e-Government Adoption Model (GAM): Differing service maturity levels

This research has as its objective the discovery of the critical factors that enable citizens to adopt e-Government (e-Gov) at different stages of service maturity. To accomplish the objective, this research has explained the related concepts and theories and developed a research framework grounded on a strong theoretical and literature review background. The empirical study was conducted in Canada, which is a leader in providing mature e-Gov services. From our results, we have observed two ontological differences from the present literature in the adoption behavior of e-Gov where organizational and financial perspectives have distinct implications over parsimonious technology adoption behavior. First, technology adoption model (TAM), diffusion of innovation theory (DOI), and theory of planned behavior (TPB) cannot capture and specify the complete essence of e-Gov adoption behavior of citizens. Second, e-Gov adoption behavior also differs based on service maturity levels, i.e., when functional characteristics of organizational, technological, economical, and social perspectives of e-Gov differ. Our findings indicate the critical factors that enable citizens to adopt e-Gov at different stages of service maturity. Public administrators and policy-makers have potential implications from the findings of the adoption behavior of e-Gov at different maturity levels.     

Social identity and trust in internet-based voting adoption

The growth of eGovernment applications has initiated profound re-engineering of numerous citizen-government interactions but has not yet provided significant impacts on internet-based voting (iVoting). This study examines the role of trust and the technology adoption model (TAM) in influencing citizen intentions to adopt iVoting, and whether a social identity perspective may play a role in this individual decision process. The study is based on the integrated trust and TAM model. TAM posits that people choose to adopt a new Information Technology (IT) because they perceive it to be useful and sometimes also because it is perceived as easy to use. Trust plays a central role in building that sense of perceived usefulness in cases where the IT is a conduit to the trusted party, as we propose for iVoting. In support of this social identity extension to the trust and TAM model, our results show that citizens' perceptions that they share the same values as the individuals affiliated with providing eGovernment (and internet-based voting) services are especially instrumental. The perception that the agency is made of “people like me” is associated with increased trust in the agency, which in turn is associated with increased levels of other factors that contribute to the intention to vote electronically over the internet. Implications for theory and practice are identified.     

Communicating Social Relationships via the Use of Photo-Messaging

The present study applied theories of diffusion, technology acceptance, and uses and gratifications via an exploratory model to explain the photo-messaging behavior of 682 college students. Structural equation modeling results indicate that greater photo-messaging activity within one's social network predicts personal relationship formation and relationship maintenance motives. Relationship maintenance motives had a stronger influence on behavioral intention to adopt photo-messaging than did relationship formation. Technology cluster ownership also predicts perceived ease of use for photo-messaging activity. The technology acceptance model (TAM) conceptualizations were generally supported for photo-messaging.     

The adoption of electronic tax filing systems: an empirical study

This paper discusses the factors affecting the adoption of electronic tax-filing systems. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a theoretical framework, this study introduces “perceived credibility” as a new factor that reflects the user's intrinsic belief in the electronic tax-filing systems, and examines the effect of computer self-efficacy on the intention to use an electronic tax-filing system. Based on a sample of 260 users from a telephone interview, the results strongly support the extended TAM in predicting the intention of users to adopt electronic tax-filing systems. The results also demonstrate the significant effect that computer self-efficacy has on behavioral intention through perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived credibility. Based on the findings of this study, implications for electronic tax filing in particular and for e-government services in general are discussed. Finally, this paper concludes by discussing limitations that could be addressed in future studies.     

Factors affecting the adoption of social network sites: examining four adopter categories of Singapore's working adults

Adapted from Chang et al.'s (2006) models, this study examines factors that influence adoption and non-adoption of social network sites (SNS) in adopters (Continuers, Discontinuers) and non-adopters (Potentials, Resistors). Chi-square and t-test were used to analyze the survey data of Singapore's working adults and Internet users (N =222). The findings reveal innovation characteristics (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity) and perceived popularity differ significantly in three pairs of adopter categories. Results show Continuers and Potentials are concerned more about image than Discontinuers and Resistors, while technology cluster differs between adopter vs. non-adopter and Continuers vs. Discontinuers. Moreover, the study suggests younger people tend to adopt SNSs, females continue to use SNSs more, and potential SNS users are more innovative. Lastly, a regression model to forecast the adoption of SNSs is proposed in which age, compatibility, technology cluster, and perceived popularity are predictors.     

Accountability for governance of liquid communication generated through the use of social media in Botswana: whose duty is it?

The continued use of social media by governments requires that the resultant records, currently termed liquid communication, be governed for accountability purposes. However, some governments worldwide and many in Africa do not have information governance policies to ensure accountability for social media generated records. Therefore, this study examines the roles and responsibilities for the governance of liquid communication generated through social media use by the Botswana government. The study adopts a qualitative approach to collect data from purposively selected participants. This study reveals that public relations officers administered the Botswana government’s social media pages. Furthermore, the Botswana National Archives and Records Services was not involved in the country’s liquid communication governance. Therefore, the study recommends a cross-functional approach to the governance of liquid communication in Botswana. All stakeholders' roles and responsibilities in government information management should be clearly spelled out and documented, which is currently not the case.

     

Expanding the Technology Acceptance Model to examine Personal Computing Technology utilization in government agencies in developing countries

This study assessed the use of “Personal Computer Technology” in public organizations of developing countries in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan [Qazi, R. (2006). Expanding the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM): A Consideration of Personal Computer Technology Use in Public Organizations of a Developing Country of South Asia, Pakistan (Doctoral dissertation, George Washington University, 2006). Dissertation Abstracts]. The study expanded the “Technology Acceptance Model” by adding additional external factors such as ‘Organizational Culture’ and ‘Individual Factors’ (e.g. ‘Level of Education’ and ‘Duration of Training’), and belief factors such as ‘Perceived Personal Utility.’ Financial compensation to employees was used as a control variable because preliminary data analysis showed that it explicitly differentiated results of the study between those employees who felt they were adequately rewarded (financially) and those who were not. For example, when respondents replied ‘Compensation’ was ‘Yes,’ i.e. that at least some level of direct compensation was provided for PCT utilization then a statistically significant, positive relationship between ‘Level of Education’ and ‘PCT Use’ was found. However, when respondents replied that ‘Compensation’ was ‘No,’ a statistically significant, negative relationship between ‘Level of Education’ and ‘PCT Use’ exists. Additional results of this study are presented in this article.     

National Information and Communication Technology Policy and Digital Era School Librarianship in Botswana

School librarianship has advanced in the digital era to encompass interactivity, connectivity, and access to a wide variety of information in different formats, through the capabilities of information and communication technologies. School libraries exist to support learning in schools and the importance of the digital age in student's learning cannot be overstated. Today's students are born in the age of technology; therefore a school library that does not encompass the use of electronic media will not meet the needs of the digital generation. The purpose of this article is to find out the status of technology diffusion and use in Botswana school libraries and to advance reasons for the lack of information and communication technology uptake in school libraries. A document analysis of literature was done to determine the factors that hinder the growth of school librarianship in Botswana during the digital era, using the stakeholder theory as a lens for the investigation. Findings reveal a weakness in the social, political, and economic areas of leadership in national information policies which seem to be a remnant from the beginning of the digital age in Botswana and indeed in most African countries. Some of the recommendations point to using the stakeholder theory to tackle the hurdles in school librarianship leadership and policy in the information age.     

知识联盟中信息技术接受行为模型研究

在分析知识联盟中知识转移、知识吸收和知识创新等过程的基础上,对技术接受模型进行扩展.重点探讨知识联盟中企业信息技术接受行为的影响因素,并拟定相关的测度指标和测度方法;期望通过分析模型中关键因素感知有用、感知易用和感知安全相互之间的逻辑关系,解释和预测企业信息技术接受的行为,为企业信息技术的采纳决策提供帮助.     

An Experimental Test of Stigma Communication Content with a Hypothetical Infectious Disease Alert

Recent interest in the role of communication in stigma creation, diffusion, and copying has inspired theorizing. This study presents the first empirical test of one model of stigma communication (Smith, 2007), with a hypothetical infectious disease alert. This study uses an experiment (N=333) to illustrate how changing several words and monitoring four cognitive and affective reactions and a personality trait becomes predictive of almost half (R ²=.49) of the variance in support for intervention policies, including removing and isolating infected persons, forcing treatment, and generating a publicly accessible map of infected persons. Message content and reactions also predicted perceptions of normative stigma beliefs toward infected persons (R ²=.26) and the likelihood of disseminating content of the alert to others (R ²=.15). Results generally support the model of stigma communication and indicate places for refinement.     

Gender and online health information: a partitioned technology assessment

Objective: To examine the extent to which health information seeking behaviors vary across genders or are differentially associated with access to computers, the Internet, and online health information. Research design: Stratified survey, data analysis. Methods: Using binary logistic regression we examine information seeking differences between demographic groups. Questions addressed include: 1) Are any identified groups significantly underserved regarding access to computers, access to the Internet, and preferences for seeking online health information, and 2) have differences between gender groups in access to computers, Internet services and online health information narrowed, remained constant, or widened over recent years, following recent national initiatives to narrow the technology gap for underserved populations? Outcomes: Information seeking variation across gender groups and between technologies was at times significant. There was little difference in the access to computer between females and males. In 2002, 75.4% and 73.1% of female and male participants reported that they occasionally use computers, respectively. In 2000, the respective figures were 72.4% and 72.7%. The rates of use of Internet services among computer users, however, were quite different between female and male (P_{at 2002}= 0.0002 and P_{at 2000}= 0.0082) and the disparity in 2000 (OR = 0.7366 [0.5870, 0.9243]) increased in 2002 (OR = 0.5675 [0.4222, 0.7627]). The odds ratios (OR) indicate that females were 0.7366 and 0.5675 times less likely to use computers than male counterparts in 2000 and 2002, respectively. Conclusion: Recent technology initiatives in the US aimed at reducing disparities in access to online resources appear to have had little effect in facilitating equal access to web‐based health information.     

Understanding Technology Adoption Through Individual and Context Characteristics: The Case of HDTV

Technology adoption research has a tradition of using and improving Davis' (1989) “Technology Acceptance Model” (TAM) and extended versions of it. This article suggests a break with this tradition by showing that the TAM is limited in its understanding of technology adoption. Two alternative approaches are proposed that focus on the role of knowledge and user-technology match, and on the role of temporary dynamical contexts in the process of adoption decision-making. Together with the TAM, both approaches were empirically tested and compared to the TAM by incorporating them in a questionnaire regarding the adoption intention of HDTV in the Netherlands. Results show that the constructs of both approaches show significant relations with the respondents' adoption intentions of HDTV and, together, offer a good alternative to the TAM. This result can be seen as a basis for more future research that uses technological and contextual factors as a starting point for adoption research. Using this starting point will contribute to a better understanding of future technology adoption processes.     

e-Government adoption model based on theory of planned behavior: Empirical validation

The e-Government phenomenon has become more important with the ever increasing number of implementations worldwide. A model explaining the e-Government adoption and the related measurement instrument – a survey – had been developed and validated in this study. In a post Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) approach, theory of planned behavior (TPB) was extended to fit the requirements of e-Government context. The adoption of student loans service of the higher education student loans and accommodation association of Turkey (KYK) was investigated to obtain data for empirical validation. The instrument was administered to over four-hundred students and partial least squares path modeling was employed to analyze the data. The results indicate that the model was an improvement over TAM in terms of predictive power. The constructs trust, perceived behavioral control and attitudes successfully explained the intention to use an e-Government service. The findings presented in this study provide useful insights for researchers and policy makers when dealing with e-Government services.     

信息系统采用模型的比较研究

信息系统采用是信息系统研究领域中一个极为重要的话题。其研究主要集中在认知行为模型的探讨方面，试图寻求一种理想的模型来解释人们为什么接受新的系统或技术。本文详细论述了三种常用的模型——理性行为理论、技术接受模型和计划行为理论，并对这三种模型进行了比较，在此基础上指出了未来研究的发展方向。     

The effect of personal and situational factors on LIS students' and professionals' intentions to use e-books

Due to the growth in both the number and use of e-books, the question arises as to which factors may influence information professionals and library and information science (LIS) students when considering adopting e-books in their organizations. This study uses the technology acceptance model (TAM), a well-known theory for explaining individuals' technology behaviors, and cognitive appraisal theory as theoretical bases from which to predict factors that may influence information professionals and LIS students in their adoption of e-books in their organizations. This study explored two main themes: whether there are differences between information professionals' and LIS students' perspectives towards e-books, and to what extent the TAM, as well as other personal characteristics such as threat, challenge, and motivation, explain information professionals' and LIS students' perspectives. Researchers used questionnaires to gather data on computer competence, attitudes to ebooks, motivation, and cognitive appraisal. Findings reveal that there are major differences between the two groups concerning computer competence, motivation, and challenge. In addition, the TAM, as well as other personal characteristics, can predict the likelihood of e-book adoption, and highlights the importance of individual characteristics when considering technology acceptance.     

Exploring academic librarians' perception of OER through the lens of technology acceptance model

Academic librarians' professional skills make them an ideal candidate to work with faculty in the exploration, adoption, promotion, and preservation of open educational resources (OER). This study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explain and predict librarians' attitudes towards OER and their intentions towards utilization in instructional design practices and teaching pedagogies. A total of 213 academic librarians participated in the mixed-methods design study. The results reveal that perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), and self-efficacy (SE) as it relates to OER accounted for 51 % of the variance in librarians' attitude (AT) towards OER. Moreover, librarians' AT and SE towards OER accounted for 55 % of the variance in their Intentions (IN) to leverage OER. These results support the use of TAM to support likelihood of users to utilize OER. Furthermore, participants' responses on open-ended questions reflected a variety of experiences and opinions, expressed concerns and challenges of promoting OER. In conclusion, in accordance with previous studies, state the necessity of librarians to possess the knowledge, skills, and appreciation of these resources to increase their likelihood of adoption. There is an undeniable need for continual education and support regarding the implementation of OER.     

学术APP用户采纳意愿影响因素实证研究

[目的/意义]移动应用程序（APP）的大量供给及用户注意力稀缺性,导致了其激烈的生存竞争。对于亟待发展的学术APP而言,研究其用户采纳意愿的主要影响因素并加以利用具有重要意义。[方法/过程]以技术接受模型、期望确认模型等经典用户行为理论模型为基础,结合学术APP的特点,构建学术APP用户采纳意愿影响因素模型;运用问卷调查的方法收集数据并对数据进行统计分析和实证研究,从而验证模型的适用性。[结果/结论]感知有用性、感知易用性、满意度、感知权威及社会影响对学术APP用户采纳意愿有显著正向影响。学术APP开发者应当增加资源的可获得性,提升用户对有用性与易用性的感知;强化APP属性,提升用户满意度;严格控制资源的专业性,维护用户对权威性的感知;扩大学术APP的社会影响。     

Reconsidering Reflexivity: Audience Research and Reality Television

Critiques of reality television assume that audiences enjoy watching participants’ humiliation or adopt the reforming injunctions of the shows. This audience research project investigates how people who watch personal makeover shows (The Biggest Loser, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Starting Over, and What Not to Wear) use these texts in meaningful ways. Data from 1,800 survey respondents and 130 interviewees demonstrate that audiences use the shows to be self reflexive, while they also are highly reflexive about media production processes. Furthermore, they are reflexive about their participation in research about a disparaged television genre. Audiences’ perception of surveillance and shame in the shows suggest how reflexivity can provide a critical distance from the programs but is not necessarily ideologically freeing.     

网站质量,用户感知及技术采纳行为的实证研究

本文以个体消费者为研究对象,从电子商务网站质量出发,结合用户的感知因素,在理论分析框架的基础上,构建了面向电子商务网站的技术采纳行为模型并提出了相应的研究假设.通过调查问卷收集样本,利用spss 软件对问卷进行了信度效度分析,采用结构方程模型软件Lisrel 对研究假设进行了检验.实证结果显示,网站质量的三个维度是影响用户的感知有用性和感知易用性的重要因素;感知娱乐对态度的影响是显著的;信任对态度和行为意向存在直接影响,而感知风险通过信任对态度和行为意向存在间接影响.     

EditorialEvidence based library and information practice

Whilst many of us engage in supporting clinicians in identifying, appraising and using evidence, how many of us adopt the same approach to our own work? A recent survey by the UK LIS Research Coalition indicated that 60% of respondents use research reports as a source of information whilst a similar proportion of health library respondents use professional events such as conferences as a source of information. This summer sees the 6^th International Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP6) being held at the University of Salford, UK between 27^th‐30^th June which will go some way to satisfying this latter information need whilst the Health Information and Libraries Journal can help satisfy the need for research reports. Whatever you’re doing this summer, let’s make it evidence based.