Previous research into website and e-business acceptance and usage has not been completely successful in establishing how this links with factors related to culture. Furthermore, most new technologies have originated within a developed cultural context—namely the United States and Western Europe. Consequently, when new technology transfers to different cultural settings we can predict some sort of cultural gap because of their technology acceptance modes. Most studies have focused on technology transfer into the developed countries with an a priori assumption about the fit of that technology without taking into consideration cultural values that would make impact its ultimate uptake and acceptance. Few of these studies have tried to investigate how Arab cultural values could influence general acceptance and use of e-business websites. The aim of this study is to explain the influence of culture on a user's acceptance behaviour and to develop a new website acceptance model that includes cultural variables. The researcher reviewed the existing literature related to culture, technology acceptance theories, Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and e-business. A Culturally- Sensitive Technology Acceptance Model (CTAM) was devised and a pilot study conducted to test the cultural variables considered relevant. Along with Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Cultural Variables and Website Quality, these variables affect user Intention to Use e-business websites. The research combines both qualitative and quantitative methods to reflect the nature of the research problem and to determine whether any relationships between variables can be identified to determine behavioural patterns. A random sample consisting of 623 respondents was drawn from Arab and UK tourists visiting Jordanian tourist sites. A survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview were employed to obtain data from the selected sample. Questions contained in the questionnaire were derived from existing literature and were piloted to enhance its reliability and validity. Statistical methods were used to analyse the data in three main phases. The first phase aimed to establish that there were differences between the Arab and UK samples in terms of e-business website acceptance. This was found to be the case. The second phase aimed to establish that these differences were directly related to culture. Again, the results confirmed that there was a significant relationship between cultural variables and ebusiness website acceptance. In the third phase, a multiple regression analysis was applied to find the relationship between the independent variables (Website Quality, Cultural Variables, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use) and the dependent variable (Intension to Use). The results show that some of the cultural variables are not significant for either sample. Within the Arab sample, Trust, Tangibility, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance and Individualism were found to be significant but Subjective Norms and Masculinity were not. For the UK sample Trust, Power Distance and Individualism were significant but Tangibility, Subjective Norms, Masculinity and Uncertainty Avoidance were not. Hence, the results show that cultural variables have a significant impact on user acceptance of e-business websites and Davies’ 1989 original and general Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was found to be moderately applicable in an Arab milieu. However, not only do the Arab and UK groups have different preferences in website quality (such as website design, content, etc), but there are also differences in the acceptance process. For the UK, acceptance is routed through design preferences, usefulness and attitude of satisfaction. However, for the Arabs, it seems to be determined by ease of use. The results also indicate that factors such as tangibility and trust are playing an important role in determining website acceptance in Arab countries.

The importance of evaluating the usability of e-commerce websites is well recognised and this area has attracted research attention for more than a decade. Nearly all the studies that evaluated the usability of e-commerce websites employed either user-based (i.e. user testing) or evaluator-based (i.e. heuristic evaluation) usability evaluation methods; but no research has employed softwarebased (i.e. Google Analytics software) in the evaluation of such sites. Furthermore, the studies which employed user testing and/or heuristic evaluation methods in the evaluation of the usability of e-commerce websites did not offer detail about the benefits and drawbacks of these methods with respect to the identification of specific types of usability problems. This research developed a methodological framework for the usability evaluation of e-commerce websites which involved user testing and heuristic evaluation methods together with Google Analytics software. The framework was developed by comparing the benefits and drawbacks of these methods in terms of the specific areas of usability problems that they could or could not identify on ecommerce websites. The framework involves Google Analytics software as a preliminary step to provide a quick, easy and cheap indication of general potential usability problem areas on an e-commerce website and its specific pages. Then, the framework enables evaluators to choose other methods to provide in-depth detail about specific iv problems on the site. For instance, the framework suggests that user testing is good for identifying specific major usability problems related to four areas: navigation, design, the purchasing process and accessibility and customer service, while the heuristic evaluation is good for identifying a large number of specific minor usability problems related to eight areas including: navigation, internal search, the site architecture, the content, the design, accessibility and customer service, inconsistency and missing capabilities. The framework also suggests that the heuristic evaluation is good at identifying major security and privacy problems. The framework was developed based on an extensive evaluation of the effectiveness of the three methods in identifying specific usability problems in three case studies (e-commerce websites) in Jordan. This highlighted the usefulness of the methods and therefore helps e-commerce retailers to determine the usability method that best matches their needs. The framework was tested and the results indicated the usefulness of the suggested framework in raising awareness of usability and usability evaluation methods among e-commerce retailers in Jordan. This will help them address usability in the design of their websites, thus helping them to survive, grow and achieve success.

Copyright aspects of webpages protection of computer programmes and its present statutory provisions governed by Act number 121/2000 Sb., of the copyright and rights related to copyright (Copyright Act), and its extension and application on one of the fastest developing area of law, such as websites and web presentations. Another important objective of this thesis is the critical analysis and application of the most recent judgements of Czech and foreign courts and also judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the area of computer programmes and internet law itself. First chapter deals with the history and development of the copyright with particular focus on protection of computer programmes, databases and legal aspects of behaviour on the internet, respectively World Wide Web. Second chapter is focused on definition of terms which are defined to be used in the following chapters in purpose of application of provisions of the Copyright Act. Chapter also provides detailed description of functioning of web presentations and description of its unique parts which create the web presentation itself. The following chapter applies the conditions of statutory law and the most recent jurisprudence in the area of websites and the Internet on web presentations. First part of the chapter...

The thesis deals with science education and integration of field trip in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. The theoretical part summarizes available information about science education and integrating field trip in the classroom, theoretical information about creating of questionnaires and a websites. The practical part contains the analysis of survey results. The main finding is that half of the teachers know their neighbourhood with regard to realize field trip. However they find obstacles in realization, such as price, time-consumption, knowledge of locations, students' interest, demanding organization etc. A website was created using the feedback from the questionnaire as described in the next part of thesis. It contains description of locations suitable for field trip in chemistry education. The aim of the website is to facilitate field trip organisation for teachers.

Diariamente surgem novas aplicações de sistemas baseados na internet, influenciando a forma como vivemos, trabalhamos e interagimos na sociedade. No entanto, a maioria dos sistemas é elaborada com base no senso comum e intuição, raramente utilizando conceitos de avaliação da qualidade da informação provida pelos websites. Numa tentativa de aprofundar mais este tipo de metodologia, este estudo faz uma adaptação ao modelo de avaliação de qualidade da informação de websites, proposto por Kim, Kishore e Sanders (2005), para avaliar de sistemas de internet banking. Foi realizado um levantamento entre alunos de graduação, com o objetivo de se verificar a aderência do modelo à sistemas de internet banking, bem como critérios factíveis de comparações entre instituições financeiras, a respeito de sistemas de internet banking. Como forma de atingir esses objetivos, foi feito uso de métodos estatísticos, com a utilização de análise fatorial, coeficiente alfa de Cronbach, método de escalas somadas e testes de médias, por meio de ANOVAS. / On a daily basis new internet based systems are born, changing the way we live, work and interact with the society. In spite of that, most of these systems are developed based on common sense and intuition, rarely using methodologies that involves data quality information. In order to explore more these methodologies, this study adapts the data quality information framework created by Kim, Kishore e Sanders (2005) in order to evaluate internet banking systems. A survey was made with undergraduate students, with the goal to verify how the framework applies to internet banking systems. A second goal is to reveal constructs that may be used to compare internet banking systems. In order to achieve these results, statistics will be taken place, using factor analysis, cronbach coefficient, summated scales and ANOVAS.

Thesis advisor: Dale Herbeck / Websites counseling dangerous activity such as suicide represent uncharted legal territory. To date, most legal scholarship regarding these sites considers whether they incite imminent lawless action. As an alternative to incitement, this paper argues that these websites are more productively characterized as instruction manuals that aid and abet unlawful activity. In support of this approach, this paper proposes a three-tiered legal test for distinguishing between protected and unprotected instruction manuals under the First Amendment. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Communication Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication.

Submitted by Mariana Dornelles Vargas (marianadv) on 2015-03-17T15:15:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 identificacoes_esteticas.pdf: 1088579 bytes, checksum: af70e9ef102a4a2bfb65da77373f74f7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-17T15:15:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 identificacoes_esteticas.pdf: 1088579 bytes, checksum: af70e9ef102a4a2bfb65da77373f74f7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Nenhuma / O objetivo deste projeto de pesquisa é investigar as relações sociais estabelecidas a partir dos sites e blogs de moda de rua e de festa e dos outros ambientes sociais relacionados. Consideramos, em um primeiro momento, que as relações produzidas nestes espaços, no sentido da moda e do estilo, podem gerar identificações que se apresentam por um lado de maneira estética e de outro através do discurso. Pretendemos analisar como blogueiros e fotografados articulam a comunicação através do discurso e da estética na construção das identificações e como estas podem influenciar os valores, preferências e manifestações culturais no sentido da moda e do estilo / The purpose of this research Project is to investigate the social relations established from the street style websites and blogs and other social environments that are related. Considering, in a first moment, that the relations produced in these environments, in fashion and in style way, can generate identifications that presents itself in a esthetic way and through speech. Therefore it is intended to analyze how bloggers and photographed people articulate the communication through speech and esthetic in the construction of identifications and how these can influence values, preferences and cultural manifestations in sense of style and fashion

O principal objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar a qualidade de um site de governo eletrônico. Para atingir essa meta, a pesquisa descreve a aplicação da ferramenta Quality Function Deployment, QFD, para melhoria da qualidade do site da Secretaria de Estado da Habitação de São Paulo, SH, e Companhia de Desenvolvimento Habitacional e Urbano, CDHU. CDHU é a empresa do governo do Estado de São Paulo responsável pela execução do plano de habitação de interesse social para o Estado. O QFD foi desenvolvido no Japão, na década de 60, para melhorar a qualidade de produtos industriais desde o projeto. Apesar disso, o foco deste estudo é sua aplicação para melhorar a qualidade do site, apresentando as adaptações necessárias ao modelo original e observando as possíveis limitações de sua aplicação para esse fim. Como ponto de partida para a pesquisa, foram realizadas entrevistas com os profissionais de informática da empresa, responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento e manutenção do site, com outros colaboradores que utilizam diariamente o site da companhia e com o ouvidor da CDHU. Essas entrevistas, juntamente com a revisão bibliográfica, formaram a base para a elaboração de um questionário para avaliar a percepção dos clientes da CDHU sobre o site. O questionário foi aplicado a mutuários da CDHU para captar a voz do cliente e construir a casa da qualidade, principal produto da aplicação do QFD. O QFD mostrou ser uma ferramenta útil para priorização das mudanças a serem feitas no site e para iniciar discussões sobre a necessidade de sistematizar rotinas de teste e de melhoria contínua do site, além da gestão do conteúdo. Este trabalho abrange os temas Qualidade da Informação e Governo Eletrônico e apresenta sugestões de melhoria para o site da SH/CDHU. / The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of an e-government website. To achieve that goal, this paper describes the advantages of using the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) tool to improve the quality of Secretaria de Estado da Habitação de São Paulo, SH, and Companhia de Desenvolvimento Habitacional e Urbano, CDHU, website. CDHU is a governmental company of São Paulo state which is responsible for developing urban plans focused on low revenues families. QFD was developed in Japan, in the 60s, to improve the quality of industrial products from the project. Even tough the focus of this study is the use of such managerial tool as a website quality inducer, presenting the necessary adjustments to original QFD model and pointing out some possible limitations of such application. First of all, interviews were conducted with technology information professionals from CDHU, who are in charge for the website development and maintenance; with CDHU workers who access company website daily; and with CDHU ombudsman. These interviews along with bibliography review allowed the development of a questionnaire to evaluate CDHU customers perception on its site quality and performance. The answers captured the voice of the customer and were used to build the house of quality, main deliver of QFD. QFD demonstrated to be powerful tool to help prioritizing desirable changes in the website and also to start PDCA discussions about the site content management. This study covers the Information Quality and E-Government subjects and it also presents improvement suggestions to SH/CDHU website as an answer to clients willing and recommendations.

The travel distribution industry is growing. While traditional distribution channels such as online travel agencies and physical stores are decreasing in revenues, metasearch companies are receiving greater attention from consumers. However, metasearch companies face challenges even with an increasing market. Offering a proposition with a business model that revolves around pay per click and advertisements, you are in need of large amount of traffic. To understand the consumer behaviour has never been more critical. It is about increasing the ability to create a rich customer experience. In order to do so, companies are in need of understanding how to interact with consumers. The interaction is mainly occurring through touchpoints. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to investigate how the current identified most relevant digital touchpoints are having impact on the consumers opinion of metasearch websites in the travel distribution industry. By doing so, we contribute to marketing theory, method and practices. The importance of certain touchpoints and to find out if they have the same relevance when the purchase itself is excluded. Focus is being towards factors that metasearch companies see as undiscovered. A quantitative study was conducted with a sample of 148 respondents. The result not only gave new insight in terms of touchpoints relevance in metasearch industries but also a theoretical ground for future research.

Ski areas attract and cater to tourists and are often powerful symbols of cultural identity and place-based meaning. Within contexts of mountain tourism development, ski areas also communicate messages to orient visitors and residents to special features and qualities of the natural environment. This research specifically focuses on how Vermont ski areas and their neighboring rural communities use language, symbolism and imagery, within the context of website communications, to shape cultural meanings of nature and place. A sample of small, medium, and large ski areas, representing a range of development sizes, locations, and recreational offerings, were paired with their adjacent rural communities. A qualitative content analysis and a textual analysis of photographic images and written texts from ski area and town websites examined presentations of “nature” and place. Website presentations were compared across ski areas of different sizes, and between towns and ski areas. Findings show that portrayals of “nature” differ by the size of the ski area, but are similar across rural towns – though towns tended to produce a discourse about “nature” divergent from that of ski areas. In addition, both ski resort and town websites used images and texts of “Vermont” symbolically in constructing their place identity, though they did this in different ways. This study contributes a better understanding of the ways that ski areas and rural communities work both independently and collaboratively to create and sustain meaningful physical places and cultural myths. Aligning public communications electronically to present a more unified place identity to visitors and residents alike has potential planning and management implications for tourism development, especially in rural regions in Vermont and elsewhere.