A Study of Targeted Information System Accessibility and Usage by Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have had a remarkable influence on society. Many argue that the impact of ICTs, either positive or negative, affects all of humanity. Acceptance, usability, and accessibility are key for ICTs to make a positive impact on society. Previous research states that Information Technology (IT) can lead to higher salaries, better communication, and more rapid advancements from emerging to developed nations. Additionally, information technology has demonstrated the potential to improve society\u27s effectiveness and productivity by establishing a means to circulate knowledge, increase knowledge sharing, and provide knowledge accumulation and internalization. Therefore, if information technology can improve knowledge and productivity in society, why are the indigent not leveraging technology to a higher degree? This formal research provides a benchmark analysis of a set of female Foreign Domestic Workers that have been hired as household maids. This study provides baseline insights of how these women who share low levels of skill, low wages, and to whom English, the worldwide language of the Internet is a second language, interact with technology. This study also contributes research data that can help improve development, design, and implementation of future Information Systems. It can be concluded that FDWs do have availability of technology as shown in the study results. Yet, these women are not visiting websites designed for their use, such as government portals providing information and services. The study shows that the current Information Systems developed for this segment of the population may not be providing the Design, Quality of information, nor the User Acceptance needed to make these tools successful as compared to social media sites which are being visited by FDWs. The results demonstrate that Foreign Domestic Worker\u27s interaction with technology is still not integrated in their culture or every day activities although they have the advantage of living and working in Singapore, where infrastructure, technology and communications top ICT\u27s charts and tables as one of the most advanced countries in the world

Factors affecting drivers willingness to engage with a mobile phone while driving

This thesis investigates drivers willingness to engage with a mobile phone while driving. Many studies have looked into the effects on driving performance that can result from phone usage, but few studies have directly considered what can encourage or inhibit phone engagement behaviours in the first place. An initial exploratory study (Study 1) was conducted, for which a photo elicitation interview (N=20) was designed and implemented. This aimed to find the extent to which factors influencing phone use transferred from out of the car to the driving environment. In particular, the study aimed to explore whether the driving environment could be considered unique. The results indicated that the high demands placed on the driver by the road environment clearly distinguished it from the other environments and the reported propensity to use a phone seemed to reflect this. Only factors which either changed the level of attention required by the task, such as a change in task demand as a result of changes in the traffic environment, had any substantial influence on willingness to engage. Driving may not be unique in terms of the overall factors influencing phone use but it is unique in the extent to which this particular factor seems to have such a strong bearing on interaction. Building on findings from Study 1, that the demand and attention required seemed to influence willingness to engage, it was noted that Fuller s (2005) Task Capability Interface model would serve as a useful framework for the remainder of the thesis. This model suggests that driver behaviour is dictated by the level of task difficulty perceived; an interaction between task demand and capability. Therefore, the effects these two elements might have on willingness to engage with mobile phones while driving were tested separately in the two remaining studies. Previous research suggested that task demand should comprise a combination of roadway demand and the intended phoning task. Study 2, therefore, experimentally tested the extent to which road demand and phone function intended to be used influenced drivers decisions to engage with their phone. Participants (N=20) viewed video clips of real road environments of varying demand. Rating scales were used by participants to rate their willingness to engage with various phone functions according to the scenario they had just viewed. It was found both roadway demand and phone functionality affected willingness to engage with a mobile phone whilst driving. There was a higher propensity to engage in phone use in road environments perceived to have a lower demand and lower propensity to engage in phone use in the highest demand scenarios. Answering a call was the most likely function to be engaged with by the participants and sending a text message was the least likely. The final study investigated how capability (comprising both phone and driving capability) influenced willingness to engage. Participants (N=40) were required to drive in a simulator under two conditions, simulated low and high road demand. Their willingness to interact with their phones, when faced with a number of phone tasks, was then observed. It was found that driving capability had an effect on willingness to engage in high demand scenarios with the less capable, novice, drivers having a higher propensity to engage with placing a call, sending a text message and reading a text message than the more experienced drivers. Novice drivers were willing to engage with some functions on their phone at possibly inappropriate times. It was further found that, in the simulated low demand road environment, phone capability influenced willingness to engage, with those who were more capable at placing a call and sending a text message found to be more willing to engage with these functions. The research reported in this thesis represents the first attempt in the literature to study, in depth, the factors which can influence phone engagement behaviour while driving. Novel contributions include investigating if factors influencing phone use transferred from out of the car to the driving environment. Further novel contributions included whether the phone function and road demand interact to influence willingness to engage and whether capability can affect phone engagement behaviour while driving. Extending the model developed by Fuller, the thesis offers an original model that describes the factors affecting phone engagement behaviour while driving. Suggestions are proposed for how the findings presented in this thesis can effectively be used and how future work should build on these initial foundations