Service quality factors affecting customer attitudes in online-to-offline commerce

Information Systems and e-Business Management - In an online-to-offline (O2O) environment, a company operates multiple channels: online, mobile, and offline. A company attracts customers and...     

Students' attitudes toward playing games and using games in education: Comparing Scotland and the Netherlands

Games-based learning has captured the interest of educationalists and industrialists who seek to exploit the characteristics of computer games as they are perceived by some to be a potentially effective approach for teaching and learning. Despite this interest in using games-based learning there is a dearth of empirical evidence supporting the validity of the approach covering the wider context of gaming and education. This study presents a large scale gaming survey, involving 887 students from 13 different Higher Education (HE) institutes in Scotland and the Netherlands, which examines students' characteristics related to their gaming preferences, game playing habits, and their perceptions and thoughts on the use of games in education. It presents a comparison of three separate groups of students: a group in regular education in a Scottish university, a group in regular education in universities in the Netherlands and a distance learning group from a university in the Netherlands. This study addresses an overall research question of: Can computer games be used for educational purposes at HE level in regular and distance education in different countries? The study then addresses four sub-research questions related to the overall research question:

• •What are the different game playing habits of the three groups?
• •What are the different motivations for playing games across the three groups?
• •What are the different reasons for using games in HE across the three groups?
• •What are the different attitudes towards games across the three groups?

To our knowledge this is the first in-depth cross-national survey on gaming and education. We found that a large number of participants believed that computer games could be used at HE level for educational purposes and that further research in the area of game playing habits, motivations for playing computer games and motivations for playing computer games in education are worthy of extensive further investigation. We also found a clear distinction between the views of students in regular education and those in distance education. Regular education students in both countries rated all motivations for playing computer games as significantly more important than distance education students. Also the results suggest that Scottish students aim to enhance their social experience with regards to competition and cooperation, while Dutch students aim to enhance their leisurely experience with regards to leisure, feeling good, preventing boredom and excitement.     

Collaboration factors,teamwork satisfaction,and student attitudes toward online collaborative learning

This study examined online courses with collaborative learning components from 197 graduate students across three consecutive academic years. A student attitude survey containing 20 items and a student teamwork satisfaction scale containing 10 items on a 5-point Likert-type scale with three open-ended questions regarding their online collaborating experiences were collected during the final week of each semester. Results revealed that the three extracted online collaboration factors (Team Dynamics, Team Acquaintance, and Instructor Support) from the student attitude survey had moderate to high degrees of correlation with teamwork satisfaction. Results also revealed that the three collaboration factors accounted for 53% of the variance in online teamwork satisfaction. In addition, results from both surveys and open-ended questions revealed students favored working collaboratively in an online environment.     

Students' attitudes toward books and computers

Many studies have compared paper and computers using objective performance measures. The aim of the study reported here was to extend this body of work by considering subjective measures. A questionnaire survey of 217 people showed that books were perceived more favorably than computers on all of the affective scales of Kay's Computer Attitude Measure (CAM; 1993). Further, respondents preferred to learn from books rather than computers, and expected to learn more from them than computer-based material. The conclusion reached is that people have a strong affection for books, prefer them to computers for learning purposes, and expect to learn more from them.     

AdOn: toward contextual overlay in-video advertising

This paper presents a contextual video advertising system, called AdOn, which supports intelligent overlay in-video advertising. Unlike most current ad-networks such as Youtube that overlay the ads at fixed locations in the videos (e.g., on the bottom fifth of videos 15 s in), AdOn is able to automatically detect a set of spatio-temporal non-intrusive locations and associate the contextually relevant ads with these locations. The overlay ad locations are obtained on the basis of video structuring, face and text detection, as well as visual saliency analysis, so that the intrusiveness to the users can be minimized. The ads are selected according to content-based multimodal relevance so that the relevance can be maximized. AdOn represents one of the first attempts towards contextual overlay video advertising by leveraging information retrieval and multimedia content analysis techniques. The experiments conducted on a video database with more than 100 video programs and 7,000 ad products indicated that AdOn is superior to existing advertising approaches in terms of ad relevance and user experience.     

Surveying instructor and learner attitudes toward e-learning

The trend of using e-learning as a learning and/or teaching tool is now rapidly expanding into education. Although e-learning environments are popular, there is minimal research on instructors’ and learners’ attitudes toward these kinds of learning environments. The purpose of this study is to explore instructors’ and learners’ attitudes toward e-learning usage. Accordingly, 30 instructors and 168 college students are asked to answer two different questionnaires for investigating their perceptions. After statistical analysis, the results demonstrate that instructors have very positive perceptions toward using e-learning as a teaching assisted tool. Furthermore, behavioral intention to use e-learning is influenced by perceived usefulness and self-efficacy. Regarding to learners’ attitudes, self-paced, teacher-led, and multimedia instruction are major factors to affect learners’ attitudes toward e-learning as an effective learning tool. Based on the findings, this research proposes guidelines for developing e-learning environments.     

Explaining students’ attitudes toward books and computers

Despite the increasing and now ubiquitous use of computer technologies, previous research by the authors has indicated a preference for using books over computers in the learning context. This paper presents a follow-up study, which investigates why there is this preference for books amongst the undergraduate population. It was found that findings from the previous study were replicated; namely, attitudes toward books were significantly more positive than attitudes toward computers. Further, significantly more respondents expected to learn more from books than computer-based material, and preferred to learn from books than computers. Reasons for these preferences included practical usability issues, media-related usability, experience and aesthetic values.     

Gender differences and similarities in attitudes toward computers

Gender differences among university students in attitudes toward and involvement with computers were examined. Males were found to have taken more computer science courses, to be more knowledgeable about computer languages, to be more likely to want to major in computer science, and to have played video games more than females. There were no gender differences in reported nonvideo-game computer use or in exposure to computers in noncomputer science courses. Males and females did not differ on their reported personal interest in and enjoyment of computers. Consistent with previous research, however, males reported more comfort and confidence with computers and more positive attitudes toward mathematics than did females. Women believed more strongly than men that females should learn and are as capable of learning about computers and science as are males. It appears that these university women were as intrigued by computers as the men were. However, they were apparently somewhat inhibited from the pursuit of specialized training and careers in computer science. This inhibition may be linked to their anxiety about their own skills and to the communication, by male peers, of the attitude that women are less capable than men of learning about computers.     

Opinions and attitudes toward humanoid robots in the Middle East

Robotics is expected to boom in the near future, moving massively beyond traditional application areas, and extending to all parts of the globe. Thus, in order to enable effective international customization of robot designs, and in order to facilitate their smoother harmonious introduction to everyday life, it is important to study the opinions and attitudes toward robots in different regions of the world. Although there exists a small body of research covering the US, EU, and Asia, there is almost no research regarding attitudes toward robots in the Middle East, a region with its own marked cultural idiosyncrasies. Therefore, we brought Ibn Sina, an Arabic-language conversational android robot to Dubai’s Gitex, one of the most important exhibitions in the region, and performed a questionnaire-based empirical study with 355 subjects from 38 countries, which had seen the robot interacting, and most of which had also interacted directly with it. Many interesting findings are presented: First, a statistically significant ordering of preferred application areas for robots overall was found, as well as strong effects of the region of origin on the preferred applications. Furthermore, strong religion, age, and education effects were observed. Overall, the results together with a theoretical discussion of possible causes provide interesting insights on cultural acceptance of robots in this richly complex region, which potentially have strong implications to their wider deployment in the future in specific settings.     

Antecedents and consequences of explicit and implicit attitudes toward digital piracy

This study demonstrates the salience of explicit and implicit attitudes in the context of digital piracy and identifies their antecedents and consequences. Data were obtained by means of the Implicit Association Test and a survey. Explicit attitude has a positive effect on behavioral intentions which influence digital piracy engagement, whereas implicit attitude has a positive direct impact on digital piracy engagement. Idealism has a negative effect on explicit attitude but a positive impact on implicit attitude. Relativism has a positive effect on explicit and implicit attitudes. People's selfish characteristics manifest themselves in delinquent digital piracy actions through implicit cognitive processes.     

Evolution of attitudes toward computers: a retrospective view

Abstract

This article reviews three previous factor analysis based studies of aggregate attitudes concerning the computer milieu and compares them with a recent one done by the authors; the four studies span almost twenty years. While providing a useful basis for making generalizations about current perceptions of the computer's role, the latest study also sought to determine whether there was a group of persons who were fearful or anxious about the computer, whose concerns were masked in studies of aggregate attitudes. By using an instrument that was evaluated by an expert in phobic behaviour, it was possible to identify a populationthat was significantly different from the general population in attitude toward computers. The value of the current study, then, is two-fold. It makes possible a retrospective view of aggregate perceptions of the general population about computers and also offers a glimpse of the attributes of those computer phobic or anxious persons who have not yet adapted to computer technology.     

Evolution of attitudes toward computers: a retrospective view

This article reviews three previous factor analysis based studies of aggregate attitudes concerning the computer milieu and compares them with a recent one done by the authors; the four studies span almost twenty years. While providing a useful basis for making generalizations about current perceptions of the computer's role, the latest study also sought to determine whether there was a group of persons who were fearful or anxious about the computer, whose concerns were masked in studies of aggregate attitudes. By using an instrument that was evaluated by an expert in phobic behaviour, it was possible to identify a populationthat was significantly different from the general population in attitude toward computers. The value of the current study, then, is two-fold. It makes possible a retrospective view of aggregate perceptions of the general population about computers and also offers a glimpse of the attributes of those computer phobic or anxious persons who have not yet adapted to computer technology.     

Learning styles and student attitudes toward various aspects of network-based instruction

In order to determine student attitudes toward various aspects of network-based instruction 234 individuals voluntarily participated in research to ascertain their tendencies that will likely facilitate, or interfere with, interacting and learning from this innovative technology. Participants were requested to respond anonymously to 60 items of a survey, designed to assess their attitudes toward distinct facets of network-based instruction, as well as two separate forms developed to ascertain their learning and cognitive styles. Student responses to survey items, and measures of learning and cognitive styles, were analyzed using a number of multivariate and univariate statistical techniques. Students with assimilating and accommodating learning styles demonstrated significantly more agreeable attitudes toward varied aspects of network-based instruction than students with converging and diverging learning styles. These findings partially supported the general hypothesis. Recommendations are made to appropriate sponsors, academic administrators, faculty members, and instructional developers, interested in realizing on-line learning.     

Proficiency and attitudes toward information technologies’ use in psychology undergraduates

In this study we had two aims: first, to evaluate the self-reported proficient use of data analysis and information technologies in psychology undergraduates. Second, to investigate the relationship between their proficiency level and attitude toward the technology’s use for academic, social and personal activities. Two hundred students were asked to answer two short Likert scales which shown a high internal consistency (proficiency α = 0.93; attitudes α = 0.88) and a coherent factorial structure. They also were required to answer a semantic differential scale (α = 86) of whose bipolar adjectives evaluated the technologies’ use in their learning–teaching process. A regression analysis showed that an efficient e-information searching and e-downloading strategies as well as considering the active vs passive use of the technology can together predict (R² = .754) the usage of complex technology and abilities.     

Differentiating computer experience and attitudes toward computers: an empirical investigation

The purpose of this study was to define and provide initial empirical support for differentiating the concepts of computer attitude, subjective computer experience and objective computer experience. A principal components factor analysis of computer attitude and computer experience scales was conducted on responses from 179 subjects. Results showed that objective computer experience was conceptually distinct from factors reflecting users' psychological reactions to computers. Results also provided partial support for differentiating the two constructs of computer attitude and subjective computer experience. Specifically, two factors emerged, the first reflecting Attitudes Toward Electronic Mail Use, and a second reflecting the separate construct of Autonomy/Assistance, an identifiable constituent of the Subjective Computer Experience Scale. The independent nature of these constructs should continue to be explored in future investigations with considerable attention being focused on the new construct, namely, Autonomy/Assistance. Suggestions for training and education are discussed, and a conceptual analysis of the relation between subjective computer experience and computer attitude presented. Hence, the current study provides a useful starting point for deciphering the precise nature of the relationship between computer attitude and subjective computer experience.     

Some factors affecting motorcyclists' conspicuity

Three experiments examined some of the factors that might affect motorcyclists' conspicuity to other road users. In each case, subjects saw a sequence of slides showing traffic, some of which contained a motorcyclist. A record was taken of their reaction times to decide whether or not a motorcyclist was present in each slide. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effects on conspicuity of headlight use, type of clothing, distance of motorcyclist from viewer, and driving situation (urban or semi-rural). Experiment 3 looked more closely at environmental influences on motorcyclist conspicuity, systematically varying the level of background ‘clutter’ behind the motorcyclist. All three experiments indicate that the effectiveness of the conspicuity aids used, especially clothing, may depend on the situation in which the motorcyclist was located: bright clothing and headlight use may not be infallible aids to conspicuity. Brightness contrast between the motorcyclist and the surroundings may be more important as a determinant of conspicuity than the motorcyclist's brightness per se. Motorcyclists' conspicuity is a more complex issue than has hitherto been acknowledged.     

Exploring users' attitudes and intentions toward the web as a survey tool

The purpose of this study is to examine a conceptual model of individual perceptions toward the Web as a survey tool. The model discusses users' attitudes toward the Web integrating perceived self-efficacy, anxiety, usefulness, and liking to develop a new aspect of individual intention to use Web surveys. The results provide the evidence that the conceptual model is available for understanding users' perceptions to use Web surveys. In addition, perceived self-efficacy may foster a positive feeling toward the Web surveys. The speed of the Internet, number of survey questions, and friendly operating interface are all users' concerns when answering Web surveys. Furthermore, perceived usefulness and liking may increase an individual's positive attitudes toward using Web surveys.