Factors affecting e-government adoption in the state of Qatar

Electronic government (e-government) initiatives are in their early stages in many developing countries and faced with various issues pertaining to their implementation, adoption and diffusion. Although e-government has increased transparency and improved communication and access to information for citizens, digital diffusion of information is often achieved at high cost to government agencies. Conversely, citizens’ adoption of e-government services has been less than satisfactory in most countries. While studies by researchers continue to outline the most salient adoption constructs, as well as various frameworks and models for understanding adoption, research by independent consultancy/research organisations has produced a host of statistics and league tables of good and bad practices of service delivery. Like many other developing countries, the e-government initiative in the state of Qatar has faced a number of challenges since its inception in 2000. This study utilises the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to explore the adoption of e-government services in the state of Qatar. 1179 citizens were surveyed to collect primary data. A regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of the factors adapted from the UTAUT on e-government adoption. Reliability test reported values of the various constructs vary between (0.74) and (0.91). The findings reveal that effort expectancy and social influences determine citizens’ behavioural intention towards e-government. Additionally, facilitating conditions and behavioural intention were found to determine citizens’ use of e-government services in Qatar. Implications for practice and research are discussed

E-government adoption in Qatar: An investigation of the citizens' perspective

Electronic government (e-government) initiatives are in their early stages in many developing countries and faced with various issues pertaining to their implementation, adoption and diffusion. Like many other developing countries, the e-government initiative in the state of Qatar has faced a number of challenges since its inception in 2000. Using a survey based study this paper describes citizens‟ behavioural intention and adoption in terms of applying and utilising the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of technology (UTAUT) model to explore the adoption and diffusion of e-government services in the state of Qatar. A regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of e-government adoption factors and the empirical data revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influences determine citizens‟ behavioural intention towards e-government. Moreover, facilitating conditions and behavioural intention were found to determine citizens‟ use of e-government services in the state of Qatar. Implications for practice and research are discussed

Setting the agenda for clinical pharmacy in Qatar: thematic and content analyses of news media headlines

Public awareness of the role of pharmacists and availability of pharmacy services in Qatar is low. As per agenda-setting theory, mass media may be contributing toward this problem by selecting and disseminating headlines and stories according their own objectives and not those of the profession. The objective of this study was to examine the agenda set by mass media organizations in Qatar pertaining to the profession of pharmacy and to determine the frequency of professional identifiers that appear within news headlines. Publicly available news headlines published between November 2016 and November 2018 were obtained from local news websites. Thematic analysis was performed using agenda-setting theory to explore how the public's agenda was set for pharmacy practice in Qatar. Content analysis was used to determine the proportion of headlines that contained a professional identifier linking the news report to the pharmacy profession. A total of 81 headlines were included in the analysis. The agenda for pharmacy practice in Qatar was set according to two themes: achievement and outreach/engagement. Achievement related to awards, use of new technologies, interprofessional education, and novel student training accomplishments. Outreach/engagement reported student and pharmacist involvement upon completion of a health awareness event. Approximately half (47%) of headlines contained a professional identifying word linking the headline to the profession of pharmacy. The findings of this study demonstrate that the mass media's agenda for the pharmacy profession in Qatar does not inform the public of pharmacist's services or expanded scopes of practice. Furthermore, a lack of professional identifiers within headlines likely limits the public's agenda of pharmacist roles. The pharmacy profession must work collaboratively with news media to better align the public's agenda with pharmacists' roles and services

The elicitation of key performance indicators of e-government providers: A bottom-up approach

Copyright @ 2013 EMCIS.Delivering an adequate e-Government service (e-service) is becoming more of a necessity in today's digital world. In order to improve e-services and increase the engagement of both users' and providers' side, studies on the performance evaluation of such provided e-services are taking places. However a clear identification of the key performance indicators from the e-Government providers’ side is not well explored. This shortcoming hampers the conduct of a holistic evaluation of an e-service provision from the perspective of its stakeholders in order to improve e-services as well as to increase e-services take-ups. In this paper, a systematic process to identify indicators is implemented based on a bottom-up approach. The process used three focus-group meetings with providers, users, and academics in Qatar, Lebanon and UK to collect, identify and validate key indicators from the perspective of e-services’ providers. The approach resulted in the identification of five factors levels (service, technology, employees, policy and management and social responsibilities) with fifteen sub-categories of SMART variables. Hence, leading to the development of a new model, STEPS, that can fully explain and predict e-government success from the providers’ point of view. It will work as a strategic management tool to align various stakeholders on common goal and values based on evidence based evaluation of e-services using smart measurable indicators for the improvement of an e-service at the engagement level in the field of e-government. In addition, other fields can benefit from the outcome of this work, such as logistics service providers, who make their services available across new and existing relationships between the Internet commerce firms, their customers, and their vendors

A conceptual study of the factors influencing e-inclusion

With the advancement of the Internet and supporting Information and Communication Technologies, e-inclusion has emerged as an effective means to create opportunities for all and to further individual autonomy and capability in terms of using online services offered by public agencies. The aim of this paper is to offer a critical discussion on the role of e-inclusion from the user perspective, which goes beyond the demographic factors when adopting e-government services. Further, this paper explains the fundamental differences between digital divide and e-inclusion and examines why research focus is now shifting towards studying e-inclusion rather that digital divide in Europe. Through a conceptual analysis the authors examine the relationship between social inclusion and e-inclusion and how they contributes towards promoting the use of ICT to overcome exclusion and improve economic performance, employment opportunities, quality of life, social participation and cohesion

Health seeking behaviors among Syrian refugee women: A scoping review

Objective: The aim of this scoping review was to explore what is known about the health seeking behaviors among Syrian refugee women within hospital and community settings. The objectives were to explore health seeking behaviors of Syrian refugee women and highlight specific issues that are important to Syrian refugee women related to seeking for health care. In addition, to uncover potential obstacles/barriers that face Syrian refugee women while seeking for health care. Methods: Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework for scoping review was utilized to guide the review process and to explore health seeking behaviors of Syrian refugee women. Various databases such as, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Science direct and SocINDEX were utilized in the review. The search strategy consisted of broad queries, in the title, abstract, full texts and keyword fields. The search included studies published from 2011 on, that is, from the time the Syrian conflict started (March 2011) and were limited to those in the English language. Thematic analysis was undertaken to synthesize extracted data. Results: A total of 19 studies were selected for this review. The data from this review were organized along two thematic categories (accessibility of health care services) and (awareness of health care needs and available health care services). Accessibility of health care services was the most frequently reported theme throughout this area of the literature and is most often include (financial barriers, language barriers, availability of culturally and gender appropriate health services). Awareness of health care needs and available health care services was the second commonly encountered theme within the area of Syrian refugee’s women health seeking behaviors. Conclusions: Having available and accessible health care services for Syrian refugee women in host countries is a fundamental human right that can enhance Syrian refugee women health, wellbeing and quality of life. An awareness of the potential health seeking behaviors, obstacles/barriers and challenges that facing Syrian refugee women may help to promote their accessibility to health services and consequently improve their health and wellbeing. Practitioners can use this review findings to inform future policy, education and developments in practice. Further research is required to develop and evaluate initiatives that target the identified barriers and help Syrian refugee women to fulfil their unmet health care needs

Towards internet voting in the state of Qatar

Qatar is a small country in the Middle East which has used its oil wealth to invest in the country's infrastructure and education. The technology for Internet voting now exists or can be developed, but are the people of Qatar willing to take part in Internet voting for national elections?. This research identifies the willingness of government and citizens to introduce and participate in Internet voting (I-voting) in Qatar and the barriers that may be encountered when doing so. A secure I voting model for the Qatar government is then proposed that address issues of I-voting which might arise due to the introduction of such new technology. Recommendations are made for the Qatar government to assist in the introduction of I-voting. The research identifies the feasibility of I-voting and the government s readiness and willingness to introduce it. Multiple factors are examined: the voting experience, educational development, telecommunication development, the large number of Internet users, Qatar law which does not bar the use of I-voting and Qatar culture which supports I-voting introduction. It is shown that there is a willingness amongst both the people and the government to introduce I-voting, and there is appropriate accessibility, availability of IT infrastructure, availability of Internet law to protect online consumers and the existence of the e government project. However, many Qataris have concerns of security, privacy, usability, transparency and other issues that would need to be addressed before any voting system could be considered to be a quality system in the eyes of the voters. Also, the need to consider the security threat associated on client-side machines is identified where a lack of user awareness on information security is an important factor. The proposed model attempts to satisfy voting principles, introducing a secure platform for I-voting using best practices and solutions such as the smart card, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificates. The model was reviewed by a number of experts on Information Technology, and the Qatari culture and law who found that the system would, generally, satisfy voting principles, but pointed out the need to consider the scalability of the model, the possible cyber-attacks and the risks associated with voters computers. which could be reduced by enhancing user awareness on security and using secure operating systems or Internet browsers. From these findings, a set of recommendations were proposed to encourage the government to introduce I-voting which consider different aspects of I-voting, including the digital divide, e-literacy, I voting infrastructure, legal aspects, transparency, security and privacy. These recommendations were also reviewed by experts who found them to be both valuable and effective. Since literature on Internet voting in Qatar is sparse, empirical and non-empirical studies were carried out in a variety of surveys, interviews and experiments. The research successfully achieved its aim and objectives and is now being considered by the Qatari Government

Exploring determinants of antimicrobial prescribing behaviour using the theoretical domains framework.

Few theoretically-based, qualitative studies have explored determinants of antimicrobial prescribing behaviour in hospitals. Understanding these can promote successful development and implementation of behaviour change interventions (BCIs). To use the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to explore determinants of clinicians' antimicrobial prescribing behaviour, identifying barriers (i.e., impediments) and facilitators to appropriate antimicrobial practice. Semi-structured interviews with purposively-sampled doctors and pharmacists with a wide range of specialties and expertise in Hamad Medical Corporation hospitals in Qatar. Interviews based on previous quantitative research and the TDF were audio-recorded, transcribed and independently analysed by two researchers using the TDF as an initial coding framework. Data saturation was achieved after interviewing eight doctors and eight pharmacists. Inter-related determinants of antimicrobial prescribing behaviour linked to ten TDF domains were identified as barriers and facilitators that may contribute to inappropriate or appropriate antimicrobial prescribing. The main barriers identified were around hospital guidelines and electronic system deficiencies (environmental context and resources); knowledge gaps relating to guidelines and appropriate prescribing (knowledge); restricted roles/responsibilities of microbiologists and pharmacists (professional role and identity); challenging antimicrobial prescribing decisions (memory, attention and decision processes); and professional hierarchies and poor multidisciplinary teamworking (social influences). Key facilitators included guidelines compliance (goals and intentions), and participants’ beliefs about the consequences of appropriate or inappropriate prescribing. Further education and training, and some changes to guidelines including their accessibility were also considered essential. Antimicrobial prescribing behaviour in hospitals is a complex process influenced by a broad range of determinants including specific barriers and facilitators. The in-depth understanding of this complexity provided by this work may support the development of an effective BCI to promote appropriate antimicrobial stewardship

Arab Women's Breast Cancer Screening Practices: A Literature Review

Breast cancer incidence and mortality rates are increasing in the Arab world and the involved women are often diagnosed at advanced stages of breast cancer. This literature review explores factors influencing Arab women’s breast cancer screening behavior. Searched databases were: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL Plus, Google Scholar, Index Medicus for WHO Eastern Mediterranean, and Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. Breast cancer screening participation rates are low. Screening programs are opportunistic and relatively new to the region. Knowledge amongst women and health care providers, professional recommendation, socio-demographic factors, cultural traditions, beliefs, religious, social support, accessibility and perceived effectiveness of screening influence screening behavior

Samples and data accessibility in research biobanks. An explorative survey

Biobanks, which contain human biological samples and/or data, provide a crucial contribution to the progress of biomedical research. However, the effective and efficient use of biobank resources depends on their accessibility. In fact, making bio-resources promptly accessible to everybody may increase the benefits for society. Furthermore, optimizing their use and ensuring their quality will promote scientific creativity and, in general, contribute to the progress of bio-medical research. Although this has become a rather common belief, several laboratories are still secretive and continue to withhold samples and data. In this study, we conducted a questionnairebased survey in order to investigate sample and data accessibility in research biobanks operating all over the world. The survey involved a total of 46 biobanks. Most of them gave permission to access their samples (95.7%) and data (85.4%), but free and unconditioned accessibility seemed not to be common practice. The analysis of the guidelines regarding the accessibility to resources of the biobanks that responded to the survey highlights three issues: (i) the request for applicants to explain what they would like to do with the resources requested; (ii) the role of funding, public or private, in the establishment of fruitful collaborations between biobanks and research labs; (iii) the request of co-authorship in order to give access to their data. These results suggest that economic and academic aspects are involved in determining the extent of sample and data sharing stored in biobanks. As a second step of this study, we investigated the reasons behind the high diversity of requirements to access biobank resources. The analysis of informative answers suggested that the different modalities of resource accessibility seem to be largely influenced by both social context and legislation of the countries where the biobanks operate