The intention to use mobile digital library technology: A focus group study in the United Arab Emirates

IGI Global (“IGI”) granted Brunel University London the permission to archive this article in BURA (http://bura.brunel.ac.uk).This paper presents a qualitative study on student adoption of mobile library technology in a developing world context. The findings support the applicability of a number of existing constructs from the technology acceptance literature, such as perceived ease of use, social influence and trust. However, they also suggest the need to modify some adoption factors previously found in the literature to fit the specific context of mobile library adoption. Perceived value was found to be a more relevant overarching adoption factor than perceived usefulness for this context. Facilitating conditions were identified as important but these differed somewhat from those covered in earlier literature. The research also uncovered the importance of trialability for this type of application. The findings provide a basis for improving theory in the area of mobile library adoption and suggest a number of practical design recommendations to help designers of mobile library technology to create applications that meet user needs

Exploring Challenges in Conducting E-Mental Health Research Among Asian American Women

In this discussion paper, we explore the challenges of conducting e-mental health intervention research among Asian American women and propose a model for addressing these barriers. Based on an extensive literature review, we identify two main types of barriers to conducting e-mental health intervention research among Asian American women: recruitment barriers and adherence barriers. Recruitment barriers are further subcategorized into those related to (1) stigmatized cultural beliefs about mental illness and mental health services; (2) lack of awareness about mental health services; and (3) language barrier. As to adherence barriers, the two identified subtypes concern (1) acuity and severity of mental health condition; and (2) lack of time. In order to enhance recruitment and adherence in e-mental health intervention research among the studied population, we formulate the following three main research strategies, namely: (1) considering the cultural and social contexts of Asian American women in the development of e-mental health interventions; (2) determining appropriate program length; and (3) conducting feasibility studies to test e-mental health interventions. We suggest that nurse researchers integrate our proposed model in conducting e-mental health interventions among Asian American women. Our proposed model also implies that nurses play an important role in encouraging Asian American women’s acceptance of and adherence to e-mental health interventions. In order to overcome the obstacles to conducting e-mental health research among Asian American women, we recommend that nurses familiarize themselves with credible, relevant, and evidence-based e-mental health resources and integrate online mental health services and information within their nursing practice

Self-Control in Cyberspace: Applying Dual Systems Theory to a Review of Digital Self-Control Tools

Many people struggle to control their use of digital devices. However, our understanding of the design mechanisms that support user self-control remains limited. In this paper, we make two contributions to HCI research in this space: first, we analyse 367 apps and browser extensions from the Google Play, Chrome Web, and Apple App stores to identify common core design features and intervention strategies afforded by current tools for digital self-control. Second, we adapt and apply an integrative dual systems model of self-regulation as a framework for organising and evaluating the design features found. Our analysis aims to help the design of better tools in two ways: (i) by identifying how, through a well-established model of self-regulation, current tools overlap and differ in how they support self-control; and (ii) by using the model to reveal underexplored cognitive mechanisms that could aid the design of new tools.Comment: 11.5 pages (excl. references), 6 figures, 1 tabl

Evaluating a South African mobile application for healthcare professionals to improve diagnosis and notification of pesticide poisonings

Acute pesticide poisoning (APP) is a major global public health problem, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) including South Africa. However, healthcare professionals (HCPs) worldwide have limited training in handling environmental health risks such as from pesticide exposures. Most HCPs lack basic training on APP and, this presents a challenge to HCPs when diagnosing and notifying pesticide-related poisonings. With a recent increase in mobile application technology, this gives a convenient platform to provide training support for HCPs in their clinical practice. An example is the integration of a South African pesticide notification guideline into an existing Emergency Medicine (EM) mobile application. This pesticide notification guideline (PNG) within the EM mobile application aims to provide an immediate point-of-care tool to help HCPs in diagnosis and notify pesticide poisoning cases. Despite this useful platform for training HCPs, there are limited studies that have evaluated mobile applications or technologies to promote HCPs training in LMICs. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research (CEOHR)'s PGN adapted for the EM mobile application as a tool for improving HCP's ability to diagnose and report APPs. The protocol (Part A) provides information and a justification for the research study and, describes the methods used to gather and analyse the data. The extended literature review (Part B) provides an overview of studies assessing HCPs' knowledge of and training in pesticide poisonings and the role mobile health technologies play in improving HCPs' knowledge and training in clinical practice. Furthermore, the literature review illustrates the relevant theoretical frameworks and concepts that helps to understand HCPs' behaviour changes when using clinical guidelines or algorithms. The journal manuscript article (Part C) provides this study's research findings and how it could contribute to the body of knowledge. A total of 50 emergency medicine physicians and registrars participated in th

Smartphone application in postgraduate clinical psychology training: trainees’ perspectives

M-learning refers to the learning that takes advantage of mobile technologies. Although research shows enhanced educational outcomes from m-learning in some Asian countries, the generalizability to postgraduate clinical psychology training in Singapore remains unclear. Current professional standards in clinical psychology training emphasize the importance of attainment of clinical competencies in trainees. Although learning theories indicated potential for m-learning to be incorporated into the local clinical psychology curriculum, trainees’ perspectives have not been adequately explored on m-learning. The study aimed to address this gap by exploring the use of m-learning via a novel smartphone application in clinical psychology training using mixed-methods design. Eight clinical psychology trainees between the ages of 26 to 43 years old (mean age of 31.75, SD = 5.49) enrolled in a relevant coursework subject were recruited. Participants were randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group accessed the novel application weekly, from week 1 to week 6, and participants in the control group accessed the application after week 6. Participants from both groups completed a brief demographic questionnaire, and the following scales New General Self-Efficacy Scale adapted for Education (NGSES-E) and self-reported scale of learning outcomes (SLO). The qualitative study explored how participants perceived and experienced the novel application. Participants from the experimental group were invited to provide open-ended responses about the novel application. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results from the qualitative analysis yielded four themes of: Convenience, preferred learning style, building confidence, and putting theory into practice. Findings from the qualitative study were consistent with previous studies about advantages of m-learning: That the e-platform was convenient, the learning style was engaging, which helped to build confidence, and facilitate practical learning of skills. The qualitative results were helpful in understanding the users’ perspectives and experience of the novel application, indicating that future research in this innovative area is necessary. However, the quantitative outcomes were not significant, limitations would be discussed, and recommendations made for future research

Mobile banking acceptance among young consumers in Germany : an empirical analysis

Purpose: While Germany leads the adoption of internet banking with only a few nations beforehand, in terms of mobile banking (MB), the country encounters difficulties. Major banks in Germany spend large budgets on refined MB services. Nonetheless, the share of MB customers is only at approximately 10%. It appears crucial for MB service providers to develop a deeper understanding of MB acceptance, especially among young customers that are usually considered as early adopters of technology. In consequence, this dissertation aims at identifying key MB acceptance factors for young customers in Germany. Design/Methodology/Approach: Founded on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study develops a research model specifically tailored to the context of MB. Following, it examines 433 young consumers in Germany and applies Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in order to test the network of hypotheses in the proposed model. Subsequently, a multi-group analysis inspects differences between users and non-users of MB. Findings: The results indicate strong evidence for the validity of the proposed research model, which explains 67.7% of variance regarding behavioural intention to adopt MB. The study suggests that Perceived Compatibility has the strongest effect on Behavioural Intention. Perceived Credibility, Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, and Social Influence, ordered by their effect size, significantly influence Attitude towards MB, which in turn influences Behavioural Intention. Originality/Value: The results have several implications for scholars and practitioners. While scholars receive new empirical support for theory development, practitioners gain a deeper understanding of the key adoption factors to design and implement new MB concepts that yield high consumer acceptance

Mobile Identity Protection: The Moderation Role of Self-Efficacy

The rapid growth of mobile applications and the associated increased dependency on digital identity raises the growing risk of identity theft and related fraud. Hence, protecting identity in a mobile environment is a problem. This study develops a model that examines the role of identity protection self-efficacy in increasing users’ motivation intentions to achieve actual mobile identity protection. Our research found that self-efficacy significantly affects the relationship between users’ perceived threat appraisal and their motivational intentions for identity protection. The relation between mobile users’ protection, motivational intentions, and actual mobile identity protection actions was also found to be significant. Additionally, the findings revealed the considerable impact of awareness in fully mediating between self-efficacy and actual identity protection. The model and its hypotheses are empirically tested through a survey of 383 mobile users, and the findings are validated through a panel of experts, thus confirming the impact of self-efficacy on an individual’s identity protection in the mobile context