Consumers’ acceptance of information and communications technology in tourism: A review

The impact of information and communications technology (ICT) in tourism (e-tourism) has altered the ways tourism services are accessed and consumed. Ubiquitous and highly innovative ICTs provide different channels for consumers to use tourism services; thus, studies on e-tourism are numerous and fragmented. Different factors account for how consumers embrace these channels. The purpose of this study is to review studies on consumers’ acceptance or adoption of e-tourism in order to group the studies, synthesize the theories, models and frameworks used and identify the antecedents influencing consumers’ e-tourism acceptance and usage. A total of 71 studies from 2005 to 2016 (inclusive) from both tourism-based and non-tourism-based journals were selected, synthesized, and included. Based on their contexts, similarity and relevance, the 71 studies were segregated into three distinct groups. This study found that research among the groups is uneven. Implications and research directions are suggested.     

Quality of service challenges for wireless mobile ad hoc networks

Wireless mobile ad hoc networks consist of mobile nodes interconnected by wireless multi‐hop communication paths. Unlike conventional wireless networks, ad hoc networks have no fixed network infrastructure or administrative support. The topology of such networks changes dynamically as mobile nodes join or depart the network or radio links between nodes become unusable. Supporting appropriate quality of service for mobile ad hoc networks is a complex and difficult issue because of the dynamic nature of the network topology and generally imprecise network state information, and has become an intensely active area of research in the last few years. This paper

1 This article, except for some minor changes, is essentially the same as one that appears in 103 . The latter is a revised and updated version of 51

presents the basic concepts of quality of service support in ad hoc networks for unicast communication, reviews the major areas of current research and results, and addresses some new issues. The principal focus is on routing and security issues associated with quality of service support. The paper concludes with some observations on the open areas for further investigation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Resource allocation in cloud virtual machines based on empirical service traces

One of the key technologies in cloud computing is virtualization. Using virtualization, a system can optimize usage of resources, simplify management of infrastructure and software, and reduce hardware requirements. This research focuses on infrastructure as a service, resource allocation by providers for consumers, and explores the optimization of system utilization based on actual service traces of a real world cloud computing site. Before activating additional virtual machines (VM) for applications, the system examines CPU usage in the resource pools. The behavior of each VM can be estimated by monitoring the CPU usage for different types of services, and consequently, additional resources added or idle resources released. Based on historical observations of the required resources for each kind of service, the system can efficiently dispatch VMs. The proposed scheme can efficiently and effectively distribute resources to VMs for maximizing utilization of the cloud computing center. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wide-area Internet traffic patterns and characteristics

The Internet is rapidly growing in number of users, traffic levels, and topological complexity. At the same time it is increasingly driven by economic competition. These developments render the characterization of network usage and workloads more difficult, and yet more critical. Few recent studies have been published reporting Internet backbone traffic usage and characteristics. At MCI, we have implemented a high-performance, low-cost monitoring system that can capture traffic and perform analyses. We have deployed this monitoring tool on OC-3 trunks within the Internet MCI's backbone and also within the NSF-sponsored vBNS. This article presents observations on the patterns and characteristics of wide-area Internet traffic, as recorded by MCI's OC-3 traffic monitors. We report on measurements from two OC-3 trunks in MCI's commercial Internet backbone over two time ranges (24-hour and 7-day) in the presence of up to 240,000 flows. We reveal the characteristics of the traffic in terms of packet sizes, flow duration, volume, and percentage composition by protocol and application, as well as patterns seen over the two time scales     

Exploring the effect of compulsive social app usage on technostress and academic performance: Perspectives from personality traits

With the rapid development of mobile communications technologies, social apps (e.g., Line, WeChat) have emerged as important communication tools. Although social apps provide people with additional convenience, overuse of such applications may have negative life effects, such as technostress and distraction. Past research has indicated that personality attributes contribute to compulsive usage. This study explores the relationships between personality attributes and compulsive usage of social apps, and examines the impact of technostress on academic performance. A total of 136 valid questionnaires were collected from university students through an online survey. Fourteen proposed hypotheses were examined using SmartPLS software. The results indicate that extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism have significant effects on compulsive usage of mobile social applications. Compulsive usage had a significant positive impact on technostress but did not negatively affect academic self-perception and course grades. In addition, conscientiousness significantly influenced academic self-perception. Unexpectedly, gender and number of friends had little influence on technostress or compulsive usage. The implications of these findings are discussed and directions for future research are offered.     

Is Usage a Missing Link in Explaining the Perceived Learning Outcome of Technology-Mediated Learning?

Information systems (IS) researchers have demonstrated that usage is a key variable in explaining the performance impact of information technology. However, existing technology-mediated learning (TML) studies have not examined the influence of usage on learning outcome and the factors that determine the usage of TML. To address this research gap, our study presents and tests a TML model by drawing insights from two research streams. First, following the IS literature, we incorporate the impact of technology usage on individual performance. Second, building on the social cognitive theory, we study the influences of self-efficacy beliefs (system and subject domain) and affective responses (affect and anxiety) on technology usage. Based on 503 matched responses collected using two-stage questionnaire surveys, our analyses confirm the significance of usage in mediating the effects of system self-efficacy and anxiety on perceived learning outcome, but not in mediating the effects of affect and subject-domain self-efficacy. We find strong support for the influences of self-efficacy beliefs on affective responses. Self-efficacy beliefs of the users are also observed to change over time and perceived learning outcome plays a significant role in explaining this change. Our research enhances the existing TML theory by producing useful insights regarding the influence of social cognitive factors of learners on the usage of TML and how usage mediates the influence of these variables on perceived learning outcome.     

OverMesh: network-centric computing [Accepted from Open Call]

The communications industry significantly lags behind the personal computing industry in terms of empowering the end user to innovate, as fundamental architectural shifts have yet to occur to push intelligence to the network edge. The decentralization of the telecommunication system to the edge of today's hierarchically formed networks is inevitable with the emergence of key wireless technologies and the proliferation of mobile computing devices and more prevailing usage models. This article envisions a decentralized communication system formed of wireless mesh networks and a highly virtualized, converged computing and communications node-based architecture with emergent management capabilities. We propose to embed the user inside the network to freely associate services and resources such as computing, storage, and bandwidth to rapidly advance network innovation - network-centric computing. This article proposes a novel direction and vision for network-centric computing, expands upon our research, and presents the OverMesh platform from which we have begun work to instantiate this vision. Finally, we expect this new envisioned network to coexist with today's Internet infrastructure and enable a new generation of applications and usage models     

Distorting Genetic Research About Cancer: From Bench Science to Press Release to Published News

This study considered genetic research relating to cancer outcomes and behaviors, specifically investigating the extent to which claims made in press releases (N = 23) and mainstream print media (N = 71) were fairly derived from their original presentation in scholarly journals (N = 20). Central claims expressing gene–outcome relationships were evaluated by a large pool (N = 40) of genetics graduate students. Raters judged press release claims as significantly more representative of material within the original science journal article compared with news article claims. Claims originating in news articles which demonstrated contact with individuals not directly involved in the research were judged by experts to be more representative of the original science than those that demonstrated contact with individuals directly involved in the research.     

On downstream transmissions in EPON Protocol over Coax (EPoC): An analysis of Coax framing approaches and other relevant considerations

We present different mechanisms for downstream transmissions in the coax segment of Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) Protocol over Coax (EPoC). EPoC is the transparent extension of EPON over a cable operator’s Hybrid Fiber-Coax network. For managing and controlling such a hybrid network, a network operator prefers to have a unified scheduling, management, and quality of service environment that includes both the optical and coax portions of the network. In EPoC, this is achieved by extending the EPON Medium Access Control to run over the coax physical layer, to have a centralized end-to-end network control from the cable head-end to the end users premises. In this paper, we focus on the downstream transmissions in EPoC. We study three different framing approaches for downstream coax frames based on how sub-carriers in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed symbol are modulated. We discuss the merits and demerits of each approach and then compare them based on their control overheads and the maximum average data transmission rates each of them can achieve. We analyze how different parameters such as modulation profile, symbol duration, number of sub-carriers and length of resource blocks affect the data rates and the performance of downstream transmissions. We present simulation results to examine the implications of these factors on packet-level performance, such as delay. The results indicate that dynamic and hybrid framing approaches tend to perform better than static approaches, when traffic and usage pattern are identical to those in real-world scenarios. Finally, we outline the important engineering and research problems in this area which can be topics of future research.     

Why do people access news with mobile devices? Exploring the role of suitability perception and motives on mobile news use

Using self-reported survey data (N = 281), the present study explores the structural relationships among mobile users’ perceptions of the suitability of two types of mobile news (political feature news and entertainment news), users’ motivations for mobile news usage, and their behavioral patterns. Our findings show that two types of perceived suitability for mobile news, particularly for political feature news, are strongly associated with all dimensions of motivations for mobile news usage. Furthermore, as predicted, our findings show that the information-seeking motive is the very factor that determines mobile news usage. The results also reveal that the accessibility motive mediates the relationship between the perceived suitability of obtaining news via a mobile device and users’ mobile news behavior. However, contrary to our expectation, the social utility motive does not mediate the relationship between users’ perceptions of the suitability of mobile devices for this purpose and their mobile news usage. Finally, the information-seeking and accessibility motives each have an indirect effect on the association between perceived suitability and mobile news usage. The implications of the study and recommendations for future research are also discussed.     

Mobile banking adoption: A literature review

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) continues to have a profound impact on the global business environment, but technologies and applications also have begun to focus more on mobile computing, the wireless Web, and mobile commerce. Against this backdrop, mobile banking (m-banking) has emerged as an important distribution channel, with considerable research devoted to its adoption. However, this research stream has lacked a clear roadmap or agenda. Therefore, the present article analyzes and synthesizes existing studies of m-banking adoption and maps the major theories that researchers have used to predict consumer intentions to adopt it. The findings indicate that the m-banking adoption literature is fragmented, though it commonly relies on the technology acceptance model and its modifications, revealing that compatibility (with lifestyle and device), perceived usefulness, and attitude are the most significant drivers of intentions to adopt m-banking services in developed and developing countries. Moreover, the extant literature appears limited by its narrow focus on SMS banking in developing countries; virtually no studies address the use of m-banking applications via smartphones or tablets or consider the consequences of such usage. This study makes several recommendations for continued research in the area of mobile banking.     

Modeling privacy issues in distributed enterprise resource planning systems

With extensive usage and dependence on communication networks, ‘privacy’ issues in enterprise distributed systems have become fundamentally important. Privacy concerns have flooded the market especially in the public domain, and with the changing environment of software usage and involvement of malicious substances associated with any network, it becomes essential to safeguard and ascertain privacy among users and incorporate the same safeguard to protect privacy in software as well. The methodologies and tools architecting distributed enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are primarily new and are vulnerable to malicious attacks. This paper aims at identifying some of critical privacy issues by collecting data from ERP practitioners. This work models variables associated with ERP with the variables of privacy to establish a robust adoption of ERP practices. Privacy issues concerning ERP are listed. Several variables associated with the development, implementation, and control of ERP are identified in the existing literature. A questionnaire instrument was distributed among a set of ERP practitioners. The response data collected thereby were analyzed statistically. Based upon the statistical analysis, an attempt has been made in the paper to make a ranking of the privacy factors. The observations are discussed in detail, and some specific conclusions have been made. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Framework for Unified Spectrum Management (USM) in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

In the information age, spectrum is a valuable natural resource. Currently, there is a great deal of ongoing research into architectures for spectrum (or more generally, radio resource) management for next generation wireless communications systems. This article proposes a framework for unified spectrum management (USM), where both licensed and license-exempt bands are managed by a hierarchical band management method. An outline for developing the required entities in this architecture is introduced, as well as the protocols that are required for USM operation. We also discuss spatial and temporal coordination of resource usage in such a heterogeneous wireless environment. Finally, a number of open research issues for future study are outlined.     

Analysis of the psychological traits,Facebook usage,and Facebook addiction model of Taiwanese university students

The purposes of this study are to (1) identify the role of the psychological traits of university students in Facebook addiction and Facebook usage; and (2) explore the correlation between Facebook usage and Facebook addiction. This study treated 241 university students in Taiwan as the research subjects, and adopted the Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, Lai’s personality test, a Facebook usage scale, and a Facebook addiction scale (FAS). The structured equation modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. The results showed that: (1) self-inferiority can significantly predict Facebook usage; and (2) having a depressive character and Facebook usage can significantly predict Facebook addiction. Finally, discussion was conducted on the findings, and relevant suggestions were proposed for schools, students, and future studies.     

Trends in transportation sector technology energy use andgreenhouse gas emissions

Concerns about air pollution, environmental degradation, and petroleum consumption have prompted policy makers in many countries to seek advanced transportation alternatives. In response to such societal needs, automobile manufacturers have develope vehicles which either replace the internal combustion engine with an electric motor or which provide a hybrid configuration with a combination of an IC engine (ICE) and an electric motor. In some concepts, fuel cells replace the IC engine in a hybrid vehicle configuration. Several of these technologies have been brought to market by auto manufacturers, with initial product offerings. In other cases, advanced concept cars are being developed to further these technologies. In response to these same concerns, research and development projects are underway to make the ICE vehicles more efficient. These projects have involved both improvements in engine/drive train efficiency as well as more efficient heating-cooling systems. This paper provides an overview of the transportation sector usage patterns, energy consumption, and emissions, and discusses the societal issues which impact decisions on transportation issues. The article then provides an overview of the electrotechnological advances which are being developed to address transportation energy use and emissions issues, and discusses the potential for emissions reduction through the successful deployment of these and competing technologies. The article concludes that reduction in transportation sector carbon emissions are achievable     

The UK LINK-PCP approach to the wireless ATM system

This article presents the conclusions of research undertaken in the Mobile Communications Group, University of Surrey, during the last three years in the area of wireless/mobile ATM. This research was funded by the United Kingdom DTI-EPSRC project, “Personal Communications LINK Project” (PCP) under the title “Wireless ATM LAN”, and carried out in collaboration with Symbionics Developments Ltd. of the United Kingdom. The article outlines the basic characteristics of ATM technology and sets the design objectives for the ATM WLAN. It proposes system architectures and protocol reference models (PRMs) for the establishment of ATM WLAN using IEEE 802.11 and HIPERLAN. The system architecture and PRM of an optimum design for ATM WLAN are presented along with the mechanism for mobility management and handover execution. Finally, it discusses the multiple access scheme adopted in the proposed ATM WLAN     

Mobile services put in context: A Q-sort analysis

Purpose

Objective of this paper to evaluate mobile services on a limited set of characteristics, e.g. usage context, the Innovativeness of the service, efforts required of users for using the service, the usefulness of the service and the likelihood with which it will be used, in order to show that distinction between services is highly relevant for adoption and acceptance research.

Design/method/approach

In this research the mobile services are object of study and therefore an exploratory approach making use of Q-sort methodology is used.

Findings

The characteristics of the 48 services under study play an important role when judged on the five dimensions. Advanced services, explicitly exploiting the mobile nature of the services like navigation and localization, embedded in all kind of task and process related activities, stood out as the most innovative services, however these are the least likely to be used because they are expected to fit day-to-day routines and usage context the least. Easy to use services and services that fit most contexts are most likely to be used.

Practical implications

Designers of mobile services and applications have to be aware of the subtle interplay between usage context, the service or application to be designed, the ease of use. Only when all these factors are taken into account the services may have value to users.

Original value

This is one of the very few studies focused on mobile services, instead of user perception and behavior. In most research on mobile service adoption and acceptance the characteristics of services are threatened as a black box. This paper shows how relevant it is to look into characteristics of mobile services themselves.     

National Diversity of Major International Journals in the Field of Communication

The journal ranking of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) is increasingly turning into an international currency for the quality of research output. More than 40 communication journals are ISI-ranked and thus labeled "major international" journals. This analysis of ISI data reveals that the attribute "international" is not always appropriate. National diversity of communication journals is very low due to a dominance of authors from English-speaking countries and U.S. authors in particular. Younger journals and journals with an explicitly stated international mission tend to be international, whereas the internationality of the affiliated organization or impact of a journal had no influence on national diversity. The results suggest that it may be desirable to clearly distinguish between national and international communication journals, to increase the number of international communication journals, and to support authors whose mother tongue is not English.     

Radio resource allocation in third generation mobile communicationsystems

Code-division multiple access has been widely accepted as the major multiple access scheme in third-generation mobile communication systems. Wide-band CDMA and its hybrid associate time-division CDMA are key elements of the IMT2000 framework of standards. Since the beginning of the 1990s there has been enormous research activity in analysis of the soft (i.e., interference limited) capacity of these CDMA-based systems. Optimal usage of the soft capacity to provide, maintain, and guarantee QoS for different service classes is now becoming a very important issue. Therefore, interest in radio resource allocation has recently. This article presents an overview of RRA schemes (primarily for CDMA-based systems) that are flexible, support traffic services with various QoS requirements, minimize call/session blocking and dropping probabilities, and have acceptable radio resource utilization