Investigating the adoption and use of smartphones in the UK : a silver-surfers perspective

Copyright and all rights therein are retained by the authors. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and conditions invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be re-posted without the explicit permission of the copyright holdersSmart phones are innovations that currently provide immense benefits and convenience to users in society. However, not all members of society are accepting and using smart phones; more specifically, for this research study silver-surfers or older adults (50+) are a demographic group displaying such an attitude. Currently, there is minimal knowledge of the reasons for older adults adopting and using smartphones. Bearing this in mind, this research study aims to investigate the adoption and usage behaviours of silver-surfers. For this purpose, the conceptual framework applied to this research draws factors from the following theories: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the Diffusion of Innovations theory (DoI), and TAM3 (Technology Acceptance Model). From the online survey of 204 completed replies it was found that observability, compatibility, social influence, facilitating conditions, effort expectancy and enjoyment are important to the adoption and use of smartphones within silver-surfers. The contributions of this research are an identification and understanding of the factors that encourage or inhibit smartphone use within the older adult population. Second, this research can inform the design of computing devices and applications used for silver-surfers. Finally, this research can enlighten policy makers when forming decisions that encourage adoption and use of smartphones among silver surfersFinal Published versio

Smartphones Adoption and Usage of 50+ Adults in the United Kingdom

This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in Jyoti Choudrie, Sherah Kurnia, and Panayiota Tsatsou, eds., Social Inclusion and Usability of ICT-enabled Services, on October 2017, available online at: https://www.routledge.com/Social-Inclusion-and-Usability-of-ICT-enabled-Services/Choudrie-Kurnia-Tsatsou/p/book/9781138935556. Under embargo until 30 April 2019.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

The Constitutionality and Legality of Internet Voting Post-Shelby County

The technological and electoral landscapes have changed drastically since the turn of the century. While it once might have made sense to view voting online as unconstitutional, as opposed to merely impractical, the expanded range of Internet access for minority communities has made that argument tenuous at best. While there still may exist practical and political reasons to avoid Internet voting, the Constitution no longer stands as an effective wall against the practice. Furthermore, the primary statutory obstacle to the implementation of Internet voting on a local level, the Voting Rights Act, has been greatly weakened by the recent Supreme Court decision in Shelby County. As such, now is the perfect time for state-level experimentation in the field of Internet voting

Smartphones

Many of the research approaches to smartphones actually regard them as more or less transparent points of access to other kinds of communication experiences. That is, rather than considering the smartphone as something in itself, the researchers look at how individuals use the smartphone for their communicative purposes, whether these be talking, surfing the web, using on-line data access for off-site data sources, downloading or uploading materials, or any kind of interaction with social media. They focus not so much on the smartphone itself but on the activities that people engage in with their smartphones

Comprehending the Digital Disparities in Africa

The digital divide has a significant impact on the ways in which information across Africa is developed, shared, and perceived. This opening chapter seeks to analyse the problems and opportunities associated with the ubiquitous digital revolution, providing a cross-disciplinary examination of digital disparities inhibiting social, political, and economic progress across Africa. It also attempts to conceptualise the digital divide in an African setting. It will introduce some of the main concepts associated with the digital divide and analyse them from an African perspective. The chapter also provides specific examples of how various countries in Africa are dealing with problems associated with the digital exclusion of their citizens. This contribution also provides the justification, aims, and objectives of the book before ending with chapter summaries of the collection

After Broadband: A Study of Organizational Use of Broadband in Southwest Alaska

The purpose of this research was to gain a preliminary understanding of how organizations including large and small businesses, Native corporations and organizations, and local and regional governments are using broadband that is now available in much of southwest Alaska. To learn about community access to broadband, interviews were also conducted with library and school staff in communities where broadband had been installed under the OWL (Online with Libraries) program. Further, the study identifies research from other sources that could help to predict what socio-economic impacts the availability and adoption of broadband may have in rural Alaska. Financial institutions use online connections for teller services and credit and debit card processing, and stated that more people in rural communities now have debit cards that they can use for online purchases and bill paying. Large retailers use online services for payroll, for pointof-sale (POS) transactions, and online ordering. Seafood processors rely heavily on connectivity with their head offices (generally in the lower 48) for administrative services including payroll, accounting, shipping and receiving, purchasing, and ERP (enterprise resource planning), and access data base software to track fish tickets. Seafood processors also provide Internet access for their employees, most of whom are seasonal and from other states or countries. Tourism businesses use broadband for online reservation systems and for guests, who increasingly demand connectivity even for remote vacations. Village corporations and tribal councils use online services to help their residents obtain hunting and fishing licenses and fishing permits, to learn about funding opportunities, and to file reports on grants. Local Governments connect online for interoffice communications and for payroll and other administrative functions. Other online applications and services include providing remote desktop access from other agency sites, use of online tools for land management and mapping, training including webinars for workforce development, and providing access to social services for clients. An economic development organization sends newsletters to communities electronically and packets of documents to its board members rather than relying on fax or courier. Websites are important for tourism-related businesses to advertise and promote their businesses and for nonprofits and local governments to provide information about their services. 5 Broadband now plays many roles in rural education. Most students are required to use the Internet for class assignments. High school students can connect to classes in advanced subjects in other communities, and may complete online courses for college credit. Libraries remain important locations for community access, with residents going online to connect with friends on Facebook, as well as to download content for e-books, file income tax, and apply for jobs and government benefits. School and library Wi-Fi provides access inside and near the buildings for residents with smartphones. Despite enthusiasm for broadband and the adoption of many broadband-based applications and services, most organizations interviewed identified problems with broadband, particularly with the pricing, stating that the terrestrial broadband network is too costly for them to take full advantage of online services and applications. While the scope of this study was too limited to estimate long-term benefits, it found that broadband is highly valued and increasingly important to businesses and nonprofit organizations and local governments in southwest Alaska. Broadband helps businesses to be more efficient in their operations and to extend their reach to new customers and suppliers. It also helps to improve the effectiveness of public sector services such as those provided by borough and city governments and extends access to education and training. Broadband is also likely to be an important component of strategies to develop ecotourism and other ecosystem services.Support for this research came from Connect Alaska with funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for the work of the State of Alaska Broadband Task Force, with additional support from GCI.Executive Summary / Introduction / Research Methodology / Technologies and Technical Support / Broadband Applications / Education and Community Access / Health Care / Benefits of Broadband in Southwest Alaska / Problems and Limitations / Potential Long-Term Social and Economic Impacts / Conclusions and Recommendations / Referemce

Digital exclusion as a hindrance to the emergence of the information society: the case of Poland

There is no doubt, that digital transformation (knowledge-based transformation) has emerged as the crucial megatrend in modern civilization. Artificial intelligence (AI), machines and autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT), financial technology (Fin/Tech), smart investing and the analysis and processing of big data are the most recent manifestations of this trend, but not the only ones. All of these phenomena have led to the emergence and continuing development of the so-called ‘Information Society’ (IS), which refers to a new type of social organization that is clearly distinct from the earlier forms of society. In this new society, information and knowledge play an essential role in facilitating the Knowledge-Based Economy (KBE), where information is collected, transmitted and processed in a faster and more effective manner, and can subsequently be used to foster accelerated economic growth. Unfortunately, the problem of digital exclusion still occurs, also in Poland. The author in the conclusion comes to opinion that people who are digitally excluded find it much more difficult to overcome psychological rather than technical barriers to having access to the Internet and learning basic computer skills. This situation calls for urgent improvement. In the modern information society, a lack of basic knowledge about computers translates into partial or total digital illiteracy and makes it difficult to perform a range of everyday tasks. It is therefore essential in Poland to prevent digital exclusion. People who do not use the Internet are socially and professionally limited, or virtually handicapped, which results in quantifiable economic losses. This translates to lower creativity and innovativeness and reduced revenue of state budget, and impedes the competitiveness of the economy and the development of a post-modern, post-industrial social model. The main research goal is to show the causes of the phenomenon of digital exclusion in Poland and ways to counteract it. In the course of the research, the most frequently used method was causal and effect analysis as well as institutional and legal analysis. Elements of the decision-making, historical, comparative and statistical methods were also used

Instagram

Overview: Capturing pictures helps to preserve memories that will be saved forever, and looking at them allows someone to take a journey back in time to when any given picture was taken. In this day and age, smartphones such as Androids and iPhones help to make picture taking quick and easy. With the swipe of a finger and a tap on the screen, a picture can be taken and saved on a camera roll in mere seconds. But it doesn\u27t stop there, with the smartphone application (app) called Instagram, photography can be taken to the next level. Instagram is a website, and also a free app, compatible with most smartphones. It is a form of social media in which users create a profile, including their name and a small biography about themselves. It allows them to upload and post pictures or short fifteen-second videos of anything they please and include a caption that goes with it. Both gender and age play defining roles in how the user actually uses the app. When looking at gender, it is interesting to explore the differences between what men and women post and how often they post. It is suspected there are differences in their usage because of cultural context. In general, women like to share with others what is going on with their lives and men are usually more reserved. This could potentially explain why women post more often, so their followers know what they are experiencing. Age is also something that impacts usage. When looking at the younger generations compared to the older, there is a difference in what and how often they post as well, so it would be interesting to explore why in fact there is this inconsistency in posting rates. Different ages have different audiences, so this could play into why they post what they do. Maybe the younger generation posts more to look cool, and maybe the older generation does not post as much, because they are consumed with more important things, such as work or school. I want to illustrate a clear picture about why there is this split through asking questions about purpose of usage, why they post, and why they post what they post. In summary, I want to uncover what kind of identity they are forming for themselves based on their Instagram activity, and how what they post and like shows others who they are in the social media world

Build an app and they will come? Lessons learnt from trialling the GetThereBus app in rural communities

Acknowledgements The research described here was supported by the award made by the RCUK Digital Economy programme to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub; award reference: EP/G066051/1.Peer reviewedPostprin