What habbo goers do in practice? decomposing attitudinal beliefs

We investigate the impact of Information Technology (IT) outsourcing on firm performance from several dimensions, including changes in labor productivity, improvements in financial and operational performance variables, and stock market valuation of IT outsourcing initiatives as measured by Tobin’s q. While our main objective is to better understand the economics of IT outsourcing, we also aim to contribute to the literature on the business value of IT in general. Our research contributes to the relevant literature from the following perspectives: (i) the change in the performance levels of firms due to IT outsourcing is measured against that of firms not outsourcing at all, (ii) panel data regression model is utilized in order to capture both cross-sectional and time-series differences among firms, (iii) the diversity of IT outsourcing initiatives is explicitly considered in the model, and (iv) a comprehensive data set covering the period between 1984 and 2007 is used.

Seeking the Entanglement of Immersion and Emergence: Reflections from an Analysis of the State of IS Research on Virtual Worlds

This paper critically reviews the state of virtual world research within the Information Systems field; revealing areas of interest evident in research studies between 2007-2011, the methods employed to conduct such research, the theories/frameworks used to ground VW research, as well as reoccurring memes/concepts. We argue that virtual worlds are best interpreted as both an immersive and emergent co-creative process, ‘performed’ by users’ actions and interactions both with other users and with artifacts such as virtual goods. Nevertheless, our analysis reveals a near neglect of the substantive nature of digital materiality and of the emergent nature of virtual worlds. We conclude that this ‘human-centric’ stance has taken focus away from the unique nature of the virtual world artifact itself, and posit a research agenda that focuses on virtual world objects as well as the immersive and emergent activities of ‘world-builders’ as necessary to advance virtual world research

Modeling Dyslexic Students’ Motivation for Enhanced Learning in E-learning Systems

E-Learning systems can support real-time monitoring of learners’ learning desires and effects, thus offering opportunities for enhanced personalized learning. Recognition of the determinants of dyslexic users’ motivation to use e-learning systems is important to help developers improve the design of e-learning systems and educators direct their efforts to relevant factors to enhance dyslexic students’ motivation. Existing research has rarely attempted to model dyslexic users’ motivation in e-learning context from a comprehensive perspective. The present work has conceived a hybrid approach, namely, combining the strengths of qualitative and quantitative analysis methods, to motivation modeling. It examines a variety of factors that affect dyslexic students’ motivation to engage in e-learning systems from psychological, behavioral, and technical perspectives, and establishes their interrelationships. Specifically, the study collects data from a multi-item Likert-style questionnaire to measure relevant factors for conceptual motivation modeling. It then applies both covariance-based (CB-SEM) and variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approaches to determine the quantitative mapping between dyslexic students’ continued use intention and motivational factors, followed by discussions about theoretical findings and design instructions according to our motivation model. Our research has led to a novel motivation model with new constructs of Learning Experience, Reading Experience, Perceived Control, and Perceived Privacy. From both the CB-SEM and PLS-SEM analyses, results on the total effects have indicated consistently that Visual Attractiveness, Reading Experience, and Feedback have the strongest effects on continued use intentio

Motivation Modelling and Computation for Personalised Learning of People with Dyslexia

The increasing development of e-learning systems in recent decades has benefited ubiquitous computing and education by providing freedom of choice to satisfy various needs and preferences about learning places and paces. Automatic recognition of learners’ states is necessary for personalised services or intervention to be provided in e-learning environments. In current literature, assessment of learners’ motivation for personalised learning based on the motivational states is lacking. An effective learning environment needs to address learners’ motivational needs, particularly, for those with dyslexia. Dyslexia or other learning difficulties can cause young people not to engage fully with the education system or to drop out due to complex reasons: in addition to the learning difficulties related to reading, writing or spelling, psychological difficulties are more likely to be ignored such as lower academic self-worth and lack of learning motivation caused by the unavoidable learning difficulties. Associated with both cognitive processes and emotional states, motivation is a multi-facet concept that consequences in the continued intention to use an e-learning system and thus a better chance of learning effectiveness and success. It consists of factors from intrinsic motivation driven by learners’ inner feeling of interest or challenges and those from extrinsic motivation associated with external reward or compliments. These factors represent learners’ various motivational needs; thus, understanding this requires a multidisciplinary approach. Combining different perspectives of knowledge on psychological theories and technology acceptance models with the empirical findings from a qualitative study with dyslexic students conducted in the present research project, motivation modelling for people with dyslexia using a hybrid approach is the main focus of this thesis. Specifically, in addition to the contribution to the qualitative conceptual motivation model and ontology-based computational model that formally expresses the motivational factors affecting users’ continued intention to use e-learning systems, this thesis also conceives a quantitative approach to motivation modelling. A multi-item motivation questionnaire is designed and employed in a quantitative study with dyslexic students, and structural equation modelling techniques are used to quantify the influences of the motivational factors on continued use intention and their interrelationships in the model. In addition to the traditional approach to motivation computation that relies on learners’ self-reported data, this thesis also employs dynamic sensor data and develops classification models using logistic regression for real-time assessment of motivational states. The rule-based reasoning mechanism for personalising motivational strategies and a framework of motivationally personalised e-learning systems are introduced to apply the research findings to e-learning systems in real-world scenarios. The motivation model, sensor-based computation and rule-based personalisation have been applied to a practical scenario with an essential part incorporated in the prototype of a gaze-based learning application that can output personalised motivational strategies during the learning process according to the real-time assessment of learners’ motivational states based on both the eye-tracking data in addition to users’ self-reported data. Evaluation results have indicated the advantage of the application implemented compared to the traditional one without incorporating the present research findings for monitoring learners’ motivation states with gaze data and generating personalised feedback. In summary, the present research project has: 1) developed a conceptual motivation model for students with dyslexia defining the motivational factors that influence their continued intention to use e-learning systems based on both a qualitative empirical study and prior research and theories; 2) developed an ontology-based motivation model in which user profiles, factors in the motivation model and personalisation options are structured as a hierarchy of classes; 3) designed a multi-item questionnaire, conducted a quantitative empirical study, used structural equation modelling to further explore and confirm the quantified impacts of motivational factors on continued use intention and the quantified relationships between the factors; 4) conducted an experiment to exploit sensors for motivation computation, and developed classification models for real-time assessment of the motivational states pertaining to each factor in the motivation model based on empirical sensor data including eye gaze data and EEG data; 5) proposed a sensor-based motivation assessment system architecture with emphasis on the use of ontologies for a computational representation of the sensor features used for motivation assessment in addition to the representation of the motivation model, and described the semantic rule-based personalisation of motivational strategies; 6) proposed a framework of motivationally personalised e-learning systems based on the present research, with the prototype of a gaze-based learning application designed, implemented and evaluated to guide future work

An investigation of innovation and knowledge creation in virtual worlds

The Internet and World Wide Web have had, and continue to have, an incredible impact on our civilization. These technologies have radically influenced the way that society is organised and the manner in which people around the world communicate and interact. The structure and function of individual, social, organisational, economic and political life begin to resemble the digital network architectures upon which they are increasingly reliant. It is increasingly difficult to imagine how our ‘offline’ world would look or function without the ‘online’ world; it is becoming less meaningful to distinguish between the ‘actual’ and the ‘virtual’. Thus, the major architectural project of the twenty-first century is to “imagine, build, and enhance an interactive and ever changing cyberspace” (Lévy, 1997, p. 10). Virtual worlds are at the forefront of this evolving digital landscape. Virtual worlds have “critical implications for business, education, social sciences, and our society at large” (Messinger et al., 2009, p. 204). This study focuses on the possibilities of virtual worlds in terms of communication, collaboration, innovation and creativity. The concept of knowledge creation is at the core of this research. The study shows that scholars increasingly recognise that knowledge creation, as a socially enacted process, goes to the very heart of innovation. However, efforts to build upon these insights have struggled to escape the influence of the information processing paradigm of old and have failed to move beyond the persistent but problematic conceptualisation of knowledge creation in terms of tacit and explicit knowledge. Based on these insights, the study leverages extant research to develop the conceptual apparatus necessary to carry out an investigation of innovation and knowledge creation in virtual worlds. The study derives and articulates a set of definitions (of virtual worlds, innovation, knowledge and knowledge creation) to guide research. The study also leverages a number of extant theories in order to develop a preliminary framework to model knowledge creation in virtual worlds. Using a combination of participant observation and six case studies of innovative educational projects in Second Life, the study yields a range of insights into the process of knowledge creation in virtual worlds and into the factors that affect it. The study’s contributions to theory are expressed as a series of propositions and findings and are represented as a revised and empirically grounded theoretical framework of knowledge creation in virtual worlds. These findings highlight the importance of prior related knowledge and intrinsic motivation in terms of shaping and stimulating knowledge creation in virtual worlds. At the same time, they highlight the importance of meta-knowledge (knowledge about knowledge) in terms of guiding the knowledge creation process whilst revealing the diversity of behavioural approaches actually used to create knowledge in virtual worlds and. This theoretical framework is itself one of the chief contributions of the study and the analysis explores how it can be used to guide further research in virtual worlds and on knowledge creation. The study’s contributions to practice are presented as actionable guide to simulate knowledge creation in virtual worlds. This guide utilises a theoretically based classification of four knowledge-creator archetypes (the sage, the lore master, the artisan, and the apprentice) and derives an actionable set of behavioural prescriptions for each archetype. The study concludes with a discussion of the study’s implications in terms of future research