The recent advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) over the past two decades have influenced many aspects of live ([19] and [7]). These advances make the issue of acceptance of ICTs a topic of increasing importance, particularly in educational research and practice [18]. Many studies have been conducted to understand, explain, and predict the issue of acceptance and use of new technologies. Fortunately, these studies have resulted in several serious theoretical developments [9]. Overall understanding of the role of culture and social norms in influencing acceptance and use of education technologies, particularly collaborative and interactive technologies such as the internet, can facilitate the successful implementation and use of these technologies in the educational context. This study concentrates on providing insight into the influence of culture and social processes on staff members’ acceptance and use of educational technology, namely the internet at Khartoum state universities (KSUs). Specifically, the study aims to identify the influential role of these factors on acceptance and the use of the internet as a helpful collaborative educational technology. To achieve this aim, the study adopts technology acceptance model (TAM), which is modified (i.e. extended) with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (mainly uncertainty avoidance and masculinity). With the help of a structural equation model (SEM), the data assessment demonstrates the validity of the model and proves that social influence process and cultural factors have significant (direct and moderate) influence on staff members’ acceptance and use of internet technology for teaching and academic activities – i.e. the authors are able to assert that community matters in the adoption of these new ICTs. The article concludes by offering important implications and recommendations for both research and practice.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T14:48:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal1.pdf: 1798793 bytes, checksum: a622918fa2dff41a673786c6c71acfcb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this study, the research model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) (DAVIS et al., 1989) and innovation diffusion theory (IDT) (ROGERS, 2003) was used to analyze the relation between the characteristics of innovation and teacher s behavior in the process of adoption and use of Moodle in the undergraduate courses at distance. Survey was applied with 162 teachers at distance of Universidade Federal da Paraíba Virtual, issue focusing on the perceived characteristics of innovation, attitude and intention about the use of Moodle. Multivariate statistical techniques were performed: 1) content-vality to analyze the complete structure of scale for relevance and representativeness of items and to verify which items refer to construct in question; 2) exploratory factory analysis to know the structure of interrelationship of the original variables of IDT; 3) confirmatory factor analysis to guarantee conceptual validity for the pattern observed; 4) coefficient alpha to verify the homogeneity of set of items; 5) ANOVA to verify the likely differences between the groups of respondents; and 6) multiple regression analysis to analyze the relation between constructs. Results showed that not all factors of IDT had effect on attitude and intention. Only three constructs had significant effect on attitude and/or intention: relative advantage+compatibility for work style (β = 0,792), visibility (β = 0,166) and result demonstrability (β = 0,152). Moreover, teachers had a positive attitude in relation to use of Moodle and a positive intention in relation to use in the future. It was not possible to confirm all the relation of TAM, probably this verification was been compromised for some problems in the measurement process, thus, the only unsupported relationship of TAM was the effect of complexity on attitude. An academic contribution was that although some constructs of IDT did not show effect on the constructs of TAM, the model provided evidence of appropriated application of constructs of TAM with IDT to measure attitude and intention of use of Moodle. A management contribution was the understanding and prediction the teacher s behavior in relation to adoption and use process of Moodle, being possible to verify the effectiveness of innovative project of distance learning in the UFPB Virtual. / Nesse estudo, o modelo de pesquisa baseado no modelo de aceitação da tecnologia (Technology Acceptance Model - TAM) (DAVIS et al., 1989) e na teoria da difusão da inovação (Innovation Diffusion Theory - IDT) (ROGERS, 2003) foi usado para analisar a relação entre as características de inovação e o comportamento dos docentes no processo de adoção e de uso do Moodle em cursos de graduação a distância. Foi utilizada uma estratégia de levantamento (survey) aplicado a 162 docentes a distância da Universidade Federal da Paraíba Virtual, focando questão sobre as características percebidas de inovação, atitude e intenção em torno do uso do Moodle. Foram realizadas técnicas estatísticas multivariadas: 1) validação de translação para analisar a estrutura completa das escalas em relação à pertinência e representatividade dos itens e a verificação de que os itens propostos remetem ao construto em questão; 2) análise fatorial exploratória para conhecer a estrutura das inter-relações das variáveis originais da IDT; 3) análise fatorial confirmatória para garantir a validade conceitual para os padrões observados; 4) alpha de Cronbach para verificar a homogeneidade do conjunto de itens das escalas; 5) ANOVA para verificar as possíveis diferenças entre os grupos de respondentes; e 6) análise de regressão múltipla para analisar a relação entre os construtos. Os resultados revelaram que nem todos os fatores da IDT tiveram efeito sobre atitude e intenção. Apenas três construtos apresentaram efeito significativo sobre a atitude e/ou intenção: avanço relativo+compatibilidade por estilo de trabalho (β = 0,792), visibilidade (β = 0,166) e demonstrabilidade de resultado (β = 0,152). Além disso, os docentes tiveram uma atitude positiva em relação ao uso do Moodle bem como uma intenção positiva em relação ao seu uso futuro. Não foi possível confirmar todos os relacionamentos do TAM, provavelmente essa verificação foi comprometida por alguns problemas no processo de mensuração das escalas, sendo assim, o único relacionamento do TAM não suportado foi o efeito de complexidade sobre atitude. Uma contribuição acadêmica foi que apesar de alguns construtos da IDT não terem apresentado efeito sobre os construtos do TAM, o modelo forneceu evidência de aplicação apropriada dos construtos do TAM com os da IDT para medir a atitude e intenção de uso do Moodle. Uma contribuição gerencial foi a compreensão e previsão do comportamento dos docentes EaD em relação ao processo de adoção e uso do Moodle, possibilitando verificar a efetividade do projeto inovador de EaD na UFPB Virtual.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:53:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BelchiorOR.pdf: 1696414 bytes, checksum: 5786f663eb3492765f7fd96b27c3309f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-19 / The last decade, characterized by the vertiginous growth of the computers worldwide net, brought radical changes in the use of the information and communication. Internet s use at business world has been largely studied; however, few are the researches about the academic use of this technology, mainly if we take into consideration institutions of technologic education. In this context, this research made an analysis of internet s use in a technologic education institution in Brazil, analyzing, in particular, the Centro Federal de Educa??o Tecnol?gica do Rio Grande do Norte CEFET/RN for that standard use of this Information Technology (IT) tools and, at the same time, studying the determinant factors of this use. To reach the considered objectives, a survey research was effected, be given data collected daily through the research s questionnaire application to 150 teachers who answered a set of closed and scaled questions. The quantitative data were qualitatively analyzed, arriving a some significant results related to the standard use and the factors that influenced in the use of these Internet technologies, like: the age scale, the exposition s to the computer level, the area of academic graduation, the area of knowledge where acts and the title, exert significant influence in the academic use of Internet between the professors / A ?ltima d?cada, caracterizada pelo crescimento vertiginoso da rede mundial de computadores, trouxe mudan?as radicais no uso da informa??o e da comunica??o. O uso da Internet no mundo dos neg?cios tem sido largamente estudado, no entanto s?o poucas as pesquisas sobre o uso acad?mico dessa tecnologia, principalmente se levarmos em considera??o institui??es de educa??o tecnol?gica. Neste contexto, esta pesquisa fez uma an?lise do uso da Internet numa institui??o de ensino tecnol?gico no Brasil, analisando, em particular, o Centro Federal de Educa??o Tecnol?gica do Rio Grande do Norte CEFET/RN quanto ao padr?o de uso das ferramentas dessa Tecnologia da Informa??o (TI) e, ao mesmo tempo, estudando os fatores determinantes desse uso. Para tanto, foram coletados dados junto ao corpo docente das seis ger?ncias educacionais que comp?em a Unidade Sede da Institui??o. Para atingir os objetivos propostos, efetuou-se uma pesquisa survey, sendo os dados coletados diretamente atrav?s da aplica??o do question?rio da pesquisa a 150 professores que responderam a um conjunto de quest?es fechadas e escalares. Os dados quantitativos foram analisados qualitativamente, chegando-se a alguns resultados significativos com rela??o ao padr?o de uso e aos fatores que influenciam no uso dessas tecnologias Internet, tais como: a faixa et?ria, o n?vel de exposi??o ao computador, a ?rea de forma??o acad?mica, a ?rea de conhecimento na qual atua e a titula??o, exercem influ?ncia significativa no uso acad?mico da Internet entre os docentes