Mobile digital library service could make students’ lives easier and may help academic libraries to enhance their image by offering their services through smartphones, which are very popular among students nowadays. However, the literature lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework to understand factors affecting the adoption of such a service. This research focused on factors affecting the intention to use a mobile digital library within the context of the UAE and explored features and services that would encourage students to adopt such technology. The research design considered users’ perspectives, comprised a number of phases and employed mixed methods. The first phase involved designing a preliminary prototype and framework based on the literature and the technology acceptance model (TAM). This prototype was used in the second (exploratory) phase as a stimulus material when students and librarians were interviewed in 10 focus groups. Based on their comments and views, factors that affect their intention were explored and hypotheses were generated. This exploratory phase allowed the development of a theoretical framework for mobile digital library adoption. Focus group results, card sorting methodology and usability testing produced a final prototype that was sent to all students at Zayed University within UAE with an experiential online questionnaire through e-mail. This testing phase was conducted to test the hypotheses and confirm the importance of the same factors extracted in the second phase. The results obtained from the 211 respondents supported a number of paths in the proposed theoretical framework. First, Perceived usefulness, Perceived ease of use, Mobile and web experience, Distinctiveness/prestige, and Trust were found significantly affecting the Behaviour intention directly. Second, Mobility, Library assistance, Interface design, and Social influence were found to affect the intention to use indirectly through Perceived ease of use. Finally, the relationship between Perceived ease of use and Perceived usefulness was found significant. The results lead for producing a final framework for mobile digital library acceptance consisting of seven external factors falling in the three general categories: interface characteristics, personal characteristics and system characteristics. It consists of Interface design, Social influence, Mobility, Library assistance, Distinctiveness/prestige, Mobile and web search experience and Perceived trust. This research contributed in understanding factors affecting mobile digital library adoption within the developing world.

Instructional technologies can be effective tools to foster student engagement, but university faculty may be reluctant to integrate innovative and evidence-based modern learning technologies into instruction. It is important to identify the factors that influence faculty adoption of instructional technologies in the teaching and learning process. Based on Rogers' diffusion of innovation theory, this quantitative, nonexperimental, one-shot cross-sectional survey determined what attributes of innovation (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability) predict the probability of faculty adopting the audience response system (ARS) into instruction. The sample for the study consisted of 201 faculty who have current teaching appointments at a university in the southeastern United States. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the attributes of innovation that predict the probability of faculty adopting the ARS into instruction. The data indicated that the attributes of compatibility and trialability significantly predicted faculty adoption of ARS into instruction. Based on the results of the study, a professional development project that includes 3 full days of training and experiential learning was designed to assist faculty in adopting ARS into instruction. Because the current study only included the faculty at a single local university, future studies are recommended to explore a more holistic view of the problem from different institutions and from other stakeholders who may contribute to the process of instructional technology adoption. The project not only contributes to solving the local problem in ARS adoption, but it is also instrumental in promoting positive social change by fostering evidence-based teaching strategies and innovations that maximize student learning.

The main aim of this study was to investigate current search behaviour among Saudi consumers of travel services, to establish their attitudes towards, and adoption of online search and booking processes. It also aimed to explore current experiences within travel agencies of the adoption of online booking systems in the Saudi Arabian market. The study relied on a multi-method research design, with a focus on using both qualitative and quantitative data across three sequentially organised phases of data collection. Phase one centred on in-depth interviews with Saudi travel agents; phase two adopted a combined approach, using observation and semi-structured interviews, with a focus on getting a comprehensive insight into Saudi consumer search behaviour. In phase three, the researcher undertook a survey of internet adoption and search behaviour with a cross-section of Saudi consumers, located in the UK (N=481). Findings from the first phase demonstrated that Saudi Arabian travel firms continue to rely on offline booking methods and have been relatively slow to adopt online systems. Key factors influencing the adoption of online travel booking technology included attitudinal and cultural factors and an absence of customer trust, security and privacy. The second phase results indicated that information search and evaluation emerged as a single highly integrated process, however behavioural elements within the process varied across individuals, according to their search strategy and level of prior experience. In phase three, the key relationships in the conceptual model were examined, notably the relationship between search constructs and purchase intention. Only a few past studies have examined information search and evaluation in relation to purchase in emerging markets. This study offers a more in-depth perspective on search intention and information search and evaluation in the pre-purchase stage for online travel products. Key insights have emerged on the nature of the relationship between search intention, information search and evaluation and purchase intention through the development of a more comprehensive conceptual framework than in prior studies. The qualitative research demonstrated a) how search ability and search strategies were reflective of confident and well-established search behaviour on the part of Saudi consumers and b) gender and regional variations c) that the nature of information search and evaluation is shaped by behavioural differences at an individual consumer level. The study also offers a deeper understanding of the challenging perceptions that exist with regards to the slow adoption of online travel processes among Saudi Arabian travel firms.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-29T14:09:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_2620_.pdf: 1210633 bytes, checksum: d51273aea6c212ca520ab101c507cd95 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-06-26 / The research was conducted because of the importance of business software in the information society and this dichotomy between free software and proprietary software standards. The analyzed situations are related to companies that migrated their technology park from proprietary software to free software, and vice versa. It was identified financial, technological and institutional issues in these processes. We used the categories of evaluation of some theories of adoption of technology, applied in three situations of research: the first one was exploratory, seeking to understand the subject; the second the second was exploratory in depth, made with two organizations in order to refine the issues identified; and the third was of quantitative nature, using a questionnaire sent to 1,740 people in the area of related to IT, returning a sample of 38 companies. The final considerations show that the feature of being free or proprietary software influences the decision to migrate. Although it is not because of the availability of source code - the factor that differentiates most of the other standard - but because of issues of reliability and usability found in each of these standards. They also suggest several hypotheses to be tested in future research. / O trabalho foi realizado devido à importância do setor de software na sociedade da informação e à dicotomia presente entre os padrões software livre e software proprietário. Foram analisadas situações de migração no parque tecnológico de empresas que usavam software proprietário e optaram pelo software livre, e vice-versa, e identificadas questões financeiras, tecnológicas e institucionais presentes neste processo. Utilizou-se das categorias de algumas teorias de avaliação de adoção de tecnologia, aplicadas em três situações de pesquisa: a primeira foi exploratória, visando o entendimento do tema; a segunda foi exploratória em profundidade, realizada com duas organizações a fim de refinar as questões identificadas; e a terceira foi de caráter quantitativo, por meio de um questionário enviado a 1.740 pessoas da área de TI, retornando uma amostra de 38 empresas. As análises mostram que o fato de ser livre ou proprietário exerce influência na decisão de migração não pela disponibilidade ou não do código fonte – fator que mais diferencia um padrão do outro – mas sim por aspectos de confiabilidade e de usabilidade reconhecidos em cada um destes padrões. As considerações finais apontam diversas hipóteses a serem testadas em pesquisas futuras.

Farmers generally produce multiple crops while selectively adopting modern technologies to meet various needs. The main aim of this study is, therefore, to identify the range of socio-economic factors influencing the adoption of modern agricultural technology in multiple food crops and the corresponding impacts on productivity and food availability at the farm-level in South-eastern Nigeria. In this study, three major food crops (i.e., rice, yam and cassava) and two elements of modern technologies (i.e., HYV seeds and inorganic fertilizers) are considered. The hypotheses of the study are that inverse farm size – technology adoption, size – productivity, size- profitability and size – food availability relationships exist in Nigerian agriculture. The research is based on an in-depth farm-survey of 400 farmers from two states (251 from Ebonyi and 149 from Anambra states) of South-eastern Nigeria. Data has also been derived from surveys and interviews of ADP Program Managers and NGOs. A range of qualitative and quantitative methods including inferential statistics, bivariate probit model and regression analysis were used in order to achieve the specific objectives and test hypotheses. The results show that sample respondents are dominated by small scale farmers (81% of total) owning land less than 1 ha. The average farm size is small estimated at 1.27 ha. Farmers grow multiple crops instead of a single crop, i.e., 68% of the surveyed farmers grew at least two food crops. The level of modern technology adoption is low and mixed and farmers selectively adopt components of technologies as expected and use far less than recommended dose of fertilizers in crops. Only 29% of farmers adopted both HYV seeds and fertilizers as a package. The study clearly demonstrates that inverse farm size – technology adoption, farm size – productivity, and farm size – food availability relationships exist in agriculture in this region of Nigeria; but not inverse farm size – profitability. The bivariate probit model diagnostic reveals that the decision to adopt modern technologies are significantly correlated, implying that univariate analysis of such decisions are biased, thereby, justifying use of the bivariate approach. Overall, the most dominant determinants are the positive influence of farming experience and the negative influence of remoteness of extension services on modern technology adoption. The per capita per day level of mean food produced is 12322.74 calories from one ha of land and food available for consumption is 4693.34 calories which is higher than the daily requirement of 2000 calories. Yam is produced mainly for sale while cassava is produced for consumption. Regression analysis shows that farm size and share of cassava in the total crop portfolio significantly increases food availability. A host of constraints are affecting Nigerian agriculture, which includes lack of extension agents, credit facilities, farm inputs, irrigation, and value addition and corruption, lack of support for ADP staff and ineffective government policies. Policy implications include investment in extension credit services and other infrastructure (e.g., irrigation, ADP staff), training of small farmers in business skills, promotion of modern technology, as a package as well as special projects targeted for cassava (e.g., Cassava Plus project) in order to boost modern technology adoption in food crops, as well as improving productivity, profitability and food availability at the farm-level in Nigeria.

The potential for aquaculture to be integrated within a large-scale irrigation system taking a poverty-focused approach was investigated in the Mahaweli System H irrigation system of North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Using a livelihoods approach an initial situation appraisal identified the potential for aquaculture to be integrated within existing livelihoods activities. The appraisal revealed that decreasing returns from farming and fishing seasonality were major sources of household vulnerability. Using fish caught from the tank fishery, small-scale cage-based fattening of tilapia was developed with participants in an attempt to mitigate seasonal vulnerability caused by fishing seasonality. Participatory technology development was conducted with members of two communities within Mahaweli System H. Upon identifying resources and formulating a research agenda with participants, pilot trials were conducted by fisher-farmers in USG village and by a group of female cage operators in RAJ village. The study identified several constraints to sustainability of the culture system such as variable and low availability of small tilapia with which to stock cages, poor feed quality and latterly, competition for feed inputs. Despite their initial enthusiasm, women were particularly disadvantaged in this process as they were unable to catch their own fish with which to stock their cages and became dependent on men to assist them. The study showed that the cage-based fattening system was able to help meet emergency household expenses, although it was not efficient enough nor practiced on a large enough scale to contribute greatly to household security. In this manner, holding and fattening smaller tilapia is comparable with livestock holdings. Further development of cage design and feed administration improvements are needed to reduce production costs and improve the economic viability of the system.

Developments in information technology and tangible computing facilitate the human’s life by inventing Self Service Technologies SSTs where it changed the way we interact with the environment as well as new technologies did. Nowadays, a lot of new technologies have embodied computer inside such as smartphone and computer tablets. Previous studies in adoption of SSTs research treat customer behavior towards technology based services. However, recent studies recognize that participants have different attitude towards different technologies even if these technologies used to support the same service. Therefore, in our thesis we are going to study the effect of smartphone i.e. iPhone and computer tablets i.e. iPad on adoption of three services of SSTs Internet Banking, Online Shopping and Self Check In Machine at Airports. Is there any hesitation while people adopting with this technology? If yes, why does it happen? Our data were collected by conducting a pilot and empirical study via using quantitative and qualitative approaches. We conducted our study at Umeå, Sweden. The study findings present the effect of adoption through age, family, friends, money, knowledge, using technology in public and private places, mobile technology and computer tablets, and Interface design on adoption SSTs. We found that participants were influenced by new technology for adopting SSTs. Participants did not use Online Shopping as much as they use Internet Banking, especially in the private places. Concerning the Self Check in Machines, participants were differential in which some tend to use it and others did not.

This thesis addresses the issue of adopting cloud computing in two aspects. The first being the procedure of choosing a commonality that constitutes the base of comparing the most appropriate cloud platform from identified parameters. The second being to find constraints of adopting cloud computing related to the commonality. This commonality was identified in form of a process that portrayed characteristics which made it suitable for identifying parameters and comparing two cloud platforms (Azure and AWS). The comparison of platforms based on the parameters; lock-in, standardization and data security led to conclusive remarks that discouraged any further effort on comparing cloud platforms. Lack of standards and lock-in that cannot be avoided are traits of the unfitting environment the cloud platforms constitute. Furthermore, it was concluded that the adoption constraints are first priority when it comes to adopting cloud computing. Instead of choosing the cloud platform with least amount of constraints, it is recommended to firstly focus on the adoption constraints. / Avhandlingen tar upp frågan om att införa molntjänster i två aspekter. Den första är proceduren att välja en gemensam nämnare som utgör basen för jämförelse av den lämpligaste moln plattformen. Den andra är att hitta begränsningar relaterat till införandet av molntjänster i samband med den gemensamma nämnaren. Denna gemensamma nämnare identifierades i form av en process inom en IT-avdelning som skildrar egenskaper vilket gjorde den lämplig för att hitta parametrar och jämföra två molnplattformar (Azure och AWS). Jämförelsen av plattformar baserades på parametrarna; lock-in, standardisering och datasäkerhet. Brist på standarder och lock-in som inte kan undvikas är egenskaper av den opassande miljön som molnplattformarna utgör. Dessutom drogs slutsatsen att de nämnda begränsningar är av första prioritet när det gäller att införa molntjänster. Istället för att välja en molnplattform med minsta möjliga begränsningar, är rekommendationen att först fokusera på begränsningarna.

Despite the increased cost of data breaches due to advanced, persistent threats from malicious sources, the adoption of big data security analytics among U.S. small businesses has been slow. Anchored in a diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine ways to increase the adoption of big data security analytics among small businesses in the United States by examining the relationship between small business leaders' perceptions of big data security analytics and their adoption. The research questions were developed to determine how to increase the adoption of big data security analytics, which can be measured as a function of the user's perceived attributes of innovation represented by the independent variables: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, and trialability. The study included a cross-sectional survey distributed online to a convenience sample of 165 small businesses. Pearson correlations and multiple linear regression were used to statistically understand relationships between variables. There were no significant positive correlations between relative advantage, compatibility, and the dependent variable adoption; however, there were significant negative correlations between complexity, trialability, and the adoption. There was also a significant positive correlation between observability and the adoption. The implications for positive social change include an increase in knowledge, skill sets, and jobs for employees and increased confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems and data for small businesses. Social benefits include improved decision making for small businesses and increased secure transactions between systems by detecting and eliminating advanced, persistent threats.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseJGCFM.pdf: 1381165 bytes, checksum: b306b0c402f6673a8ea64e2f8db0bd1c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-05-10 / Information Technology (IT) starts to play an important role in the day-by-day, changing the way the cattlemen manage their properties. IT affects business management as it allows for search, access, storage and dissemination of information, improving the decision-making process. Besides softwares and agribusiness websites, IT includes electronic devices for storage of sanitary, nutricional and genetic information; television channels and telecommunications structure. This research aimed to study the use and the diffusion of IT in the beef cattle breeding, from the analysis of the factors that have influenced its adoption; to describe resources, procedures and necessary actions for IT operation; to segment (classify) rural enterprises by their technological level; and to elaborate suggestions to intensify the IT uses in the cattle breeding business. The research was performed in two stages, quantitative and qualitative. In the first stage, a survey with producers was performed. Information concerning the different technologies adopted and the attitudes taken with IT, enabled to identify the level of innovativeness of producers. It was possible to classify them by the similarities of the technological position. The second stage analyzed experiences, opinions and perspectives regarding the technology integrated to the productive system. Two properties were analyzed by each category, totalizing ten case studies, by personal interviews. The results indicated the reasons of the adoption or rejection of a certain IT by the producers, allowing for the identification of the reasons why some producers have adopted it more quickly than others. It was possible to understand the modifications in the rural organization due to IT adoption, as, for example, improvement in managerial skills. Altogether, the processes have been improved and became easier, with positive consequences in several areas, including human resources and the enterprise s image in the market. / A Tecnologia da informação (TI) começa a ganhar espaço no dia-a-dia do produtor, mudando a maneira como os pecuaristas administram suas propriedades. A TI afeta a gestão do negócio, ao facilitar a busca, o acesso, o armazenamento e a disseminação de informações, favorecendo a tomada de decisão. Além dos softwares e portais sobre o agronegócio, a TI inclui dispositivos eletrônicos para armazenamento de informações sanitárias, nutricionais e genéticas; canais de televisão e estrutura de telecomunicações. O objetivo desse trabalho foi estudar o uso e a difusão da TI na pecuária de corte, a partir de fatores que influenciaram a adoção; descrever recursos, procedimentos e ações necessárias para o funcionamento da mesma; segmentar os empreendimentos rurais a partir do nível tecnológico; e elaborar propostas para intensificar o uso da TI na atividade pecuária. A pesquisa foi realizada em duas fases: uma quantitativa e outra qualitativa. Na primeira, foi realizado um levantamento do tipo survey com produtores, buscando informações acerca das diferentes tecnologias adotadas e das atitudes em relação às mesmas, possibilitando identificar o grau de inovatividade dos produtores e agrupá-los pela semelhança da postura tecnológica. A segunda analisou experiências, opiniões e perspectivas a respeito da tecnologia integrada ao sistema produtivo de duas propriedades em cada categoria, totalizando dez estudos de caso, a partir de entrevistas pessoais. Os resultados proporcionaram entendimento sobre os motivos da adoção ou rejeição de uma determinada TI pelos produtores, permitindo identificar as razões para alguns produtores adotarem mais rapidamente que outros. Foi possível entender as alterações ocorridas na organização rural por ocasião da implantação dessas tecnologias, observando-se, por exemplo, um avanço nas práticas gerenciais a partir da adoção e uso da TI. De um modo geral, os processos foram aprimorados e facilitados, com reflexos positivos em várias áreas da propriedade, incluindo recursos humanos e a imagem do empreendimento no mercado.