UTAUT Model in Teaching Biology: Structural Equation Modeling

This study aims to examine the direct effect of the UTAUT model, educational policies and habits on Information and communication use (ICTuse). These dimensions were developed by proposing research indicators that have a partial and simultaneous impact. With a sample of 251 teachers in teaching Biology. This study uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through partial least square approach (PLS). Based on research findings, this study provides implications for policies/programs that aim to promote teachers to adopt ICT-based teaching. From a managerial and institutional perspective, this research has several implications for policies from stakeholders and the government which aims to prepare aspects of facilities and human resources in facing educational challenges that are closely related to the development of internet technology and integrate them into the learning process in Biology subject. &nbsp

Do we play or gamify? Evaluation of gamification training experience to improve the digital competence of university teaching staf

En las últimas décadas se han realizado estudios en el ámbito de lo educativo que avalan los beneficios que la gamificación ofrece tanto para docentes como al alumnado. En esta línea se trabaja desde la universidad, con la finalidad de conseguir desarrollar habilidades óptimas que beneficien al alumnado, tanto personal como profesionalmente. En consecuencia, esta formación diseñada y seleccionada para docentes es esencial para conseguir una experiencia gamificada exitosa. El objetivo principal de esta investigación es exponer una experiencia formativa llevada a cabo en una universidad de América Latina y comprobar la percepción de esta estrategia metodológica por parte de la institución educativa. Es decir, la finalidad consistiría en demostrar si la gamificación es percibida como útil por parte del profesorado universitario. Para ello, se han empleado dos diseños: descriptivo y la validación mediante ecuaciones estructurales (PLS), de forma que se pudiese evaluar el grado de aceptación que tiene la gamificación como metodología activa en base con el modelo de Aceptación de la Tecnología (TAM). Los resultados expuestos demuestran que la propuesta es adecuada para la docencia universitaria. Todos los participantes, 114, percibieron esta estrategia como adecuada, detallando las dimensiones relacionadas con la facilidad de uso en el aula, su integración, la transformación del interés en el aprendizaje, y la capacidad de mostrar una actitud positiva en su uso. Simultáneamente, el nivel de aceptación respecto a la validación del TAM es alto. Por último, detallar la valoración a la hora de replicar el modelo en investigaciones futuras y similares, o a través de las llamadas tecnologías emergentes.Over the last few decades, studies have been carried out in the field of education that endorse the benefits that gamification offers both for teachers and students. The university is working along these lines, with the aim of developing optimal skills that benefit students, both personally and professionally. Consequently, this training designed and selected for teachers is essential to achieve a successful gamified experience. The main purpose of this research is to present a training experience carried out in a university in Latin America and to verify the perception of this methodological strategy by this educational institution. In other words, the aim is to demonstrate whether gamification is perceived as useful by university teaching staff. To this end, two designs were used: descriptive and validation by means of structural equations (PLS), in order to evaluate the degree of acceptance of gamification as an active methodology based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results show that the proposal is suitable for university teaching. All the participants, 114, perceived this strategy as adequate, detailing the dimensions related to the ease of use in the classroom, its integration, the transformation of interest in learning, and the ability to show a positive attitude in its use. At the same time, the level of acceptance regarding the validation of the TAM is high. Finally, the assessment of the replicability of the model in future and similar research, or through so-called emerging technologies, is detailed

Sustainable digital communication using perceived enjoyment with a technology acceptance model within higher education, in Jordan

The technology acceptance model (TAM) has garnered considerable attention within higher education in Jordan, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we still need to understand how to progress the TAM to enhance educational sustainability. “Perceived enjoyment” (PE) is a significant predictor of perceived ease of use, intention to use technology, use e-learning systems for educational sustainability, and attitudes toward using the TAM. This study aims to reveal the role of sustainable digital communication using PE with the TAM within higher education in Jordan. An online survey was conducted using a random sample of students at the University of Jordan, which reached 576 participants. The results of a subsequent path analysis of the survey data revealed that PE, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitudes toward using digital communication strategies were dominant in affecting student intention to use sustainable digital communication. We found that the students would like to use digital communication strategies due to their ease of use and because they can enhance self-education. However, students need to enhance their usage skills, and to better understand digital communication strategies. Moreover, we found that the TAM, PE, perceived ease of use (PEU), and perceived usefulness (PU) immediately and favorably affect attitudes toward usage (ATU) and behavioral intention (BI). PEU negatively affected the intention of students to use technology through ATU, while PE had a significant impact on the PU, PEU, ATU, and BI of using digital communication strategies. Information and communication technologies (ICT) developers in the Jordanian Higher Education environment should create systems that are user-friendly and pertinent to the sustainability of student education, to raise their perceived ease of use. Managers should also encourage students to use ICT

The influence of technology readiness on technology acceptance in the South African mining industry

Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2022.The South African mineral mining sector makes significant contributions to the local economy and participates in social initiatives that benefit employees and neighbouring communities. In recent years, volatile commodity prices, increased environmental and sustainability requirements, and deteriorating economic conditions have compelled global mining organisations to implement innovative technologies to address such challenges. Successful implementation of such technologies in the South African context is critical to ensure that the sector remains competitive and provides continued economic and social value. However, existing qualitative research concerning technology adoption within the sector has revealed that individuals have a resistive nature toward change and innovation. Therefore, this quantitative study investigated the influence of individuals’ technology predispositions and perceptions on usage intentions in the South African mining context. These facets were examined by extending the prevalent Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with elements from the Technology Readiness Index (TRI). The influence of individual differences relating to chronological age, education level, and organisational roles was also investigated. Primary data was collected through non-probability snowball sampling of 150 respondents, and nonparametric statistical methods were used to determine the relationships between the TRI motivators, TRI inhibitors, TAM perceived usefulness (PU), and TAM usage intention (UI) constructs. It was found that there was a positive correlation between TRI motivators concerning PU and UI, with a converse relationship for the TRI inhibitors. There was a strong positive correlation between PU and UI, which confirmed the findings of several previous studies involving the TAM. There was no significant difference between groups of different chronological ages and organisational roles concerning UI, but there was a significant difference for individuals with different levels of education. Additionally, and importantly, it was found that the respondents primarily held a positive perception and linked inclination towards adoption intentions, which contradicted the findings within the existing literature. The results also indicated a high degree of predictability concerning adoption based on individuals’ perceptions. Stakeholders and managers looking to technology to solve business challenges should consider these perceptions to ensure successful implementation.pt23Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)MBAUnrestricte

Designing Culture-Tailored Persuasive Technology to Promote Physical Activity

Physical inactivity has been recognized as one of the leading risk factors that account for cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, stroke, hypertension, etc., with the World Health Organization labeling it as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Research has shown that persuasive technology (PT) can be leveraged as a motivational/supportive tool in tackling the physical-inactivity problem. In particular, research shows that persuasive health applications (PHAs) are more likely to be effective if they are theorydriven and tailored to the target audience. Yet, most existing PHAs on the market are neither theory-driven nor tailored to the target audience. Rather, their designers often employ a one-size- fits-all approach. This makes it difficult to know what design decisions are effective or ineffective among a given target audience. To bridge this gap, I proposed a framework, called the "EMVE-DeCK Framework," grounded in Bandura's Triad of Reciprocal Determinism, for designing, implementing and evaluating tailored PT interventions. Basically, the EMVE-DeCK Framework employs "Theory" and "Technology" to explain and change "Behavior." Moreover, research shows that culture can be leveraged as a personalization mechanism for tailoring PHAs to the target users to make them more effective. However, there is limited cross-cultural research|grounded in theory and empirical evidence|on the effectiveness of culture-based tailoring, especially comparative studies involving understudied populations in the PT research landscape. Hence, using the Hofstede's cultural framework (individualism vs. collectivism), Social Cognitive Theory, Technology Acceptance Model and the EMVE-DeCK Framework, I conducted a number of comparative studies to understand the culture-speci c determinants of physical-activity behavior and the acceptance of a proposed PHA. I used the ndings to inform the design, implementation and evaluation of two versions of a tness app called BEN'FIT - personal version (PV) and social version (SV) - aimed to motivate bodyweight exercise at home. In this dissertation, using the EMVE-DeCK Framework and Canada/United States (individualist culture) and Nigeria (collectivist culture) as a case study, I describe: (1) the cross-cultural user studies and empirical f indings that informed the PT intervention; (2) the design and implementation of the culture-tailored PHA; (3) the evaluation of the overall and culture-tailoring e ectiveness of the PHA in a eld setting. Finally, based on empirical evidence, I present a set of validated PT design guidelines in the eld for designing and tailoring PHAs to users in the individualist and collectivist cultures. This dissertation makes three major contributions to PT research in the Human-Computer-Interaction domain. Firstly, it demonstrates how theory and culture can be employed in the design and development of PT interventions to motivate behavior change. Secondly, it reveals and validates in the eld how the individualist and collectivist cultures fundamentally differ in their motivational mechanism of behavior change. Thirdly, it provides an in-the- field validates PT design guidelines for developing tailored PHAs for the two main types of culture. In the physical-activity domain, the dissertation is the rst to conduct a theory-driven, in-the-fi eld cross-cultural PT research that focuses on an understudied population from Africa (Nigeria) and compare its ndings with those of a widely studied population from North America (Canada/United States)

Designing Culture-Tailored Persuasive Technology to Promote Physical Activity

Physical inactivity has been recognized as one of the leading risk factors that account for cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, stroke, hypertension, etc., with the World Health Organization labeling it as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Research has shown that persuasive technology (PT) can be leveraged as a motivational/supportive tool in tackling the physical-inactivity problem. In particular, research shows that persuasive health applications (PHAs) are more likely to be effective if they are theory-driven and tailored to the target audience. Yet, most existing PHAs on the market are neither theory-driven nor tailored to the target audience. Rather, their designers often employ a one-size-fits-all approach. This makes it difficult to know what design decisions are effective or ineffective among a given target audience. To bridge this gap, I proposed a framework, called the “EMVE-DeCK Framework,” grounded in Bandura’s Triad of Reciprocal Determinism, for designing, implementing and evaluating tailored PT interventions. Basically, the EMVE-DeCK Framework employs “Theory” and “Technology” to explain and change “Behavior.” Moreover, research shows that culture can be leveraged as a personalization mechanism for tailoring PHAs to the target users to make them more effective. However, there is limited cross-cultural research—grounded in theory and empirical evidence—on the effectiveness of culture-based tailoring, especially comparative studies involving understudied populations in the PT research landscape. Hence, using the Hofstede’s cultural framework (individualism vs. collectivism), Social Cognitive Theory, Technology Acceptance Model and the EMVE-DeCK Framework, I conducted a number of comparative studies to understand the culture-specific determinants of physical-activity behavior and the acceptance of a proposed PHA. I used the findings to inform the design, implementation and evaluation of two versions of a fitness app called BEN’FIT—personal version (PV) and social version (SV)—aimed to motivate bodyweight exercise at home. In this dissertation, using the EMVE-DeCK Framework and Canada/United States (individualist culture) and Nigeria (collectivist culture) as a case study, I describe: (1) the cross-cultural user studies and empirical findings that informed the PT intervention; (2) the design and implementation of the culture-tailored PHA; and (3) the evaluation of the overall and culture-tailoring effectiveness of the PHA in a field setting. Finally, based on empirical evidence, I present a set of validated PT design guidelines in the field for designing and tailoring PHAs to users in the individualist and collectivist cultures. This dissertation makes three major contributions to PT research in the Human-Computer-Interaction domain. Firstly, it demonstrates how theory and culture can be employed in the design and development of PT interventions to motivate behavior change. Secondly, it reveals and validates in the field how the individualist and collectivist cultures fundamentally differ in their motivational mechanism of behavior change. Thirdly, it provides an in-the-field validated PT design guidelines for developing tailored PHAs for the two main types of culture. In the physical-activity domain, the dissertation is the first to conduct a theory-driven, in-the-field cross-cultural PT research that focuses on an understudied population from Africa (Nigeria) and compare its findings with those of a widely studied population from North America (Canada/United States)

Design of an Extended Educational Technology Acceptance Model (EETAM)

Educational technologies provide students with opportunities to learn remotely or on campus, to access learning materials, engage with interactive learning activities and to interact and communicate with the class. Student use may vary depending on several different factors, and technology acceptance models are well-suited to investigate these factors and how they may influence student behaviour. Because of their popularity and utility, many different models exist and there is no apparent pattern in terms of structure and included factors, and only a minority include factors relevant to education and learning. The primary aim of this research was to form a robust and comprehensive technology acceptance model specifically suited to educational technologies and test it in the field. This was achieved using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, thematic analysis, and structural equation modelling. The results demonstrated that the final proposed model was statistically sound and measured the majority of the variance of student behavioural intent. It also demonstrated the potential impact that student comfort and well-being may have on formation of student intentions. There was confirmation that the cognitive engagement construct improved the power of the proposed model, which suggested that students think that a technology is useful if it is also engaging. There were further indications that instructor attributes, feedback, and class interaction and communication are also influential, though further confirmation is required in more controlled settings. A final extended educational technology acceptance model is presented here with strong theoretical and statistical justification in response to the perceived heterogeneity and lack of specificity to education in contemporary technology acceptance research.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Education, 202

Actitudes y comportamientos medioambientales en el turismo de golf: análisis cross-cultural y perspectiva de género

La presente tesis doctoral trata de alcanzar una serie de objetivos, tanto generales como específicos, que abarcan propuestas de carácter cualitativo y cuantitativo. El objetivo general se enmarca en el contexto de analizar y comprender las relaciones existentes entre el turismo de golf y la sostenibilidad. Siendo más concretos sobre el objeto de estudio que se propone en la tesis, podemos establecer varios objetivos específicos a alcanzar, como se detallan a continuación. (1) El primer objetivo principal de esta tesis es observar el progreso de la investigación sobre turismo de golf desde la perspectiva de la sostenibilidad. Por ello, se pretende realizar una revisión exhaustiva sobre este tópico, valorando su producción científica y tratando de descubrir aspectos concretos del contexto y de los contenidos de los estudios realizados hasta la actualidad, de modo que facilite identificar las distintas líneas de investigación que se han desarrollado y que presentan un mayor potencial para continuar con ellas. (2) El segundo objetivo principal de esta tesis es profundizar en el análisis de las relaciones entre actitudes y comportamientos medioambientales en el contexto del turismo de golf. Para ello, se trata de observar la influencia que puede ejercer las actitudes medioambientales sobre las intenciones medioambientales de los turistas de golf desde una perspectiva cross-cultural, es decir, valorando el efecto moderador que puede suponer la nacionalidad de estos individuos. (3) El tercer objetivo principal de esta tesis es examinar los factores personales que influyen en el comportamiento turístico proambiental desde una perspectiva de género. En concreto, se pretende analizar tanto las relaciones como las interacciones entre las actitudes medioambientales, los hábitos y las capacidades personales en el contexto turístico de golf, observando el efecto moderador del género

Las redes sociales virtuales como fuente de información y su influencia en el consumo simbólico de la experiencia turística

En la presente investigación se examinan las variables que motivan la Intensidad de Uso de las Redes Sociales por parte del consumidor turístico de la Generación Y. Existen dos motivos principales por los que este perfil de turistas utiliza las redes sociales: (1) para obtener información antes y durante sus vacaciones; y (2) para crear contenido en la red, durante y después de sus vacaciones. En relación a la creación de contenido, y basados en investigaciones previas, se establece que el consumidor turístico de la Generación Y crea contenido en la red por motivos de auto-expresión, y para reforzar su identidad a través de sus experiencias vacacionales (Consumo Simbólico de la Experiencia Turística). En los resultados de esta investigación de corte cuantitativa se muestra que el Consumo Simbólico de la Experiencia Turística, medido a partir de la Congruencia entre la Experiencia Vacacional con la Identidad del Consumidor, se relaciona de forma directa con la Intensidad de Uso de las Redes Sociales para Crear Contenido, así como con otra serie de variables (el Valor Social Percibido de la Experiencia; la Satisfacción; la Intención de Revisita; y la Intención de Boca-Oído Positiva), cuyas relaciones explican la Creación de Vínculos y la Intensidad de Uso de las Redes Sociales por este perfil de turistas. En lo que respecta a las variables que motivan el Uso de las Redes Sociales para Buscar Información, nos centramos en el Valor Percibido de la Información. A raíz de los resultados, podemos afirmar que existen seis dimensiones que explican el Valor de la Información en este contexto de investigación: el Valor Utilitario y la Evasión de Riesgo Percibido (juntos conforman la dimensión Funcional del Valor Percibido de la Información); el Valor Hedónico y el Valor Sensacional (juntos constituyen la Dimensión Emocional del Valor Percibido de la Información); el Valor de la Interacción con otros usuarios y la Congruencia entre la Información con la Identidad del consumidor turístico (juntos constituyen la Dimensión Social del Valor Percibido de la Información). Para contrastar las hipótesis del modelo empírico planteado en el estudio, en relación a las mencionadas variables y constructos, se utilizaron técnicas de estadística multivariante. Entre ellas se destacan el Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio y el Análisis de Ecuaciones Estructurales. Como parte de las conclusiones, la investigación incluye implicaciones para la gestión, así como las limitaciones del estudio y una serie de líneas de investigación futuras