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.     

Restructuring Taiwan's port state control inspection authority

To improve marine transportation safety, countries around the world have established authorities dedicated to implementing port state control (PSC). Appropriate measures have also been taken to ensure that these dedicated organizations are given enough power to carry out their duties independently and credibly as a safety mechanism. In contrast, Taiwan's existing PSC inspections are administrated by commercial port authorities, causing impartiality. The disadvantages of such a system become evident when a ship is found to have critical faults, because commercial port authorities have difficulty deciding whether the ship should be detained. Under such circumstances, the impartiality and objectivity of these port authorities are often questioned. Therefore, the restructuring of port authorities to improve dedication and objectivity is a critical issue in the implementation of PSC. This research uses three stages of methodology: (1) the in-depth expert interviews aim to gather information; (2) the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) calculates the weight of guidelines and evaluates feasible solutions. Port state control officers (PSCOs), maritime transport operators, and the staffs of competent authorities are used as the respondents of this expert questionnaire; and (3) the close-loop questionnaire survey evaluates and confirms the results of the above two research processes. The objective of this research is to create the best solution for introducing an independent authority dedicated to managing Taiwan's PSC tasks. Based on the evaluation of this research study, the optimal solution is to establish an independent government agency under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). An alternative optimal solution is to form a PSC committee under MOTC, which would serve as a temporary measure if legislation for establishing an independent government agency is delayed. These solutions would improve the PSC in Taiwan and strengthen marine transportation safety.     

Funding public computing centers: Balancing broadband availability and expected demand

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) recently announced by the Federal Communication Commission visualizes a significantly enhanced commitment to public computing centers (PCCs) as an element of the Commission's plans for promoting broadband availability. In parallel, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has channelized part of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) funding to PCCs. However, BTOP funding was the result of an unprecedented economic crisis, and is unlikely to be repeated. Future programs will need to evolve criteria for selecting projects for funding that maximize their cost-effectiveness. We argue in this paper that basing funding for PCCs on broadband availability (or non-availability), is not as cost-effective as considering a broader array of factors related to demand for internet access at public computer centers. We use data on public libraries from the National Center of Educational Statistics to identify factors predicting high demand for internet access at PCCs. Based on this analysis, we argue that low demand markets may benefit more from consumer outreach and digital literacy programs, than from infrastructure deployment. Also, we argue that markets with high availability, should receive more funding if there is high demand as well, as predicted by our model.     

Critical factors for evaluating the public value of e-government in Sri Lanka

This paper aims to identify the critical factors for evaluating the public value of e-government in Sri Lanka from the perspective of the delivery of public services and the efficiency of public organizations. To fulfill these aims of the study, a conceptual framework is developed based on a comprehensive review of the related literature by considering the delivery of public services and the efficiency of public organizations. With the collected survey data from Sri Lanka, the conceptual framework is empirically tested and validated by performing a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling. The study shows that the delivery of quality information and services, user-orientation of information and services, efficiency and responsiveness of public organizations, and contributions of public organizations to the environmental sustainability are the critical factors for evaluating the public value of e-government in Sri Lanka. As the first study in examining the critical factors for evaluating the public value of e-government in Sri Lanka, the findings of the study would be of practical significance to the continuous development of e-government in Sri Lanka and other countries in the world.     

Modeling Web-based library service quality

Studies of e-service quality have consistently used adaptations of service-quality measurement tools that have been adopted and extended from traditional service-quality frameworks. However, a fresh insight into the investigation of key determinants of Web-based library service quality, with an emphasis on how library customers perceive service quality, has much to offer. Key determinants were identified, and contributed to the development and empirical testing of a proposed conceptual model of service quality that encompasses environment, delivery, and outcome quality. Unlike the disconfirmation approach, the performance-only measure was used. Participants included postgraduates and academic staff from four research intensive universities in Malaysia. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling was carried out in order to develop and validate a measurement model for Web-based service quality, which included three second-order dimensions and eight first-order dimensions. Insights into the conceptualization of Web-based library-service quality as a multidimensional hierarchical construct are provided. The emergence of specific determinants specific to the Web services supports the notion that measurement of electronic-service quality is different from traditional services, though they may share some common factors.     

Use of library space and the library as place

Citizens' use of the public library in their local community is explored, focusing on social activities and how the libraries function as meeting places. The findings are important because of the need for meeting places across cultural, ethnic, generational, and social lines in a complex multicultural and digitized society. How library visitors use the library space and services, so that the overall societal goals of the library and the local community are obtained, is still rarely examined. An in-depth observational study was conducted in three library branches of Oslo, combined with interviews with patrons to establish the context and purpose of their library activities and to which life spheres they are linked. The research used concepts from social theory. The overall finding is that the public library use is very diverse. Patrons move easily between high and low intensive activities and float between life spheres and roles—student, family member, friend, neighbor, and citizen. The library is a complex arena. It is a public realm, in the sense that most of the visitors are strangers to each other; most of the individual uses belong to a private realm, and the library's community activities constitute it as a parochial realm. In the library, users are exposed to the plurality of the community and learn about otherness. People are not categorized by profession or as being unemployed, a patient or a client, but are all library users. This quality of the library contributes to social inclusion.     

全球化中为了可持续增长的职业教育

在全球经济紧密联系的背景下,实现可持续的经济增长成为世界发展的核心目标。在这一过程中,职业教育与培训通过促进智慧专业化及地区经济和生产一线的创新发挥着关键性的杠杆作用。在未来发展中,职业教育与培训应充分重视与更广泛的外部主体建立合作伙伴和联系网络,形成促进技能供需动态平衡的技能生态体系,并注重教学组织的有效性和创新。     

作为中心与边缘的大学

本文讨论了工业化国家大学与第三世界大学之间的相互关系。作者认为 ,第三世界大学在各自国内发挥着重要作用 ,但是相对于工业化国家大学而言 ,第三世界大学处于边缘地位 ,在语言、学术基础设施、科研实力、知识交流途径等方面存在着种种不利。当然 ,大学的中心与边缘地位具有相对性 ,在不同国家之间乃至在一国内部 ,也存在中心大学与边缘大学的区分。作者还对改进第三世界高等教育提出了若干建设性意见。     

从二语习得理论看母语在教学中的应用

19世纪后半叶,直接教学法(Direct Method)作为语法-翻译法的对立物在西欧出现。直接法强调通过外语本身进行会话、交谈扣阅读实施外语教学,明确提出外语教学不应使用学生的母语,不用翻译,也不用形式语法,虽然之后又出现了许多教学法,但它的影响却相当广泛。在大学英语课堂教学中,全英语教学似乎成了默守的常规,然而在外语教学中是否应该使用母语?如何使母语在英语课堂中发挥画龙点睛的作用?这些问题历来受到外语教师们的关注。本文就在英语教学中使用母语的问题谈一谈自己的拙见。     

Information literacy self-efficacy: The effect of juggling work and study

Information literacy self-efficacy and academic motivation are both argued to play important roles in student academic development. The former is considered to be a predictor of student academic achievement while the latter is considered a key factor in developing information literacy self-efficacy. Today, many students undertake paid employment in conjunction with their academic studies and little is known about the effect this may have on their information literacy self-efficacy and academic motivation. As such, the relationship between information literacy self-efficacy, academic motivation, and employment has been unexplored. Data were collected via a questionnaire, comprised of existing scales, which was administered to undergraduate business students in an Australian higher education (HE) institution. A response rate of 58% resulted in 585 completed questionnaires. Findings suggest that whether or not students were engaged in paid employment did not appear to influence information literacy self-efficacy, although students in paid employment did exhibit significantly lower intrinsic motivation than students not in paid employment. Additionally, for students not in paid employment a significant relationship was found between amount of time spent on study and information literacy self-efficacy. Of some concern, the small amount of time students reported spending in academic pursuits outside of scheduled classes raises issues regarding the placement of information literacy instruction. For information literacy practitioners this study contributes to awareness regarding the conceptualization of information literacy instruction and its placement in the HE environment.