Towards an ICT-based psychology: E-psychology

Cognitive science is the scientific domain which studies, analyzes, simulates and infers for various aspects, functions and procedures of human mentality such as, thinking, logic, language, knowledge, memory, learning, perception and the ability to solve problems. E-psychology is in close relation with the cognitive science domain, but expands beyond it, as e-psychology is the efficient convergence of psychology and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). E-psychology offers a number of services such as supporting, diagnosis, assessment, therapy, counseling, intervention and tests through an effective exploitation of ICTs. This article presents a user-friendly, flexible and adaptive electronic platform, which supports both synchronous and asynchronous e-psychology activities through the use of informative and communicative tools and services, which can be adapted to support various methods of e-psychology activities. It is important to underline that e-psychology is not an alternative psychology field, but a resource to enhance the conventional psychology process.     

Are we Building a Better World with ICTs? Empirically Examining this Question in the Domain of Public Health in India

As social scientists engaged in Information Technologies for Development (IT4D), a question we need to necessarily engage with is “are we building a better world with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)?” This question, first posed by Professor Geoff Walsham in the IS field, was the topic of my plenary discussion at the IFIP 9.4 meeting in Jamaica 2014, and had now been further developed to this “view from practice” paper for this journal. A first step in this paper has been the reformulation of the question which Professor Walsham raised: “What distortions and obstacles are created by the historical, material, and institutional conditions, and how these shape our efforts of ICTs creating a better world?” This reformulation is done to bring in more explicitly the political dimension into the question, and to nuance the technological deterministic argument implied in the question of technology (always) creating a better world. Taking an empirical example of an ICT intervention from the public health sector in India, deliberately chosen to emphasize distortions typically seen is similar Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) projects, the analysis focuses on understanding the conditions of distortions, why they occur, and what can be done differently to contribute to our notion of a better world.     

Correlating mobile phone usage and travel behavior – A case study of Harbin,China

Information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as mobile phones and the Internet, are increasingly pervasive in modern society. These technologies provide new resources for spatio-temporal data mining and geographic knowledge discovery. Since the development of ICTs also impacts physical movement of individuals in societies, much of the existing research has focused on examining the correlation between ICT and human mobility. In this paper, we aim to provide a deeper understanding of how usage of mobile phones correlates with individual travel behavior by exploring the correlation between mobile phone call frequencies and three indicators of travel behavior: (1) radius, (2) eccentricity, and (3) entropy. The methodology is applied to a large dataset from Harbin city in China. The statistical analysis indicates a significant correlation between mobile phone usage and all of the three indicators. In addition, we examine and demonstrate how explanatory factors, such as age, gender, social temporal orders and characteristics of the built environment, impact the relationship between mobile phone usage and individual activity behavior.     

Less cyber,more café: Enhancing existing small businesses across the digital divide with ICTs

About 10% of the world has access to information and communication technologies (ICTs). Telecenters and cyber cafés are one prevalent way to increase access. This paper suggests increasing access through currently existing, local businesses where people already gather and where proprietors already posses existing business relationships with suppliers and customers. This paper questions the prevailing emphasis on the “cyber'' characteristics of access, e.g., computing and internet access as is currently known, and attempts to refocus the conversation by considering computing and access in the context of the “café,” e.g., as public life in the sense of Habermas, which permits an in situ evolution of relevant access. This analysis is based on extant literature and direct ethnographic research in several public places in six countries. We offer example design perspectives based on a reflection of “third places” as inspiration for appropriate innovation in the provision of computing and communications. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Investigating the relationship between perceived risks in communication and ICT-enabled communicative behaviors

We examine employees’ perceptions of communication problems in the workplace and their active communication behavioral responses when multiple information communication technologies (ICTs) are available for use. Through the lens of the situational theory of publics, we shed light on how employees adapt to increasing communication demands. We uncovered active technology-mediated behavior such as information gaining, action, and social interaction seeking, and their association with perceived risk (i.e., message, information and action). Findings suggest that technology-mediated communication behaviors are not only enabled by the use of ICTs but behavior also involves appropriate structuring of single and multiple ICTs to manage problems encountered during communication.     

Organizational Media Affordances: Operationalization and Associations with Media Use

The concept of affordances has been increasingly applied to the study of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in organizational contexts. However, almost no research operationalizes affordances, limiting comparisons and programmatic research. This article briefly reviews conceptualizations and possibilities of affordances in general and for media, then introduces the concept of organizational media affordances as organizational resources. Analysis of survey data from a large Nordic media organization identified six reliable and valid organizational media affordances: pervasiveness, editability, self-presentation, searchability, visibility, and awareness. Eight media scales based on frequency of use of 10 media within each of three organization levels were differentially associated with these affordances. The conceptualization, measurement approach, and results from this study provide the foundation for considerable future organizational communication and ICT research.     

ICT4D research: reflections on history and future agenda

Research on the use of ICTs for international development, or information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) research, has a history going back some 30 years. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of the ICT4D research field at this important juncture in time, when ICTs are increasingly pervasive and when many different disciplines are involved in researching the area. The paper first provides some reflections on the history of the field broken down into three phases from the mid-1980s to the present day. This is followed by a detailed discussion of future research agenda, including topic selection, the role of theory, methodological issues and multidisciplinarity, and research impact. ICT4D research started largely in the academic field of information systems but it is concluded that the future lies in a multidisciplinary interaction between researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers.     

Integrating ICT adoption issues into (e-)leadership theory

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having a profound effect in society and organizations. However, the literature on ICT adoption—from selection to implementation—has not been well integrated into leadership theory. This is particularly true in terms of adoption. Leaders must adopt ICTs not only for their own competence—an antecedent condition for what is considered e-leadership, but choose, recommend, and support implementation of ICTs for their organizations/units to use. Leaders are also expected to become effective in dealing and navigating the challenges of leading within the digital space. At this moment, there are two pertinent literatures: the technology adoption literature and the enterprise resource planning literature—which can be considered an important special case of leadership change management literature—and which could provide the theoretical basis for developing a unified theoretical perspective on e-leadership. This article provides a framework and propositions to connect these literatures by focusing on the effects of individual leader characteristics on the ICT adoption process from both a personal and enterprise-wide perspective. Study limitations and future research opportunities are outlined.     

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.     

ICTs and radio in Africa: How the uptake of ICT has influenced the newsroom culture among community radio journalists

This article highlights the influence that new ICTs and Computer Mediated Communication is having on the newsroom cultures among community radio journalists in Africa, especially the use of mobile phones and the internet. The discussion is based on findings from a research study that investigated the impact of ICTs on community radio using regional case studies from three African countries – Mozambique, Uganda, and Mali. We argue that the integration of ICTs impacted journalism practice positively as it improved information gathering, processing, distribution, storage, and engagement with the communities, particularly through the use of mobile phones and the internet. However, the synergy with rural community radios that tend to be located in remote areas is yet to be felt in the three countries. While the community radio stations in semi-urban areas or those situated in areas with fairly good infrastructure have better capacity for integration of ICTs and their sustainability, the rural-based community radio stations are greatly inhibited in their integration of new ICT due to lack of the electricity or regular power supply, the high fees charged by the service providers (internet and telephone), as well as the high cost for the ICT equipment, maintenance expenses and operational costs. The article calls for more support for infrastructural development to rural-based community radio stations to close the rural–urban gap and to enable the journalists working there to benefit from ICT integration like their counterparts in the semi-urban and urban community radios.