This study offers insight into students' use and desire to use mobile devices for educational purposes. I examined college students' mobile device usage on the basis of demographic factors including sex, age, ethnicity, class standing, mode of delivery, and socioeconomic status. This study also investigated factors that affect students' likelihood to use mobile devices for academic pursuits. I utilized data from the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research's (ECAR) 2015 Student Technology Survey. Of the 10,000 undergraduate respondents, 56% were female, 70% were between the ages of 18-24, 73% attended college full time and the breakdown of ethnicity included 59% Caucasian, 16% Hispanic, 13% African American, 8% Asian and 1% Native American. The results indicated that traditional aged students reportedly used smartphones more frequently, whereas non-traditional aged students reportedly used tablets more. Students most frequently reported using their devices in class to connect to the learning material. Institutional technology infrastructure and support were strong factors impacting students' use of smartphones. Results of this research can assist higher education faculty and administrators in devising comprehensive training and technology plans to support and encourage students' use of mobile devices for educational purposes.

Yes / Digital payment methods (DPMs) are evolving fast but they are yet to be widely adopted particularly in the developing countries. An initial review of literature suggests that several studies have already been conducted on this topic for understanding antecedents of digital payments adoption. However, only a few studies have examined this emerging topic in the context of developing countries. The aim of this submission is to identify antecedents of consumer adoption and usage of digital payments methods. The results of this literature analysis suggest that constructs related to technology acceptance model (TAM) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) along with trust and risk are the most frequently examined constructs for determining consumer’s behavioural intention to use and usage of DPMs. The findings from this work can help researchers selecting factors for inclusion in the future empirical works on this topic.

Businesses nowadays are increasingly adopting new technologies to obtain competitive advantages. Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands out as an advanced, novel technology that has potential benefits across industries. The fast-food industry is one such industry that is highly competitive, evolving, and requires advanced technologies to cater to modern customers who increasingly demand fast, digitized services. Increased customer engagement has also become a main driving force to adopt technologies since these consumers demand quick, personalized, digitized services. The fast-food industry, compared to other industries, produces food that is perishable, and quick, which demands proper handling before, during, and after preparation, for instant consumption. Services should be quick, fast, and accessible, where adopting advanced technologies has become a necessity for the industry players' survival. Larger organizations have successfully adopted AI and have harnessed a competitive advantage. Conversely, Smaller and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have successfully adopted digital technologies, assuming it as AI. They have not yet translated to adopt AI, which could threaten their survival and competitiveness in a highly evolving, dynamic industry. On the other hand, AI is a novel technology that has much potential, yet many are unaware of where the technology is heading, specifically, SMEs have a limited understanding and exposure to this technology, demanding more research.  The main purpose of this study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of how fast-food SMEs in Sweden perceive AI, the reasons for non-adoption, and the reasons influencing the behavioral intention to utilize AI for customer engagement within the organization. The study utilizes the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework to analyze how performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions influence individual SMEs' behavioral intentions towards AI adoption on customer engagement by studying it from an individual, organizational context. Through qualitative interviews with fast-food SME owners, IT managers, and marketing managers, the research explored a nuanced understanding of how AI is being perceived by SMEs, challenges, barriers, and factors influencing their adoption behavior.  The research findings indicated that AI technology itself is immature and the immediate business use case is not apparent for SMEs. It was also revealed that SMEs have a misconception between AI and digital technologies. Though there is enthusiasm and willingness to adopt AI within SMEs, significant challenges remain, such as a lack of understanding about AI, resource constraints, complexity, skills, and influences from competitors and stakeholders. The research identified factors specific to SMEs that contribute to extending the UTAUT framework, such as customized payment plans, establishing technology associations, and new business models suiting SMEs. It was further evidenced that customer engagement is not an impactful mediator that influences AI adoption within SMEs. It was concluded that though SMEs have the potential to improve performance, their adoption is limited due to the immaturity of AI and due to identified challenges.

Bakgrund: Den tekniska utvecklingen går snabbt framåt och kan innebära en utmaning för många grupper i samhället, framförallt äldre. Sverige har som mål att år 2025 vara bäst på eHälsa och som ett delmål har ett register i form av Nationella Läkemedelslistan tagits fram. Registret ska ge patienter, vård- och apotekspersonalen tillgång till samma information med målet att öka patientsäkerheten och patienters delaktighet i vården. För att komma åt den här information krävs inloggning till eHälsomyndighetens tjänst Läkemedelskollen. Äldre personer har ofta mindre datorvana och väljer i många fall papper framför digitala tjänster. Apotekslistan är den analoga tjänsten som just nu erbjuder receptinformation i pappersform till patienterna. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att beskriva äldre patienters upplevelser av att använda receptinformation i analog form och deras uppfattning om digitala alternativ. Material och metod: En kvalitativ semistrukturerad intervjustudie har genomförts och urval har skett strategiskt och målstyrt för att fånga respondenter med olika nivå av teknikvana och på olika demografiska platser i Sverige. Rekrytering skedde med snöbollsurval och resulterade i 9 respondenter. Resultatet tolkades sedan med hjälp av UTAUT och TTF. Resultat: Den fysiska Apotekslistan fyller en viktig funktion i patientens läkemedelsprocess och skapar trygghet för individen. Många respondenter har svårt att se fördelarna med en digital version och upplever att den fysiska listan är tillförlitlig och uppfyller alla krav och behov som finns. Slutsats: En del av den åldrande befolkningen vill ha tillgång till det fysiska pappret som ett alternativ till digitala tjänster och upplever att den skapar trygghet och förenklar vardagen. För att locka fler äldre att testa Läkemedelskollen kan utbildningar tas fram för att minska äldre personers teknostress. En utveckling av tjänsten skulle kunna öka intresset och tillföra ett mervärde som förenklar livet med läkemedel. / Background: Technical development is advancing rapidly and entails a need for skills development for many groups in society, especially the elderly. Sweden aims to be the best in eHealth by 2025, and as an intermediate goal, a register in the form of the “National Medication List” has been introduced. The register will give patients, care and pharmacy staff access to the same information with the aim of increasing patient safety and patients' participation in care. To access this information, login to the eHealth Authority's service Läkemedelskollen is required. Older people often have less computer skills and, in many cases, choose paper over digital services. Apotekslistan is the analogue service that currently offers prescription information on paper to patients. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe elderly patients' experiences of using prescription information in analog form and their attitude to digital alternatives. Material and method: A qualitative semi-structured interview study were conducted and selection has been made strategically and goal-oriented to capture participants with different levels of technical knowledge and in different demographic locations in Sweden. Recruitment took place with a snowball selection and resulted in 9 participants. The result was interpreted using UTAUT and TTF. Result: The physical list Apotekslistan fulfills an important function in the patient's drug process and gives the patient a feeling of security. Many people find it difficult to see the benefits of a digital version and feel that the physical list is reliable and meets all the requirements and needs that exist. Conclusion: Part of the aging population wants access to the physical paper as an alternative to digital services and feels that it creates security and simplifies everyday life. To attract more elderly people to try Läkemedelskollen, training can be developed to reduce older people's technology stress. A development of the service could increase interest and add value that simplifies living with chronic disease.

While research supports the integration of mobile computing into instruction, there is disagreement concerning the unstructured use of mobile devices in lecture-based college classrooms. Research supports the argument that unstructured use creates distraction and decreased academic performance. Research also suggests that unstructured use actually supports lecture instruction through personalized learning situations. In either case, the motivations of students to use mobile device is often unclear. This study sought to investigate the motivations for students’ acceptance of mobile devices. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was utilized to identify the factors leading to college students’ adoption of mobile devices. A survey based on UTAUT was distributed to 254 college students in six distinct lecture-based general education courses. The results revealed that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, and Social Influence were positively correlated with Behavioral Intention for class-related behavior, with Performance Expectancy being the most significant. None of the constructs were significant for behavior unrelated to lecture. Analysis of the students’ intention based on the UTAUT moderators of age, gender, and experience did not produce any significant difference, nor did an analysis of the classes by subject. The study concludes that the ability of a mobile device to complete specific tasks was the strongest motivating factor leading to intention.

At public high schools in Cayman, teachers need to improve their productivity and efficiency by using technologies that are simple and portable like their personal devices. Studies about bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives have revealed conflicting outcomes, and are lacking in the Caribbean and especially in Cayman. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the main factors related to teachers' willingness to adopt BYOD in public high schools in Cayman. The theoretical framework was the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). This study employed a cross-sectional survey design using a modified UTAUT instrument, which captured quantitative data from 82 participants. The use of hierarchical multiple regression to analyze the data revealed that teachers' BYOD adoption could expand by increasing facilitating conditions, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and decreasing perceived risk. This study reduces the gap in the literature about the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and BYOD in the Caribbean and the Cayman Islands. It also provides evidence that perceived risk can increase its explanatory power of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. The study also contributes to a positive social change by revealing critical issues that administrators should address when devising BYOD policies and planning educational technology integration.

The aim of this study was to investigate factors affecting the adoption of open access in research activities within Tanzanian public universities in order to device mechanisms of enhancing the use of this mode of scholarly communication. The study adopted the UTAUT model to formulate an open access research model comprising of six constructs and five moderators for guidance of this investigation. A triangulation approach for data gathering was adopted. In the first instance, a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 398 respondents selected using the stratified random sampling from a population of 1088 university researchers from six public universities in Tanzania. The interview involving 63 policy makers and structured records review were also conducted to complement the questionnaire survey. The descriptive and binary logistic regression statistics of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used for data analysis. The study established that majority of the policy makers (90.5%) and researchers (72.1%) were aware of open access. Attitude, awareness, effort expectancy, and performance expectancy were established as the key determinants for researchers’ behavioural intention of open access usage while age, awareness, behavioural intention, facilitating conditions and social influence were found to significantly affect researchers’ actual usage of open access. It was concluded that researchers’ and policy makers’ general perceptions about open access were very positive signifying the acceptance of this mode of scholarly communication in the study area. Current poor research conditions and researchers’ low Internet self-efficacy such as inadequate information search and online publishing skills were cited as the main hindrances for researchers to use open access in scholarly communication. The study recommends institutionalisation of open access publishing in Tanzanian public universities and other similar research institutions so as to improve the dissemination of research output emanating from such institutions. Six areas for further research to establish more insights regarding the feasibility for open access development in the country are also recommended. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

近年來臺灣民眾的閱讀習慣開始改變，透過數位載具進行閱讀的人口逐漸增加。面對數位閱讀時代的來臨，圖書館為了推廣數位閱讀，陸續提供電子書閱讀器借閱服務。由於國內圖書館推動這項服務仍在起步階段，針對電子書閱讀器借閱服務之使用研究有其必要性。 因此，本研究以整合性科技接受模式為理論基礎，探討圖書館讀者對電子書閱讀器借閱服務之使用行為、行為意願及其影響因素，並分析讀者之性別、教育程度、學院別、數位閱讀載具使用經驗、電子書使用經驗等個人特徵，對影響因素與行為意願之調節效果。 本研究以交通大學的學生為研究對象，並以「交通大學圖書館電子書閱讀器借閱服務之使用調查」問卷為研究工具。問卷調查結果以描述統計、相關分析、多元迴歸分析與階層迴歸分析進行分析，研究結果如下： 1.讀者主要透過同儕分享得知電子書閱讀器借閱服務； 2.讀者使用電子書閱讀器借閱服務之主要動機為體驗使用iPad 2； 3.閱讀電子書是讀者使用電子書閱讀器借閱服務之主要用途； 4.網路免費電子書是讀者閱讀電子書的主要來源； 5.讀者主要利用Google或其他搜尋引擎查詢電子書； 6.讀者閱讀電子書時遭遇的困難以眼睛疲倦感與電子書內容不足佔最多數； 7.讀者對iPad 2閱讀電子書的整體經驗多數感到滿意； 8.讀者未借用iPad 2的最主要原因是不知有電子書閱讀器借閱服務，再者是iPad 2數量不足； 9.多數讀者願意使用電子書閱讀器借閱服務，也願意繼續使用該服務，並樂意推薦他人； 10.讀者使用電子書閱讀器借閱服務的行為意願之影響因素包括：績效期望、努力期望與社群影響，其中社群影響最具預測力； 11.讀者的性別、教育程度、學院別、數位閱讀載具使用經驗、電子書使用經驗等五項個人特徵對影響因素與行為意願之關係不具調節效果。 本研究針對上述結果加以討論，並提出相關建議，提供圖書館推行該服務，以及未來研究之參考。 / In recent years people's reading habits have begun to change, and the population of digital reading device users has been growing gradually. Face with the coming era of digital reading, libraries provide e-book reader lending services one after another in order to promote digital reading. Since the library services in Taiwan are still at the initial stage, it is necessary to examine the use of e-book reader lending service. Therefore this study was based on UTAUT（Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology）. The purpose of this study was to investigate reader's behavior, intention and determinants toward e-book reader lending service, and examine moderators of the relationships between determinants and intention, including gender, education, academy, digital reading device experience and e-book experience. In this research, students at National Chiao Tung University were chosen as the testing participants. The instruments used in the study was the National Chiao Tung University Library E-book Reader Lending Service Use Survey. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, multiple regression analysis, and hierarchical regression. The findings of the study were as follows: 1.Most readers know about e-book reader lending service by peer sharing; 2.The motivation of most readers using e-book reader lending service is to try iPad 2; 3.Majority of readers use e-book reader lending service for reading e-books; 4.Most readers read e-books that are from internet and for free; 5.Majority of readers find e-books on Google or other search engines; 6.Most readers have difficulty with reading e-books because of eyestrain and lack of content; 7.Most readers feel satisfied with the e-book reading experience on the iPad 2; 8.Majority of readers have not borrowed the iPad 2 because of not knowing the service and lack of iPad 2; 9.Most readers willing to use e-book reader lending service and use the service continuously. They also willing to recommend others to use the service; 10.The determinants of intention to use e-book reader lending service among students at National Chiao Tung University include performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence. The predictive power of social influence is highest among all determinants. 11.Personal characteristics of the readers including gender, education, academy, digital reading device experience and e-book experience don't moderate the relationships between determinants and intention. According to the findings above, this study provided some suggestions for libraries to promote the service, and future research suggestions.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:48:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 71040100499.pdf.jpg: 16266 bytes, checksum: 600e8a9f1cfb89d1b0ed0df002296139 (MD5) 71040100499.pdf: 3824101 bytes, checksum: cb7a1bf5076a35da07172b02ade64ace (MD5) 71040100499.pdf.txt: 233643 bytes, checksum: a6de5bcd9e087e7f9317d47d3ad96665 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-18T00:00:00Z / Existe a expectativa de que cada indivíduo absorva de forma rápida e satisfatória os avanços tecnológicos para que possa usufruir dos seus benefícios e permanecer competitivo no mercado de trabalho. Mesmo que o foco principal da maior parte das pesquisas esteja no alcance de benefícios para as empresas com o uso de tecnologia, a intenção de comportamento do indivíduo representa o passo inicial para a sua adoção. No entanto, ao mesmo tempo em que se percebe a evolução das tecnologias em benefício das pessoas, também existem evidências no sentido de um sentimento de frustração com a tecnologia. Nenhum estudo é conclusivo sobre a identificação das variáveis que afetam o desenvolvimento das percepções e intenções para a tecnologia. Além disso, a maior parte dos modelos foi testada em países desenvolvidos ou em camadas sociais superiores da população. O propósito principal dessa tese é apresentar forma alternativa de medir a Predisposição para a Tecnologia, que seja aplicável não apenas em situações específicas, mas também para toda a gama da população. O trabalho faz uso das ferramentas da Teoria de Resposta ao Item para a proposição e validação de uma nova escala de Predisposição para a Tecnologia, que se mostrou bastante consistente e coerente. A nova escala possui a vantagem de ter maior poder discriminante, especialmente para as classes de menor nível educacional e de renda. Além disso, a escala criada apresenta mais informação com um número reduzido de itens, o que pode representar reduções de custo e tempo de aplicação dos questionários. / There is an expectation that each individual absorb, in a fast and satisfactory way, technological advances so that he/she can take advantage of their benefits and remain competitive in the job market. Although the main focus of most researches is on the technological benefits for businesses using technology, the behavior intention of the individual represents the first step towards its adoption. However, at the same time, technology is perceived as an evolution for the benefit of people, there are also clear signs towards a sense of frustration with technology. No study is conclusive about identification of variables that affect the development of perceptions and intentions toward technology. Moreover, most of the models were tested in developed countries or in high social level populations. The main purpose of this thesis is to present an alternative way of measuring the Technology Predisposition, which applies not only in specific situations, but also for the full range of population. This study work makes use of the tools of Item Response Theory, for proposition and validation of a new scale of Technology Predisposition, which proved to be quite consistent and coherent. The new scale has the advantage of having more discriminative power, especially for the lower classes of educational level and income. Moreover, the created scale displays more information with a limited number of items, which may represent cost and time reductions.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:48:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 71050100639.pdf.jpg: 16840 bytes, checksum: f52d28f367ca09ad56a56f3b20c4d3bc (MD5) 71050100639.pdf: 1887160 bytes, checksum: c0ab23c0d77614a2a26f9ad11f471552 (MD5) 71050100639.pdf.txt: 268123 bytes, checksum: 2b3e0404384f6666d813d9e234c7dfef (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-09T00:00:00Z / Embora a resistência às tecnologias seja um problema freqüente nas empresas, as pesquisas nessa área são fragmentadas, não-cumulativas e raras na literatura. Atualmente, a resistência à Educação a Distância [EAD] é um problema significativo, embora tal tecnologia de ensino tenha elevados índices de crescimento em vários países. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar e analisar as principais dimensões de resistência à EAD na Educação Corporativa [EC]. Após revisão bibliográfica de temas como EC a Distância, Resistência às Tecnologias e Teoria Unificada de Aceitação e Uso de Tecnologias [UTAUT], foi desenvolvida e testada uma estrutura teórica que visou explicar a Resistência à EAD na EC. As hipóteses iniciais desta pesquisa defenderam que tal resistência é causada por oito fatores: Auto-Eficácia, Competência em TI, Expectativa de Desempenho, Expectativa de Esforço, Influência Social, Condições Facilitadoras, Interatividade e Comunicação Interna. A partir da técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, as hipóteses iniciais foram testadas e os resultados mostraram que, na amostra pesquisada, as dimensões Auto-Eficácia e Expectativa de Desempenho influenciam direta e positivamente a Resistência à EAD na EC, e as dimensões Expectativa de Esforço, Condições Facilitadoras e Interatividade são construtos antecedentes à Expectativa de Desempenho. Tais resultados podem servir de subsídio na tomada de decisões gerenciais sobre implementação e manutenção de cursos à distância. Do ponto de vista teórico, foi criada e validada uma escala de Resistência à EAD, bem como elaborada uma estrutura teórica de Resistência à EAD na EC – a estrutura READEC. Por fim, são apresentadas sugestões para futuras pesquisas. / Although the technologies resistance is indeed an usual problem within the companies, researches in this area are fragmental, non-cumulative and rare in literature. Nowadays, the resistance to Distance Education [DE] is a significant problem, although this type of learning technology has a high level of growing in many countries. The aim of this research was to identify and analyze the main dimensions of resistance to the DE in Corporative Education [CE]. After bibliography revision of themes like Distance CE, Technologies Resistance, and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technologies [UTAUT], a theoretical structure was developed and tested which aimed to explain the Resistance to DE in CE. The initial hypotheses of this research has defended that such resistance is caused by eight factors: Self-efficacy, IT Competence, Performance Expectations, Effort Expectation, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, Interactivity and Internal Communication. From the Structural Equation Modeling Technique, the initial hypotheses were tested and the results have shown that, in the researched sample, the dimensions Self-efficacy and Performance Expectations has a direct and positive influence regarding DE Resistance in CE, and Effort Expectation, Facilitating Conditions and Interactivity dimensions are constructs previous to Performance Expectations. Such results can be an allowance in management decisions regarding implementation and maintenance of distance courses. By theoretical point of view a DE Resistance scale was created and validated, and also a theoretical DE resistance structure in CE elaborated – The READEC Structure. Finally, future researches suggestions are presented here.