The technology and telecommunication industries have made significant progress in the past few decades leading to several inventions and designs that have significantly improved efficiency in all aspects of human life. These innovations in science and technology improve our quality of life. Modern technology enables us to access vast amounts of information and services through a network of interconnected computers and machines. Recently, various technologies have been proposed to incorporate the human body into this incorporated network. One of these proposed technologies are chip implants meant to be inserted into the human body at various suitable body parts, such as the human brain or wrist. As they are a relatively recent technological innovation, chip implants are neither popular nor common yet (Caldera, 2020; Michael et al., 2017). Previous research on chip implants has produced limited information regarding the motivation aspects of using this technology. So, this study uses a self-determination theory to see which motivational factors lead to the use and trust of chip implants. This thesis discusses how implantable technology works, to explore which factors affect an individual's willingness to get a chip implant, personality traits associated with implant adoption, motivational factors affecting adoptions, and other user-centered perspectives of the technology.

Informatikens inflytande ökar i redovisningen. Automatiseringen, som en del av detta, utvecklas kontinuerligt och har blivit en central kärna för företag i att säkerhetsställa transparens i redovisningen. Automatiserad redovisningspraxis bygger på centrala tekniker som Artificiell Intelligens och Robotic Process Automation. Uppsatsens syfte är att bidra till förklaringar och förståelse för hur användning av automatiseringsteknik påverkar redovisningsekonomers arbetsliv. Respondenterna tillämpar tekniken på olika sätt. Studiens utgångspunkt finns i två centrala begrepp: Teknologisk acceptans och arbetsmotivation. Studien använder sig av ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv med fokus att behandla och tolka människors upplevelser och erfarenheter kopplade till automatiseringen. Tio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med personer i olika roller inom redovisningsbranschen för att samla in primärdata. Denna data genomgick en kvalitativ dataanalys för att finna viktiga teman. Resultatet visade på fem starka effekter automatiseringen ger på dessa redovisningsekonomers arbetsliv. Slutsatsen belyser således effekterna av automatiseringen i form av ett effektivare arbete, ökat värdeskapande, ökad kravställning på kunskap och kompetens, ökad motivation samt tillit med hänsyn till systemens funktion. / The influence of informatics is increasing in accounting. Automation, as part of this, is continuously evolving and has become a central core for companies in securing transparency in accounting. Automated accounting practices are based on core technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation. The purpose of the essay is to contribute to explanations and understanding of how the use of automation technology affects the working life of accounting economists. The respondents apply the technology in different ways. The study's starting point is found in two central concepts: Technological acceptance and work motivation. The study uses a phenomenological perspective with a focus on treating and interpreting people's experiences connected to automation. Ten semi-structured interviews are conducted with people in various roles within the accounting industry to collect primary data. This data underwent a qualitative data analysis to find important themes. The results showed five strong effects that automation has on the working life of these accountants. The conclusion thus highlights the effects of automation in the form of efficient work, increased value creation, increased demands on knowledge and competence, increased motivation and trust with regard to system functions.

Background: The emerging cryptocurrency market becomes more and more recognized around the globe. Therefore, it has become of great interest to policymakers, institutional investors, and individual investors. The new encrypted blockchain technology offers individual investors contemporary opportunities to invest contrary to traditional means. However, the volatile market presents instabilities and uncertainty for market participants creating a research gap for academics to investigate what poses these difficulties.  Purpose: The objective of the study is to investigate the determinants that affect individual investors' adoption intention of Bitcoin. By incorporating theories to understand investment behaviors and attitudes.  Methodology: The thesis utilized a quantitative methodology and collected data through an online questionnaire with the help of a Likert-scale instrument. The survey participants ended with a number of 114 respondents that are characterized as young adult investors. Interpretation and evaluation of the results were analyzed through an OLS linear regression with the help of a software program, Minitab.  Findings: Theresearchquestionwasansweredtoasatisfactorylevel,whereresultsattested to past works of literatures. The study found that consumer characteristic is a driving cause for individual investors' adoption intention of Bitcoin. To elaborate, subjective norms of individuals navigate their attitude towards Bitcoin, and investors’ peers’ opinions and acceptance play a crucial role in their engagement in the market. The herding trend was the most significant variable that contributed to investors’ adoption intention. The results also showed a significant correlation toward the technology acceptance model. Nonetheless, the study lacked empirical evidence to support market characteristics steering private investors’ adoption intention.  Implications & Future Research suggestions: The main implications of the study were factors that regarded data collection and methods. Due to a time limitation, the survey was not available for a longer period of time, a longitudinal study could be of interest whilst incorporating more consumer characteristics into the analysis. In addition, future scholars ought to focus on market characteristics and how they influence varying cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Tether alongside Bitcoin. To conclude, a larger scope of the study could bring about more significant results and interesting findings.

Marine transportation in EU currently emits 18% of the total global marine CO2 emissions, which is approximately 140 million tonnes of CO2. In response to this, new regulations aim to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by the year 2030, therefore, green innovations in marine technology are more important than ever. However, reducing carbon emissions requires people to accept these new technologies. In this paper, I explore the role of human-centred design in technology acceptance by using some methods in the design process. The design process included various methods such as user-, heuristic evaluations, expert reviews, role-playing, parallel prototyping, and prototyping. I studied, evaluated, and redesigned the interface of EcoPilot, that is a product which calculates, decreases, and optimizes fuel consumption in marine transportation. The design process of EcoPilot resulted in increased knowledge about the current user experience of marine technology aimed at reducing carbon emissions, as well as conclusions and reflections on how human-centred Design can improve the experience and promote the acceptance of new green technology.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att öka förståelsen för hur entreprenörer förhåller sig till den osäkerhet som råder när beslut tas angående implementering av ny teknologi.   Metod: Då studiens syfte har varit att öka förståelsen för ämnet har semistrukturerade djupintervjuer använts som kvalitativ metod.   Resultat & slutsats: Osäkerheten avseende ny teknik bland entreprenörerna är i det närmaste obefintlig tack vare att kostnaden för implementering av ny teknik är låg, det är lätt för entreprenörer att skaffa sig grundläggande kunskaper om ny teknik och nyttan av ny teknik är lätt att mäta. Dessa aspekter i kombination med entreprenörernas goda teknologiska beredskap bidrar till att beslutsfattande avseende ny teknik i större utsträckning sker under optimism än osäkerhet. De faktorer som påverkar beslutet att implementera en ny specifik teknologi (i denna studie digital marknadsföring), det vill säga den teknologiska acceptansen, är kunder, konkurrenter, långsiktig nytta, mätbarhet, resurser samt praktisk användbarhet.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar studien till litteraturen genom att upprätta ett ramverk som skildrar vilka faktorer som har inverkan på entreprenörens upplevda optimism avseende ny teknologi. Studien visar att låg finansiell kostnad, kunskap och kompetens, befintlig kundbas samt mätbarhet av ROI är faktorer som förebygger osäkerhet. Vidare skildrar ramverket hur förebyggande av osäkerhet i sin tur skapar en optimistisk inställning till beslutsfattande avseende implementering av ny teknologi i form av digital marknadsföring, där framförallt mätbarheten bidrar till att beslutsfattandet sker på rationell basis och besluten i stor utsträckning drivs av faktorer kopplade till tidigare forskning inom teknologisk acceptans. Ur ett praktiskt perspektiv påvisas att digital marknadsföring kan bedrivas framgångsrikt till en låg finansiell kostnad trots avsaknad av tidigare erfarenhet eller utbildning hos entreprenören. Osäkerhet avseende implementering av digital marknadsföring kan förebyggas med hjälp av insamling av information och nätverkande.     Förslag till fortsatt forskning: I studien identifieras aspekter som förebygger entreprenöriell osäkerhet och ett förslag till framtida forskning är att använda sig av de faktorer som visat sig förebygga osäkerhet och testa dem på en annan digital teknologi för att kunna se huruvida resultatet hade skiljt sig åt. Forskningen indikerar även att att nystartade företag generellt agerar under en större osäkerhet än ett etablerat företag, trots att företagen faller inom kategorin mikroföretag. Det hade därför varit intressant att bygga vidare på studien genom att genomföra en jämförande studie i en större skala för att kunna dra slutsatser på huruvida nyetablerade mikroföretag skiljer sig från mikroföretag som varit verksamma under längre tid för att testa de indikationer som studien påvisat. / Aim: To increase understanding of how entrepreneurs relate to the uncertainty that prevails when deciding on the implementation of new technology.   Method: Semi-structured in-depth interviews.   Result & Conclusions: The uncertainty regarding new technology among the entrepreneurs is almost non-existent due to the cost of implementing new technology is low, it is easy for entrepreneurs to acquire basic knowledge about how to use new technology, and the benefits of new technology are easy to measure. These aspects, combined with the entrepreneurs' good technological readiness, contribute to the decision-making regarding new technology to occur in greater extent under optimism than uncertainty. The factors that influence the decision to implement new specific technology (in this study digital marketing), i.e. the technological acceptance, are customers, competitors, long-term utility, measurability, resources and practical usability.   Contribution of the thesis: From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes to the literature by establishing a framework that describes what factors have an impact on the contractor's perceived optimism regarding new technology. The study shows that low financial cost, knowledge and competence, existing customer base and measurability are factors that prevent uncertainty. Furthermore, the framework describes how prevention of uncertainty, in turn, creates an optimistic approach to decision-making regarding the implementation of new technology in the form of digital marketing, where, above all, the measurability contributes to the decision-making being made on a rational basis, and where the decisions are largely driven by factors linked to previous research in technological acceptance. From a practical perspective, demonstrating that digital marketing can be conducted successfully at a low financial cost despite the absence of previous experience or training with the contractor. Uncertainty regarding the implementation of digital marketing can be prevented by means of collecting information and networking.   Suggestions for future research: The study identifies aspects that prevent entrepreneurial insecurity, and a proposal for future research is to use the factors that have proven to prevent uncertainty and test them on another digital technology in order to see whether the result had differed. The research also indicates that start-up companies generally act under greater uncertainty than an established company, despite the fact that the companies fall within the category of micro-enterprises. It would therefore have been interesting to build on the study by conducting a comparative study on a larger scale in order to draw conclusions as to whether newly established micro-companies differ from micro-companies that have been active for a long time in order to test the indications that the study showed.

The current scenario of education uses numerous technological tools to mediate and streamline teachinglearning processes. One of these tools, which has been gaining more space each day, are the collaborative production tools. The wiki tool, which belongs to the Moodle platform, for example, gives students of both face-to-face and non-face-to-face courses a collaborative and dynamic form of production. However, when presented to students, this tool, as occurs whenever we have contact with something new, causes different perceptions. This dissertation aims to verify cognitive processes regarding the use of the Moodle wiki and through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM 3) to verify the acceptance of the same by students and alumni. As well as, list the factors that can generate lack of motivation and lack of participation in the proposed activities and, in this way, help in planning activities of more effective studies in Virtual Environments of Teaching-Learning and that mobilize the students to participate more actively . The research was carried out with a group of the Special Program of Graduation (PEG) Training of Professors for Professional Education of the UFSM, in addition to a group of PEG alumni. The choice of the participants was motivated by the fact that we believe it is important to know the perceptions, acceptance, and consequent motivation of future teachers in using the Moodle wiki. The results obtained in the TAM 3 adapted questionnaire show that the level of the average acceptance of the research participants is considered to be Moderate High. Their perceptions about the Wiki tool have provided data that confirm and validate the application of the questionnaire and elucidate the research objectives. / O cenário atual da educação utiliza inúmeras ferramentas tecnológicas para mediar e agilizar processos de ensino-aprendizagem. Uma destas ferramentas, que vem ganhando mais espaço a cada dia, são as ferramentas de produção colaborativa. A ferramenta wiki, pertencente a plataforma Moodle, por exemplo, proporciona aos estudantes dos cursos presenciais e não presenciais uma forma de produção colaborativa e dinâmica. Porém, quando apresentada aos estudantes, esta ferramenta, como ocorre sempre que temos contato com algo novo, provoca diferentes percepções. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo verificar processos cognitivos referentes a utilização da wiki do Moodle e através do modelo de aceitação tecnológica (Technology Acceptance Model-TAM 3) verificar a aceitação da mesma pelos estudantes e egressos. Assim como, elencar os fatores que podem gerar falta de motivação e falta de participação nas atividades propostas e, desta forma auxiliar no planejamento de atividades de estudos mais eficazes em Ambientes Virtuais de Ensino-Aprendizagem e que mobilizem os estudantes a participarem de forma mais ativa. A pesquisa foi realizada com uma turma do Programa Especial de Graduação (PEG) Formação de Professores para a Educação Profissional da UFSM, além de um grupo de alunos egressos do PEG. A escolha dos participantes foi motivada pelo fato de acreditarmos ser importante conhecer as percepções, a aceitação, e consequente motivação, de futuros professores em utilizar a wiki do Moodle. Os resultados obtidos no questionário adaptado TAM 3 mostram que o nível da média de aceitação dos participantes da pesquisa é considerado como Moderado Alto. As percepções dos mesmos acerca da ferramenta Wiki elencaram dados que confirmam e validam a aplicação do questionário, além de elucidarem os objetivos da pesquisa.

This study is a qualitative research on the faciliating and impeding factors that influence Hong Kong citizen's adoption of Electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS), the principal electronic health record (EHR) system in Hong Kong.  A majority of the previous studies of EHR among information systems (IS) literature either focused within the institutional or technological perspectives, or on the perspectives of healthcare institutions or healthcare professionals. Little research has been done from citizens' perspective on factors of their adoption of EHR. There is also little research specific to Hong Kong's circumstances. This research aims to provide an enhanced understanding on the factors that influence citizens' EHR adoption through looking into eHRSS adoption in Hong Kong. It aims to provide contributions to bridge the knowledge gaps by providing a better understanding on adoption factors from citizens' perspective, and investigate into whether there are any unique factors applicable to Hong Kong. In this study, semi-structured interviews had been performed on participants covering various age groups to collect their views and opinions concering their adoption of eHRSS. With reference to theoretical constructs on user acceptance and adoption, this study identifies four facilitating factors for citizens' adoption of eHRSS, namely (i) knowledge, (ii) trust, (iii) perceived potential health benefits and (iv) flexibility and "stickiness" of continual use. Four impeding factors for citizens' non-adoption were also identified, namely (i) difficulty in registration, low level/lack of trust in EHR implementation, (iii) negativity on acceptance of new technology and (iv) perceived difficulty in usage.  In the concluding remarks, way forward for future research has been outlined. Practical recommendations have also been formulated for reference by relevant authorities in administering eHRSS in Hong Kong.

Sverige är idag i framkant av den mobila betalningsteknologin, trots det råder få studier på området som genomförts i Sverige. Samtidigt visar tidigare studier att demografiska faktorer påverkar hur saker och ting uppfattas. Därför har faktorerna ålder, kön och utbildning studerats i förhållande till risk, tillit och servicekvalitet med mobila betalningsapplikationer. Studien grundas i en deduktiv forskningsansats och är en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom fokusgrupper baserat på ålder. Urval av deltagare har gjorts genom bekvämlighetsurval. Insamlad data har analyserats genom innehållsanalys. Dessutom har studiens validitet och reliabilitet resonerats kring, även etiska överväganden. Resultatet av studien visar att demografiska faktorer påverkar i viss utsträckning. Ålder och utbildning påverkar hur risk och tillit uppfattas. Däremot påträffas inte kön som en demografisk faktor som påverkar upplevd risk, tillit eller servicekvalitet. Studien visar också att andra demografiska faktorer påverkar, i den här studien framträder Sverige och dess infrastruktur som en betydande faktor till upplevd risk, tillit och servicekvalitet med mobila betalningsapplikationer. / Sweden is today in the forefront of mobile payment technology, despite that, there are few studies in the area that have been conducted in Sweden. At the same time, previous studies show that demographic factors affect how things are perceived, therefore the factors age, gender and education have been studied in relation to risk, trust and service quality with mobile payment applications. The study is based on a deductible research effort and is a qualitative survey method. The empirical material has been collected through focus groups based on age. Selection of participants has been made by convenience checkout. The collected data has been analyzed by content analysis. In addition, the validity and reliability of the study have been resonated, including ethical considerations. The result of the study shows that demographic factors affect to a certain extent. Age and education affect how risk and confidence are perceived. However, gender is not found as a demographic factor that affects perceived risk, trust or service quality. The study also shows that other demographic factors influence, in this study, Sweden and its infrastructure appear to be a significant factor in perceived risk, trust and service quality with mobile payment applications.

Technology has been an integral part of human life since the 19th century’s Industrial Revolution, and the advancement of technologies has continued into the 21st century. Of all new emerging technologies, the computer has been identified as the most important, most complex and fastest emerging technology. In order for businesses to compete and survive within the business world, they are compelled to adopt new computer technologies. However, computers alone cannot improve organisational performance. Computers need to be accepted, optimally used and utilised by employees in order for an organisation to succeed. One such technology is SAP AG’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which is a real-time, fully integrated business system used by more than 170 000 organisations in 120 countries. Measuring information system success has been a concern since its inception due to its complexity and difficulty to appraise. Researchers traditionally attempted to measure success by the delivering of a functional information system product within certain monetary and time constraints. Subsequently, evidence suggested that a more accurate measure of success lies within the field of system use. One model of assessing and predicting user acceptance and which has gained popularity in recent years is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Apart from accepting the SAP ERP system, users should also be of the intention to continuously use it as a job requirement. The model for measuring user commitment is psychological attachment which determines whether the commitment is insincere and temporary, or long-lasting. Further, not only do users need to accept and continuously use an information technology like SAP ERP; they also need to be able to cope while using it. If not, psychological stress known as techno stress develops and prevents the optimal use of this system. With these three possible explanations for computer technology avoidance as a premise of departure, this study aims to determine the congruence, if any, between the sub-constructs of the TAM (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude toward using, behavioural intention to use and actual system use), psychological attachment (compliance, identification and internalisation), and techno stress (negative computer thoughts) within a South African SAP ERP user environment. A cross-sectional survey design was used rendering a convenience sample of N = 241 from among the SAP ERP user fraternity at a South African steel manufacturer. The measuring instruments used were the 23-item Technology Acceptance Questionnaire (TAM), the 10-item Psychological Attachment Questionnaire (PAQ) and the 20-item Computer Thoughts Survey (CTS-C). Study 1 which was a literature review confirmed conceptual congruence in that although the technology acceptance model was the most parsimonious, powerful and widely applied theoretical model, it was constrained due to the omission of social influence (psychological attachment) as a contributing factor in the processes of behavioural change towards technology acceptance. Furthermore, it was found that techno stress lowers employee efficiency and creates dissonance in the work environment, resulting in acceptance, hesitance or resistance towards the technology in question. Congruence was established between the system itself (technology acceptance), social relationships (psychological acceptance), and inherent psychological stress (techno stress). The aim of study 2 was to test the technology acceptance model within a South African SAP ERP user environment. Structural equation modelling confirmed that positive inter-construct relationships exist between all TAM constructs. Actual system use, which is the measurement for technology acceptance, was directly affected by behavioural intention to use and indirectly by perceived usefulness. In turn, behavioural intention to use was directly affected by perceived usefulness, attitude toward using and indirectly by perceived ease of use. Attitude toward using was directly affected by perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Perceived usefulness was directly affected by perceived ease of use. Study 3 revealed that internalisation had a direct positive effect on behavioural intention to use and an indirect effect on actual system use via behavioural intention to use. Furthermore, in this study identification had direct positive effects on internalisation, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and actual system use. Indirect effects emerged between identification and behavioural intention to use via internalisation as well as behavioural intention to use via perceived usefulness. Compliance, on the other hand, had negligible, negative direct effects on all TAM constructs of which the most prominent was that on attitude toward using. Results acquired from structural equation modelling in study four confirmed that weak negative relationships existed between techno stress and all TAM constructs. This finding is contrary to other studies and can be attributed to the fact that participants in this study were at large, proficient around SAP ERP and therefore experienced low levels of techno stress. Furthermore, aspects such as effective training, clear deadlines, effective teamwork, recurrent performance evaluations, job security, career development and realistic job load are all antidotes for techno stress which is believed to be current within the participant fraternity. In a concluding chapter the conclusions derived from the literature review, as well as the empirical research were presented and recommendations flowing from this research study were made. / PhD (Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka framtidsutsikter och utmaningar för kontaktlös betalningsmetod som är NFC-baserad. Detta mynnade ut i frågor som undersökte kring varför enbart ett fåtal banker valt att satsa på kontaktlösa betalkort, vilka utmaningar som NFC-baserade betalningar står inför i den svenska marknaden och även vilka framtidsutsikter den kontaktlösa betalningsmetoden har i den svenska betalningsbranschen. För att svara på dessa frågor, tillämpades en kvalitativ fallstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Två respondenter från varsin bank som infört kontaktlös betalningsmetod i Sverige intervjuades, likaså en respondent från en bank som inte hade infört kontaktlös betalningsmetod i Sverige och ytterligare två respondenter från en annan bank som inte infört kontaktlösa betalningsmetoder i Sverige. Utöver detta, intervjuades även en forskare från Sveriges riksbank och en konsult som arbetar inom ett forum för kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Studien påvisade att anledningen till att ett fåtal banker erbjudit kontaktlös betalningsmetod till sina kunder var till följd av att Sverige varit relativt sena med att byta från magnetremsa som betalningsmetod till chip och PIN, vilket gjort att man ogärna investerade i kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Utmaningar som kontaktlös betalningsmetod står inför är att se till att infrastrukturen utökas i Sverige samt informera kunder om kontaktlös betalningsmetod. Framtidsutsikterna för kontaktlös betalningsmetod är positiva och tanken bland flera aktörer är att kontaktlös betalningsmetod ska vara väldigt utbrett i Sverige år 2020. / The purpose of this research was to investigate future prospects and challenges regarding contactless payment method which is based on NFC. These lead to the formulation of questions which researched why only a few banks had chosen to employ contactless payment cards, which challenges that NFC-based payments are facing in the Swedish market, and also which future prospects the contactless payment method has in the Swedish payment market. In order to answer these questions, a qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews was utilized. Interviews were conducted with two respondents from respective banks which had introduced contactless payment in Sweden while additional interviews were conducted with one respondent from a bank which had not introduced contactless payment in Sweden and two respondents from another bank which had not introduced contactless payment methods in Sweden. In addition to this, one respondent from the central bank of Sweden and one consultant working within a forum regarding contactless payment have been interviewed. The study showed that the reason to why few banks have offered contactless payment method to their customers was due to that Sweden had been relatively late in regards to changing from magnetic strip as a payment method to chip and PIN, which resulted in that the market participants did not wish to invest in the contactless payment method. Challenges which the contactless payment method is facing, is to make sure that the infrastructure will be increased in Sweden, and inform customers about the contactless payment method. The future prospects for the contactless payment methods are positive and the intention among several market participants is that the contactless payment method will be very widespread in Sweden 2020.