Factors affecting the adoption of information and communication technology in small and medium enterprises: a perspective from rural Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can play an important role in the national economy of developing countries. The adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) has enabled local SMEs to participate in the international market. However, little research has addressed issues related to SMEs adopting ICTs, especially in rural areas of Middle Eastern developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. Using the extended technology-organization-environment framework with personal innovativeness, this study examined the factors that influence the adoption of ICTs among SMEs in rural areas of Saudi Arabia. The study found that relative advantages, top management support, culture, regulatory environment, owner/manager innovativeness and ICT knowledge had a significant relationship with ICT adoption among SMEs in Saudi Arabia, whereas compatibility, complexity and a competitive environment had no significant relationship with ICT adoption. The findings of this study will potentially help SME managers/owners and the Saudi government in the successful adoption and diffusion of ICT in SMEs located in rural areas in Saudi Arabia.     

Using the theory of interpersonal behavior to explain non-work-related personal use of the Internet at work

Non-work-related personal use of the Internet within organizations has received increased attention from scholars. We increase previous understanding of this phenomenon by proposing a novel model based on the theory of interpersonal behavior (TIB). The TIB includes previous researched constructs (i.e., attitudes, social influence, and intentions) as well as emotional factors, habits, and different sources of social influence. Our results (N = 238) suggest that the model well predicts the use of the Internet at work for non-work purposes. Our results shed new light on the influence of habit, affect, role, and self-concept in the use of the Internet.     

Early use of Internet-based educational resources: effects on students' engagement modes and flow experience

This case study explores how educational training and clinical practice that uses personal computers (PCs) and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to access Internet-based medical information, affects the engagement modes of students, flow experience components, and IT-competence. A questionnaire assessing these variables was administered before and after a training course. A follow-up interview investigated the contextual factors related to the use of PDAs. There were significant increases in IT-competence and in the positive and negative modes of engagement except for the Ambition/Curiosity mode. The overall flow experience did not change significantly over time. The PDA users showed an increase in negative modes across time larger than PC users due to technical, emotional, and motivational factors. This study concludes that a student's interaction with PCs and, in particular, PDAs produces positive and negative engagement modes and flow experiences that can be better understood by using the Engagement Modes model (EM-model).     

Prediction of COVID-19 Pandemic Spread in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

A significant increase in the number of coronavirus cases can easily be noticed in most of the countries around the world. Inspite of the consistent preventive initiatives being taken to contain the spread of this virus, the unabated increase in the cases is both alarming and intriguing. The role of mathematical models in predicting and estimating the spread of the virus, and identifying various preventive factors dependencies has been found important and effective in most of the previous pandemics like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) 2003. In this research work, authors have proposed the Susceptible-Infectected-Removed (SIR) model variation in order to forecast the pattern of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread for the upcoming eight weeks in perspective of Saudi Arabia. The study has been performed by using SIR model with a proposed simplification using average progression for further estimation of β and γ values for better curve fittings ratios. The predictive results of this study clearly show that under the current public health interventions, there will be an increase in the COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia in the next four weeks. Hence, a set of strong health primitives and precautionary measures are recommended in order to avoid and prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.     

Learning English reading in a mobile-assisted extensive reading program

Previous studies on Extensive Reading Programs (ERPs) have reached positive conclusions, namely, that an ERP for language learners is effective in improving their linguistic abilities related to reading and promoting their motivation and attitudes toward reading. Current mobile devices, even though suitable for reading, have not yet been applied to develop language learners' linguistic proficiency and affective abilities in any ERP. The aim of the present study was to address this gap in literature by investigating the effects of using mobile tablet PCs in an online ERP on adolescent English learners' online activities, reading ability and users' perceptions. Two intact classes taught by a same English teacher in a senior high school in Taiwan were recruited to participate in a ten-week online ERP. One class was assigned to the mobile group reading their assignments on their tablet PCs and the other, the PC group, reading theirs on desktop PCs. During the online ERP, each class dedicated one class period every week for in-class reading and the participants in both classes were encouraged to read as many as possible after the class period. The results favored the mobile group who not only outperformed the PC group in online activities and reading achievement but also showed greater appreciation of the online ERP than their PC counterparts. The study also proposed two directions for future studies on mobile-assisted reading. They included learners' studying textbooks and their reading strategies on mobile devices.     

Online socializing: How does it affect the information seeking behavior and the educational preferences in Saudi Arabia?

There are three major issues, among others, associated with the rapid adoption of information technology in Saudi Arabia. These are the changes in online socializing (through Social Media), the information seeking behavior, and the eLearning developments in the local academic institutions. In this causal exploratory research study the main idea was to find the effect of the changes of the former on the latter two. Saudi Arabia is the geographic scope of the study as the most important and influential country in the region. A pre-tested and moderated questionnaire, administered both on- and offline, was used to gather the relevant data. Findings indicate a shift from the conventional to the online information seeking behaviors and a preference of a blended educational system, both traditional (classroom) and eLearning or similar, despite the deep and dramatic penetration of social media in the country that could lead to the false assumption that the local population, especially young people, would turn their back on the conventional education processes.     

Knowledge sharing behavior in virtual communities: The relationship between trust,self-efficacy,and outcome expectations

There has been a growing interest in examining the factors that support or hinder one's knowledge sharing behavior in the virtual communities. However, still very few studies examined them from both personal and environmental perspectives. In order to explore the knowledge sharing behaviors within the virtual communities of professional societies, this study proposed a social cognitive theory (SCT)-based model that includes knowledge sharing self-efficacy and outcome expectations for personal influences, and multi-dimensional trusts for environmental influences. The proposed research model was then evaluated with structural equation modeling, and confirmatory factor analysis was also applied to test if the empirical data conform to the proposed model.     

The impact of information and communication technology (ICT), education and regulation on economic freedom in Islamic Middle Eastern countries

Our study investigated the impact of ICT expansion on economic freedom in the Middle East (Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen). Our empirical analysis used archival data from 1995 to 2005; it showed that ICT expansion in the Middle East has been effective both in bridging the digital divide and also in promoting economic freedom in a region that was vulnerable to political, social, and global conflict. However, differences between countries, such as the educational attainment of their citizens and institutional resistance to technology acceptance, both enhanced and restricted the relationship between ICT and economic freedom.     

Application of Parallel Virtual Machine Framework to the Strong Prime Problem

This paper use the well-discussed PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) software with several personal computers, and adopt the widespread Microsoft Windows '98 operating system as our operation platform to construct a heterogeneous PCs cluster. By engaging the related researches of PC cluster system and cluster computing theory, we apply our heterogeneous PC cluster computing system to generate more secure parameters for some public key cryptosystems such as RSA. Copes with each parameter's related mathematic theory's restriction, enormous computation power is needed to get better computation performance in generating these parameters. In this paper, we contribute heterogeneous PCs combined with the PVM software to cryptosystem parameters, which is conformed to today's safety specification and requirement. We practically generate these data to prove that computer cluster can effectively accumulate enormous computation power, and then demonstrate the cluster computation application in finding strong primes which are needed in some public key cryptosystems.     

Nomophobia: Dependency on virtual environments or social phobia?

Background

The increasing use of new technologies and virtual communication involving personal computers (PCs), tablets and mobile phones are causing changes in individuals’ daily habits and behavior. We report the case of an individual with social phobia who developed a dependency on communication through virtual environments (i.e., nomophobia), and used a PC as a form of relating to the outside world to reduce stress and to avoid direct social relations. Nomophobia refers to the discomfort or anxiety caused by the non-availability of a mobile phone, PC or any another virtual communication device. Social phobia is described as an anxiety disorder of chronic evolution.

Objective

To study nomophobia as a manifest behavior that might serve as an indication of a possible anxiety disorder.

Methodology

The treatment consisted of the use of medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and the application of evaluation tools (interviews, scales, inventories and questionnaires).

Results

The individual responded satisfactorily to medication and CBT treatment, which reduced his time using the PC and increased his exposure to real-life situations.

Conclusion

Nomophobic behavior produces changes in daily habits and can reveal other aspects to be investigated, such as the presence of comorbid mental disorders.     

Efficient in-memory extensible inverted file

The growing amount of on-line data demands efficient parallel and distributed indexing mechanisms to manage large resource requirements and unpredictable system failures. Parallel and distributed indices built using commodity hardware like personal computers (PCs) can substantially save cost because PCs are produced in bulk, achieving the scale of economy. However, PCs have limited amount of random access memory (RAM) and the effective utilization of RAM for in-memory inversion is crucial. This paper presents an analytical investigation and an empirical evaluation of storage-efficient inmemory extensible inverted files, which are represented by fixed- or variable-sized linked list nodes. The size of these linked list nodes is determined by minimizing the storage wastes or maximizing storage utilization under different conditions, which lead to different storage allocation schemes. Minimizing storage wastes also reduces the number of address indirections (i.e., chaining). We evaluated our storage allocation schemes using a number of reference collections. We found that the arrival rate scheme is the best in terms of both storage utilization and the mean number of chainings per term. The final storage utilization can be over 90% in our evaluation if there is a sufficient number of documents indexed. The mean number of chainings is not large (less than 2.6 for all the reference collections). We have also showed that our best storage allocation scheme can be used for our extensible compressed inverted file. The final storage utilization of the extensible compressed inverted file can be over 90% in our evaluation provided that there is a sufficient number of documents indexed. The proposed storage allocation schemes can also be used by compressed extensible inverted files with word positions     

Early use of Internet-based educational resources: effects on students' engagement modes and flow experience

This case study explores how educational training and clinical practice that uses personal computers (PCs) and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to access Internet-based medical information, affects the engagement modes of students, flow experience components, and IT-competence. A questionnaire assessing these variables was administered before and after a training course. A follow-up interview investigated the contextual factors related to the use of PDAs. There were significant increases in IT-competence and in the positive and negative modes of engagement except for the Ambition/Curiosity mode. The overall flow experience did not change significantly over time. The PDA users showed an increase in negative modes across time larger than PC users due to technical, emotional, and motivational factors. This study concludes that a student's interaction with PCs and, in particular, PDAs produces positive and negative engagement modes and flow experiences that can be better understood by using the Engagement Modes model (EM-model).     

Introducing pocket PCs in schools: Attitudes and beliefs in the first year

As more schools adopt the use of handheld computers in their classrooms, research that systematically tracks their introduction is essential in order to develop a model for successful implementation leading to improved classroom teaching. This research report seeks to explore the realities of introducing and integrating handheld computers into five Victorian schools in Australia where the initiative is owned and funded by the schools themselves. The research focused on how teachers’ attitudes and beliefs evolved over about 6–7 months of implementing the pocket PCs in their teaching. The findings indicated that the effect of pocket PCs on the attitudes of primary teachers were mixed while that on the secondary teachers was uncertainty. However, both primary and secondary teachers shared similar beliefs in the motivational aspect of the technology on student engagement and its capacity to cater for weaker students, particularly in English, but not for the more academic students. Issues such as leadership roles, the time-consuming nature of lesson preparation, the need to integrate higher-order thinking tasks with pocket PC usage and personal ownership for successful integration of the technology are discussed.     

E-learning in a low-status female profession: the role of motivation, anxiety and social support in the learning divide

Abstract   The literature seems to suggest that women may be at risk from being excluded from adult education programmes, which use e-learning, especially when they have low economic status. Based on a survey of 551 women, family day care providers, we conclude that there is a persistent divide in PC access and use, as well as in perceived PC skills according to age. Yet, this divide seems to run less along traditional lines, suggesting that personal factors play a more important role. Motivation and anxiety are two related but distinct personal factors that influence computer use and skills in this population. We also found that these factors are mediated by the family context: motivation is higher when (young) children are present in the family. Moreover, children may represent an important form of social support for women not yet using computers. This study concludes that the concerns about the gender gap in computer use may benefit from taking the scaffolding possibilities of the family into consideration and that there may be a case for growing optimism in the use of information and communication technology for adult learning in specific, gender-segregated professions with low status.     

Barriers to the adoption of social networking sites in Saudi Arabia's higher education

ABSTRACT

Social networking sites are increasingly being repurposed as academic tools in higher education institutions. In this context, social networking sites are used to support a number of key academic functions, including the sharing of ideas between students and academic staff, the forming of dedicated study groups, the exchange of links and other academic objects and self-publication. While these tools are readily being adopted in mainstream Western contexts, little is currently known regarding whether – and how – social networking sites are used in other geo-cultural regions. This study sought to redress this research gap by investigating what might constitute barriers to the adoption of social networking in higher education in Saudi Arabia from the students’ perspective. The study was based on the analysis of results derived from focus group discussions with university students at four Saudi Arabian universities. The research found that Saudi Arabian students are aware of, and welcome, social networking sites and are starting to use them for academic purposes in the same way that university students do in more mainstream contexts. However, the study did identify a range of barriers to uptake as highlighted by focus group participants.     

Testing alternative models of individuals’ social media involvement and satisfaction

This study extends the Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM 3) within the context of the rapidly evolving area of social media. Since social media requires the user’s active participation and processing of information as well as the creation of user-generated content, this timely study introduces the two relevant constructs of social media involvement and social media satisfaction that are associated with TAM 3. This study then develops three alternative conceptual models and empirically validates each of them using datasets obtained from the United States and Saudi Arabia. The LISREL analysis results show that the Dual Mediation Impact model is the best-fit model for both datasets. Further, the results show that a user’s social media involvement and social media satisfaction are dual mediators of the TAM 3 factors on social media usage intention. While the two country data show some differences in the strength of the relationships in the Dual Mediation Impact model, the identified model provides a common framework for global use. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Tactful calling: investigating asymmetric social dilemmas in mobile communications

Recipients of phone calls face a constant dilemma between ignoring calls at the possible expense of offending the caller, missing business opportunities or neglecting family members on one hand; and answering them at the expense of interrupting their train of thought or appearing rude and impolite towards others with whom they share a social activity on the other hand. We studied people's attitudes regarding these dilemmas, with emphasis on their social aspects. In a cross-cultural study, conducted in Israel and in Germany, we surveyed both caller and recipient attitudes towards answering mobile phone calls in various circumstances. The study also assessed the aspects of providing contextual information about a call prior to it being answered, including types of information deemed most valuable. The results emphasise the importance of social norms in affecting respondents’ attitudes towards making or accepting phone calls regardless of role (caller or recipient), gender or culture. We also found that the norms in the physical context (e.g. being in a meeting) prevailed over norms in the virtual context (e.g. the phone call). Cultural and gender differences did not affect the degree to which people were frustrated by insufficient information regarding the other party's context. However, these factors did affect the suggested design solutions to this problem. The research provides insight into the social aspects of the problem of interruptive mobile phone calls and towards designing applications that help users maintain politeness while handling the caller–recipient dilemma.     

On-line life history calendar and sensitive topics: A pilot study

The use of the life history calendar (LHC) or the event history calendar as tools for collecting retrospective data has received increasing attention in many fields of social science and medicine. However, little research has examined the use of this method with web-based surveys. In this study, we adapted this method to an on-line setting to collect information about young adults' life histories, sexual behaviors, and substance use. We hypothesized that the LHC method would help respondents to date sensitive and non-sensitive events more precisely than when using a conventional questionnaire. We conducted an experimental design study comparing university students' responses to an on-line LHC and a conventional on-line question list. A test-retest design in which the respondents completed the survey again two weeks later was also applied to test the precision and reliability of the participants' dating of events. The results showed that whereas the numbers of sensitive and non-sensitive events were generally similar for the two on-line questionnaires, the responses obtained with the LHC were more consistent across the two administrations. Analyses of the respondents' on-line behavior while completing the LHC confirmed that respondents used the LHC's graphic interface to correct and reedit previous answers, thus decreasing data errors.     

Structure and Empathy in Visual Data Storytelling: Evaluating their Influence on Attitude

In the visualization community, it is often assumed that visual data storytelling increases memorability and engagement, making it more effective at communicating information. However, many assumptions about the efficacy of storytelling in visualization lack empirical evaluation. Contributing to an emerging body of work, we study whether selected techniques commonly used in visual data storytelling influence people's attitudes towards immigration. We compare (a) personal visual narratives designed to generate empathy; (b) structured visual narratives of aggregates of people; and (c) an exploratory visualization without narrative acting as a control condition. We conducted two crowdsourced between-subject studies comparing the three conditions, each with 300 participants. To assess the differences in attitudes between conditions, we adopted established scales from the social sciences used in the European Social Survey (ESS). Although we found some differences between conditions, the effects on people's attitudes are smaller than we expected. Our findings suggest that we need to be more careful when it comes to our expectations about the effects visual data storytelling can have on attitudes. Additional material: https://flowstory.github.io/attitudes/.