Digitalization in the Global South

What are opportunities and risks of ICT in a global context from an ethical and interdisciplinary point of view? This TATuP special topic addresses often neglected issues, like unequal power relations, neo-colonialism, (digital) illiteracy, general barriers to access, or the gender digital divide. Editors: J. Heesen, L. Schelenz, K. Schopp and M. PawelecWhat are opportunities and risks of ICT in a global context from an ethical and interdisciplinary point of view? This TATuP special topic addresses often neglected issues, like unequal power relations, neo-colonialism, (digital) illiteracy, general barriers to access, or the gender digital divide. Editors: J. Heesen, L. Schelenz, K. Schopp and M. Pawele

Smartphones

Many of the research approaches to smartphones actually regard them as more or less transparent points of access to other kinds of communication experiences. That is, rather than considering the smartphone as something in itself, the researchers look at how individuals use the smartphone for their communicative purposes, whether these be talking, surfing the web, using on-line data access for off-site data sources, downloading or uploading materials, or any kind of interaction with social media. They focus not so much on the smartphone itself but on the activities that people engage in with their smartphones

The Relationships Between Technological Disruption, Role Stress, and Turnover Intention by Journalists During China’s Media Transition Period Mediated by Organizational Commitment

With the gradual development of Internet technology, it has caused a sense of low organizational commitment for journalists about their profession, whether they are working in television media, radio media, or newspapers. Most empirical studies on employee turnover intention aim to explore the impact of job satisfaction on turnover intention. There is a lack of literature on technical factors contributing to professional insecurity, especially in the context of journalists during the transformation and development of Chinese media. This study examined the association between individual factor constructs (role stress) and organizational commitment to provide more information on the technical, individual, organizational factors and how these three factors affect the turnover intention of journalists in the stage of media transformation and development in China. The results show that there is a negative correlation between career value orientation and turnover intention, and career motivation value orientation, career ideal value orientation and career choice behavior value orientation have an impact on turnover intention

A Digital Native’s Experience of Mobile Assisted Language Learning: A Reflection on a Qualitative Pilot Study

This article is a reflection on a qualitative pilot study that tested an instrument, namely a semi-structured interview, and constituted an essential process for conducting the final PhD research. This study aimed to explore the experience of international students using mobile devices for second language learning in a public university in Canada. I recruited one international student using electronic advertising and conducted a face-to-face interview. The findings suggest that without teachers’ instruction or support using mobile devices, this participant, though born and grown up in a digital age, tended to ignore the potential of mobile devices for learning purposes. Through implementing and reflecting on this interview, including the process of obtaining ethics approval, recruiting participants, and gathering and analyzing the data, I identified issues that might affect data collection and analysis, which could be referred to in the final research. This reflection is intended to present novice researchers with concrete steps to implement interviews, possible challenges, and modification options of qualitative studies

Sex and gender differences in technology needs and preferences among informal caregivers of persons with dementia

Background: Dementia is a major public health concern associated with significant caregiver demands and there are technologies available to assist with caregiving. However, there is a paucity of information on caregiver needs and preferences for these technologies, particularly from a sex and gender perspective. To address this gap in research, the objectives of this study are to examine (1) the knowledge of technology, (2) perceived usefulness of technology, (3) feature preferences when installing and using technology and (4) sex and gender influences on technology needs and preferences among family caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) across North America. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on an existing cross-sectional survey with family caregivers of PWDs. Respondents were recruited through the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the Victorian Order of Nurses and Adult Day Programs and other Canadian health care provision institutes. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to describe the study sample, uncover differences between male and female caregivers and examine sex and gender influences on caregivers’ technology needs and preferences. Results: A total of 381 eligible responses were received over a nine-month data collection period. The majority of respondents did not know much about and never used any technologies to assist with caregiving. “Being easy to install”, “easy to learn how to use” and “cost” were identified as the most important features when purchasing and setting up technology, while “reliability” was identified as the most important feature when using technology. Most respondents were willing to pay up to $500 to acquire individual technologies. Controlling for other socio-demographic variables, female respondents were more likely to have some or more knowledge about technology for caregiving while male respondents were more willing to pay higher amounts for these technologies compared to their female counterparts

Do persuasive designs make smartphones more addictive? -A mixed-methods study on Chinese university students

Persuasive designs have become prevalent for smartphones, and an increasing number of users report problematic smartphone use behaviours. Persuasive designs in smartphones might be accountable for the development and reinforcement of such problematic use. This paper uses a mixed-methods approach to study the relationship between persuasive designs and problematic smartphone use: (1) questionnaires (N=183) to investigate the proportion of participants with multiple problematic smartphone use behaviours and smartphone designs and applications (apps) that they perceived affecting their attitudes and behaviours, and (2) interviews (N=10) to deepen our understanding of users’ observations and evaluations of persuasive designs. 25% of the participants self-reported having multiple problematic smartphone use behaviours, with short video, social networking, game and learning apps perceived as the most attitude- and behaviour-affecting. Interviewees identified multiple persuasive designs in most of these apps and stated that persuasive designs prolonged their screen time, reinforced phone-checking habits, and caused distractions. Overall, this study provides evidence to argue that persuasive designs contribute to problematic smartphone use, potentially making smartphones more addictive. We end our study by discussing the ethical implications of persuasive designs that became salient in our study

Future of Mobile Learning During and After Global (Covid-19) Pandemic: College of Basic Education as Case

The declaration of world health organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 that the new coronavirus (COVID-19) is a global pandemic has urged countries around the world to impose severe restrictions on their populations in a bid to stop the spread of infection. Imposing social distancing policy has consequence to stop different sectors from daily operations and education one of these sectors. This movement has consequence to accelerate the need for alternative. Mobile learning known as the ability to provide educational content on personal pocket devices, or personal digital assistants (PDAs). This style of learning is in its early stages in terms of both pedagogies and its technologies. M-learning represents a new era in learning and educational development in terms of enhancing the educational outcomes and offering mobile training for employees who are busy off campus. The opposite argument here is that this approach of learning might not be sufficient to fulfill the educational process requirements. Aim of this study is to assess from students points of view, current applications of m-learning in Kuwait’s College of Basic Education and evaluate the potential of this approach. Sample of the study consist of fifty-two students (30 male and 22 female) determined by a purposive sampling method. Collected data via online questionnaire to assess the participant’s perceptions and the analysis has revealed a positive attitude towards the utilization of m-learning in higher education; the average perception of was above average, with a mean of 3.54 out of 5.00. No statistical differences were found reflecting students’ gender (female/ male) or their level of experience with information and communications technology (weak, above average, or advanced). As a result, the study recommends accelerating the development of courses taught and incorporating mobile learning delivery. Adopting a blended learning strategy based on m-learning can motivate the students’ learning and reduce the fears of adopting mobile technology within the curriculum. Keywords: Covid-19, M-learning, E-learning, Instructive knowledge, Distance learning DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-17-01 Publication date:June 30th 202

An Interpretivist Study Of Customer Self-Service Technology Usage And Experiences In The Tourism Sector.

This study provides an interpretivist exploration of customer usage and experiences of self-service technologies (SSTs) in the tourism sector. Tourism customers are increasingly using a wide range of SSTs, for example, to make reservations online and use self-check-in and „bag and tag‟ facilities at airports. While SST research to date has provided insights into the factors affecting customer SST adoption decisions, the aim of this study is to explore customers‟ perspectives on their usage and experiences of SSTs in the tourism sector. This interpretivist study employs a two-stage qualitative methodology of short qualitative interviews with 133 participants at an international airport, followed by 32 in-depth interviews with SST users in the tourism sector. Seven motivations for SST usage are identified in this research. Whilst motivations such as convenience and access to lower prices have received some research attention, three new motivations emerge in this research, namely forced usage, eco-friendliness and empathy for other customers. In addition, customer experiences of SSTs are explored through the lens of the value-in-experience concept. This approach illustrates whether SST usage creates value for the customer (e.g. a sense of accomplishment) or destroys value (e.g. a perception of lack of control over the SST encounter). Using the theoretical lens of Service-Dominant Logic, an analysis of SST experiences indicates that customers undertake a variety of SST roles, such as that of convenience seeker, motivated worker, enforced worker and judge. Some of these roles indicate that customers are often required to use SSTs by the tourism provider, and may not be given other options (e.g. personal encounter with employees). Similarly, customers often assume the role of partial employee, by working on behalf of the tourism provider, to assist other customers who experience SST difficulties. Therefore, it is asserted that from the user‟s point of view, SST usage is often imposed upon customers, as opposed to being offered as an option, thus challenging the traditional customer-centricity of the marketing paradigm, as proposed by the Service-Dominant Logic. A key contribution of this study is the development and examination of a model of SST usage, which illustrates the complex, nuanced and often contradictory nature of a customer‟s usage and experiences. This model may facilitate marketers, managers and policy makers in planning strategic service interventions to enhance value creation in SST usage and ensure successful implementation of SSTs in the tourism sector and the wider services sector

City innovation as resonance: : the case of outdoor offices and conferences in the open air museum

This paper explores an innovation case within a “smart” Swedish mid-sized city that works extensively with digitalization.Over a long period in time, city populations and city tourism have increased, while more urgentchallenges connected to sustainability have emerged along with health-related problems. In parallel the already established and ongoing digitalization of society was fortified in the pandemic period, something that may have changed the tourism industry. Today, manyprofessional meetings happen both on- and offline.One challenge for public officials who manage urban space, is a societal expectation to maximize and improve tax payers ́ life quality on limited budgets and resources that are commonly owned.This is one of the reasons to why contemporary urban planners and city tourism development organizations need to find new solutions in response to problems related to local and global change. I will focus on norm- changes related to digital nomadism (Makimoto & Manners, 1997) and in connection with a movement for outdoor office work (www. outdoorofficeday.nl,Petersson et al., 2021). The city culture department is testing to offer outdoor offices and meetings in an urban public open air museum, a place that is used for leisure and for pedagogicpurposes.These new offerings can be conceptualized as innovative value propositions (Corvellec & Hultman, 2014) because new values, for instance rich nature experiences or a feeling of doingthe right thing, are made available for tourism consumers. These proposed services can be understood as a re-negotiation of socio-cultural values, where the public institution re-frames space in response to external change.In sociologist Hartmut Rosas (2019) words, this constitutes a form of an ongoing dialogue withthe world, in resonance. Based on eight qualitative interviews with local managers, participant observations, online communication and documents, I explore innovation from this sociologicalperspective.The aim of this research project is to understand tourism innovation discursive practices in public management, as responses to local and global change. Three research questions guide the study; How are outdoor offices and conferences constructed as value propositions for potential visitors? To which problems/risks do these value propositions respond? With what terms are outdoor offices constructed as answers to problems?So far, it was found that some of the strategic actions taken by the project leader was to launchthe outdoor office through a local innovation program, and to frequently work with professionalsocial media platforms.ReferencesCorvellec, & Hultman. (2014). Managing the politics of value propositions. MarketingTheory, 1470593114523445.Makimoto, T., & Manners, D. (1997). Digital nomad: Wiley.Petersson, T., C., Lisberg, J., E., Stenfors, C., Bodin, D., C., Hoff, E., Mårtensson, F., & Toivanen, S. (2021). Outdoor Office Work – AnInteractive Research Project Showingthe Way Out. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636091 Rosa, H. (2019). Resonance : a sociology of the relationship to the world: Polity Press.https://www.outdoorofficeday.n

Commodification of recreational hunting in Sweden : hunting tourism experiences as ‘peculiar goods’

The paper is based on a study of hunting tourism enterprising in Sweden. The study examines how hunting tourism businesses in Sweden navigate in a complex social, economic and moral environment. The aim of the present paper is to identify how tensions between a market- oriented value sphere and a value sphere based on friendship- and community reciprocity are played out in hunting tourism entrepreneurship. In particular, the study focuses on the ambiguous character of the hunting experience product and the different narratives and discourses framing what is considered, by the actors themselves, to be a ‘good’ hunting tourism experience