Beyond natives and immigrants: exploring types of net generation students

Previously assumed to be a homogenous and highly skilled group with respect to information and communications technology, the so‐called Net Generation has instead been shown to possess a diverse range of technology skills and preferences. To better understand this diversity, we subjected data from 2096 students aged between 17 and 26 from three Australian universities to a cluster analysis. Through this analysis, we identified four distinct types of technology users: power users (14% of sample), ordinary users (27%), irregular users (14%) and basic users (45%). A series of exploratory chi‐square analyses revealed significant associations between the different types of technology users and the university that students attended, their gender and age and whether the student was local or international. No associations were found for analyses related discipline area, socio‐economic status or rurality of residence. The findings are discussed in light of the rhetoric associated with commentaries about the Net Generation, and suggestions about their implications for teaching and learning in universities are offered.     

Extended conceptualisation of perceived usefulness: empirical test in the context of information system use continuance

A technology or an information system provides value to its users. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) successfully operationalised such value as the degree that a system can improve users' job performance. The proposed construct, perceived usefulness, has been proved to be the most important factor for technology adoption. However, many scholars have called for further theoretical development to enrich this critical construct but not much effort has been put forward (Bagozzi, R.P., 2007. The legacy of the technology acceptance model and a proposal for a paradigm shift. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 8 (4), 244–254; Benbasat, I. and Barki, H., 2007. Quo vadis, TAM? Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 8 (4), 212–218). To respond to this call on deepening the conceptualisation of perceived usefulness, this article argues that system usefulness can be formulated beyond job performance improvement and explores several additional usefulness constructs based on well-established management concepts and human need theory. The information system (IS) use continuance model (Bhattacherjee, A., 2001. Understanding information systems continuance: An expectation-confirmation model. MIS Quarterly, 25 (3), 351–370) has been adopted as the theoretical foundation of this study because certain types of system usefulness can be recognised only in a use continuance stage. The empirical results of the research have validated most of the proposed constructs. Significant contributions to research and practice are identified and discussed.     

Blog learning: effects of users' usefulness and efficiency towards continuance intention

Web-based learning is ubiquitous. The blog is a learning channel where learners acquire useful knowledge, to use in specific situations or in dealing with issues. These benefits may stimulate learning motivation for learners. Whether each blog learner can effectively enhance continuance learning intentions is a valuable research issue. Hence, this study proposes an extended expectation–confirmation model (ECM) that explicitly incorporates experiential learning, perceived self-efficacy, and perceived usefulness to examine blog continuance learning behavioural intentions. A survey of 318 bloggers provides strong support for the extended model. Results of the study show that these variables have a strong effect on satisfaction. This study demonstrates the blog as a good learning platform, and provides implications and recommendations resulting from the study.     

Tweet this: A uses and gratifications perspective on how active Twitter use gratifies a need to connect with others

Twitter is an Internet social-network and micro-blogging platform with both mass and interpersonal communication features for sharing 140-character messages, called tweets, with other people, called followers. Hierarchical OLS regression of survey results from 317 Twitter users found that the more months a person is active on Twitter and the more hours per week the person spends on Twitter, the more the person gratifies a need for an informal sense of camaraderie, called connection, with other users. Controlling for demographic variables does not diminish this positive relationship. Additionally, frequency of tweeting and number of @replies, public messages between Twitter users, mediate the relationship between active Twitter use and gratifying a need for connection. Results are discussed in light of uses and gratifications theory.     

Self-efficacy and anxiety of digital natives in face of compulsory computer-mediated tasks: A study about digital capabilities and limitations

Digital limitations (or, conversely, digital capabilities) are a new way to frame the digital divide discourse in three dimensions: access, cognition and behavior. Digital limitations address an individual's barriers to properly access the information and communication technologies (ICTs), as well as his/her cognitive disabilities and negative behaviors towards ICT use effectiveness. In a survey with 174 undergraduate students in a traditional state university in underdeveloped Northeastern Brazil who compulsorily use an institutional ICT-based academic system, we investigated the factorial structure and the relationship of two constructs that pertain to the cognitive dimension of digital limitations – computer self-efficacy and anxiety. Our findings address the negative correlation between the two constructs and the unanticipated proposition that both low and high levels of self-efficacy and anxiety do not signal per se the presence of cognitive digital limitations or capabilities.     

How to stimulate the continued use of ICT in higher education: Integrating Information Systems Continuance Theory and agency theory

This study examines the motivations underlying teachers’ intention to continue using information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education. In an extended model based on Information Systems Continuance Theory (ISCT) and agency theory (PAT), teachers’ continuance intention is theorized as a function of their perceived usefulness of ICT and confidence in the effect of incentive structures. The research model was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with LISREL, and seven out of eight hypotheses were supported. By combining the two theories, the paper fills a gap in the literature by addressing both personal and managerial perspectives. Thus, the study contributes to Information Systems continuance research by theorizing and validating an extended model that integrates two complementary perspectives and by explaining the interrelationships between these perspectives. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications are presented and discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Extending the two‐stage information systems continuance model: incorporating UTAUT predictors and the role of context

This study presents two extensions to the two‐stage expectation‐confirmation theory of information systems (IS) continuance. First, we expand the belief set from perceived usefulness in the original IS continuance model to include three additional predictors identified in the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, namely effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions. Second, we ground the IS continuance model in the context of transactional systems that involve transmission of personal and sensitive information and include trust as a key contextual belief in the model. To test the expanded IS continuance model, we conducted a longitudinal field study of 3159 Hong Kong citizens across two electronic government (e‐government) technologies that enable citizens' access to government services. In general, the results support the expanded model that provides a rich understanding of the changes in the pre‐usage beliefs and attitudes through the emergent constructs of disconfirmation and satisfaction, ultimately influencing IS continuance intention. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the expanded model.     

Moderating effects of localization differences on ERP use: A socio-technical systems perspective

Despite the promised benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, more than two thirds of ERP system projects result in failure. In this study, we investigate some plausible reasons for their failure from the user’s perspective. Particularly, we propose the socio-technical factors that affect ERP system use. This study has two research objectives. First, it introduces and tests a theoretical model that views ERP systems as both an organizational change driver and a sophisticated information system to explain the phenomenon of ERP system use. For this purpose, the proposed model includes attitude toward change and computer self-efficacy; this may affect ERP system use behavior through perceived usefulness for the systems. Second, this paper attempts to shed some light on how the localization differences of ERP systems may affect users’ intention to use the ERP systems. The results based on survey data using subjects from two different ERP systems support the proposed research model. It identifies the moderating effect of the localization differences. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed along with its limitations.     

The contingent effect of personal IT innovativeness and IT self-efficacy on innovative use of complex IT

While organisational investment in complex information technologies (IT) keeps growing, these technologies are often applied at a superficial level and fail to attain the promised benefits. To further extract the value potential of complex IT, this study investigates employee users' innovate with IT (IwIT), which is a post-acceptance behaviour that refers to individual users applying IT in novel ways to support their task performance. Drawing on the information system continuance (ISC) model, we propose a research framework with perceived usefulness (PU) and satisfaction (SAT) as the antecedents of IwIT. We further emphasise the contingent role of personal characteristics and include personal innovativeness with IT (PIIT) and IT self-efficacy (ITSE) as the moderators of the framework. We validate the model with data from users of two complex ITs: enterprise resource planning and business intelligence technologies. The results suggest that positioning personal factors as moderators significantly increases the explanatory power of the ISC model and offers a more comprehensive understanding about IwIT. Specifically, ITSE positively moderates the effect of PU and negatively moderates the effect of SAT on IwIT. The moderating role of PIIT, however, is subject to the specific type of IT of investigation.     

Design process knowledge for crisis-driven information systems solutions: Insights on building digital resilience from an action design research study

As global disruptions escalate, digital resilience (DR)—the capacity to anticipate, absorb, and adapt to external shocks by leveraging Information Systems (IS)—has become crucial for individuals and organisations confronting and managing unprecedented crises. This research advances understanding on how to develop DR, drawing on insights from an Action Design Research (ADR) study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research explores a particular facet of DR: the capacity to manage exogenous shocks through the design  of new IS solutions. We introduce the ADAPT framework, comprising five key enablers—Agility, Designation, Alignment, Participation, and Trust—recommended to support design teams developing IS solutions during and for crises. Our ADR project, which resulted in the creation of a telemonitoring system used by over 115 frontline healthcare workers to monitor the symptoms of more than 1000 COVID-19 patients, demonstrates the instrumental role these five enablers play in supporting a crisis-propelled IS design process that is urgent, resource-limited, and multi-partite. By presenting new design process knowledge and practical recommendations that guide crisis-driven IS design, we aim to equip design teams with the understanding they need to effectively navigate similar challenges in the future. We also hope to inspire and support IS researchers to apply their expertise in the design, deployment, and use of IS solutions to contribute to crisis-driven design endeavours that tackle the pressing and urgent challenges of our time.     

The use of systems development methodologies in practice: a field study

This paper discusses the findings of a field study of experienced systems developers which investigated the use of systems development methodologies (SDMs) in practice. Among the main findings to emerge are the following. There is a wide difference between the formalized sequence of steps and stages prescribed by a methodology and the methodology-in-action uniquely enacted for each development project. Also, there is much evidence which suggests that developers omit certain aspects of methodologies not from a position of ignorance, but from the more pragmatic basis that certain aspects are not relevant to the development environment they face. Thus, methodologies are tailored to the needs of the prevailing development environment and, being documented in a single manual often, are framed at a higher level of granularity that specifies broad activities and objectives, rather than specifying in a very detailed fashion the exact manner in which development should take place. Additionally, the findings clarify the apparently contradictory position in the literature as to whether developer experience is positively or negatively correlated with methodology use. The study would suggest that experienced developers are likely to use methodologies, albeit ones which have been heavily customized to the exigencies of the particular situation.     

Excessive use of Twitter among college students in the UK: Validation of the Microblog Excessive Use Scale and relationship to social interaction and loneliness

Microblogging on sites like Twitter is a growing and popular trend among young people. Apparently, some users of these microblogs exhibit addiction-like symptoms. Until recently, there was no psychometric scale to measure the excessive use of Twitter. The development of the Microblog Excessive Use Scale (MEUS) in 2014 proved a positive step in assessing this phenomenon. In the current study, we employed the MEUS to assess excessive use of Twitter in a sample of 256 college students (53.1% female; mean age 21.4 years) in the UK. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), calculation of criterion-related and concurrent validity and reliability were performed to assess the scale's psychometric properties. The MEUS was found to be a valid instrument for assessing excessive use of Twitter among UK college students. In addition, we found that real life social interaction was negatively associated with excessive use of Twitter and this relationship was mediated by loneliness. We compared our results with results from a previous study in which the MEUS was developed and noted some interesting differences, which might be explained by cultural differences between samples in the two studies.     

Celebrity's self-disclosure on Twitter and parasocial relationships: A mediating role of social presence

This study investigated how celebrities' self-disclosure on personal social media accounts, particularly Twitter, affects fans' perceptions. An online survey was utilized among a sample of 429 celebrity followers on Twitter. Results demonstrated that celebrities' professional self-disclosure (e.g., sharing their work-related life), personal self-disclosure (e.g., sharing their personal life such as friends and family), and fans' retweeting behavior, enhanced fans’ feeling of social presence, thereby positively affecting parasocial interaction with celebrities. Further, the study found that the effects of self-disclosure and retweeting on parasocial interaction were mediated by social presence. Implications and future research directions are provided.     

Exploring extreme events on social media: A comparison of user reposting/retweeting behaviors on Twitter and Weibo

Although recent research suggests that Twitter and other forms of micro-blogging are becoming increasingly relied upon by both the public and response agencies dealing with crises and disasters, little is known about how these dynamics may play out in a non-Western context. The current study examines the use of the Chinese Weibo service during a 2013 smog emergency, and compares user generated content to that found in earlier data concerning a weather event in North America. The results indicate that by way of comparison, the Weibo sample contained proportionately similar degrees of informative and affective content, but that users were less likely to use humor and showed no increase in affective outpouring as the crisis developed. Results are discussed in terms of implications for those designing social media campaigns for informing and motivating those affected by large-scale weather-related crises.     

Towards closing the gender gap in Iraq: understanding gender differences in smartphone adoption and use

ABSTRACT

This paper examines gender differences in Iraq in terms of smartphone adoption and use, with a specific focus on the factors that can affect women’s adoption and use of smartphones. The research used the mobile phone acceptance and use model. In total, 533 questionnaires were distributed to consumers aged 18-29 and the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The findings revealed that the model fitted well with men and women, but the order of significance of the factors differed between the two genders. Three factors in the model had significantly different effects on behavioral intention when compared by gender. These three factors are culture-specific beliefs and values, habit and perceived relative advantage. The findings indicate that when targeting Iraqi women, other factors in addition to price must be considered.     

Mediated disclosure on Twitter: The roles of gender and identity in boundary impermeability,valence, disclosure,and stage

Social media such as microblogs (Twitter™) allow more people to disclose more personal and private information more frequently to more others than ever before. But what is the nature of, and what factors influence, those disclosures? Applying concepts from research and theory on self-disclosure research and microblogging, this study analyses 3751 tweets, with nearly half including disclosures, over a three-day period. At the user level, user-controlled boundary impermeability varied by user gender, feed identity (parenting, social media professional), and their interaction. At the tweet level, tweet valence, presence of disclosure, and front- or back-stage disclosure were variously influenced by user gender, Twitter feed identity, interactions between them, and boundary impermeability. Social construction of gender roles and social identities, as well as individual tendencies, and possibly communication contexts, are reflected in the valence, presence, and stage of disclosures in microblog content.     

Sourcing the Arab Spring: A Case Study of Andy Carvin's Sources on Twitter During the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions

News sourcing practices are critical as they shape from whom journalists get their information and what information they obtain, mostly from elite sources. This study evaluates whether social media platforms expand the range of actors involved in the news through a quantitative content analysis of the sources cited by NPR's Andy Carvin on Twitter during the Arab Spring. Results show that, on balance, nonelite sources had a greater representation in the content than elite sources. Alternative actors accounted for nearly half of the messages. The study points to the innovative forms of production that can emerge with new communication technologies, with the journalist as a central node trusted to authenticate and interpret news flows on social awareness streams.     

Birds of a Feather Tweet Together: Integrating Network and Content Analyses to Examine Cross‐Ideology Exposure on Twitter

This study integrates network and content analyses to examine exposure to cross‐ideological political views on Twitter. We mapped the Twitter networks of 10 controversial political topics, discovered clusters – subgroups of highly self‐connected users – and coded messages and links in them for political orientation. We found that Twitter users are unlikely to be exposed to cross‐ideological content from the clusters of users they followed, as these were usually politically homogeneous. Links pointed at grassroots web pages (e.g.: blogs) more frequently than traditional media websites. Liberal messages, however, were more likely to link to traditional media. Last, we found that more specific topics of controversy had both conservative and liberal clusters, while in broader topics, dominant clusters reflected conservative sentiment.     

The firm's continuance intentions to use inter-organizational ICTs: The influence of contingency factors and perceptions

We study the influence of contingency factors on the firm's intentions to continue using an inter-organizational ICT. This influence is mediated by perceptions and satisfaction with the ICT. The contingency factors analyzed are the firm's environment and ICT compatibility with the organizational culture. Perceptions are the usefulness, ease of use and security of the ICT. Findings demonstrate that contingency factors directly explain the firm's perceptions and, indirectly, satisfaction and continuance intentions. This study contributes by adapting the predominant behavioral models in the technology arena to the analysis of continuance and explaining why firms perceive inter-organizational ICTs as useful and secure.     

The effects of individual differences,prior experience and cognitive load on the transfer of dynamic decision-making performance

Situational awareness is recognised as an important factor in the performance of individuals and teams in dynamic decision-making (DDM) environments (Salmon et al. 2014 Salmon, P. M., N. A.Stanton, G. H.Walker, D.Jenkins, D.Ladva, L.Rafferty, and M.Young. 2014. “Measuring SA in Complex Systems: Comparison of Measurement Study.” International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics39: 490–500.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The present study was designed to investigate whether the scores on the WOMBAT? Situational Awareness and Stress Tolerance Test (Roscoe and North 1980 Roscoe, S. N., and R.North. 1980. “Prediction of Pilot Performance.” In Aviation Psychology, edited by S. N.Roscoe, 123–127. Ames: The Iowa State University Press. [Google Scholar]) would predict the transfer of DDM performance from training under different levels of cognitive load to a novel situation. Participants practised a simulated firefighting task under either low or high conditions of cognitive load and then performed a (transfer) test in an alternative firefighting environment under an intermediate level of cognitive load. WOMBAT? test scores were a better predictor of DDM performance than scores on the Raven Matrices. Participants with high WOMBAT? scores performed better regardless of their training condition. Participants with recent gaming experience who practised under low cognitive load showed better practice phase performance but worse transfer performance than those who practised under high cognitive load.

Practitioner Summary: The relationship between task experience, situational awareness ability, cognitive load and the transfer of dynamic decision-making (DDM) performance was investigated. Results showed that the WOMBAT? test predicted transfer of DDM performance regardless of task cognitive load. The effects of cognitive load on performance varied according to previous task-relevant experience.