Investigation of the use of navigation tools in web-based learning: A data mining approach

Web-based learning is widespread in educational settings. The popularity of Web-based learning is in great measure because of its flexibility. Multiple navigation tools provided some of this flexibility. Different navigation tools offer different functions. Therefore, it is important to understand how the navigation tools are used by learners with different backgrounds, knowledge, and skills. This article presents two empirical studies in which data-mining approaches were used to analyze learners' navigation behavior. The results indicate that prior knowledge and subject content are two potential factors influencing the use of navigation tools. In addition, the lack of appropriate use of navigation tools may adversely influence learning performance. The results have been integrated into a model that can help designers develop Web-based learning programs and other Web-based applications that can be tailored to learners' needs

Information Technology Applications in Hospitality and Tourism: A Review of Publications from 2005 to 2007

The tourism and hospitality industries have widely adopted information technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and most importantly to improve service quality and customer experience. This article offers a comprehensive review of articles that were published in 57 tourism and hospitality research journals from 2005 to 2007. Grouping the findings into the categories of consumers, technologies, and suppliers, the article sheds light on the evolution of IT applications in the tourism and hospitality industries. The article demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the competitive operations of the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the distribution and marketing of organizations on a global scale

Selling Rooms Online: The Use of Social Media and Online Travel Agents

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on the reason why hoteliers choose to be present in online travel agent (OTA) and social media web sites for sales purposes. It also investigates the technological and human factors related to these two practices. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a survey sent to a wide range of hotels in a Swiss touristic region. The empirical analysis involves the specification of two ordered logit models exploring the importance (in terms of online sales) of both social media and the online travel agent, Booking.com. Findings – Findings highlight the constant tension between visibility and online sales in the web arena, as well as a clear distinction in social media and OTA web site adoption between hospitality structures using online management tools and employing personnel with specific skills. Practical implications – The research highlights the need for the hospitality industry to maintain an effective presence on social media and OTAs in order to move towards the creation of a new form of social booking technologies to increase their visibility and sales. Originality/value – This research contributes to understanding the major role played by OTAs and social media in the hospitality industry while underlining the possibility of a major interplay between the two

Fatores que afetam a adoção de análises de Big Data em empresas

With the total quantity of data doubling every two years, the low price of computing and data storage, make Big Data analytics (BDA) adoption desirable for companies, as a tool to get competitive advantage. Given the availability of free software, why have some companies failed to adopt these techniques? To answer this question, we extend the unified theory of technology adoption and use of technology model (UTAUT) adapted for the BDA context, adding two variables: resistance to use and perceived risk. We used the level of implementation of these techniques to divide companies into users and non-users of BDA. The structural models were evaluated by partial least squares (PLS). The results show the importance of good infrastructure exceeds the difficulties companies face in implementing it. While companies planning to use Big Data expect strong results, current users are more skeptical about its performance.Con la cantidad total de datos duplicándose cada dos años, el bajo precio de la informática y del almacenamiento de datos, la adopción del análisis Big Data (BDA) es altamente deseable para las empresas, como un instrumento para conseguir una ventaja competitiva. Dada la disponibilidad de software libre, ¿por qué algunas empresas no han adoptado estas técnicas? Para responder a esta pregunta, ampliamos la teoría unificada de la adopción y uso de tecnología (UTAUT) adaptado para el contexto BDA, agregando dos variables: resistencia al uso y riesgo percibido. Utilizamos el grado de implantación de estas técnicas para dividir las empresas entre: usuarias y no usuarias de BDA. Los modelos estructurales fueron evaluados con partial least squres (PLS). Los resultados muestran que la importancia de una buena infraestructura excede las dificultades que enfrentan las empresas para implementarla. Mientras que las compañías que planean usar BDA esperan muy buenos resultados, las usuarias actuales son más escépticos sobre su rendimiento.Com a quantidade total de dados duplicando a cada dois anos, o baixo preço da computação e do armazenamento de dados tornam a adoção de análises de Big Data (BDA) desejável para as empresas, como aquelas que obterão uma vantagem competitiva. Dada a disponibilidade de software livre, por que algumas empresas não adotaram essas técnicas? Para responder a essa pergunta, estendemos a teoria unificada de adoção e uso de tecnologia (UTAUT) adaptado para o contexto do BDA, adicionando duas variáveis: resistência ao uso e risco percebido. Usamos a nível da implementação da tecnologia para dividir as empresas em usuários e não usuários de técnicas de BDA. Os modelos estruturais foram avaliados por partial least squares (PLS). Os resultados mostram que a importância de uma boa infraestrutura excede as dificuldades que as empresas enfrentam para implementá-la. Enquanto as empresas que planejam usar Big Data esperam resultados fortes, os usuários atuais são mais céticos em relação ao seu desempenho

Assessing regional digital competence: Digital futures and strategic planning implications

Understanding strategic decisions aimed at addressing regional economic issues is of increasing interest among scholars and policy makers today. Thus, studies that proffer effective strategies to address digital futures concerns from social and policy perspectives are timely. In light of this, this research uses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis tool to frame a regional strategy for digital futures to enhance place-specific digital connectivity and socio-economic progress. Focus group discussions and a structured questionnaire were conducted to examine a SWOT for a digital economy strategy in the Southern Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. The findings show that while the proposed regional strategies for digital futures are susceptible to internal and external forces, strategic planning makes them manageable. The study’s findings also reveal that adaptive strategic planning can help regulate the effects of internal and external factors that shape individual and organisational responses to digital transformation, and that these factors promote regional competitiveness

How to Ask for Technical Help? Evidence-based Guidelines for Writing Questions on Stack Overflow

Context: The success of Stack Overflow and other community-based question-and-answer (Q&A) sites depends mainly on the will of their members to answer others' questions. In fact, when formulating requests on Q&A sites, we are not simply seeking for information. Instead, we are also asking for other people's help and feedback. Understanding the dynamics of the participation in Q&A communities is essential to improve the value of crowdsourced knowledge. Objective: In this paper, we investigate how information seekers can increase the chance of eliciting a successful answer to their questions on Stack Overflow by focusing on the following actionable factors: affect, presentation quality, and time. Method: We develop a conceptual framework of factors potentially influencing the success of questions in Stack Overflow. We quantitatively analyze a set of over 87K questions from the official Stack Overflow dump to assess the impact of actionable factors on the success of technical requests. The information seeker reputation is included as a control factor. Furthermore, to understand the role played by affective states in the success of questions, we qualitatively analyze questions containing positive and negative emotions. Finally, a survey is conducted to understand how Stack Overflow users perceive the guideline suggestions for writing questions. Results: We found that regardless of user reputation, successful questions are short, contain code snippets, and do not abuse with uppercase characters. As regards affect, successful questions adopt a neutral emotional style. Conclusion: We provide evidence-based guidelines for writing effective questions on Stack Overflow that software engineers can follow to increase the chance of getting technical help. As for the role of affect, we empirically confirmed community guidelines that suggest avoiding rudeness in question writing.Comment: Preprint, to appear in Information and Software Technolog

Why Do People Adopt, or Reject, Smartphone Password Managers?

People use weak passwords for a variety of reasons, the most prescient of these being memory load and inconvenience. The motivation to choose weak passwords is even more compelling on Smartphones because entering complex passwords is particularly time consuming and arduous on small devices. Many of the memory- and inconvenience-related issues can be ameliorated by using a password manager app. Such an app can generate, remember and automatically supply passwords to websites and other apps on the phone. Given this potential, it is unfortunate that these applications have not enjoyed widespread adoption. We carried out a study to find out why this was so, to investigate factors that impeded or encouraged password manager adoption. We found that a number of factors mediated during all three phases of adoption: searching, deciding and trialling. The study’s findings will help us to market these tools more effectively in order to encourage future adoption of password managers