EXAMINING THE BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS OF OLDER ADULTS AS VIRTUAL TOURISTS IN THE CONTEXT OF A SECOND LIFE DESTINATION

ABSTRACT Tourism opportunities are being promoted heavily on the web, yet one of the largest and most lucrative markets, older adults are least likely to use the internet. In an effort to explore barriers to and potential acceptance of technology for tourism experiences, this study followed closely ten older adults through a learning process with technology. Qualitative methodology was used to explore in-depth the experience of these older adults being exposed to online virtual world technology for the first time and exploring the process by which technology acceptance takes place. The findings indicate that online virtual world such as Second Life (SL) experiences have a high ease of use, and high perception of usefulness. However, with more immersed experiences, problems do rise due to inauthentic nature of SL. Overall the technology is not hard to learn for older adults, according to the study participants, and they did have a positive experience with the interactive nature of the virtual travel experience. They also saw benefits related to increased access to places that are difficult to reach physically for them. The Tourism industry may benefit from use of SL type technology as a tool to engage potential tourists. This study points to future research to prepare the tourism industry to take full advantage of this new cutting edge interactive technology in order to both market and maximize the tourist experience and increase satisfaction levels

The influence of incentives and survey design on mail survey response rates for mature consumers

The mail survey is still the preferred research tool for the mature consumer population and questions remain about ways of boosting survey response rates. The influence of two incentives were explored, a foil-wrapped tea bag and a $1 donation for each returned questionnaire in the study design. A significant higher response rate was only achieved for the first incentive. The effectiveness of a range of incentives and survey design features were investigated. Respondents indicated that their preferred incentive was a$500 donation to a charity. With the ongoing use of mail surveys almost mandatory for populations like this one, this study shows that incentives and design features such as CEO endorsement are important elements in improving response rates

Technology-Based Rich Media Training Compared to Traditional Media Training in Blue-Collar Employees

The objective of this study is to determine the effects of traditional training compared to technology-based rich media training and the results upon course dissemination and completion corresponding course indicators, reaction, learning, and behavioral change quantified using Kirkpatrick’s four-level training evaluation model. The study aims to determine the efficiency of the porting of existing traditional training materials to technology-based rich media training. The subjects of this study are blue-collar participants of an adult learning course. The quantitative methods used in this case will facilitate the exploration of the result that compare a traditional training program to a training program with technology-based rich media using Kirkpatrick’s model. The research seeks to inform businesses on generational response in blue-collar workers to traditional versus technology-based training

E-learning practice : a framework for the implementation of online learning

Increased adoption of e-learning in marketing curricular requires educators to better understand competitive pressures and changing student needs. Based upon Biggs’s (1996) notion of constructive alignment, a conceptual framework is developed to assist implementation of e-learning by identifying elements that can be used to develop learning objectives, teaching and learning activities and assessment tasks. The framework blends instructional and constructionist theory to scaffold learners’ development from teacher centred surface-learning to student-centred deep-learning. The paper proposes a CAP pedagogy here scaffolding occurs as students are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning, learn from peer and social forums, and utilise convergent rich-media and Web 2.0 technologies

The role of digital flashcards in legal education : theory and potential

This article describes, evaluates and reflects upon the potential use of digital flashcards in legal education usingtraditional cards expressed in digital format and more interactive flashcards taking advantage of rich media and Web 2.0 technologies. A taxonomy of digital flashcards is proposed together with a discussion on how flashcards may be used in legal education. An analysis of where digital flashcards sit within the HoTEL, Biggs and Tang SOLO and Atkinson SOLE learning theory frameworks is presented. A new free cloud-based flashcard tool, FlashCram is outlined enabling the easy assembly and sharing of digital flashcards. The article concludes by showing how the traditional flashcard may be reinvented in the digital age into a useful tool for legal education