The Defense Systems Management College (DSMC) is beginning a major transition from its traditional classroom training methods to technology-based education and training. Conventional classroom courses will be rewritten and restructured to a computer-based format and be delivered on-line. According to the Concerns-Based Adoption Model, the faculty will experience concerns during the process of adopting this innovation. Identification of these concerns can assist in selecting appropriate interventions to minimize problems and to ease the adoption process. This study had two purposes. The first was to identify the Stages of Concern of the DSMC faculty toward the use of technology-based education and training by measuring faculty responses to the Stages of Concern (SoC) Questionnaire. The second was to determine appropriate interventions to assist the faculty through the change process. The study accomplished both purposes. All teaching faculty (N=135) received the questionnaire about their concerns and issues with this innovation, and 126 responses were returned (93% response rate). A total of eighty-one respondents (64%) reported no experience with technology-based courses, and the composite faculty SoC profile correspondingly reflected the "nonuser" category. No significant differences in Stages of Concern were found between groups of faculty when divided by common demographic criteria such as years of teaching experience, civilian or military status, and experience with educational technology. Quantitative methods of analysis included SoC profile comparison, High Stage Score and Second High Stage Score analysis, analysis-of variance (ANOVA), and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Qualitative methods were also used to analyze responses to an open-ended question on the survey instrument. Results reflected a general lack of knowledge and awareness about the innovation from the faculty and strong personal concerns about what impact it will have on them. The faculty clearly displayed a negative attitude toward this innovation and seemed unconvinced that it was the optimal solution. Written responses to the open-ended question provided key insight into faculty attitudes. The majority of concerns identified were educational issues, particularly dealing with the effectiveness of a computer-based format when teaching highly-interactive management courses. Based on these results, recommended intervention strategies for DSMC were generated. These strategies focus on the need for better information dissemination about educational technology and for a realistic implementation plan. More importantly, interventions were recommended to provide incentives for faculty to increase proficiency with educational technology and the use of technology in their courses. / Ed. D.

With the rapid development of IT and broadband network, voice, data and video services are gradually integrated. IPTV is one of the popular products, which can deliver and provide consumers a variety of digitized content over the internet. Despite of the advantages mentioned above, IPTV in Taiwan is still not a threat to traditional TV. Therefore, many interesting issues were coming up. One of the interesting issues is looking into the factors of influencing continuance intention. This study explores the factors through the literature reviewing and the data collected from practitioners and participants. Moreover, we try to explain and verify the factors affecting the continuance intention by proposing a new model derived from Value-based Adoption Model (VAM) and Exception-Confirmation Model (ECM). In this research, an empirical survey methodology with 7 hypotheses was applied to verify this model. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to analyze the data and evaluate the model. The results not only identify the effective factors of perceived benefit and perceived sacrifice to IPTV services, but also showed that perceived value was influenced by the trade-off between perceived benefit and sacrifice, as well as by the consumers¡¦ confirmation level. The value that consumers perceive from IPTV services will have a significant effect on satisfaction and the continuance intention. In sum, the study explores the factors of perceived benefit and perceived sacrifice, and proposes a more comprehensive framework to explain the ¡§continuing using behavior¡¨. This study also provides a reference model for the value-based or IPTV research and some suggestions for the IPTV practitioners.

Enterprise 2.0 has become popular in firms. Many Enterprise 2.0 researchers and practitioners have recognized the importance of benefits and costs in using Enterprise 2.0 by individuals. However, their effects on adoption intention in enterprise contexts are not discussed. To investigate this issue, we proposed a model to understand the intention to adopt Enterprise 2.0. Three factors are identified based on value-based adoption model (VAM), namely perceived benefits, perceived costs, and perceived value. An empirical survey was conducted to collect data. 500 samples were collected within 18 days. Of which 150 was valid. This yielded a response rate of 30%. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to analyze the data and verify the model. The result showed that perceived value not only played an important role in mediating the relationship between perceived benefits and costs, and adoption intention but it also exerted a significant effect on intention to adopt Enterprise 2.0. Moreover, we identified major factors that may affect perceived value. We find that both perceived benefits and perceived costs have significant impacts on perceived value, and cause intention to adopt Enterprise 2.0. Implications of such finding are discussed.

Implementation of previous U.S. standards-based education initiatives has been challenging due to, among other issues, the lack of common and consistent meaning of ‘proficiency’ among states. Implementing new education standards for educators means undertaking actions to understand the skills to be taught, develop curriculum, make curriculum more accessible to students, and effectively assess the skills being taught. This single-site qualitative collective case study investigated how three secondary in-service teachers and one secondary student teacher navigated implementation of the Common Core State Standards in a Midwestern rural secondary school.

E-handel kallas ofta för shopping ”vartsomhelst, närsomhelst” och har möjliggjort förkonsumenter att handla utan att behöva lämna sitt hem (Zmijewska., Lawrence & Steele,2007). Mobil handel och mobila betalningstjänster har ökat kraftigt de senaste åren, delvis på grund av utvecklingen inom mobiltelefoni och möjligheten att använda internet utanförhemmet. Mobil handel har därför blivit en del av konsumenternas vardagsliv (Hwang, Shiau& Jan, 2007). Mobila betalningstjänster erbjuder en unik möjlighet för företag att förbättraderas kommunikation till deras kunder, samt att öka värdet i transaktionerna med kunderna, genom att ständigt ha möjligheten att engagera kunderna, oavsett vart de är. Detta kan stärkavarumärket öka lojaliteten hos kunderna (Early, 2014). För att lyckas med detta krävs det dock för företagen att förstå hur de kan få ut mest värde ur deras lösningar och erbjudanden och vilka faktorer som de ska överväga för att öka konsumenternas adapterande och acceptansav mobile betalningslösningar. Dahlberg, Mallat, Ondrus and Zmijewska (2008) nämner att de tycker att det behövs mer forskning I detta ämne för att förbättra förståelsen avkonsumenternas acceptans av mobila betalningstjänster och för att förbättra kvaliteten och relevans gentemot forskning I mobila betalningstjänster. (Dahlberg, Mallat, Ondrus and Zmijewska, 2008). Resultaten av denna avhandling är en uppsättning av faktorer som tros ha ett positivt inflytande på konsumenternas adapterande och acceptans av mobilabetalningstjänster. Faktorerna som har upptäckts är följande: · Gör mer än bara transaktioner· Skapa en snabb tjänst· Gör det enkelt· Gör det pålitligt· Adaptera till mobiltelefoner· Gör det till en trevlig upplevelse· Öka säkerheten· Ändra konsumenternas vanor· Rikta in tjänsten till rätt segment· Erbjud flera betalningsalternativ· Gör det gratis eller billigt / E-commerce, often referred to shopping “anytime, anywhere”, has allowed consumers to do shopping at any hour of the day without ever leaving their home. Although E-commerce require the consumers to have access to a stationary computer in their homes. Mobile commerce and mobile payments overcame this obstacle and allowed consumer to shop wherever they want (Zmijewska., Lawrence & Steele, 2007). Driven by the mobility of mobile phones there has been a fast increase in recent years in mobile commerce and mobile payment services, and both have increasingly become a part of consumers’ everyday life(Hwang, Shiau & Jan, 2007). Mobile payments offer unique possibilities for businesses to improve the communications, increase the value for the consumers, and to be able to engage with the consumers wherever they are. This will strengthen the brand of the businesses and solidify their customer relationships (Early, 2014). However for businesses to follow the mobile payment trend and get the most value out of their mobile payment solutions it is important for them to know what factors to consider to increase the consumer adoption and acceptance of their mobile payment services. Dahlberg, Mallat, Ondrus and Zmijewska(2008) believe that more research is needed to enhance the current understanding of mobilepayment services and to improve the quality and relevance of mobile payment research(Dahlberg, Mallat, Ondrus and Zmijewska, 2008). The findings of this thesis are a set of factors that are believed to positively influence the consumer adoption intention of mobile payment. The findings are the following:· Go beyond transactions· Create a fast experience· Make it easy· Make it reliable· Adapt to the mobile phone· Make paying with the phone a pleasant experience· Counter the perceived security· Change the habits· Target the right segment· Offer an abundance of payment options· Make it free or cheap

This case study addressed the problem of implementing response to intervention (RTI) in general secondary education. To investigate this problem, one north Texas school's RTI implementation was examined using the theoretical framework of the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM) and defining RTI as the innovation. RTI-related practices were studied for 10 secondary teachers, two from each core subject (i.e., mathematics, English language arts, science, and social studies) and the fine arts who had been implementing RTI for several years. Data regarding participants' stages of concern about and levels of use of RTI were collected across three time intervals using the three diagnostic instruments of CBAM (i.e., Stages of Concern Questionnaire, Levels of Use interviews, and Innovation Configuration Checklist matrix), behavioral observations during instruction and RTI meetings, and structured exit interviews of participants. Overall, findings indicated that the secondary teachers were at similar stages of concern and levels of use of RTI. Teachers' RTI concerns scores remained highest in the Self phase and lowest in the Impact phase of concern at all three intervals of data collection. As levels of RTI use increased, observed RTI use increased; however, teachers' RTI levels of use scores remained in the early levels of RTI implementation at all three intervals of data collection. Patterns in teachers' responses during exit interviews suggested that contextual factors unique to this setting (e.g., unexpected changes in RTI protocol, priorities of administrative personnel, and demands placed on teachers) may have influenced teachers' concerns about the teacher's role in, the professional development in, and the sustainability of RTI as an innovation. The literature does not currently address secondary teachers' concerns about and levels of use of RTI in relation to CBAM. Therefore, this study not only fills a gap in literature but also has implications for how teachers are trained and supported in implementing and sustaining the practices of consultation and differentiated instruction associated with RTI. This case study provided insight about the importance and value of teachers' participation and knowledge of RTI to facilitate the change process successfully.

Denna uppsats avser undersöka sambandet mellan användarupplevelser och beroenden inom spel och vadhållning. Ett beroende i sig kan tillskrivas många egenskaper och orsaker, vilket gör det till en dynamisk term, och kan således undersökas och definieras i många avseenden. Viktigt att notera är att beroende kan vara närvarande trots att det inte utgör ett problem. En användarupplevelse kan vara alla intryck och känslor vilka infinner sig vid interaktion med en produkt eller tjänst, och utgör en slags referenspunkt i utvecklingsarbeten. Syftet med denna designattityd innebär att utforma och tillhandahålla en upplevelse snarare än en produkt, där resultatet blir en artefakt vilken förmedlar denna känsla. Uppsatsen undersöker även Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model, vidare benämnt HMSAM, vilken är ett slags verktyg avsett att kartlägga upplevelser och konkretisera vad som motiverar användning. Vidare tillämpas teorin om Flow, då tidigare studier om spelberoende ligger i nära anslutning till allt vad den innefattar. Med denna teori som utgångspunkt genomfördes fem semi-strukturerade där informanten ombads redogöra för tidigare och nuvarande upplevelser av speltjänster. Syftet med dessa intervjuer var primärt att undersöka och söka ytterligare förståelse för spelandets motivation, för att tydliggöra sambandet mellan beroende och användarupplevelse, men även att förstå vad en upplevelse och ett beroende innebär för användaren. Utfallet avslöjar om en utspridd uppfattning gällande beroendets befattning och utsträckning, samt att spänning utgör en betydande del av motivationen. Utöver det tydliggörs även att en eventuell förtjänst av pengar ligger centralt i spelandet, men att det för vissa endast uppfattas som en bonus. Vad detta innebär för uppsatsen är att medan beroendet i sig har flera definitioner kan spelandets motivation konkretiseras och i viss mån generaliseras. Spelberoendets vara eller icke-vara hos en individ är i sin tur beroende av alltför många faktorer för att abstrahera, vilket till stor beror på att beroende inte nödvändigtvis betingar en negativ händelseutveckling. Modellen HMSAM visar sig också vara hjälpsam när upplevelser ska kartläggas och kvantifieras, vilket är nödvändigt om spelberoende och dess orsaker ska undersökas i vidare utsträckning. / This research aims at investigating the relationship between user experiences and addiction in gambling and betting. An addiction can be attributed to many traits and causes, making it a dynamic term, and can thus be investigated and defined in many respects. One important note is that addiction might be present despite it not posing a problem. A user experience could be all the impressions and emotions that occur while interacting with a product or service, and forms a point of reference in product developments. The purpose of this design attitude involves designing and providing an experience rather than a product, where the result is an artifact capable of conveying this feeling. This paper also examines the Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model, further abbreviated HMSAM, which is a tool capable of mapping experiences and concretizing what motivates use of a service or product. Furthermore, the theory of flow is applied, with previous studies about gambling addiction being closely related to all that it includes. With this theory as a basis, five semi-structured interviews were conducted, where the informant was asked to account for past and present experiences from betting services. The purpose of these interviews were to investigate and understand what betting motivation consists of, in order to enable a clarification of the relationship between addiction and user experience, but also to learn what an experience and an addiction means to the user. The outcome reports of a widespread perception of the dependencies and extent to which an addiction exists, and that excitement composes a significant part of motivation. In addition, it is clarified that a feasible profit is central to betting, it is however perceived by some as solely a bonus. What this means for the research is that while the addiction itself might have several definitions, the player's motivation can be made concrete and to some extent generalized. The actuality of an addiction with an individual is, in turn, dependent on too many factors to discern, which in large depends on addiction not necessarily leading to a sequence of negative events. The model HMSAM also proves to be helpful when assessing and quantifying experiences, which is necessary for further investigation of gambling addiction and its origins.

The evolution of mobile-phone technologies such as Smartphones Applications and Services enabled the emergence of digital and smart economies, governments and nations. Many developed and developing countries, like Oman, have considerably invested in the area of Smart Technologies, and initiated countless number of projects such as Smart Governments, also known as Mobile or M-Government, to provide timely, secure, satisfactory and high quality of services for the citizens, businesses and other governmental agencies. Although many scholars have investigated this area of interest with huge amount of efforts, the adoption and actual use of M-Government applications and services, remain problematic and face many challenges. In this area of interest, two major themes of research were reported in the literature: User-centred (i.e., Human-Computer Interaction perspective) and System-centred (i.e., Software Engineering perspective). The first theme remains a hot area of interest mainly due to the importance of the role of end-users in the adoption and success of the new technologies like M-Government. Therefore, this study attempted to develop and empirically validate a novel Mobile Government Adoption Model (titled: MGAM) within the culture of Oman. The MGAM model integrates a well-known theory in this domain, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), with other theories including Psychometric Paradigm Theory (PPT), Customer Culture Theory (CCT) and Personality Trait Theory (PTT) to identify key factors related to the end-users or citizens; those included their Perception of Risk, Culture and Personality Trait. The study adopted quantitative research with Survey method as a research strategy for data collection and quantitative methodology for data analysis. A new data collection instrument was developed for the purpose of this study and distributed through online facilities to collect data about the variables of the MGAM Model from Users in Oman using the M-Government applications and services. Around 450 samples (302 males and 148 females) were collected and considered for the purpose of data analysis in this study. Several statistical tools and means have been used to analyse the data and valuate the MGAM model including Descriptive and Inferential Statistic, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), Comparative Fit Index Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with Statistical Software Applications, SPSS and AMOS Applications. The study revealed that most of the users in Oman using M-Government applications and services were very positive about the Perceived Ease of Use and the Perceived Usefulness of the technology with very positive Attitude and Behavioural Intention towards this technology. The findings also showed that the research participants have a slightly negative Perception of Risk when using the M-Government applications and services in Oman, and positive perception of Culture in this domain. With reference to the MGAM Model, the model was tested and validated, and the findings indicated that the Personality Trait moderator can strengthen the link between Behavioural Intention and Actual Use of the technology. Based on the findings, the study provided key recommendations for the governmental personnel dealing with the development of M-Government applications and services in Oman, and for public users in Oman. Among those, the study recommends for considering this initiative in Oman as a real and strategic shift in public administration, and to make easy, flexible and dynamic M-Government applications and services through taking into account cultural issues and user-related preferences. The study also recommended offering more than a service in one visit by the users, providing information prior to services and training governmental employees on this technology. The main contribution of this work is the development and validation of a new adoption model in the area of M-Government, the MGAM model. Theoretically, the MGAM Model extends the TAM Model through the integration process with with other theories including PPT, CCT and PTT to identify new key factors with impact on the adoption of M-Government infrastructure. This work also makes a novel contribution in terms of research methodology by developing and applying a new data collection tool, i.e., Mobile Government Adoption Questionnaire. This tool can be used by other researchers to collect data on the same research problem from contexts similar to the Omani one. Practically, this work attempted to identify the key prerequisites for the adoption and actual use of technology in the area of public services administration, and then making contribution towards the success of M-Government initiatives. The use of different tests and methods to statistically understand how the Omani end-users make decisions on the use of M-Government is also a novel practical contribution of this work.

This thesis aimed to investigate the impact of firm- and industry-specific factors on the decision to adopt Internet technologies among SMEs in New Zealand's retail and tourism industries. A mail survey was sent to 500 retail SMEs and 1,000 tourism SMEs, with response rates of 26.4 percent and 33.4 percent respectively. The results indicated that, in a comparison of perceived benefits, organizational readiness and external pressure, the most important factor in determining the adoption decision was the perceived benefits. Overall, the level of Internet support, business size, international business, and years on the Internet were the most important structural factors in determining Internet technology adoption. When comparing retail and tourism SMEs, the level of Internet support within a firm, business size, and years on the Internet were more important factors for the tourism SMEs than for their retail counterparts. On the other hand, business type and international business were more important factors for retail SMEs than they were for tourism firms. The research also found that tourism SMEs experienced greater pressure from the external environment to adopt Internet technologies than did retail firms.

Concerns over Information Technology security, including theft, fraud and abuse have forced organizations to take a cautious approach to Electronic Commerce. This research study suggests that organizations can keep secure their resources by implementing an effective and accurate identification system, which will enable them to provide a better service to their customers and to prevent individuals from misrepresenting themselves to the organization. Various means of identification are available, but the key focus should be to establish accurate identity. The research study addresses biometric identification methods as a means of improving the security of on-line transactions. The specific focus is an investigation of user perceptions with regard to biometric identification methods. The research study, through a theoretical understanding of the concepts found within the research problem statement, compiles a Technology Adoption Model for understanding why individuals accept or reject Information Technology innovations, which has proved to be one of the most challenging issues in Information Technology research. The exploratory field study section of the research study makes use of interpretive research as a basis to identify various themes related to user perceptions of biometrics. The themes identified are discussed during a focus group session with research participants. The main focus of the exploratory field study section is on user perceptions related to biometric identification methods and to enhance the Technology Adoption Model compiled by gathering user perceptions regarding the Internet, Electronic Business, biometrics and user adoption via a questionnaire to provide a possible solution for the research study problem statement. From the exploratory field study, it was concluded that user perceptions will play a role with regard to identification through biometrics within Electronic Business and that the social factors trust, security, and privacy considerations will also have to be taken into account. / Dissertation (MCom Informatics)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Informatics / unrestricted