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.     

Examining the influence of intermediaries in facilitating e-government adoption: An empirical investigation

The adoption and diffusion of electronic government is often impeded by many social and individual factors relating to citizens. In this respect, intermediaries have emerged as a new model for delivering e-government services to overcome such obstacles. This study aims to examine the role of intermediaries in facilitating e-government adoption and diffusion using a survey based empirical study of 502 participants in Madinah City in Saudi Arabia. An extended UTAUT model is used as the theoretical basis utilizing trust in the Internet and Intermediaries. The results of this study show that there are significant relationships among the factors that influence intention to use e-government, namely, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and trust of intermediary. In addition, the findings show that there is a significant relationship between facilitating conditions and usage behavior proving that intermediaries can influence adoption of e-government services.     

THE USE OF TV IN PSYCHIATRY

Psychiatry is one speciality in medicine which, by virtue of its special needs and requirements, needs to use videotape recording techniques in teaching and training. The author describes their increasing use in a large hospital.     

Exploring the interrelationships between technological predictors and behavioral mediators in online tax filing: The moderating role of perceived risk

This study investigates the interrelationships between technological predictors and behavioral mediators in explaining users' continuance intention for online tax filing. Building on information systems (IS) success and IS continuance literature, this study proposes an extended conceptual framework by adding perceived functional benefit (PFB) as mediating, perceived risk as moderating, and demographic characteristics as control variables. The data collected, through a web-based survey, from 409 users of e-tax services in an emerging economy are analyzed through covariance-based structural equation modeling. Results confirm that PFB, confirmation of expectation, and satisfaction are the major antecedents of continuance intention for e-tax filing. The study also finds the evidence for the indirect effects of IS success factors on continuance intention through such antecedents. In addition, results suggest that the relationships between PFB and satisfaction as well as between PFB and continuance intention are contingent on the users' levels of perceived risk. The study concludes with the useful implications for academicians and policymakers in the context of an emerging economy.     

Note on the expansion of higher education in Bahrain

This article deals with the development of higher education in Bahrain. The study includes the philosophy of the educational system which co-relates religious morals and cultural traditions with modern economics, technological and scientific developments. Empirical statistics show the growth of higher education in Bahrain since the late sixties. In 1968, the strength of staff and students was 3 and 18 respectively. This has grown to 469 staff members and 5633 students by 1987.     

Health sciences libraries and information services in Bangladesh

Basic problems relating to the status of health sciences libraries and information centers in Bangladesh are highlighted and discussed; strategies for improving the country's health sciences information services are suggested. A survey of libraries is reported, the country's national science and technology information policy is defined, and recommendations for action are proposed.     

Evaluating an improved quality preschool program in rural Bangladesh

An important goal of education in developing countries is to implement and improve early childhood education. A pre–post intervention–control design was used to compare a piloted-revised versus a regular preschool program offered by an organization in rural Bangladesh. After 7 months in operation, the quality of the piloted-revised program was higher than the regular program, though the regular program had also improved. Children attending pilot preschools made greater gains than children attending regular preschools on most outcome measures. Action research was conducted alongside the quantitative evaluation to study the process of the implementation and to identify areas for further improvement.