol?gica do Rio Grande do Norte CEFET/RN for that standard use of this Information Technology (IT) tools and, at the same time, studying the determinant factors of this use. To reach the considered objectives, a survey research was effected, be given data collected daily through the research s questionnaire application to 150 teachers who answered a set of closed and scaled questions. The quantitative data were qualitatively analyzed, arriving a some significant results related to the standard use and the factors that influenced in the use of these Internet technologies, like: the age scale, the exposition s to the computer level, the area of academic graduation, the area of knowledge where acts and the title, exert significant influence in the academic use of Internet between the professors / A ?ltima d?cada, caracterizada pelo crescimento vertiginoso da rede mundial de computadores, trouxe mudan?as radicais no uso da informa??o e da comunica??o. O uso da Internet no mundo dos neg?cios tem sido largamente estudado, no entanto s?o poucas as pesquisas sobre o uso acad?mico dessa tecnologia, principalmente se levarmos em considera??o institui??es de educa??o tecnol?gica. Neste contexto, esta pesquisa fez uma an?lise do uso da Internet numa institui??o de ensino tecnol?gico no Brasil, analisando, em particular, o Centro Federal de Educa??o Tecnol?gica do Rio Grande do Norte CEFET/RN quanto ao padr?o de uso das ferramentas dessa Tecnologia da Informa??o (TI) e, ao mesmo tempo, estudando os fatores determinantes desse uso. Para tanto, foram coletados dados junto ao corpo docente das seis ger?ncias educacionais que comp?em a Unidade Sede da Institui??o. Para atingir os objetivos propostos, efetuou-se uma pesquisa survey, sendo os dados coletados diretamente atrav?s da aplica??o do question?rio da pesquisa a 150 professores que responderam a um conjunto de quest?es fechadas e escalares. Os dados quantitativos foram analisados qualitativamente, chegando-se a alguns resultados significativos com rela??o ao padr?o de uso e aos fatores que influenciam no uso dessas tecnologias Internet, tais como: a faixa et?ria, o n?vel de exposi??o ao computador, a ?rea de forma??o acad?mica, a ?rea de conhecimento na qual atua e a titula??o, exercem influ?ncia significativa no uso acad?mico da Internet entre os docentes

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2016-09-02T13:18:26Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) vs. definitiva_Dissertação_Mayara Moraes Monteiro.pdf: 4228121 bytes, checksum: 54dc912414b3c77351997697e1806b2d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-02T13:18:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) vs. definitiva_Dissertação_Mayara Moraes Monteiro.pdf: 4228121 bytes, checksum: 54dc912414b3c77351997697e1806b2d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-29 / CNPq / With the fast improvement of technology, accompanied by changes in the lifestyle and the growth of cities, that made the Public Transport (PT) system more complex, delivery of integrated information on PT systems in an efficient and clear way are of the outmost importance but not always available. This study sought to understand the relation between travel information, PT use intentions and non-habitual travel (at night). The hypothesis is that PT use intentions are related to the perceived usefulness and the ease-of-use of the system, which are related to information quality and real-time information availability. The hypothesized relations are anchored theoretically in the Extended Technology Acceptance Model and validated empirically in two sources of data: (i) Copenhagen (Denmark), characterized by a highly integrated PT system with an advanced web-based information system; (ii) Recife and Natal (Brazil), characterized by a lower perceived Level Of Service (LOS) and non-integrated information sources. The data was collected through a tailor-made survey answered for 1,123 university students in Denmark and Brazil. Structural equation models were employed for explaining the use of PT as a function of the observed respondent characteristics and the latent constructs. The results show: (i) information quality is essential for explaining PT use; (ii) perceived information quality is directly and positively related to perceived LOS, convenience and familiarity with the PT system; (iii) the use of real-time information is positively related to information quality and familiarity, while it is negatively associated with perceived PT security; (iv) PT use at night is positively related to habitual PT use and information search / Com a rápida melhoria da tecnologia, acompanhada por mudanças no estilo de vida, e o crescimento das cidades, que tornou o transporte público (TP) muito mais complexo, entregar informação integrada do sistema de transporte de uma forma eficiente e clara é de extrema importância, mas nem sempre está disponível. Este estudo procurou entender a relação entre informações sobre viagens, intenções de uso de TP e viagens não habituais (à noite). A hipótese é que as intenções de uso de TP estão relacionadas com a percepção sobre a utilidade e a facilidade de uso do sistema, que estão relacionados com a qualidade da informação e a disponibilidade de informação em tempo real. As relações hipotéticas são ancoradas teoricamente na Extensão do Modelo de Aceitação Tecnológica e validado empiricamente através de duas fontes de dados: (i) Copenhague (Dinamarca), caracterizado por um sistema de transporte altamente integrado com um avançado sistema de informação baseado na web; (ii) Recife e Natal (Brasil), caracterizadas por um nível de percepção do nível de serviço como mais baixo e fontes de informação não integradas. Os dados foram recolhidos através de um questionário feito sob medida e respondido por 1.123 estudantes universitários na Dinamarca e no Brasil. Modelos de equações estruturais foram utilizados para explicar a utilização do TP em função das características observadas dos respondentes e os construtos latentes. Os resultados mostram: (i) a qualidade da informação é essencial para explicar o uso do TP; (ii) a percepção da qualidade da informação está direta e positivamente relacionada com a percepção do nível de serviço, conveniência e familiaridade com o sistema de TP; (iii) o uso da informação em tempo real está positivamente relacionado com a qualidade da informação e familiaridade, enquanto está associado negativamente com a percepção de segurança do TP; (iv) utilização do TP à noite está positivamente relacionada com a utilização habitual do TP e a busca de informações

This thesis describes effects of use and reasons for using three different organisational innovations: ISO 9000, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and an administrative tool (the YAF-module) in the Swedish Sports Confederation’s system Swedish Sports Online. This is done through three separate studies. The first study is directed at Swedish Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) and the two following studies are directed at Swedish sport associations. The thesis contains three separate essays presenting the studies and an introductory part where the studies are compared. In the introductory part of the thesis the interaction patterns between organisation and innovation are compared and discussed. I discuss the level of effort put into the decision and implementation processes, and how this is related to the satisfaction with the innovations. The patterns that emerged are quite different in the three studies. Understanding these different interaction patterns between organisation and innovation is a step away from a beneficial/ detrimental dichotomy of innovations. The decision and implementation processes differ between the three studies regarding what parts of the organisations were involved. In the first study we saw top down decision and implementation processes, whereas in the second study we saw bottom or middle up processes. In the third study the decision and implementation was much narrower in scope, often involving only one person. I also describe how all perspectives (efficient choice, forced selection, fad and fashion perspective) suggested by Abrahamson (1991), bear some grain of truth for the adoption of ISO 9000 by SMEs and adoption of ICT by sport associations, whereas imitation (the fad and fashion perspectives) is less important in the adoption of the YAF-module. Furthermore, I discuss the parallels between human and organisational decisionmaking. Summary of the first essay – The aim of the first study is to investigate the effects of quality management in accordance with the ISO 9000 as viewed by both quality managers and other managers. We also consider the way companies carried out the recertification process to ISO 9001:2000 and what consequences different approaches brought. The study is based on Swedish SMEs with an ISO 9000:1994 who had recertified according to the ISO 9001:2000 standard. The strongest, most obvious and most valued effects of the ISO 9000 standard are clearer and more apparent working procedures and responsibilities. The most apparent problem is bureaucracy, which according to some managers can lead to reduced flexibility. The effects of the certification vary depending on how the certification project is conducted and how consultants are used. Summary of the second essay – This essay presents a descriptive study of the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and the change in communication patterns in Swedish sport associations over the period 1994 to 2003. The change is discussed in light of Internet and broadband diffusion. Results show that new channels for communication have been adopted, primarily Web sites and e-mail, but few established channels have been dropped. While there are associations that save time and money and increase the spirit of community using ICT, many organisations experience the increased number of communication channels as a burden since maintaining them takes extra resources but the benefits are not always easy to detect or measure. Certain characteristics common among non profit organisations (NPOs) as well as Internet and broadband access have influenced the development of ICT use. Summary of the third essay – This essay presents a new model for analysing adoption of discretionary, public information systems (PIS) with digital use patterns (such as use or non-use, as opposed to frequency of use, or degree of engaged or compliant use). The model is based on Rogers’ innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and Nilsson’s user centred access model (UCAM). The model is an alternative to the general technology acceptance model (TAM). The AKAM-Model identifies six prerequisites for use and four management approaches and describes how these are related. To illustrate its applicability, the AKAM-Model is used to analyse the adoption of a specific module, the YAF-module, in the Swedish Sports Confederation’s (SSC) system Swedish Sports Online. We present empirical results that indicate the frequency and importance of the barriers and driving forces as experienced by the YAF-module users and the potential YAF-module users. / Denna avhandling beskriver effekterna av, och skälen för, användning av tre organisatoriska innovationer: ISO 9000, informations- och kommunikationsteknologi (ICT) och en administrativ modul (LOK-stödsmodulen) i Riksidrottsförbundets system Svenskidrott Online. Avhandlingen presenterar tre olika studier samt en kappa där studierna diskuteras och jämförs. Den första riktar sig mot svenska små och medelstora företag, och de två följande studierna riktar sig mot svenska idrottsföreningar. I den inledande delen av avhandlingen diskuterar jag interaktionsmönstren mellan organisation och innovation och jämför mellan de olika studierna. Jag diskuterar hur mycket kraft som läggs på besluts- och implementeringsprocessen, och hur detta är relaterat till nöjdheten med innovationen. Mönstren som framträder är olika mellan de tre studierna. Att förstå dessa interaktionsmönster är ett steg bort från dikotomin förbättring/försämring rörande innovationer. Besluts- och implementeringsprocesserna skiljer sig också mellan studierna avseende vilka delar av organisationen som är inblandade. Den första studien handlar om ”topdown” processer medan den andra studien handlar om ”bottom-up” eller ”mitten-upp”- processer. I den tredje studien var besluts- och implementeringsprocesserna betydligt mindre omfattande, ofta var endast en person inblandad. Jag beskriver också hur alla, av Abrahamson (1991) föreslagna perspektiven (efficient choice, forced selection, fad and fashion-perspektiven) har ett korn av sanning för adoption av ISO 9000 och för adoption av ICT medan imitation (fad and fashion-perspektiven) är mindre viktigt för adoption av LOK-stödsmodulen. Utöver detta diskuterar jag också tänkbara paralleller mellan individuellt och organisatoriskt beslutsfattande. Sammanfattning av den första studien – Syftet med studien är att undersöka effekterna av kvalitetsledning i enlighet med ISO 9000, som de upplevs av både kvalitetschefer och andra chefer. Vi beaktar också hur företagen genomför omcertifieringsprocessen till ISO 9001:2000 och vilka konsekvenser olika genomföranden fick. Studien fokuserar på svenska små och medelstora företag med ett ISO 9000:1994 certifikat som senare omcertifierat sig enligt ISO 9001:2000. De starkaste, tydligaste och högst värderade effekterna av ISO 9000 är tydligheten i arbetssätt och ansvarsfördelning. Det största problemet är byråkrati som kan leda till minskad flexibilitet. Effekterna av certifiering varierar beroende på hur certifieringsprojektet genomfördes och hur konsulter används. Sammanfattning av den andra studien – Denna studie är deskriptiv och fokuserar på hur ICT används och hur kommunikationsmönstren förändrats i svenska idrottsföreningar under perioden 1994 till 2003. Förändringen diskuteras i ljuset av utbredningen av Internet och bredbandsuppkoppling. Resultaten visar att idrottsföreningarna har börjat använda nya kommunikationskanaler, främst hemsida och epost, men ofta inte slutat använda traditionella kanaler. Det finns föreningar som har sparat både tid och pengar samt ökat gemenskapen genom att använda ICT. Många föreningar upplever dock de nya kanalerna som en börda, i de fall de inte slutat använda några traditionella kanaler. Vissa faktorer utmärkande för ideella organisationer och vissa faktorer utmärkande för Internet- och bredbandstillgång har påverkat ICT-användningen. Sammanfattning av den tredje studien – I denna studie utvecklas en ny modell (AKAM-modellen) för att analysera adoption av valfria, publika informationssystem (PIS) med digitala användningsmönster (d.v.s. användning eller ingen användning till skillnad från grad av användning). Modellen baseras på Rogers innovations- och diffusionsteori (IDT) och Nilssons användarcentrerade tillgångsmodell (UCAM). Modellen är ett alternativ till teknologiacceptansmodellen (TAM). AKAM-modellen baseras på sex förutsättningar för användning och fyra sätt att hantera PIS samt beskriver hur dessa är relaterade till varandra. För att illustrera tillämpbarheten av AKAM-modellen, använder vi den för att analysera adoptionen av LOK-stödsmodulen i Riksidrottsförbundets system Svenskidrott Online. Vi presenterar empiriska resultat som ger en indikation om hur vanliga och hur viktiga olika barriärer och drivkrafter är, för användare och potentiella användare av LOK-stödsmodulen. / <p>Report code: LIU-TEK-LIC-2008:10.</p>

The growing popularity of the internet and its activities have opened a wide range of business opportunities especially in terms of e-business. Though, reports show that the adoption rate of e-commerce in developed countries seem to be striving, a lot of developing countries still struggle with slow e-commerce adoption rate. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one these countries where e-commerce adoption is still in its infant stages. However, because of the recent infrastructure improvements and the growth in telecommunication services in the country, internet penetration, more specifically, mobile Internet penetration is growing at a significantly fast pace. This could mean opportunities for e-business services in DRC. The objective of this research is to investigate the factors that could influence online shopping adoption in DRC. This investigation was carried out by adapting an extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A quantitative approach was used in the collection of data and the data was edited and analyzed using the programming language, R. Also, the analytical techniques used in conducting this research include: Descriptive Statistical Methods (Cross tabulation, frequencies) and inferential Statistical Methods (Logistic Regression, ANOVA and Chi square tests). The results from this research show that contrary to the conceptualized model in the literature review where the main constructs included: Perceived Ease of Use(PEOU), Perceived Usefulness(PU) and Perceived Trust(PT), it appears that Perceived Ease of Use(PEOU) does not have any significance in a user’s intention to shop online(p>0.01). However, this research found that Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Trust have a strong statistical significance to a user’s intention to shop online. Furthermore, we found that Gender, Income and Age do not have any moderating influence on the relationship between a user’s perception and their intention to shop online in DRC. However, when the relationship between VI perception and intention to shop online is moderated by experience, we find that there is a variation between users with prior online shopping experience and those without. While these research findings make for remarkable recommendations on a user’s intention to shop online, we recommend that further research on actual usage of e-commerce be examined in DRC to get a better understanding of consumer online behaviors.

Purpose – It is argued that traditional audit methods are becoming outdated in terms of delivering sufficient assurance on business objectives, whereby, a paradigm shift towards continuous auditing (CA) is proposed and perceived as necessary both by academia, standard-setting groups, and business society. However, the practical prevalence of CA is insignificant in relation to the expectations depicted. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine why this is the case by means of investigating what factors that motivate an adoption of CA amongst various internal audit functions (IAFs). Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and data are obtained through semi-structured interviews capturing internal auditors’ attitude towards CA, and what factors that influence an adoption. Findings – There is a shattered view on CA amongst IAFs, where the proponents embrace it as a set of value-adding methodologies whilst the opponents argue that it falls outside their responsibility and threaten the independence of the function. Thus, why CA has not been leveraged to its full potential is, in contrast to previous research, not solely attributable to practical factors but also due to the IAFs’ vast differences in approach to CA as a concept. Practical implications – The study has brought attention to the distinguished disparity found in internal auditors’ attitude towards CA. Ultimately, doubts, whether CA should be leveraged by IAFs has come to light. These are hurdles that need to be considered, both by academia, standard-setting groups, and business society if the leap for CA ought to continue. Originality/value – The use of semi-structured interviews contributes to in-depth understandings and insights of the internal auditors’ attitudes towards CA. Moreover, such an approach is more likely to capture the stance towards CA in greater detail than that possible of previous large-scale surveys.

E-handel kallas ofta för shopping ”vartsomhelst, närsomhelst” och har möjliggjort förkonsumenter att handla utan att behöva lämna sitt hem (Zmijewska., Lawrence &amp; Steele,2007). Mobil handel och mobila betalningstjänster har ökat kraftigt de senaste åren, delvis på grund av utvecklingen inom mobiltelefoni och möjligheten att använda internet utanförhemmet. Mobil handel har därför blivit en del av konsumenternas vardagsliv (Hwang, Shiau&amp; Jan, 2007). Mobila betalningstjänster erbjuder en unik möjlighet för företag att förbättraderas kommunikation till deras kunder, samt att öka värdet i transaktionerna med kunderna, genom att ständigt ha möjligheten att engagera kunderna, oavsett vart de är. Detta kan stärkavarumärket öka lojaliteten hos kunderna (Early, 2014). För att lyckas med detta krävs det dock för företagen att förstå hur de kan få ut mest värde ur deras lösningar och erbjudanden och vilka faktorer som de ska överväga för att öka konsumenternas adapterande och acceptansav mobile betalningslösningar. Dahlberg, Mallat, Ondrus and Zmijewska (2008) nämner att de tycker att det behövs mer forskning I detta ämne för att förbättra förståelsen avkonsumenternas acceptans av mobila betalningstjänster och för att förbättra kvaliteten och relevans gentemot forskning I mobila betalningstjänster. (Dahlberg, Mallat, Ondrus and Zmijewska, 2008). Resultaten av denna avhandling är en uppsättning av faktorer som tros ha ett positivt inflytande på konsumenternas adapterande och acceptans av mobilabetalningstjänster. Faktorerna som har upptäckts är följande: · Gör mer än bara transaktioner· Skapa en snabb tjänst· Gör det enkelt· Gör det pålitligt· Adaptera till mobiltelefoner· Gör det till en trevlig upplevelse· Öka säkerheten· Ändra konsumenternas vanor· Rikta in tjänsten till rätt segment· Erbjud flera betalningsalternativ· Gör det gratis eller billigt / E-commerce, often referred to shopping “anytime, anywhere”, has allowed consumers to do shopping at any hour of the day without ever leaving their home. Although E-commerce require the consumers to have access to a stationary computer in their homes. Mobile commerce and mobile payments overcame this obstacle and allowed consumer to shop wherever they want (Zmijewska., Lawrence &amp; Steele, 2007). Driven by the mobility of mobile phones there has been a fast increase in recent years in mobile commerce and mobile payment services, and both have increasingly become a part of consumers’ everyday life(Hwang, Shiau &amp; Jan, 2007). Mobile payments offer unique possibilities for businesses to improve the communications, increase the value for the consumers, and to be able to engage with the consumers wherever they are. This will strengthen the brand of the businesses and solidify their customer relationships (Early, 2014). However for businesses to follow the mobile payment trend and get the most value out of their mobile payment solutions it is important for them to know what factors to consider to increase the consumer adoption and acceptance of their mobile payment services. Dahlberg, Mallat, Ondrus and Zmijewska(2008) believe that more research is needed to enhance the current understanding of mobilepayment services and to improve the quality and relevance of mobile payment research(Dahlberg, Mallat, Ondrus and Zmijewska, 2008). The findings of this thesis are a set of factors that are believed to positively influence the consumer adoption intention of mobile payment. The findings are the following:· Go beyond transactions· Create a fast experience· Make it easy· Make it reliable· Adapt to the mobile phone· Make paying with the phone a pleasant experience· Counter the perceived security· Change the habits· Target the right segment· Offer an abundance of payment options· Make it free or cheap

Health information technology (HIT) aims to improve healthcare services by means of technological tools. Patient centered technologies such as personal health records are relatively new HIT tools that enable individuals to get involved in their health management activities. These tools enable the transformation of health consumer behavior from one of passive health information consumers to that of active managers of their health information. This new role is more interactive and engaged, and with such tools, patients can better navigate their lives, and exercise more control over their treatments, hence potentially also leading to improvement in the quality of health services. Despite the benefits of using personal health record systems for health consumers, the adoption rate of these systems remains low. Many free and paid services have not received the uptake that had been anticipated when these services were first introduced. This study investigates some factors that affect the adoption of these systems, and may shed light on some potential reasons for low adoption rates. In developing the theoretical model of this study, social cognitive theory (SCT) and technology acceptance model (TAM) were utilized. The theoretical model was validated through a quantitative survey-based methodology, and the results were derived using structural equation modeling techniques. The key findings of this study highlight the role of individual and environmental factors as determinants of end-user behavior in the adoption of personal health records. The results show that in addition to perceptions of usefulness and ease of use, factors such as social norms and technology awareness are also significantly associated with various factors that directly and indirectly affect intention to use PHRs Based on the results obtained in this study, recommendations are offered for technology providers, and possible directions are proposed for academic researchers.

Groupware packages are increasingly being used to support content delivery, class discussion, student to student and student to faculty interactions and group work on projects. This research focused on groupware packages that are used to support students who are located in different places, but who are assigned group projects as part of their coursework requirements. In many cases, students are being asked to use unfamiliar technologies that are very different from those that support personal productivity. For example, computer-assisted cooperative work (CSCW) technology is different from other more traditional, stand-alone software applications because it requires the user to interact with the computer as well as other users. However, familiarity with the technology is not the only requirement for successful completion of a group assigned project. For a group to be successful, it must also have a desire to work together on the project. If this pre-requisite is not present within the group, then the technology will only create additional communication and coordination barriers. How much of an impact does each of these factors have on the acceptance of CSCW technology? The significance of this study is threefold. First, this research contributed to how a user's predisposition toward group work affects their acceptance of CSCW technology. Second, it helped identify ways to overcome some of the obstacles associated with group work and the use of CSCW technology in an academic online environment. Finally, it helped identify early adopters of CSCW software and how these users can form the critical mass required to diffuse the technology. This dissertation reports the impact of predisposition toward group work and prior computer experience on the intention to use synchronous CSCW. It was found that predisposition toward group work was not only positively associated to perceived usefulness; it was also related to intention to use. It also found that perceived ease of use, at least in this study, had a direct and positive impact on intention, and was not mediated through perceived usefulness. These findings hold implications for academia and how it uses complex collaborative software. Avenues for further research are identified.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the style of a user interface (i.e., its look and feel) has an effect on the usability of a synchronous computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) environment for delivering Internet-based collaborative content. The problem motivating this study is that people who are located in different places need to be able to communicate with one another. One way to do this is by using complex computer tools that allow users to share information, documents, programs, etc. As an increasing number of business organizations require workers to use these types of complex communication tools, it is important to determine how users regard these types of tools and whether they are perceived to be useful. If a tool, or interface, is not perceived to be useful then it is often not used, or used ineffectively. As organizations strive to improve communication with and among users by providing more Internet-based collaborative environments, the users' experience in this form of delivery may be tied to a style of user interface look and feel that could negatively affect their overall acceptance and satisfaction of the collaborative environment. The significance of this study is that it applies the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a tool for evaluating style of user interface look and feel in a collaborative environment, and attempts to predict which factors of that model, perceived ease of use and/or perceived usefulness, could lead to better acceptance of collaborative tools within an organization.