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The aim of this study was to examine the effects that reading on screens (using digital devices with different screen sizes) and on paper have on reading time and comprehension. The study group was...

The use of computer-based tests (CBTs) has spread rapidly in recent years, as such tests offer real-time scoring and immediate feedback, facilitate the use of individualised testing methods, improve test administration and reduce test expenses. Thus, most previous studies have tended to focus on the technical advantages of CBTs and on implementation issues. However, objections to the use of CBTs have begun to surface, and the primary concern is whether the scores of CBTs and those of paper-based tests (PBTs) are equivalent. The aim of this article is to compare the scores of Korean students on computer-based and paper-based versions of the same test. We focus on the differences between the scores of male and female participants and between scores on tests examining different subject matter. Surprisingly, even though the Korean students who participated in this study had more exposure to advanced information technologies such as computers, the Internet and multimedia than did students in other countries, t...

Reading scientific papers in portable document format (PDF)-columned formats on computer screens is sometimes daunting and unfriendly. This is mainly due to the fact that PDF-columned texts are often truncated from the top or the bottom of pages so that readers have to scroll up–down repeatedly in the same page to get the whole text read. To make the reading process as smooth as possible, PDF viewers should be designed as responsive tools with responsive layouts that should automatically adapt the amount of readable text to the sizes of the displaying monitors so that readers will not waste time in repetitive vertical and horizontal scrolling movements within the same page. Here, I discuss such a problem-solving proposal that could be implemented in PDF viewers to improve the readability of PDF-columned texts and to make the reading process as flexible and painless as possible

An increasing proportion of information technology IT/information system adoption research collects data using online surveys. However, a paucity of research assesses the equivalence of paper-based versus Internet-based surveys in collectivistic cultures. Furthermore, no theoretical or empirical research investigates how cultural differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures influence the measurement equivalence ME of these survey modes. To explore these issues, online and paper-based surveys with comparable samples were carried out in both an individualistic the USA and a collectivistic culture China. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the ME across both survey modes in these different cultures. Results indicate that the relatively larger satisficing discrepancy between paper and online surveys causes respondents in collectivistic cultures to have an increased likelihood of providing responses that vary as compared to respondents in individualistic cultures. The disparate responses, in turn, result in increased measurement variance between the two survey modes. The findings of this study bridge a gap in the literature and address the question of how culture influences online satisficing behaviour and how that behaviour causes measurement invariance across survey modes. This study also explains the possible underlying mechanisms by which different national cultures exert their influence on survey results. The findings provide important implications for IT researchers, especially those in collectivistic cultures or those who need to collect data in collectivistic cultures using online surveys or mixed-mode surveys that include an online survey mode.

A bespoke electronic system, now being used regularly across Northern Ireland to facilitate the multidisciplinary team process in its recording of the team decisions for cancer patients, is investigated. Over 80% of the expected targets for cancer waiting times are being achieved and clinical stage recording for lung cancers has increased from 67% in 2006 to 88% in 2009.

The reading of music text from a computer screen was compared to paper in a laboratory controlled study. Computer-based animated score tracking devices of three types were tested, as well as a static screen representation of the music text and its paper-based counterpart. A proof-reading exercise was given to subjects, which involved them listening to pieces of music and identifying intentional errors in the score. Their subjective views were also recorded. No significant difference between the five presentation styles were apparent in the proofreading study. However, subjects showed a significant preference for animation over paper and static representation. The most popular style of animation was where each note on the score was marked in time to the music. The medium of paper performed better overall than the static screen representation.

The paper describes the working method typically used by graphic designers when they plan documents. It considers how the interfaces of current desktop publishing systems often limit designers' working method; interfaces often fail to support the preparation and management of multiple drafts in a way that gives designers the visible feedback they need. Two questionnaire studies of novice designers planning documents on paper and on screen confirm that interface constraints can lead to less satisfactory design solutions on screen than on paper. User education and software developments are recommended in order to promote an interaction between machine and user that is congenial to visible planning.

Special issue of Behavioural and Information Technology with key note lectures and selected papers from the 8th international conference on Work With Computing Systems 2007 - WWCS 2007 - in Stockholm May 21st-24th 2007 - Foreword

A simple algorithm for menu selection, which enhances existing methods for small menus (e.g., fewer than 20 entries) is discussed. Algorithms are presented in Pascal.

The purpose of this paper was to examine organisational change in a hospital setting. Specifically, the paper examines how patients responded to the introduction of personal health records (PHR). T...

The objective of this paper is to highlight the role that perceived cost, computer self-efficacy and the technology acceptance model (TAM) constructs have in e-training adoption in the Nigerian civil service. With the use of the SmartPLS 2.0 M3 software, a framework that included perceived cost, computer self-efficacy and TAM constructs (perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU)) was tested on 450 heads of departments. Scales on perceived cost, computer self-efficacy, PU and PEOU developed by previous studies were modified accordingly and used. This paper found perceived cost to have a significant effect on e-training adoption. Computer self-efficacy was statistically insignificant through PEOU. In addition, PEOU had an indirect effect through PU. Therefore, only PU of the TAM constructs indicated strong predictive strength in e-training adoption. This paper showed that with e-training adoption, facilities such as computers can be put in place, which can improve the outlook of the...

In relation to mobile health (mHealth) initiatives, early engagement by potential end users has been established to have a positive impact both in the medium- to long-term adoption of the solution. However, there remains a paucity of research which focuses on participant recruitment for mHealth initiatives in developing countries. The objective of this paper, therefore, is to examine community health workers’ (CHWs’) intentions to participate in a mHealth pilot study in Malawi, Africa. A conceptual model with three characteristics is derived from the existing literature which may influence a CHW’s intentions: namely, (1) participant, (2) pilot study, and (3) social and contextual characteristics. A paper-based survey of CHWs was employed to examine the model, analysed using the partial least squares method of structural equation modelling. This study reveals that participant and pilot study characteristics primarily influence the decision-making process of CHWs when considering their participation...

With the wide diffusion of information technology IT in our daily life and work, it is clear that product innovation and service innovation have more and more connection with IT, and IT has become an important tool or component in innovation. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into future studies pertaining to this area by investigating the research development of IT innovation using bibliometric analysis. The status of IT innovation study is analysed through citation analysis with the help of CiteSpace. Influential references, hot topics, top-tier journals and important institutes are all detected, and the intellectual structure of recent studies is also mapped in this study, and we find that research on IT innovation is mainly from two directions, innovation study group and information systems study group. Finally, we follow the logic of Nambisan [2013. “Information Technology and Product/Service Innovation: A Brief Assessment and Some Suggestions for Future Research.” Journal of the Association for Information Systems 14 4: 215–226] to explore the relationship between IT and innovation through reviewing papers in the top journals in this field. We find that most studies treat IT as an enabler of innovation. Although some recent studies try to pay attention to the role of IT as a trigger for innovation and give some rationale for the IT–innovation relationship, further studies are still required to uncover the trigger effect mechanism.

The paper aims to analyse the problem of quality evaluation and personalisation of virtual reality/augmented reality/mixed reality VR/AR/MR. First of all, systematic review of relevant scientific literature on the research topic was conducted. After that, findings of the systematic review concerning evaluation of quality and personalisation of VR/AR/MR learning environments are presented. The author’s VR/AR/MR learning systems/environments quality evaluation and personalisation framework is also presented in the paper. Evaluation of quality of VR/AR/MR platforms/environments should be based on a applying both expert-centred top-down and user-centred bottom-up quality evaluation methods and b separating ‘internal quality’ criteria, and ‘quality in use’ criteria in the set of quality criteria model. Personalisation of VR/AR/MR platforms/environments should be based on learners’ models/profiles using students’ learning styles, intelligent technologies, and Semantic Web applications.

The central argument of this paper is that the design, implementation and use of technologies that underpin general semantic search have implications for what we know and the way in which knowledge is understood. Semantic search is an assemblage of technologies that most Internet users would use regularly without necessarily realising. Users of search engines implementing semantic search can obtain answers to questions rather than just retrieve pages that include their search query. This paper critically examines the design of the Semantic Web, upon which semantic search is based. It demonstrates that implicit in the design of the Semantic Web are particular assumptions about the nature of classification and the nature of knowledge. The Semantic Web was intended for interoperability within specific domains. It is here argued that the extension to general semantic search, for use by the general public, has implications for what type of knowledge is visible and what counts as legitimate knowledge. The provision of a definitive answer to a query, via the reduction of discursive knowledge into machine-processable data, provides the illusion of objectivity and authority in a way that is increasingly impenetrable to critical scrutiny.

This paper investigates the influence of goal awareness and IT self-efficacy on job satisfaction based on the motivation sequence model, goal-setting theory, and social cognitive theory. Using a large-scale field survey of healthcare enterprise resource planning ERP system users n = 352, this study investigates these relationships and provides important insight to healthcare ERP system researchers and managers. Both goal awareness and IT self-efficacy influence positive job satisfaction of healthcare ERP system users, as expected. Furthermore, the influence of goal awareness is stronger when the role of ERP systems is highly perceived for decision-making of the job. There was no interaction effect between goal awareness and IT self-efficacy in the post hoc analysis. The model is significantly supported by the empirical test with the large number of field data from healthcare ERP system users in the healthcare company. Practical and academic implications are discussed in the paper.

The paper analyses factors that usually influence the adoption of online commerce, focusing in particular on how social influence acts in this process considering in particular an Italian sample. It investigates about the actual transaction behaviour, and not just the intention to shop online. Starting from analysing technology acceptance models of literature, the paper proposes and empirically validates a new model for e-commerce adoption. A self-administered survey approach was used to collect data from a sample of different ages, genders and educational levels by using a structured questionnaire. Empirical data were analysed using correlation and regression analysis. Results showed that social influence, usability and perceived usefulness are predictors of the frequency of use and then, of e-commerce adoption. The paper gives both a theoretical and an empirical contribution to the e-commerce literature by designing and testing a model for predicting online consumers' behaviour and enhancing the e-commerce adoption understanding.

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is a prominent framework that addresses the challenge of organisations to understand and promote the factors that lead to acceptance of new technologies. Nevertheless, our understanding of one of the model's key variables – social influence – remains limited. Drawing upon earlier studies that address the role of referent individuals to technology acceptance, this paper introduces the notion of ‘coalition’ as a social group that can affect the opinion of other members within an organisation. Our empirical study centres on an organisation that has recently decided to introduce Big Data into its formal operations. Through a unique empirical approach that analyses sentiments expressed by individuals about this technology on the organisation's online forum, we demonstrate the emergence of a central referent, and in turn the dynamics of a coalition that builds around this referent as the attitudes of individuals converge upon the Big Data issue. Our paper contributes to existing TAM frameworks by elaborating the social influence variable and providing a dynamic lens to the technology acceptance process. We concurrently offer a methodological tool for organisations to understand social dynamics that form about a newly introduced technology and accelerate its acceptance by employees.

This paper argues that the concept of flow can be useful in gaining a better understanding of information system users’ flow experience. This paper applies this concept in the requirements development phase of an Internet protocol television e-learning service development project. The findings show that flow experience can be visualised and measured, and that there are differences in how users see and perceive different features. Some features are driven by more experiential needs, whereas others are driven by more task-oriented goals. The findings indicate that the users’ perceived flow experiences can already be measured during the early phases of information systems IS development projects without having a working prototype of the IS for testing. This enables practitioners to design IS that better facilitate flow experience for the users, which in turn will potentially lead to shortened development time and cost savings for firms. This paper calls for further research in IS development and design methods that take into account the different ways of understanding user experiences, particularly their flow experiences.

Design science (DS) is an emerging research paradigm in the information systems field. One of its challenges is to systematically structure knowledge for business solution artefacts. In this paper, we address this challenge by presenting an ontology engineering process. It structures gathered knowledge based on domain-specific concepts and relations. Application of the process results in an improvement in DS artefacts in terms of representational information quality. The goal of the paper is to place the ontology engineering process in the DS research methodology and provide pragmatic steps to follow the process.

The focus of this paper is to investigate measurement of website quality and user satisfaction. More specifically, the paper reports on a study investigating whether users of high-quality public websites are more satisfied than those of low-quality websites. Adopting a human–computer interaction perspective, we have gathered data from the 2009 public website awards in Scandinavia. Our analysis of Norwegian and Danish websites reveals that the use of quality criteria is highly technical compared to the traditional usability testing focus on efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction of the actual system use by representatives. A Pearson correlation analysis of user evaluation from 296 websites that participated in the Danish web award Bedst pa Nettet ‘Top of the Web’ showed no significant positive correlation between website quality and user satisfaction. We put forward recommendations for further investigation: 1 inclusion of real users citizens and businesses in real-use setting in the evaluation process could help move forward the understanding of the relationship between website quality and end-user satisfaction; 2 the lack of correlation between website quality and user satisfaction could be a point of departure for critical discussions of future implementation of public information and services and 3 additional and in-depth research of the measurement of website quality in the public sector, user expectations and the impacts of website quality improvements on user satisfaction.

The attempts of using the wireless network as a new advertising media are rapidly increasing. This paper proposes a framework for understanding the characteristics of advertising through mobile phones. The paper discusses the traits of online advertisements and comparison to other advertising media. It also presents the overview of different conceptual models for advertising and suggests a conceptual model for mobile phone advertising. A review is presented on the factors affecting the effect of mobile advertising and three groups of factors are suggested; advertisement; audience; and environment. A total number of 53 case studies is collected and categorised based on product category, business object, target audience and advertisement type. Four observations are made from the case studies in the viewpoint of the three factor framework.

This paper presents an action research study of a Danish software development company's efforts to develop software with a high degree of usability. The company started a department mainly focused at improving the user experience of their product, and this paper outlines the most important issues related to the integration of this department in the company. The themes were related to the formal procedures in the company, prioritizing the usability issues in relation to development issues, feedback from the human factors team to the developers and issues related to the future success of the human factors team.

This paper reports on the approach and main results of CUE-4, the fourth in a series of Comparative Usability Evaluation studies. A total of 17 experienced professional teams independently evaluated the usability of the website for the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York. Nine teams used usability testing while eight teams used expert reviews. The CUE-4 results document a wide difference in resources applied and issues reported. The teams reported 340 different usability issues. Only nine of these issues were reported by more than half of the teams, while 205 issues (60%) were uniquely reported, that is, no two teams reported the same issue. A total of 61 of the 205 uniquely reported issues were classified as serious or critical problems. The study also shows that there was no practical difference between the results obtained from usability testing and expert reviews for the issues identified. It was not possible to prove the existence of either missed problems or false alarms in expert reviews. The paper further discusses quality measures for usability evaluation productivity.

There is growing concern about the role of technological exclusion on deepening economic, political and social inequalities. Many people do not have PC-based Internet access either through geography, lack of money or other disadvantages. At the same time there is continued growth in the use of digital interactive television (DiTV) in the home, suggesting the potential for an alternative channel of Internet access. However, the case for DiTV is not proven, with some evidence of lack of awareness and interest among potential users. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of DiTV as an alternative platform for conducting e-commerce among people who might otherwise be at risk of e-exclusion. The paper is positioned against literature on adoption of DiTV and briefly presents the results of a qualitative study examining consumer beliefs and feelings about shopping via DiTV. Eight key issues arising from the study are used as the focus for a questionnaire distributed among residents in an area of economic deprivation. The main outcomes are a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of DiTV for e-commerce and recommendations for developers wishing to promote e-inclusion.

The aim of this paper is to empirically examine how individual characteristics affect user acceptance of context-aware services such as GPS-based telematics systems and location-based commerce, which together have become highly promising fields for mobile or ubiquitous e-commerce. To examine these individual characteristics, we applied a technology acceptance model to construct an amended model that focuses on three individual differences: self-efficacy, personal innovativeness and perceived sensitivity on contextual pressure. As a result, we discovered that the perceived sensitivity on contextual pressure, which is newly adopted as a construct in this paper, affects behavioural intention in using context-aware services.

In an ergonomic experiment, different mobile map displays were compared in a simulated geographical orientation task. Subjects had to cross mazes while the corresponding maps were presented on a hand-held display, two helmet-mounted displays (a retinal scanning and a liquid crystal display) or on paper. The simulated mazes were projected on a backlit screen and the subjects could cross them using a joystick. The displays were compared with regard to subjects' speed when crossing the mazes, experienced task difficulty, visual fatigue and simulator sickness. The results show that speed was lowest with the paper map and experienced task difficulty was highest, whereas no significant differences were found between the electronic displays. Visual fatigue and simulator sickness were low and no significant differences were observed between all displays. The conclusion is drawn that all electronic map displays can be used for short time periods (15 - 30 minutes); however, long term effects have to be analysed in future experimental studies.

How could we design course programmes in a teachers' learning community context? Is it possible to conceive a concrete and appropriate course model? And if so, how could we assess the effectiveness of such a course model in such a complex learning situation? In this paper, a model implementation of technology-based courses is presented. The model was specified according to adult collaborative learning principles and was implemented in a learning community context. This model was put into practice during a distance learning educational programme, concerning further education of in-service primary and secondary education teachers. The programme was named School-Teacher's Learning Community and hosted many different web-based supported courses. Within this broad e-Learning Community students were educated, via the Internet, on aspects mainly concerning uses of information and communication technologies (ICT) in their teaching practices. The application of the previously specified course model was pursued, yet instructors responsible for each course were given substantial independence and the degree of harmonization with the course model was up to them. Some aspects of the case study, which was conducted within the context of this educational programme, are also presented. Emphasis was given to correlations that are derived from the analysis of data related to the research question concerning 'the extent of successful results that the application of the specified course model produced'. Course assessment issues were dealt with and evaluation of positive results was accomplished through the measurement of the degree of satisfaction of certain criteria that were considered decisive. Finally, conclusions, benefits and perspectives of issues presented in the paper are also presented.

This paper explores the unintended consequences of computer-mediated communications by adopting a typology suggested by the sociologist Robert Merton. The typology is used to present a thematic analysis drawn from the literature on computer-mediated communications and two new studies. The first study considered the impact of computer-mediated technology on communicative behaviour in general, and involved 22 managers working in locations in the UK and USA. The second study focused on electronic mail and drew upon the responses of 70 managers. The paper suggests that Merton's analysis of unintended consequences provides a framework which expands our ability to explain issues associated with the implementation of computer-mediated communications and discusses intervention and laissez-faire as two implicit responses evident in the recent literature.

Recognizing the potential contribution that interactive software agents bring to everyday work applications, this paper reports on end-user adoption of animated interface agents in one particular work application environment: Microsoft® Office. The paper develops and empirically tests a theoretical model of the factors affecting an end-user's choice to adopt and utilize such interface agents. From this theoretical model, a survey instrument was adapted and administered to 261 participants, familiar with animated interface agents. Results from a partial least squares (PLS) analysis indicates that a variety of factors are at play, which inhibit or foster a person's choice to utilize and adopt animated interface agents. Of significance is that: (a) both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment are important influencing factors; (b) users with high scores in innovativeness toward information technology are less likely to find animated interface agents enjoyable; (c) individuals with high animation predisposition scores perceive animated interface agents to be more enjoyable; and (d) users who perceive animated interface agents to be more enjoyable also perceive them to be more useful. Such insights can be used to leverage the introduction and rollout of animated interface agents in everyday work applications in ways that promote their avid adoption and use.

This paper reports the findings from quantitative and qualitative studies of Riot! - a location-sensitive interactive play for voices. The paper begins by introducing Riot!; it then explores the gr...

In this paper we discuss the role of silence within a virtual organising context. The paper raises issues related to the construction of silence in the virtual team context and the implications it has on team interactions. By drawing upon existing studies on virtual teams, we argue that members' silence may not always have negative effects on team performance and team relationships, but that silence is an embedded part of this environment as it reinforces the very nature of virtuality. The theoretical and practical significance of this study are discussed and implications for further research are identified.

This paper reviews two major programmes for support of pilot decision making in a fighter aircraft: the US Pilot's Associate and the French Copilote Electronique. In addressing the problem of decision support in a highly complex and time-pressurised environment, both programmes migrated from a traditional expert systems approach to one based on cognitive modelling. This, however, is where most commonality ends. The paper shows how the differences between the programmes can be explained in terms of their assumptions of what constitutes pilot expertise. These views explain the method for analysis of pilot activities, the model of the pilot, what phase of the pilot's problem solving the programmes attempt to support, and the support philosophy. The paper concludes with a discussion on computer-based decision support in complex, dynamic domains, and how cognitive modelling may contribute.

The article describes a user study to support the design of a personalizable EPG (Electronic TV Programme Guide), and of its user interface for editing user preference profiles regarding TV channels and categories. This study focuses on issues related to users' behaviour and perceptions regarding a personalizable EPG, and especially regarding the personalization process. Users were presented with a paper-and-pencil procedure to indicate their TV viewing preferences, as well as with an electronic version. Their strategies were observed and their opinions asked, especially on trusting a system that uses this data. Moreover, their viewing behaviour was monitored over a period of two weeks, and recommendations for the second week were based on the viewing behaviour of the first week. The results indicate that users are reasonably comfortable and consistent in describing their viewing habits in terms of preferences, both for the paper-and-pencil and electronic preference-indication procedures, but that fine tu...

The primary goal of this paper is to identify critical design factors that have substantial effects on the performance of e-commerce systems. This paper presents a theoretical model that examines the relationships among detailed design factors, perceived quality level and final performance of e-commerce systems. Two consecutive empirical studies were conducted to verify the theoretical model. Results from these studies reveal that the information phase among four transaction phases was the most influential in the final performance of e-commerce systems. Among the myriad design factors related to the information phase, product-related information, depth and variety of the system structure, variety of list view for products, consistency of product and background presentation, and variety of presentation for product information were all found to be closely related to the perceived quality level. This paper ends with the theoretical and practical implications of the study results.