Uncertainty in cloud service relationships: Uncovering the differential effect of three social influence processes on potential and current users

Consumer cloud services are characterized by uncertainty before usage but also for individuals who are already using the service. Our cloud service relationship model posits that individuals facing continuous uncertainty during adoption and continuance decisions rely on their social environment to make evaluations and decisions. Drawing on a representative dataset of 2011 Internet users, we distinguish three social influence processes from social influence theory (identification, internalization, and compliance) and uncover their differential effect on potential and current users’ uncertainty evaluations and on usage intentions. Our results can help cloud providers to successfully manage their relationships with potential and current users.     

Contribution of Internet news use to reducing the influence of selective online exposure on political diversity

Research has recognized both selective and heterogeneous exposures on the Internet through online news and discussion. How online exposures through Internet news and discussion influence political diversity in individuals’ everyday lives needs to be addressed. The current research examines the extent to which Internet news use alters the effect of selective online interaction on political diversity in individuals’ social networks. Results show that while Internet news use has no direct relationship with political diversity in individuals’ social networks, it nevertheless moderates the negative effect of selective online interaction and indirectly contributes to political diversity. The social structural aspect of political diversity in social networks is discussed in comparison to political discussion networks.     

Impact of the Internet on our lives: Male and female personal perspectives

Gender differences in Internet access and usage have been found in a number of previous investigations. The study reported here extends this work by providing an analysis of the impact of the Internet on men’s and women’s lives. A content analysis of 200 postings from men and 200 from women, on the topic of “Has the Internet changed your life” invited by a news website, was undertaken then examined for gender differences. Results showed more women’s postings mentioned having made new friends or having met their partner, renewing old friendships, accessing information and advice, studying online, and shopping and booking travel online, while more men’s postings mentioned that the Internet had helped or given them a career, positive socio-political effects, and negative aspects of the technology. The results are interpreted as supporting the view that the Internet represents an extension of broader social roles and interests in the “offline” world.     

Internet addiction’s effect on likeability and rapport

The Internet Paradox refers to findings that demonstrated that the increase in communications brought about by Internet usage actually had negative effects on user’s psychological well-being and social involvement. This study proposes that face-to-face contact promotes the development of rapport and thereby individuals that use the internet excessively will lack these necessary social skills. Specifically, we investigate whether, through use of telephone communications, average users ratings of likeability and rapport would differ when speaking to excessive internet users. This experiment utilized previously unacquainted individuals who conversed by telephone while discussing both, a cooperative and an adversarial task. Results indicate that excessive users were more likely to be depressed and socially inhibited, and also were rated as having a lower level of rapport and likeability. Further research is required in order to explain the role of personality in excessive internet usage.     

A typology of young people’s Internet use: Implications for education

Using data from a nationally representative survey of over a 1000 young people in the UK this paper proposes a typology of the ways young people are using the Internet outside formal educational settings; and examines the individual and contextual factors that help to explain why young people are using the Internet in this way. Specifically, this paper addresses two research questions. First, can we distinguish coherent profiles of young people’s Internet use? Second, how do these usage profiles relate to individual and contextual factors associated with the Internet user? From the results of latent profile analysis and multinomial regression four types of Internet usage profiles are identified: the peripherals, normatives, all-rounders and active participators, which were differentiated by individual characteristics and contextual features. Such research enables practitioners, researchers and policy makers to better understand how young people are using the Internet in order to think in a more informed way about how new technologies could be used to enhance education and learning; and to develop initiatives that more specifically target and support different segments of the population.     

Development of a quantitative model of the impact of customers’ personality and perceptions on Internet banking use

Despite the rapid increase of Internet users and cited benefits of using Internet banking, the number of Internet banking users has not risen as strongly as expected. In order to understand this problem, it is critical to understand how customers’ personalities and perceptions influence Internet banking use. In this study, a quantitative model of Internet banking use was developed, which incorporates four dimensions, namely, (1) openness toward advanced technology as an individual personality dimension, (2) website usability, including perceived usefulness and ease of use, (3) perceived security concern, and (4) green concern for conserving nature resources as the social influence dimension. The study investigates the moderating effect between these dimensions on Internet banking use. A survey instrument was used to gather data to estimate the proposed research model. The results show that openness, website usability, and perceived security concern significantly influence customers’ Internet banking use. In terms of moderating effects, all dimensions play an important role as a moderator on the relation between other dimensions and Internet banking use. Overall, the model helps to increase our understanding of how these dimensions interact to influence Internet banking use, which can help in the design of Internet banking and other e-channel systems.     

The Positive Net

The Internet has been ascribed a negative reputation among scholars, for its potentially damaging influence on its users. These include addiction, depression, and loneliness. Although there are individuals who have been harmed through their use of the Internet, this is certainly not the whole story. The Internet provides a rich environment which includes significantly positive aspects as well as negative ones, and, when used appropriately, the Internet may greatly improve the quality of life for its users. This article will focus on the affirmative aspects of the net and on ways in which it may be used to enhance and increase surfers’ well-being, both collectively and individually.     

Do Internet Users Have More Social Ties? A Call for Differentiated Analyses of Internet Use

Research on the impact of Internet use on social ties has generated conflicting results. Based on data from the 2000 General Social Survey, this study finds that different types of Internet usage are differentially related to social connectivity. While nonsocial users of the Internet do not differ significantly from nonusers in network size, social users of the Internet have more social ties than nonusers do. Among social users, heavy email users have more social ties than do light email users. There is indication that, while email users communicate online with people whom they also contact offline, chat users maintain some of their social ties exclusively online. These findings call for differentiated analyses of Internet uses and their effects on interpersonal connectivity.     

A five-year study of on-campus Internet use by undergraduate biomedical students

This paper reports on a five-year study (2005–2009) of biomedical students’ on-campus use of the Internet. Internet usage logs were used to investigate students’ sessional use of key websites and technologies. The most frequented sites and technologies included the university’s learning management system, Google, email and Facebook. Email was the primary method of electronic communication. However, its use declined over time, with a steep drop in use during 2006 and 2007 appearing to correspond with the rapid uptake of the social networking site Facebook. Both Google and Wikipedia gained in popularity over time while the use of other key information sources, including the library and biomedical portals, remained low throughout the study. With the notable exception of Facebook, most ‘Web 2.0’ technologies attracted little use. The ‘Net Generation’ students involved in this study were heavy users of generalist information retrieval tools and key online university services, and prefered to use externally hosted tools for online communication. These and other findings have important implications for the selection and provision of services by universities.     

Mediating the Internet

In this paper we propose Software Agents as a mediation support between the Internet and its users. The paper classifies mediation agents in three categories (Interface Agents, Coordination Agents, and Middle Agents) and provides examples of their usage in three application domains: Public Administration, Electronic Commerce, and Factory Automation. We then describe an agent-oriented mediation framework built on the Object Oriented Technology and we exemplify its usage with a case study in the domain of product negotiation on the Internet.     

Junior high school students’ Internet usage and self-efficacy: A re-examination of the gender gap

This paper investigated the gender differences in junior high school students’ Internet self-efficacy and their use of the Internet. A total of 1080 eighth graders were randomly selected from all junior high school students in Taiwan. The Internet Self-Efficacy Scale (ISES) was developed and used to examine students’ Internet self-efficacy in two dimensions: online exploration (explorative ISE) and online communication (communicative ISE). A survey including the ISES instrument was administered to all the subjects and finally 936 valid questionnaires (from 466 males and 470 females) were returned for data analyses. No significant gender difference was found in students’ total ISE and explorative ISE; however, a significant gender difference was found in students’ communicative ISE. Surprisingly, the girls had significant higher communicative ISE than had the boys. In addition, there was no significant gender difference in students’ Internet using experience and computer ownerships; however, there were significant gender differences in their Internet using purpose and intensity. In spite of the boys showed a significantly higher Internet use intensity than did the girls, the boys were more exploration-oriented Internet users and the girls were more communication-oriented Internet users. And this orientation played a significant role in their Internet self-efficacy. These results suggested that the gender gap may no longer exist in young students’ confidence in using the Internet. However, boys and girls used the Internet for significantly different purposes suggesting that the Internet played different roles for boys and girls in Taiwan. With a large scale examination by using a valid and reliable instrument, this study provided representative results for further related studies.     

Understanding the behavior changes in belief and attitude among experienced and inexperienced learning object users

Prior empirical studies in the implementation of general information technologies (IT) have revealed that IT adoption and usage were determined by user beliefs and attitudes. However, little is known about how user beliefs and attitudes form and change over time. To address these issues, this paper reports a study of 481 inexperienced and 120 experienced potential users on learning objects. Technology acceptance model’s constructs were used to conduct a longitudinal study across three phases (introduction, training and direct-use experience) to examine the formation and the changes in users’ beliefs and behavioral intention to use learning objects over time. The results showed that the rates of changes in users’ beliefs and behavioral intention toward learning objects usage were time-variant and were more predominant during the early stage (introduction to training) of learning objects usage than in the later stages (training to direct-use experience). The study confirmed that initial exposure through introduction and training was effective in improving inexperienced users’ beliefs and intentions to use learning objects. It also helped to reduce the belief and intention gaps that existed between experienced and inexperienced users. In addition, the influence of initial introduction and training on users’ beliefs and perceptions was sustained over time, thus further indicating their importance.     

Trust transfer in the continued usage of public e-services

We investigate how public administrations can influence citizens’ continued usage of public e-services and focus on the role of different trust elements. We review prior literature and derive a model of trust transfer and continued usage. Our results show that trust in the public e-service mediates the influence of both trust in the public administration and trust in the Internet on continuance intentions. Trust was influenced by e-service quality and recommendations from public administrations and interpersonal sources. The relationship between interpersonal recommendations and trust in the e-service was non-significant; we found a strong moderating influence of time consciousness.     

A study on factors that affect users’ behavioral intention to transfer usage from the offline to the online channel

Increasingly more service providers offer both offline and online services simultaneously, but consumers still seem to prefer using offline services rather than online ones. Our research focuses on factors that influence users’ intention to transfer their usage from the offline to the online channel that offer similar services. Drawing on the valence framework and prior research related to habit, innovativeness, and Internet experience, we propose a research model that incorporates motivators and inhibitors of usage transfer from both the offline and online channels. Using banking services in China as the research context, our study reveals that innovativeness in new technology and relative benefit have positive effects on users’ intention to transfer usage. Conversely, habits that consumers form in the offline channel have a negative effect on the intention to transfer usage. Moreover, our findings indicate that Internet experience moderates the relationship between relative benefit and consumers’ intention to transfer usage from offline to online services. These results provide a better understanding of consumers’ usage-transfer behavior and offer suggestions to providers in boosting their consumers’ use of online services.     

Self-reported use of ICT (Information and communication technology) uptake in 2002 and discomfort amongst Finns aged 45-66

In recent years the use of new technical equipment and the Internet by middle-aged people has increased. This paper presents middle-aged people’s (45 years old or older) usage of new technical equipment and analyses how their (2704 persons) symptoms are associated with the equipment. Over 70% of Finland’s middle-aged population use mobile phones daily and less than 30% use desktop computers at leisure. For example, over 80% of middle-aged people had sometimes or often experienced pain, numbness or aches in the neck and about 70% had aches in the hip and lower back. The use of new technical equipment among the group of people who are outside working life was smaller than the people’s usage in general. In the future, when new technical equipment is developed, it is important to take into account, that people (outside working life) do not use, e.g., the Internet as much as people in general. The working environment will be much more ergonomic also at home and the Internet services will be easy to use for almost everyone, even those who have little experience or knowledge of computers and the Internet.     

Real-time Internet news browsing: Information vs. experience-related gratifications and behaviors

This study utilized lab observations with 49 subjects to observe what users encounter and how users behave in real-time Internet news browsing. We analyzed users’ selection of news platform, exposure to different topics of news content, and usage of different presentation elements by coding the screen videos. In addition, survey data with the subjects allow us to explore the links between gratifications and Internet news browsing behaviors. Our analyses suggest that users exert their control through actively and selectively interacting with the news services at the platform, content and presentation level to fulfill their different gratifications. In specific, gratifications based on information utility and those based on usage experience show different relations with different kinds of news browsing behaviors. Both the theoretical and methodological contributions are discussed at the end of this paper.     

Internet use, happiness, social support and introversion: A more fine grained analysis of person variables and internet activity

The Internet is no longer an advanced technology accessible to a select few. It has become a ubiquitous tool for users ranging from professional programmers to casual surfers and young children. The exponential increase in time online has prompted curiosity and speculation about the interaction between this technology and individual person variables. While general survey data exist regarding broad patterns of Internet use, less is known about the relationship between specific usage and individual personality dimensions, mood variables, or social activity. This study sought to clarify several of these relationships. One hundred eighty-five undergraduate student volunteers completed two detailed measures of Internet use across various domains (for example: work/school, tasks/services, entertainment), as well as measures of happiness, perceived social support, and introversion. Specific types of Internet use, including gaming and entertainment usage, were found to predict perceived social support, introversion and happiness. Use of the Internet for mischief-related activities (for example: downloading without payment, fraud, snooping) was associated with lower levels of happiness and social support. These findings support the utility of and need for specific rather than general Internet research. Directions for future research clarifying the role of the Internet in quality of life and interpersonal relations are suggested.     

Does Internet use reflect your personality? Relationship between Eysenck’s personality dimensions and Internet use

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between three Eysenckian personality dimensions – psychoticism, extroversion and neuroticism – and the Internet use. A sample of 427 Turkish university students completed the Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire, an Internet survey which contained questions about interpersonal motives for Internet use and a scale for measuring the tendency for expressing one’s “true” self on the Internet. The results indicated that psychoticism was the only personality dimension related to establishing new relationships and having “Internet only” friends; and extroversion was the only personality dimension that is related to maintaining long-distance relationships, and supporting daily face-to-face relationships. The results supported the idea that for some individuals, Internet can be used as social substitute for face-to-face social interactions while for some others it can be used as a tool of social extension, depending on the user’s personality characteristics. Also, psychoticism and neuroticism were found to be positively associated with the expressing “true self” on the Internet, and it was shown that the relationship between psychoticism and Internet uses as social substitute is mediated by the tendency to express one’s true self on the Internet.     

How social influence affects we-intention to use instant messaging: The moderating effect of usage experience

With the advent of Web 2.0, the business world is fast changing its way of communicating and collaborating. In this study, we regarded the use of instant messaging in team collaboration as a social behavior and examined the changing roles of social influence processes in the formation of usage we-intention (i.e. social intention). Building on the belief-desire-intention model and the social influence theory, an integrated model was developed and empirically tested using survey data collected from 482 students. The results demonstrated that desire partially mediates the effects of group norm and social identity on we-intention to use. In addition, the effect of group norm is more significant for users with lower usage experience, whereas the effect of social identity is more significant for users with higher usage experience. We believe this study provides several important implications for both research and practice.     

Psychological needs and virtual worlds: Case Second Life

The most advanced contemporary virtual worlds provide their users with a possibility for living versatile virtual lives together with other users. A growing number of users worldwide are utilizing this possibility. The aim of this research was to study active virtual world users' satisfaction of psychological needs both inworld and outworld. A global online survey for the users of Second Life was constructed based on a model of ten psychological needs. The results based on 258 responses indicated that self-esteem, autonomy and physical thriving were the most highly satisfied needs inworld. Furthermore, the results indicated that autonomy, physical thriving, and money-luxury were needs, which were satisfied to a significantly larger extent in the virtual world than in the users' real lives (when not using a computer). On the other hand, the needs for competence, relatedness, security, and popularity-influence were more extensively satisfied in the users' daily lives than when in Second Life. The qualitative findings highlighted relatedness needs as motivations for Second Life usage and revealed five central themes in the motivations for Second Life usage: Second Life as self-therapy, as a source of instant pleasures, as liberation from social norms, as a tool for self-expression, and as exploration and novelty. In all, the findings suggest that the use of advanced virtual worlds is driven by a variety of different psychological needs. Virtual world usage is also related to need satisfaction in the users' lives outside the virtual world.