The purpose of this study was to examine factors related to information technology (IT) implementation in the curriculum. The focus was on Malaysian Ministry of Education Polytechnic (MoEP) faculty members' attitudes toward IT, as well as IT availability and IT use in teaching. The response rate from the 332 surveys sent to the MoEP was 75.9%. Faculty members as a whole appeared to have readiness for adoption of changes related to IT use in teaching despite the lack of IT use in general. The use of selected IT items was skewed greatly in the direction of non-use. Faculty attitudes toward the use of IT in their teaching were very positive. The overall professional development experiences in IT that respondents had were greatly skewed toward non-participation. Results for items associated with supports services showed that they were available for faculty use. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents reported to face barriers to the use IT in their teaching. The extent of IT use in general for male respondents and female respondents showed a significant difference among gender. ANOVA revealed no difference between MoEP membership and IT use in general. Analysis of department membership and IT use in general revealed no difference between the two. Highest level of education had a low significant correlation with extent of IT use in general. A low negative correlation was shown between highest level of education and other demographic variables. Age had a moderate positive correlation with years served for the MoEP and a high correlation with years served for the MoE. Years served for the MoEP also has a moderate correlation with years served for the MoE. There were no significant correlations among variables except for online discussion and teaching load. Highest level of education showed a low correlation with email, WWW, and scanner. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine what variables were the best predictors of IT use. Results revealed an R2 of 0.04. Highest level of education contributed significantly to the variance. Adoption proneness proved to be a predictor for IT use in teaching, while other selected demographic variables were not significant predictors. / Ph. D.

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This study proposes a new model for the assessment of information technology (IT) use in public and private companies, which is called ITMEM- Information Technology Management Enhancement Model. This model aims to assist decision making processes in information technology management. For this purpose, a tool is developed to explore strengths and weaknesses of a company in IT use. The model was developed upon a three-folded structure including (1) academic studies in technology management, (2) best practices which are developed for control over operations and processes including COBIT, CMMI and ITIL, and (3) standards about IT management and IT security. The conceptual framework of ITMEM is based on technology management process assessment model of M.J. Gregory. Methodological triangulation approach is adopted for the model for retrieving valid and reliable results. Triangulation consists of (1) semi structured interview, (2) presented company documents and (3) questionnaire developed upon relevant academic researches, best practices and standards. ITMEM was practiced on ten domestic and experienced companies in software &amp / development and manufacturing industries which were appraised in or in progress of being appraised in CMMI. The study revealed the benefits and deficiencies of IT use in the company. It also provided information for decision makers about IT value within companies, and demonstrated the effects of best practices and standards over IT use.The reported findings should be valuable assets to researchers studying on IT management and IT use in organizations.

This thesis concerns individuals’ behaviors with Information Systems (IS) once an application has been applied by users in accomplishing their work activity. Despite research on IS acceptance and continuance, little is known about individuals’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes and their associated outcomes after the initial adoption of a system. My research aims to address this shortcoming. In doing so, this dissertation combines novel theories – the ecological perspective based on ecological psychology and the emotional perspective based on neuroscience, physiological, and psychological research – with the current IS post-adoption literature – the deliberative perspective – to the study of IS use as an ongoing behavioral process that unfolds over time. Two studies were conducted to investigate these processes and outcomes. The first study used an experience sampling method. Employees of different organizations who used IS for their work were asked to carry a booklet and a pager for two weeks. Every time they were paged, they were asked to fill out both open-ended and close-ended questions about their feelings, thoughts and performance at the moment in the booklet. The second study followed an experimental design in order to investigate the phenomena of interest in a more controlled environment. The experiment combined multiple sources of data: such as protocol analysis, heart rate data, and analysis of behaviors through video coding. The overall results from both studies suggest that users do not think about the IS nor experience feelings related to the IS unless they are facing a difficulty with it (e.g., an error). Furthermore, the results indicate affective and physiological changes following difficulties with an IS as well as changes in cognitive and behavioral processes. Finally, the results show a relation between these affective processes and self-reported performance, and a relation between some of the cognitive and behavioral processes and both objective and self-reported performance. Overall, this thesis provides a refreshing theoretical and empirical examination of the various events, processes and associated outcomes involved during actual IS use. The two empirical studies provide support for the theory of post-adoption IS use developed in this thesis. Finally, this thesis suggests exciting opportunities for future research. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2008-08-27 09:00:57.168

Implementations of information technology solutions to address specific information problems are only successful when the technology is utilized. The antecedents of technology use involve user, system, task and organization characteristics as well as externalities which can affect all of these entities. However, measurement of the interaction effects between these entities can act as a proxy for individual attribute values. A model is proposed which based upon evaluation of these interaction effects can predict technology utilization. This model was tested with systems being implemented at a pediatric health care facility. Results from this study provide insight into the relationship between the antecedents of technology utilization. Specifically, task time provided significant direct causal effects on utilization. Indirect causal effects were identified in task value and perceived utility constructs. Perceived utility, along with organizational support also provided direct causal effects on user satisfaction. Task value also impacted user satisfaction in an indirect fashion. Also, results provide a predictive model and taxonomy of variables which can be applied to predict or manipulate the likelihood of utilization for planned technology.

While information systems researchers have argued well from socio-technical and organizational culture perspectives that information technology (IT) and organizational structures are interdependent and continually reshape each other, few studies have sought fine-grained, micro-level explanations for the heterogeneity in IT use often observed across seemingly similar end users and seemingly similar work contexts. Using a nested comparative case study design, I explore electronic medical record (EMR) use by physicians in an integrated multi-specialty health care organization. I use multiple methods to observe and develop micro-level understandings of factors associated with EMR use. The study was conducted in eight practices operating within the same organization. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations, and questionnaires. A constant comparative approach guided data analysis. Differences in physician values were noted, as were differences in physician perspectives of uncertainty. I categorized physicians as high, medium and low EMR users depending on a variety of factors including degree to which the EMR was integrated into work practices, degree of feature use, and degree of EMR-enabled communication. Drawing on theories of professionalism, I explain between-physician heterogeneity in EMR use as partly a function of differences in dimensionality of professional values. Three dimensions of professional values were identified 1) profession-oriented, 2) patient-oriented and 3) organization-oriented. Drawing on complexity theory, I argue that differences in physician perspectives of uncertainty influence their EMR use. I found that physicians who viewed uncertainty primarily as reducible through information tended to be higher users of the EMR. Physicians who viewed uncertainty as fundamental, or inherent, in care delivery processes tended to be lower users of the EMR. This study contributes to information systems research by extending current understandings of IT use. The professional values held by physicians and their perspectives of uncertainty may be more important in shaping EMR use than previously thought. These findings indicate the need to more aggressively pursue EMR designs, implementation strategies and policies that accommodate these two additional factors. Additionally, findings from this research indicate a need for IT managers in professional settings to consider end-user professional values and perspectives of uncertainty in decisions involving IT assets. / text

<p>What is identified as a problematic area in this thesis is our different relations with information technology which creates inequalities between possibilities to enjoy the advantages, or suffer the disadvantages, of the information technological development. The first step in addressing this area is to start with our conceptions of technological development, voluntaristic or deterministic, and the first argument is that it is important to create an awareness of our relation with technology. This thesis presents a perspective (with the help of social constructionism) which holds a possible method to create better conditions for awareness and finally, another relation. The relationistic approach highlights what sometimes is labelled the therapeutic purpose of IS (i.e. to create a mutual understanding between different agents through negotiated arrangements) which prevents some agents to be treated as inanimate objects instead of fellow human beings. And techno therapy not only for the IS researchers but for the change agents at the political level and perhaps most importantly, for the users themselves so that they will be able to formulate, communicate and mediate their needs and wishes. The aim is to come up with tools and instruments for creating opportunities for as many as possible to in an enlightened and equal way make their own choices regarding information technology use.</p>

What is identified as a problematic area in this thesis is our different relations with information technology which creates inequalities between possibilities to enjoy the advantages, or suffer the disadvantages, of the information technological development. The first step in addressing this area is to start with our conceptions of technological development, voluntaristic or deterministic, and the first argument is that it is important to create an awareness of our relation with technology. This thesis presents a perspective (with the help of social constructionism) which holds a possible method to create better conditions for awareness and finally, another relation. The relationistic approach highlights what sometimes is labelled the therapeutic purpose of IS (i.e. to create a mutual understanding between different agents through negotiated arrangements) which prevents some agents to be treated as inanimate objects instead of fellow human beings. And techno therapy not only for the IS researchers but for the change agents at the political level and perhaps most importantly, for the users themselves so that they will be able to formulate, communicate and mediate their needs and wishes. The aim is to come up with tools and instruments for creating opportunities for as many as possible to in an enlightened and equal way make their own choices regarding information technology use.