Decision Support Systems Adoption Among Strategic Decision Makers in Higher Learning Institution in Yemen

It is claimed that higher education institutions in Yemen do not have clear visions, missions, strategic objectives, and they apply traditional management systems with complex procedures. In addition, there has been some ignorance of technology among the Yemeni strategic decision makers because they have not had a clear view of what Information Technology applications can contribute in developing their institutions and the strategic decision-making, and styles of the strategic decision makers. IT applications can also be used in investigating the perceived acceptance of the strategic decision makers towards decision support systems (DSS) technologies. Thus, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) has been adopted. A total of 121 forms of questionnaire were collected from the strategic decision makers in Sana’a University and Science and Technology University. Descriptive, regression and structural equation modeling analyses were run to test the hypotheses. The present study found that the research policy, adoption of information technology applications, curriculum, mission, organization of colleges and university, admission policies, financial policies, facilities and equipment, and institutional governance personnel are areas that require strategic decisions in the Yemeni higher learning institutions. Regarding decision making styles, the majority are technical-oriented (analytical and directive) strategic decision makers. The findings indicate that performance expectancy and strategic value expectancy have a significant positive influence on behavioural intention of the strategic decision makers to adopt the DSS. However social influence was found to have influence on behavioural intention when it was tested alone as an independent construct. The strategic decision maker’s decision making style moderates the relationship between efforts expectancy and behavioural intention only. However, administrative experience and professional achievement moderate the relationship between performance expectancy and strategic value expectancy, and behavioural intention only. As a conclusion, this study suggests that technology adoption can be a new strategic decision area

A bellboy robot: Study of the effects of robot behaviour on user engagement and comfort

Producción CientíficaThis paper provides the results of various trial experiments in a hotel environment carried out using Sacarino, an interactive bellboy robot. We analysed which aspects of the robot design and behaviour are relevant in terms of user engagement and comfort when interacting with our social robot. The experiments carried out focused on the influence over proxemics, duration and effectiveness of the interaction taking into account three dichotomous factors related with the robot design and behaviour: robot embodiment (with/without robotic body), status of the robot (awake/asleep) and who starts communication (robot/user). Results show that users tend to maintain a personal distance when interacting with an embodied robot and that embodiment engages users in maintaining longer interactions. On the other hand, including a greeting model in a robot is useful in terms of engaging users to maintain longer interactions, and that an active-looking robot is more attractive to the participants, producing longer interactions than in the case of a passive-looking robot.Junta de Castilla y León (Programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación-Ref. VA036U14)Junta de Castilla y León (Programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación-Ref. VA013A12-2)Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Grant DPI2014-56500-R

Hotel Employees’ Attitude and Acceptance Toward Human-Robot Co-Working Based on the Industry 5.0 Concept

Received 21 July 2022. Accepted 31 October 2022. Published online 30 December 2022.The emergence of AI-powered machines and robotics technology has strongly influenced the service industry, especially the hotel business. The effects of their introduction to the work environment on the human workforce have been a subject of much debate. However, practical studies in this regard are relatively limited. Therefore, this study investigates the employees’ attitude and acceptance toward working alongside robots in a sample of employees working in luxury hotels in Yekaterinburg, Russia. This study employed a self-administered questionnaire as the data collection instrument. Two hundred questionnaire forms were distributed. Among them, 167 forms were completed and valid for analysis. Data were analyzed descriptively using IBM SPSS (Version 28). The findings revealed that, although the employees agreed to interact with robots and indicated that robots are helpful, enjoyable, and productive, they also pointed out that robots would control jobs. Besides, the extensive introduction of robots will lead to social issues such as losing contact with humans. The study conclusion has practical implications for hotel managers and can guide further research for academics.The researcher (Khaled Ghazy) is funded by a scholarship under the joint (executive program between the Arab Republic of Egypt and Russia)

Lifeguards in the sky: examining the public acceptance of beach-rescue drones

The use of rescue drones is expected to increase in forthcoming years. However, the success of their implementation through different applications will depend on public acceptance. Studies to date have analyzed public support for the use of drones with various applications, although public acceptance of drones in specific contexts remains to be explored. In particular, the use of drones for beach rescues has proven beneficial in reducing response times, thus helping to save lives. In this study, we analyze the public acceptance of lifesaving drones and their associated variables. Data collected from a survey of beach users (N = 3363) for this study are used to measure public acceptance of rescue drones. We found that public acceptance of rescue drones is moderate, with approximately half of all participants accepting their use. In terms of influencing variables, we found that the factors most associated with their use are ‘perceived benefits’ and ‘perceived risks’. We also found that the participants from beaches without lifeguard services were more likely to accept the use of rescue drones. These results initiated a discussion on the variables that are associated with the public acceptance in the specific context of lifesaving. In addition, based on the results of this study, we propose implementation plans for rescue drones that might also include public information campaigns on their benefits for beach usersSecurity and Global Affair

Situational when: Designing for time across cultures

We propose the concept of “Situational When”, an approach to understanding time in interface design not as a point on a calendar or clock, but as a set of converging circumstances that constitute “the time” for happenings to take place. Time is encoded both explicitly and implicitly in designed products. However, many technologies propagate business-centric, modernist values such as scheduling and efficiency, and marginalize broader socio-cultural aspects on which many activities are nonetheless contingent, e.g. the right people, the right weather conditions, and the right vibe. We derive our reflections from a case study of a cross- cultural digital noticeboard designed with an Australian Aboriginal community. Attention to the situational when opens up new possibilities for design that put greater emphasis on the social and relational aspects of time, the situational insights embodied in local narratives, and the tangible (e.g. people) and intangible (e.g. energy) circumstances that together make up the “right” time

Towards a conceptualisation and critique of everyday life in HRI

This paper focuses on the topic of “everyday life” as it is addressed in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research. It starts from the argument that while human daily life with social robots has been increasingly discussed and studied in HRI, the concept of everyday life lacks clarity or systematic analysis, and it plays only a secondary role in supporting the study of the key HRI topics. In order to help conceptualise everyday life as a research theme in HRI in its own right, we provide an overview of the Social Science and Humanities (SSH) perspectives on everyday life and lived experiences, particularly in sociology, and identify the key elements that may serve to further develop and empirically study such a concept in HRI. We propose new angles of analysis that may help better explore unique aspects of human engagement with social robots. We look at the everyday not just as a reality as we know it (i.e., the realm of the “ordinary”) but also as the future that we need to envision and strive to materialise (i.e., the transformation that will take place through the “extraordinary” that comes with social robots). Finally, we argue that HRI research would benefit not only from engaging with a systematic conceptualisation but also critique of the contemporary everyday life with social robots. This is how HRI studies could play an important role in challenging the current ways of understanding of what makes different aspects of the human world “natural” and ultimately help bringing a social change towards what we consider a “good life.

iRobot : conceptualising SERVBOT for humanoid social robots

Services are intangible in nature and, as a result, it is often difficult to measure the quality of the service. The service is usually delivered by a human to a human customer and the service literature shows SERVQUAL can be used to measure the quality of the service. However, the use of social robots during the pandemic is speeding up the process of employing social roots in frontline service settings. An extensive review of the literature shows there is a lack of an empirical model to assess the perceived service quality provided by a social robot. Furthermore, the social robot literature highlights key differences between human service and social robots. For example, scholars have highlighted the importance of entertainment and engagement in the adoption of social robots in the service industry. However, it is unclear whether the SERVQUAL dimensions are appropriate to measure social robots’ service quality. This master’s project will conceptualise the SERVBOT model to assess a social robot’s service quality. It identifies reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and entertainment as the five dimensions of SERVBOT. Further, the research will investigate how these five factors influence emotional and social engagement and intention to use the social robot in a concierge service setting. To conduct the research, a 2 x 1 (CONTROL vs SERVBOT) x (Concierge) between-subject experiment was undertaken and a total of 232 responses were collected for both stages. The results indicate that entertainment has a positive influence on emotional engagement when service is delivered by a human concierge. Further, assurance had a positive influence on social engagement when a human concierge provided the service. When a social robot concierge delivered the service, empathy and entertainment both influenced emotional engagement, and assurance and entertainment impacted social engagement favourably. For both CONTROL (human concierge) and SERVBOT (social robot concierge), emotional and social engagement had a significant influence on intentions to use. This study is the first to propose the SERVBOT model to measure social robots’ service quality. The model provides a theoretical underpinning on the key service quality dimensions of a social robot and gives scholars and managers a method to track the service quality of a social robot. The study also extends the literature by exploring the key factors that influence the use of social robots (i.e., emotional and social engagement)