Technology as a scapegoat

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INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIGITAL HOARDING, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES SELF-EFFICACY, AND ANXIETY

As digital tools expand in daily life; the accumulation of digital files has become a notable problem. Considering the negative impact of digital hoarding behavior, developing a measurement tool to measure the extent of digital hoarding among individuals is essential. For the Digital Hoarding Questionnaire, developed as part of this research, the scale was adapted to the Turkish target language, and the adapted scale was applied to college students. The adapted scale was a valid and reliable measurement tool. This study also aimed to determine the relationship and interaction between participants' digital hoarding behaviors, IT self-efficacy, and IT anxiety. A survey research method was conducted to examine the research subject. The study was conducted with 478 college students. According to the research findings, the participants’ accumulated photo files the most, and the most important reason for not deleting files was the belief they might be helpful in the future. All relationships between IT self-efficacy, IT anxiety, and digital hoarding were significant. According to the results, accumulating files makes no difference in hoarding behavior, while not deleting files makes a difference. When IT anxiety was controlled, gender made no significant difference in IT self-efficacy and digital hoarding behavior. Therefore, it is believed that the scale and results of this study will be an introductory research guide for studies that focus on determining digital file hoarding behavior.  Article visualizations

Standard Accounting System For Government Agencies (SAGA) Implementation Readiness In Dungun Municipal Council (MPD) Dungun, Trengganu

Any government organizations, such as Majlis Perbandaran Dungun (MPD), will definitely face the need to change their structure, objectives, processes and technology. The MPD is in the process of adopting the Standard Accounting System for Government Agencies (SAGA) at the fourth phase of implementing the accounting and financial system as was directed by the government. MPD is collaborating with MBI (Ipoh City Council) in developing the system that suits the MPD’s requirement in order to ensure that the system is in compliance with SAGA. The success of SAGA implementation in MPD does not depend only on technical perspectives but may also rely on the employees’ willingness to use the system. The purpose of the study is to determine the employees’ technology readiness (TR) and technology readiness for change (RFC) in the implementation of SAGA in MPD. The basic question is the applicability of the system by the MPD employees. The scope of the study is to examine technology readiness (TR) by using Technology Readiness Index (TRI) which includes the test of user personality by using the TRI components: opportunity, innovativeness, discomfort and insecurity, and readiness for change (RFC) statements. The study examines the relationship of user personality and technology readiness and finally to determine the most influential user personality towards technology readiness among the employees of MPD. Questionnaires were adopted from previous study on technology readiness (TR) and technology readiness for change (RFC) and distributed to the MPD staffs. The questionnaire involved three sections: demographic, readiness for SAGA and technology readiness. The IBM Special Package for Social Science (IBM SPSS) is utilised for the data analysis. The result of the study concludes that there is positive indication for technology readiness in implementing SAGA by the MPD employees. Optimism was found to have positive influence on MPD employees for SAGA readiness in terms of technology change. However, innovativeness has not yet become its predictor as the employees need to be able to comfortably use the new technology. While for discomfort, it was found that it was not a significant predictor to perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of using new technology. The last factor that is also not significant to influence readiness for SAGA is insecurity. The research concludes that the highest correlation value is between optimism and innovativeness. The findings also denote that only optimism serves as a significant factor that determines the MPD employees’ readiness for SAGA. As for managerial implications and suggestions, the MPD management should encourage positive and frequent communication, training, support system, expose to new technology, practice the right culture and positive work environment among the MPD staff. (Abstract by author

Interrogating Boundaries against Animals and Machines: Human Speciesism in British Newspapers

Humans favor and venerate their ingroups, while disregarding outgroups to the degree of dehumanizing them. We explore the social construction of such boundaries and its associated speciesism toward two nonhuman outgroups: animals and machines. For this, we analyzed UK newspaper coverages of the binaries Human–Animal and Human–Machine between 1995 and 2010. We quantified if and how tolerance toward ambiguous concepts that challenge and expand definitions of humanness (e.g., nonhuman primates, cyborgs) varied across time as well as with journalist gender, political leaning, and expertise. In this analysis, the ca. 1100 individual journalists stood as proxies for the British public and therefore as a human-ingroup subset. We found more tolerance toward intermediaries in broadsheet newspapers, females, and subject experts, as opposed to tabloids, males, and subject novices. Moreover, ambiguity tolerance hit a low during the year 2000, likely due to Western sociopolitical turbulence—potentially including wider societal stress over the landmark millennium year itself—attesting that ingroups become more closed during stressful times. Compared with the plasticity of the Human–Animal dichotomy, the Human–Machine binary was more rigid, indicating that the relative novelty of IT developments triggers increased caution and anxiety. Our research suggests that cognitive mechanisms facilitating human-ingroup protection are deep-rooted, albeit malleable according to changing socioeconomic conditions

Personality Assessment Using Biosignals and Human Computer Interaction applied to Medical Decision Making

Clinical decision-making for patients with multiple acute or chronic diseases (i.e. multimorbidity) is complex. There is often no ’right’ or optimal treatment due to the potentially harmful effects of multiple interactions between drugs and diseases. This makes it necessary to establish trade-offs between the benefits and risks of different treatment strategies. This means also that there may be high levels of risk and uncertainty when making decisions. One factor that can influence how decisions are made under conditions of risk and uncertainty is the decision maker’s personality. The studies of this dissertation used biosignals and eye-tracking methods and developed pointer tracking techniques to monitor human computer interaction to assess, using machine learning techniques, the individual personality of decision makers. Data acquisition systems were designed and prepared to collect and synchronize: 1) physiological data - electrocardiogram, blood volume pulse and electrodermal activity; 2) human-computer interaction data - pointer movements, eye tracking and pupil diameter; 3) decision-making task data; and 4) personality questionnaire’ results. A set of processing tools was developed to ensure the correct extraction of psychophysiologyrelated features that could manifest personality. These features were combined by several machine learning algorithms to predict the Big-Five personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The five personality traits were well modelled by, at least, one of the sets of features extracted. With a sample of 88 students, features from the pointer movements in online surveys predicted four personality traits with a mean squared error (MSE)<0.46. The blood volume pulse responses in a decision-making task trained in a distinct sample of 79 students predicted four personality traits with a MSE<0.49. The application of the personality models based on the pointer movements in the personality questionnaire in a sample of 12 medical doctors achieved a MSE<0.40 for three personality traits. These were the best results achieved in each context of this thesis. The outcomes of this work demonstrate the huge potential of broader models that predict personality through human behaviour, with possible application in a wide variety of fields, such as human resources, medical research studies or machine learning approaches

Gamification in fostering creativity

Purpose – discuss the assumptions for gamification application in fostering creativity. Design/methodology/approach – the author analyses the precognitions that allowed gamification to attract mainstream attention, the diversity of understandings about the phenomenon, and the possible relations between usage of gamified content and the development of creativity. The paper is based on the comparative analysis of scientific literature and related sources from sociology, business, and entertainment. The engagement is analysed through the theories of self-determination and the “flow”. Creativity is understood as “any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). Gamification is analysed as “use of game design elements in non-game context” (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, and Nacke (2011). Findings – although gamification is gaining more public attention, studies that would reveal its relations in fostering creativity are lacking. One of the main goals of any gamified platform is to raise the engagement of the participant while keeping the subject interested in the process or activity. In some cases, there is a relation between “flow” and creativity. However, the strength of this relationship depends on the users of gamified content and the domain of interest. Research limitations / implications – there are very few empirical studies that would support correlation between experiencing the “flow” state and the raise of creativity. This issue requires more surveys that would ground the idea. Practical implications – by developing further research in the use of gamification while fostering creativity it is possible to determine, whether or not the “creative domains” should apply more measures of gamification in their activities. Value – the article emphasises the theoretical analysis of gamification and its applicability in fostering creativity. First of all, the context of the rise of gamification is examined. The Generation Y, or the Millennials, is the main target group for gamification applications. The justification of the method is based on the social context formed by a generation of people who like to be stimulated, entertained and engaged. The Millennials are used to advanced technologies; they make the game industry one of the most profitable in the field of entertainment. This creates possibilities for a wider use of game mechanic elements and game thinking in the contexts directly unrelated to games. Furthermore, the definition of gamification is also a controversial issue, since scientists do not agree as to the range of elements that gamification involves. Although gamification is created as a method to increase engagement by using elements of game mechanics, it is explained through theories of self-determination and “flow”. The possible correlation between reaching the state of “flow” and fostering creativity is a questionable issue, as only a few studies have focused on the idea

Third Person Effect and Internet Privacy Risks

The current study tests the third-person effect (TPE) in the context of Internet privacy. TPE refers to the phenomenon that people tend to perceive greater media effects on others than on themselves. The behavioral component of TPE holds that the self-others perceptual gap is positively associated with support for restricting harmful media messages. Using a sample (N=613) from Amazon Mturk, the current research documented firm support for the perceptual and behavioral components of TPE in the context of Internet privacy. Moreover, social distance, perceived Internet privacy knowledge, negative online privacy experiences, and Internet use were found to be significant predictors of the TPE perceptions of Internet privacy risks. There are four novel contributions of the current study. First, this study systematically tests TPE in a new context―Internet privacy. Second, this study examines five antecedents of TPE perceptions, of which perceived Internet privacy knowledge, negative online privacy experiences, and Internet use are novel to TPE studies. Unlike prior studies which assume social distance and desirability of media content, the current study provides direct empirical tests of these two antecedents. Third, prior research primarily examines support for censorship of harmful media messages, a context in which individuals do not have control over policy enforcement. In the case of Internet privacy, people can decide whether to adopt privacy protective measures or not. The current study addresses two types of behavioral intentions to reduce privacy risks: (1) the willingness to adopt online privacy protection measures; and (2) recommend such measures to others. Fourth, unlike prior studies using fear based theories to investigate Internet privacy issues, the current tests Internet privacy from a novel perspective—TPE theory

Combating the IS Enrollment Crisis: The Role of Effective Teachers in Introductory IS Courses

Assigning effective teachers to introductory IS courses represents one intervention strategy that has been broadly advocated to help reverse the sharp decline in students majoring in Information Systems (IS). Using a survey of 305 students enrolled in a multiple-section introductory IS course, this study empirically confirms that students who are taught by effective teachers are more likely to be attracted to the IS discipline. Moreover, based on a robust theoretical foundation grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, the findings reveal the underlying mechanisms through which teaching effectiveness influences students\u27 aspirations to pursue an IS degree. Specifically, teaching effectiveness bolsters students\u27 confidence in their ability to successfully perform as IS majors (i.e., self-efficacy), raises students\u27 expectations that valued rewards will be received by majoring in IS (i.e., outcome expectations), and helps students develop enduring interest in the IS field. In addition to teaching effectiveness, students with high self-efficacy and robust outcome expectations become more interested in IS. In turn, interest serves as the primary channel through which goals to choose the IS major develop. Implications for theory and practice are discussed

National Insecurity: Why Do So Many in the World\u27s Most Security Conscious Nation Live in Fear?

In 2017, the President proposed a budget that allocated sixty percent of US discretionary resources toward military spending, putting US military spending higher than that of the next eight nations combined. Despite this enormous allocation of resources, millions of Americans feel so insecure that they have decided to take steps to insure their own security. With stockpiles of food and weapons, in personal bunkers, these preppers are viewed by some as extreme in their approach. The purpose of this piece is to explore the causes and fears that drive prepping behavior, and what view these individuals have of the US federal government; the entity that is supposed to insure the security of the American public. Ultimately, this study concludes that cultural factors, such as religion and the way one is raised, are most likely the causes of one’s decision to prep. However, other factors such as personal history, identity, and personality, when taken in conjunction with culture, can intensify prepping behavior. Furthermore, with natural disasters and the threat of a global financial meltdown at the top of the list of fears for most preppers, there is little that a single nation-state can do to address these concerns. Rather, a more wide-spread multilateral approach is required of the key actors within the international community. Ultimately, most within the prepping community possess a somewhat negative view of the US federal government, but there is no evidence that such views have the traction that would ultimately lead to conflict between preppers and the American government

Essays on enterprise social media: moderation, shop floor integration and information system induced organizational change

The digital transformation increases the pressure on innovation capabilities and challenges organizations to adapt their business models. In order to cope with the increased competitiveness, organizations face two significant internal challenges: Enabling internal digital collaboration and knowledge sharing as well as information system-induced change. This dissertation will investigate seven related research questions divided in two main parts. The first part focuses on how an organization can foster digital knowledge exchanges and collaboration in global organizations. Enterprise social media has attracted the attention of organizations as a technology for social collaboration and knowledge sharing. The dissertation will investigate how organizations can moderate the employee discourse in such platforms from a novel organizational perspective and provide insights on how to increase the encouragement for employees to contribute and assure content quality. The developed framework will provide detailed moderation approaches. In addition, the risk of privacy concerns associated with organizational interference in the new digital collaboration technologies are evaluated. The second part of the dissertation shifts the focus to the shop floor environment, an area that has faced substantial digital advancements. Those advancements change the organizational role of the shop floor to a more knowledge work-oriented environment. Firstly, a state of research regarding technology acceptance and professional diversity is presented to create an enterprise social media job-characteristic framework. Further, a unique and longitudinal shop floor case study is investigated to derive organizational challenges for enterprise social media and potentials for empowerment. To validate the future shop floor environment needs use cases for the shop floor are derived and a user profile is established. The case study is extended by expert interviews to focus on conceptualizing organizational information systems-induced change. In this regard, the role of work practices, organizational and employee mindset and information system change are integrated into a holistic organizational change model that targets employee empowerment. This dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of enterprise social media from an organizational management and shop floor perspective. It contributes to understanding new digital needs at the shop floor and the information systems-induced change journey towards digital employee empowerment