This mixed methods study contains two studies that are linked together sequentially to explore the work/nonwork boundary management of home-based teleworkers through the overarching research question: Do personality traits and ICT use influence how teleworkers manage their work-nonwork boundary? Mobile ICT s such as smartphones are becoming increasingly more important for work and they can have a boundary blurring effect on the work-nonwork boundary as they may be used at anytime and anywhere. However, the issue of how personality traits influence ICT use and work-nonwork boundary management has been neglected, particularly in a teleworking context. As people manage their work-nonwork boundaries differently and some people work better at home than others, it is not known to what extent personality traits play a role in boundary management and ICT use. Study One explores the relationships between the big five personality traits of conscientiousness, extraversion and neuroticism, the facet level traits of dutifulness, gregariousness, and impulsiveness and work/nonwork boundary interruptions. It also explores the relationships between these traits and frequency of technology use for work purposes and the relationship of ICT s (smartphones, tablets and laptops) to work/nonwork boundary interruptions. Data was collected via an online survey, with recruitment from social media sites and Local Authorities totalling 391 usable responses. Conscientiousness was found to be negatively related to work-nonwork and nonwork-work interruptions, dutifulness negatively related to nonwork-work interruptions, neuroticism positively related to work-nonwork interruptions and impulsiveness positively related to nonwork-work interruptions. Personality traits were found to have small correlations to boundary interruptions which was a new finding, although it was expected that the correlations might have been larger than they were found to be. Extraversion was positively related to frequency of laptop use and extraversion and gregariousness were positively related to frequency of smartphone use, neuroticism was negatively related to frequency of smartphone use which were new findings in a work context. Frequency of ICT use was positively related to work-nonwork interruptions, with smartphones showing the highest correlation, followed by tablet and then laptop displaying a stepped effect. This finding of a stepped effect was new and suggests that the portability of smartphones makes them much easier to connect to work out of hours, than laptops and tablets. The second study included interviews from 20 participants who had completed the survey, four from each of five boundary management groups (Strong Segmentors, Strong Integrators, Moderate Managers, Work Boundary Protectors and Family Boundary Protectors). The groups were derived from scores from the survey data, in order to investigate in more depth, other factors that influenced boundary management interruptions that were not picked up in Study One and specifically the idiosyncrasies of ICT use between groups. The qualitative data was analysed via Template Analysis and the final themes in the template were Boundary Management, Crafting Work, Individual Differences, Telework and Interruptions. The theme of Boundary Management was dealt with in this study. Some key findings were that Study Two built upon Study One by finding that proactivity was a key theme and that this trait may be particularly active while individuals are teleworking due to the context. ICT s were used in a way that reflected the wide ranging boundary management preferences of the individuals using them.

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Abstract This research provides a glimpse into the fast-evolving world of mobile technology and maybe even faster evolving world of communities. The communities of this research are about voluntary activities, centered around an interest or hobby, and are technologically mediated. Traditionally they have used computers for their communication and collaborative activities, but the advances of mobile technology as well as its availability are seen to offer novel opportunities for them. The premise of this research is seeing technology as basis for supporting new ways of interactions, through responding to user needs, hence leaning on the tradition of human-computer interaction and user-centered design. The research comprised of an extensive literature review geared toward understanding of these new forms of communities and their technology, as well as toward understanding how to design for them. Both supported case-study approach of this study, which addressed the designing for virtual stable community and birdwatcher community, and resulted in a concept of a dedicated mobile device (for the virtual stable community), and understanding of the importance of integrated technologies (for the bird watcher community). These results were further developed into new propositions for design criteria, overall providing a fresh perspective toward designing mobile technology. Within this research, design was seen as a social activity, where participants communicate and share their knowledge. Getting relevant, appropriate and useful knowledge from users was therefore imperative for this research. Towards this end, a new online method for user involvement called web based storytelling was developed. Furthermore, emphasis was placed on understanding the concept design process with concepts and theories from knowledge management. The nature of knowledge (tacit/explicit and context-specific) as well as knowledge processes of users and designers and their linkages were introduced and systematically used and interpreted toward improving the concept design process. / Tiivistelmä Tämä tutkimus tarjoaa katsauksen mobiiliteknologian nopeasti kehittyvään maailmaan ja ehkä vielä nopeammin kehittyvään yhteisöjen maailmaan. Tutkimuskohteena ovat vapaaehtoiset harrasteyhteisöt. Perinteisesti nämä yhteisöt ovat käyttäneet tietokoneita ja Internettiä toimintaansa, mutta uudet mobiilit laitteet ja niihin liittyvät teknologiat tarjoavat heille mielenkiintoisia mahdollisuuksia. Tutkimuksen lähtökohtana ovatkin uuden teknologian tarjoamat mahdollisuudet yhteisöjen jäsenille ja näiden käyttäjälähtöinen suunnittelu. Tutkimuksessa esitetään laaja kirjallisuuskatsaus sekä uusien yhteisöjen ja niiden teknologioiden ymmärtämiseen, että konseptisuunnitteluprosessin käyttäjälähtöisyyteen. Niiden avulla suoritettiin case-tutkimus, jonka tuloksena syntyi mobiililaitteen konseptiversio virtuaalitalliyhteisölle ja kuvaus kommunikointiteknologioiden integroinnista lintubongariyhteisölle. Nämä jalostuivat mobiiliteknologian konseptisuunnittelua ohjaaviksi kriteereiksi, mitkä tuovat uutta, yhteisöllisyyttä korostavaa näkökulmaa suunnitteluprosessiin. Suunnitteluprosessi käsitettiin tässä tutkimuksessa sosiaalisena toimintona, missä osallistujat kommunikoivat ja jakavat sekä tietojaan että tietämystään. Tarvittavan, oikean ja hyödyllisen käyttäjätiedon merkityksellisyys tutkimuksessa tuotti yhtenä tutkimuksen tuloksena uuden käyttäjätutkimusmenetelmän (verkkopohjainen tarinankerronta). Kaikenkaikkiaan tutkimuksen kantavana voimana oli tietopohjainen lähestymistapa suunnitteluprosessiin, mikä tarkoitti suunnitteluprosessin ymmärtämistä tietojohtamisprosessina ja tulkitsemista tietojohtamisen käsitteiden kautta. Tiedon ominaisuuksien (hiljainen/eksplisiittinen ja kontekstisidonnaisuus) sekä käyttäjien ja suunnittelijoiden tietoprosessien yhteyksien systemaattisen käytön nähtiin parantavan konseptisuunnitteluprosessia.

This study investigates the effectiveness of an inquiry-based learning curriculum for middle school students with learning and/or attentional disabilities (LD and/or ADHD). The main questions asked were: To what extent can an inquiry-based learning curriculum focused on digital responsibility impact: (1) well-being; (2) smartphone usage; and (3) smartphone awareness among adolescents with LD and/or ADHD? Fifty middle school participants with LD and/or ADHD were divided into two groups, an experimental group and a control group. Findings showed a significant increase both in positive affect and in awareness of personal smartphone usage for experimental, but not control, participants, suggesting that inquiry-based learning may be an effective approach for teaching digital responsibility to students with LD and/or ADHD. Other findings indicated that social connectivity is a high priority for today's adolescents. Additional insights and implications are discussed.

Many older adults (aged 55 and older) need training to acquire computer knowledge and skills. Using computers and the Internet could provide access to vital resources for improving older adults' health and maintaining their connections with family and society. This study examined 2 psychological constructs--computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy--that have been shown to impact a person's successful use of computers and related technology. Guided by Bandura's self-efficacy theory, which emphasizes the importance of adult learners being motivated and taking charge of their learning, this study examined the impact of a computer knowledge and skills workshop on older adults' computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy. A concurrent, mixed-methods design was used to collect and analyze survey data and interview transcripts from a convenience sample of African American older adults (N = 11). Mobile technology (i.e., tablet PCs and portable hotspots) was used to access the Internet and e-mail. Data analyses included thematic coding of the interview notes and descriptive statistics to present the survey results. The themes that emerged from the interview data were learning opportunities, positive attitudes, and user-friendly tools and equipment for reducing computer anxiety and constructive attitude changes and learning environments for improving computer self-efficacy. The descriptive statistics indicated favorable changes for computer anxiety with scores averaging a decrease of -26.5% and computer self-efficacy with scores averaging an increase of 62.1%. This study illustrated the feasibility of a low-cost approach for establishing a mobile computer laboratory to help older persons become proficient in their use of computers, the Internet, and related technology.

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Customers uses both offline and online channels before the final purchase, retailers that are operating and selling their products both online and offline can benefit from aligning the experiences on their channels by using an omni-channel strategy. The smartphone is becoming a natural part of our day-to-day life and keeping us connected, also when visiting abrick and mortar retailers. Mobile technology therefore possesses the opportunity to integrate in-store experience with the online world for creating value for customers. But many retailers are struggling in their integration efforts towards an omni-channel strategy due toall the possible technologies to invest. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to investigate the acceptance of mobile technologies in a brick and mortar retail setting, the chosen technologies are beacons and augmented reality.This research investigated the mediating effect of the four technology readiness dimensions:optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and insecurity, on the constructs of the technology acceptance model: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The research was carried out with a positivist research philosophy, inductive approach and lastly with an explanatory research design including a quantitative method. The data was collected through a survey, which got answered by 224 participants. The data was further statistically analyzed. The result showed that several of the dimensions of technology readiness had a significant effect on the constructs of technology acceptance model, especially the dimension: optimism. Thus, retailers that wants to introduce mobile technology into their stores should put emphasis on customizing their offerings towards the customers’ different level of technology readiness, especially optimism.

Personal handheld mobile technology represents a growing topic of interest for K-12 educators. Devices such as iPads, tablets, and smartphones, in particular, are becoming more ubiquitous in society and prevalent in classrooms of children of all ages. The ease of access, combined with growing functionality and capacity of these devices creates opportunities that were previously unimaginable. Professional educators are beginning to recognize the value such devices offer for enriching and expanding opportunities for learning both inside and outside of the classroom. The views of educators and students regarding mobile technology have been well documented in existing literature. What is less clear is how parents view personal mobile technology when applied to formal and informal learning opportunities. Using quantitative analysis, this study examines the views of parents when mobile technology is utilized in Singaporean third grade classrooms. This study represents a pioneering effort to better understand the evolving role of parents and serves as a foundation for future research to explore the role of parents as partners when personal mobile technology is used for learning. The constructs identified in this study reveal that parents do believe technology skills are important in the modern age of learning and working.

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