In today’s world, we live in a technologically advanced environment where information access is huge and limitless. The advantage to this is that, people are able to create more information, share and communicate with each other instantly on the go regardless of where they are in the world. However on the downside, with endless information, it becomes confusing and difficult to filter which information is right for a person’s need. This goes hand-in-hand for business companies, as it requires strategic processes and tools to identify the information from the market, store and evaluate it into meaningful insights and lastly communicate it efficiently so that the value of it is not lost along the way. Therefore this study focuses on how augmented reality (AR) as an emerging digital technology is able to dissect and communicate information and bring value to those who are implementing it. What is more interesting in this study is to see the usefulness and ease of using AR from commercial and non-commercial aspects in B2B field. This study was conducted through a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews with five companies providing and using AR applications. In conclusion, AR brings value by transferring data faster and communicating it effectively through visualization of integrating computer-generated information with the real world as one. From commercial aspect, companies could use this technology in their marketing communication to increase customer involvement and perception of the brand. In contrast, from non-commercial perspective, companies could use AR as an internal resource to increase efficiency in operation process.

Die Dissertation untersucht, welche individuellen Einflussfaktoren Wissenschaftler zur Wissensteilung mittels Social Software motivieren. Dazu werden universitäre Wissenschaftler, ihre Stakeholder und typische Karrierewege sowie die Bereiche Open Science und Open Educational Resources beleuchtet. Im Anschluss wird die Anwendbarkeit existierender Theorien der Technologieakzeptanz und der Wissensteilung (insbesondere in virtuellen Communities) auf die Wissensteilung von Wissenschaftlern mittels Social Software untersucht. Darauf aufbauend werden potentielle Einflussfaktoren identifiziert und ein spezifisches Erklärungsmodell abgeleitet. Dieses wird mittels Online-Umfragen empirisch überprüft und verfeinert.

There was a lack of knowledge about the user’s acceptance of smart devices as ubiquitous learning (u-learning) tools at higher education institutions in Sweden. As the mobile technology grows, the demand for mobile devices, particularly smart devices increases as well. With the increase in the usage of smart devices, the higher education institutions provide mobile learning platforms to attract more customers in the competitive industry of education. Thus, understanding the key factors from the perspectives of end-users is important for the institutions to survive in the competitive market. This study explores and explains Behavioral and Continuance intentions of students regarding the acceptance and usage of smart devices (Smartphones and Personal Digital Assistants or PDA) as u-learning tools. Key factors related to the users’ intentions to accept and continue using smart devices as u-learning tools were identified and hypothesized in the Swedish context. Ten hypotheses were suggested based on TAM, UTAUT, and ECT. To achieve the aim and objective of this study, a quantitative approach was chosen, and a survey strategy based on purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used. A web-based questionnaire on five-points Likert Scale was designed to collect the required data. 115 (96 valid) students answered the questionnaire. The collected data were used to conduct statistical operations in SPSS. Five hypotheses were supported, and the other five were not. The findings suggest that Performance Expectancy, Perceived Mobility value, Confirmation, and Satisfaction positively influence both Behavioral and Continuance Intentions of students to accept and continue using smart devices as u-learning tools. According to the findings, Confirmation and Satisfaction from ECT can be included as separate constructs in UTAUT and UTAUT2. Higher education institutions planning to have (and those that already have) learning platforms, compatible with smart devices, can benefit from the findings. Higher education institutions can also design their u-learning platforms according to the Performance Expectancy, Perceived Mobility value, Confirmation, and Satisfaction of the students. / Master program in Strategic-IT Management

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:52:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 IdelmarciaDO.pdf: 781272 bytes, checksum: fb2e5ba3247ab47eff60bb3c30b07e21 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-10-19 / The spread of the Web boosted the dissemination of Information Systems (IS) based on the Web. In order to support the implementation of these systems, several technologies came up or evolved with this purpose, namely the programming languages. The Technology Acceptance Model TAM (Davis, 1986) was conceived aiming to evaluate the acceptance/use of information technologies by their users. A lot of studies and many applications have used the TAM, however, in the literature it was not found a mention of the use of such model related to the use of programming languages. This study aims to investigate which factors influence the use of programming languages on the development of Web systems by their developers, applying an extension of the TAM, proposed in this work. To do so, a research was done with Web developers in two Yahoo groups: java-br and python-brasil, where 26 Java questionnaires and 39 Python questionnaires were fully answered. The questionnaire had general questions and questions which measured intrinsic and extrinsic factors of the programming languages, the perceived usefulness, the perceived ease of use, the attitude toward the using and the programming language use. Most of the respondents were men, graduate, between 20 and 30 years old, working in the southeast and south regions. The research was descriptive in the sense of its objectives. Statistical tools, descriptive statistics, main components and linear regression analysis were used for the data analysis. The foremost research results were: Java and Python have machine independence, extensibility, generality and reliability; Java and Python are more used by corporations and international organizations than supported by the government or educational institutions; there are more Java programmers than Python programmers; the perceived usefulness is influenced by the perceived ease of use; the generality and the extensibility are intrinsic factors of programming languages which influence the perceived ease of use; the perceived ease of use influences the attitude toward the using of the programming language / A difus?o da Web impulsionou a dissemina??o de Sistemas de Informa??o (SI) baseados na Web. Para apoiar a implementa??o desses sistemas, diversas tecnologias surgiram ou evolu?ram com este prop?sito, dentre elas as linguagens de programa??o. O Modelo de Aceita??o de Tecnologia - TAM (Davis, 1986) foi concebido com o intuito de avaliar a aceita??o/uso de tecnologias da informa??o por seus usu?rios. V?rios estudos e aplica??es diversas t?m utilizado o TAM, no entanto, n?o foi encontrada na literatura men??o a utiliza??o de tal modelo com rela??o ao uso de linguagens de programa??o. Este estudo objetiva investigar que fatores influenciam o uso de linguagens de programa??o utilizadas no desenvolvimento de sistemas Web por parte de seus desenvolvedores, utilizando uma extens?o do TAM, proposta neste estudo. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa com desenvolvedores Web pertencentes a dois grupos do Yahoo: java-br e python-brasil, no qual foram respondidos, na ?ntegra, 26 question?rios Java e 39 Python. O question?rio tinha quest?es de car?ter geral e quest?es que mediam os fatores intr?nsecos e extr?nsecos das linguagens de programa??o, a utilidade percebida, a facilidade de uso percebida, a atitude sobre o uso e o uso da linguagem de programa??o. A maioria dos respondentes eram homens, com n?vel superior, idade entre 20 e 30 anos, atuando nas regi?es sudeste e sul. Do ponto de vista de seus objetivos, a pesquisa foi descritiva. Em rela??o ? forma de abordagem, quantitativa. Para a an?lise de dados foram utilizadas ferramentas estat?sticas, estat?stica descritiva, componentes principais e an?lise de regress?o linear m?ltipla. Os principais resultados da pesquisa foram: Java e Python possuem independ?ncia de m?quina, extensibilidade, generalidade e confian?a; Java e Python s?o mais utilizadas por corpora??es e organiza??es internacionais do que apoiadas pelo governo ou institui??es de ensino; h? mais programadores Java do que Python; a utilidade percebida ? influenciada pela facilidade de uso percebida; a generalidade e a extensibilidade s?o fatores intr?nsecos as linguagens de programa??o que influenciam a facilidade de uso percebida; a facilidade de uso percebida influencia a atitude em rela??o ao uso da linguagem de programa??o

Den teknologiska utvecklingen har lett till en strukturomvandling i dagens samhälle, vilket har resulterat i nya vanor och ett förändrat konsumentbeteende då allt fler börjar handla online. Företag har svårt att hänga med i denna utveckling och det har blivit en allt större utmaning för dem att lyckas möta kundernas behov. Att handla livsmedel är en aktivitet som tar upp en stor del av vardagssysslorna och innebär ett invant och traditionellt beteendemönster hos konsumenterna. I den digitala övergången till att köpa livsmedel online är det svårt att avgöra vad konsumenterna har för förväntningar och preferenser. Utifrån en kvalitativ ansats har 12 stycken semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomförts för att erhålla en djupare förståelse för hur konsumenter förhåller sig till köp av livsmedel online. Dessutom har faktorer utifrån tidigare forskning setts över, för att ta reda på vad som påverkar de faktiska köpbesluten. Resultatet visar att konsumenter väljer att köpa livsmedel online främst på grund av den bekvämlighet det erbjuder. Att konsumenter inte väljer att handla online beror på att de förlorar kontrollen och den sociala kontexten av livsmedelsinköp. Priset visade sig inte ha stor betydelse vid köpen och produktinnehållet var det viktigaste vid val av produkter.

This study focuses on the implementation of Learning Management System (LMS) in the higher education sector in Iraq. Its aim is to develop a policy adoption framework for LMS implementation by scientifically investigating LMS adoption using a model that combines the principles of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework. The research methodology comprises of seven stages that adopts the interpretive paradigm and a mixed-methods research design. A case study design is used to investigate LMS integration in the University of Al-Qadisiyah. A TAM-TOE questionnaire is developed for the academic staff of the University of Al-Qadisiyah, in which the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of LMS are analysed in the case organisation. The technological, organisational, and environmental aspects of LMS implementation are also examined. The survey received valid responses from 283 academic staff. In-depth semi-structured interviews of 8 academics, administrative staff and IT personnel contributed to the qualitative data. The survey respondents are selected using stratified sampling whilst purposive sampling is used to select the interview participants. The questionnaire data was analysed using correlation analysis, whilst thematic analysis is used for the interview data. The study identifies the barriers to LMS implementation as: Lack of or limited teachers’ training, lack of commitment to constructivist pedagogy, lack of experience to use the new technology, lack of technical support, and lack of appropriate educational software. These results feed into the policy framework design. The contribution to research knowledge includes the creation of a new adoption model derived from TAM and TOE to examine the LMS implementation barriers in a war recovering economy like Iraq. This approach the integration of academic users’ acceptance with macro-level factors like government support. The results lease to the development of the LMS policy framework to guide policy makers to prioritise their limited LMS investments. The novelty of the work is the bringing together the considerations of the individual users and the socio-economic context.

Cette thèse a pour objet d’étude la prédiction de l’utilisation d’une technologie encore inconnue des utilisateurs ; c’est-à-dire une technologie que ces derniers n’ont pas encore eu l’occasion de mettre en pratique et de facto pour laquelle ils n’ont pas de représentation. Trois objectifs sont poursuivis dans ce travail. Le premier est la construction d’un modèle prédictif de l’intention comportementale d’utiliser les systèmes de transports intelligents coopératifs inconnus en convoquant les deux cadres théoriques que sont l’acceptabilité des technologies (e.g., Venkatesh et Bala, 2008) et la prédiction comportementale (Ajzen, 1991 ; Ajzen et Fishbein, 1973). L’un, focalisé sur le jugement de l’individu sur l’objet, implique la connaissance de cet objet. L’expérience antérieure et les attitudes envers des objets génériques et spécifiques connus proches de l’objet dont on souhaite prédire l’utilisation ont composé la première partie (A) du modèle. L’autre, focalisé sur le jugement de l’individu sur l’utilisation de l’objet autorise les individus à se projeter quant à la valeur attendue de l’utilisation et aux attentes sur les conséquences de cette utilisation (i.e., les origines des attitudes), à la pression de leurs proches et au contrôle qu’ils perçoivent de l’utilisation de la technologie inconnue. Ces déterminants ont composé la seconde partie (B) du modèle. Le deuxième objectif vise à tester, au cours d’une première étude, la structure factorielle de deux questionnaires relatifs à ces deux cadres théoriques A et B. Les résultats nous ont conduits à retenir un modèle en sept facteurs afin de le tester au cours d’une deuxième étude. Les résultats ont montré que l’expérience antérieure avec des objets génériques connus prédisait indirectement l’intention d’utiliser l’objet inconnu via une médiation par les attitudes envers les objets génériques, l’expérience antérieure avec les objets spécifiques et la valeur / attentes à l’égard de l’utilisation de l’objet inconnu. Les résultats ont également montré l’influence indirecte de la norme subjective et du contrôle anticipé de l’utilisation de l’objet sur l’intention via une médiation, là encore, par la valeur / attentes à l’égard de l’utilisation de l’objet inconnu. Le troisième objectif vise à relier l’intention d’utilisation avec l’utilisation réelle des systèmes de transports intelligents coopératifs en situation de conduite automobile. Ces derniers résultats, bien que ténus, ont montré que l’on pouvait réaliser cette prédiction lorsque les situations de conduite étaient adaptées à l’utilisation de la technologie (e.g., Theeuwes, 1993).Mots-clés: prédiction comportementale; acceptabilité des technologies; attitudes; intention comportementale ; comportement ; activité de conduite automobile. / This thesis focuses on the prediction of the use of an unknown technology; that is to say the users did not have yet the opportunity to practice this technology, so they still have no representation of this technology. Three objectives are pursued in this work. The first one is the construction of a predictive model of the behavioural intention to use the unknown cooperative intelligent transport systems by convening the two theoretical frameworks which are the acceptability of the technologies (e.g., Venkatesh & Bala, 2008) and the behavioural prediction (Ajzen, 1991; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1973). One of them, focused on the judgment of individuals onto the object, implies the knowledge of this object. Hence the first part (A) of the model is based on past behaviours and attitudes towards generic and specific known objects close to the one that we want to predict the use. The other one is focused on the judgment of individuals onto the use of the object. This enables individuals to project themselves regarding the expected behaviour value and the expectations of the results of using it (i.e., the attitudes’ determinants), and both the subjective norm and the perceived behavioural control of the use of this unknown technology. These determinants form the second part (B) of the model. The second objective aims at testing, in a first study, the factor structure of the two questionnaires A and B. The results led us to retain a model based on seven factors in order to test it in a second study. The results showed that past behaviours with known generic objects indirectly predicted the intention to use the unknown object via a mediation through attitudes towards generic objects, past behaviours with specific objects, expected behaviour value and expectations of the results of the use of the unknown technology. Also, the results showed an indirect influence of the subjective norm and the perceived behavioural control on the intention to use the unknown object via a mediation by the value / expectations regarding the use of the unknown object. The third objective aims at linking the intention with the actual use of cooperative intelligent transport systems in driving situations. These results, although tenuous, have shown that this prediction could be made when the driving situations were consistant with the use of the technology (Theeuwes, 1993).Keywords: behavioural prediction; technology acceptance; attitudes; behavioural intention; behaviour; activity of driving.

Made available in DSpace on 2009-11-18T19:00:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gutman.pdf: 697447 bytes, checksum: d71c90b3d439f7ec822865dda001c73d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / This work has as main objective the development of a key factors¿ model for the quality of Home Broker systems. An explanatory research was performed, based on a quantitative approach. To achieve this goal, some theoretical models of technology acceptance (TAM, TRA, TPB and IDT), reliability and quality of service were reviewed. It was proposed an extended key factors¿ model and developed a questionnaire, which was the research instrument used in this study. The questionnaire was applied over the Internet, from which was obtained a participation of 113 valid respondents, all of them users of Home Broker system. Once performed the data collection, statistical tests were used for the Factorial Analysis in order to achieve a definitive model. The key factors found were Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Subjective Norms, Compatibility, Reliability and Relative Advantage. Some hypotheses from the model were also tested to investigate the relationship between the importance given to the factors and the resulting degree of satisfaction about quality of service. As a result of the study, a key factors¿ model for the quality of Home Broker systems was established, and identified that the factor Compatibility' has more explanatory power than the others.' / Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal a elaboração de um modelo de fatores-chave na qualidade de sistemas de Home Broker. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa de natureza explanatória por meio de abordagem quantitativa. Para atingir este objetivo, foi realizada uma revisão da literatura acadêmica relacionada aos modelos de aceitação de tecnologia (TAM, TRA, TPB e IDT), confiança e qualidade do serviço. Foi proposto um modelo estendido de fatores-chave e elaborado um questionário, sendo este o instrumento de pesquisa que foi utilizado neste estudo. Aplicado o questionário a partir da Internet, obteve-se uma participação de 113 respondentes válidos, sendo todos usuários de sistemas de Home Broker. Uma vez efetuada a coleta de dados, foram adotados testes estatísticos relativos à Análise Fatorial, com o propósito de obter-se um modelo definitivo. Foram encontrados os seguintes fatores-chave: Utilidade Percebida, Facilidade de Uso Percebida, Normas Subjetivas, Compatibilidade, Confiança e Vantagem Relativa. Foram também testadas hipóteses a partir do modelo identificado, apurando qual a relação existente entre a importância atribuída aos fatores resultantes e o grau de satisfação com a qualidade. Como resultado do estudo, estabeleceu-se um modelo de fatores-chave na qualidade de sistemas de Home Broker, e identificou-se que o fator ¿Compatibilidade¿ possui poder explicativo maior que os demais.

Internal marketing and internal communication are essential tools to align em-ployees’ mindsets with the necessary tasks which bring about employee satis-faction and organisational prosperity. Electronic newsletters serve as an internal marketing communication medium which can convey the necessary information to employees regarding the organisation’s goals and objectives. They also act as a medium to build relationships with employees and encourage improved service delivery and customer-oriented employee mindsets. Employees’ willingness to make use of electronic newsletters for the purpose of disseminating organisational information is an indication of employees’ acceptance of the organisational information and use thereof in performing organisational tasks successfully as the organisation intends. The purpose of the current study was to determine employees’ acceptance of electronic newsletters, as an internal marketing communication medium, in order to disseminate organisational information which contributes to the attainment of organisational goals, objectives and success. An empirical study was conducted to determine employees’ acceptance of elec-tronic newsletters by means of an adapted technology acceptance model, self-administered, e-mail survey disseminated to employees of a higher education institution. The study followed a quantitative research approach, utilising re-gression in the analysis of the data. Based on the research results, employees do accept the electronic newsletter for the dissemination of organisational information, albeit with suggestions on how it can be better utilised in future. / Business Management / M. Com (Business Management)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-02T21:42:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thaisa Bechelli Yamanaka2.pdf: 1549749 bytes, checksum: 040f32a5a9d1704a5c0ae8060fc81262 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-25 / Several studies on the acceptance and use of information technology have been conducted by different conceptual models that seek to demonstrate the existence of factors that influence the intention and behavior of users on a particular information system. Some aspects that enhance the use of intentions can be essential for the individual to choose whether or not a particular technology. This study examined the background factors that can influence the intended use of the Virtual Library of an Institution of Higher Education. Among the conceptual models studying the adoption of information technology, it was decided in this study the use of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) proposed by Davis (1986). In this model the external variables were also added stimulus Professor and smoker in order to expand the power of explanation of the intended use of the users in question. Through a quantitative research approach, data were collected through a survey tool to obtain 406 questionnaires responses. The results of this research confirms that the influence of various factors positioned in different dimensions provide findings relevant to the adoption of virtual library. It concludes that the Teacher Incentive positively influences Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness and the Habit of undergraduate students on the intended use of the Virtual Library. Thus, it was found that the influence of the teacher becomes a determining factor in the use of virtual library intention, which emphasizes the importance of guidance and recommendation of teachers in the use of this technological tool. The study concluded that the perceived usefulness proved to be the factor that most influences the intention to use this technology because there is a perception that if the student will use the virtual library, you can improve your performance in studies, among others. The habit can also influence the adoption of a virtual library in parallel to perceptions about the benefits that can be obtained from the use of this technology. / Diversos estudos sobre a aceitação e o uso de tecnologias de informação têm sido realizados por diferentes modelos conceituais que buscam demonstrar a existência de fatores que influenciam a intenção e comportamento dos usuários sobre um determinado sistema de informação. Alguns aspectos que potencializam as intenções de uso podem ser fundamentais para que o indivíduo adote, ou não, uma determinada tecnologia. Este estudo analisou os fatores antecedentes que podem influenciar a intenção de uso da Biblioteca Virtual de uma Instituição de Ensino Superior (IES). Dentre os modelos conceituais que estudam a adoção de tecnologias de informação, optou-se nesta pesquisa pelo Modelo de Aceitação de Tecnologia (TAM) proposto por Davis (1986). Neste modelo ainda foram adicionadas as variáveis externas Estímulo Docente e Hábito a fim de ampliar o poder de explicação da intenção de uso dos usuários em questão. Através de uma abordagem de investigação quantitativa, os dados foram coletados por meio de um instrumento de pesquisa com obtenção de resposta de 406 questionários. Os resultados obtidos por esta pesquisa confirmam a influência de diversos fatores posicionados em diferentes dimensões e proporcionam conclusões relevantes à adoção da biblioteca virtual. Conclui-se que o Estímulo Docente influencia positivamente a Facilidade de Uso, Utilidade Percebida e o Habito dos alunos de graduação sobre a intenção de uso da Biblioteca Virtual. Com isso, constatou-se que a influência do professor torna-se um fator determinante na intenção de uso da biblioteca virtual, o que ressalta a importância da orientação e recomendação dos professores no uso desta ferramenta tecnológica. O estudo concluiu que a utilidade percebida revelou-se o fator que mais influencia a intenção de uso desta tecnologia, pois há a percepção de que, caso o aluno venha utilizar a biblioteca virtual, pode-se melhorar seu desempenho nos estudos, entre outros aspectos. O Hábito também pode influenciar à adoção da biblioteca virtual de forma paralela às percepções sobre os benefícios que podem ser obtidos com o uso desta tecnologia.