Understanding older consumers' usage of self-service technologies: test of two models

Self-service technologies play a major role in enabling consumers to perform service delivery themselves. This requires consumers adopting this service delivery process to modify their behaviour, however some consumers may resist change. Evidence of this is particularly strong in older consumers (plus 50 years of age) where their usage of self-service banking technologies (SSBT's) is considerably lower than for younger consumers. This paper specifically explores the beliefs, attitudes, intentions and usage behaviour of SSBT's by older consumers through the comparison of the suitability, fit and explanatory power of two existing models, namely the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen 1991) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw 1989). Survey methodology approach using a mailed questionnaire to 600 randomly selected respondents resulted in the return of 208 (35%) usable questionnaires. The use of SSBT's varied across the sample with 19% (40) non-users; 19% (40) low users (< 50% use); and 62% (128) moderate to high users (> 60%). The models were tested using AMOS 4.01 (Arbuckle & Wothke 1999), maximum likelihood estimation method. The TAM had a less than acceptable fit resulting in a modified TAM. The Modified TAM when compared with the TPB model had an overall better fit to the data in that all fit statistics were within acceptable limits and similar explanatory power. However, with the addition of two specific belief constructs in the modified TAM, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, these constructs provide a richer understanding of the factors that influence attitude (A), behaviour intention (BI) and behaviour (B) of older consumers' usage of SSBT's. Further, the failure of the perceived behavioural control pathway to contribute to the explanation of SSBT behaviour in the TPB model effectively gives the advantage to the Modified TAM. It is primarily for these reasons that the Modified TAM is favoured over the TPB model in this study

A model-based approach to service creation

This paper presents a model-based approach to support service creation. In this approach, services are assumed to be created from (available) software components. The creation process may involve multiple design steps in which the requested service is repeatedly decomposed into more detailed functional parts, until these parts can be mapped onto software components. A modelling language is used to express and enable analysis of the resulting designs, in particular the behaviour aspects. Methods are needed to verify the correctness of each design step. A technique called behaviour refinement is introduced to assess the conformance relation between an abstract behaviour and a more concrete (detailed) behaviour. This technique is based on the application of abstraction rules to determine the abstraction of the concrete behaviour such that the obtained abstraction can be compared to the original abstract behaviour. The application of this refinement technique throughout the creation process enforces the correctness of the created servic

Providing services in the United Kingdom to people with an intellectual disability who present behaviour which challenges: A review of the literature

There is ongoing debate about the best model of service provision for people with an intellectual disability who present severe behavioural challenges. The present paper reviewed research which evaluated a range of UK service provision in terms of impact on challenging behaviour and other quality of life indices. A literature search was carried out for English language papers from 1990 to 2010 using a range of databases. Secondary searches were carried out from references of relevant papers. Very few evaluations were found. The available research indicates that, on the whole, specialist congregate services for individuals with challenging behaviour appear to use more restrictive approaches which have limited effect on reducing challenging behaviour. The evidence for peripatetic teams is somewhat unclear. The two studies reviewed showed positive outcomes, but both had limitations that made it difficult to generalize the results. A similar limitation was found with the sole evaluation of a community based service. It is unlikely that one model of service provision will meet the needs of all individuals, however, more robust evaluations are required of existing service models to allow commissioners, service users, their families and carers to make fully informed choices about effective services for those who challenge

Consumer Information in the food service industry vs. food retailing

In order to define consumer expectations over a traceability and information system for the entire food supply chain, the information behaviour of consumers in the food service industry has been subject to an analysis for the first time. In comparison to consumers in retailing, significant differences appear in information seeking behaviour as well as in the information desired.meat traceability, consumer behaviour, food service industry, Consumer/Household Economics,

Towards the improvement of self-service systems via emotional virtual agents

Affective computing and emotional agents have been found to have a positive effect on human-computer interactions. In order to develop an acceptable emotional agent for use in a self-service interaction, two stages of research were identified and carried out; the first to determine which facial expressions are present in such an interaction and the second to determine which emotional agent behaviours are perceived as appropriate during a problematic self-service shopping task. In the first stage, facial expressions associated with negative affect were found to occur during self-service shopping interactions, indicating that facial expression detection is suitable for detecting negative affective states during self-service interactions. In the second stage, user perceptions of the emotional facial expressions displayed by an emotional agent during a problematic self-service interaction were gathered. Overall, the expression of disgust was found to be perceived as inappropriate while emotionally neutral behaviour was perceived as appropriate, however gender differences suggested that females perceived surprise as inappropriate. Results suggest that agents should change their behaviour and appearance based on user characteristics such as gender

Positive behaviour in the early years : perceptions of staff, service providers and parents in managing and promoting positive behaviour in early years and early primary settings

The full report of research into positive behaviour in the early years: perceptions of staff, service providers and parents in managing and promoting positive behaviour in early years and early primary settings

The determinants of full-service carriers airfares in European hub-to-hub markets

This paper explores the factors influencing the pricing behaviour of full-service carriers in European hub-to-hub markets. Drawing on a 2009 dataset containing route and airfare information, we establish an econometric model to estimate the impact of route structure, alliances, and market concentration on the pricing of European full-service carriers in these markets. The results suggest that alliances on routes connecting two primary hubs, airport concentration, market share inequality and competition from low-cost carriers influence average airfares of full-service carriers in the European hub-to-hub markets

The Organic Research Centre; Elm Farm Bulletin 84 July 2006

Regular bulletin with technical updates of the Organic Advisory Service Issue contains: Battling on for Avian Flu preventive vaccination; Organic Colombian Blacktail eggs; UK Co-existence - GMOand non-GMO crops; Aspects of Poultry Behaviour; CAP in the service of biodiversity; Seeing the Wood, the Trees and the Catch 22; Beware of organic market "statistics"; A central role in energy review

Instruction sequences with dynamically instantiated instructions

We study sequential programs that are instruction sequences with dynamically instantiated instructions. We define the meaning of such programs in two different ways. In either case, we give a translation by which each program with dynamically instantiated instructions is turned into a program without them that exhibits on execution the same behaviour by interaction with some service. The complexity of the translations differ considerably, whereas the services concerned are equally simple. However, the service concerned in the case of the simpler translation is far more powerful than the service concerned in the other case.Comment: 25 pages; phrasing improve