Towards an e-Service Knowledge System for Improving the Quality and Adoption of e-Services

The purpose of this article is to highlight the limitations and drawbacks of existing knowledge about e-service quality and e-service user acceptance. To overcome these limitations we will propose some solutions. An extensive review of relevant literature has shown that a lot of research has already been conducted in this field. However, there is still a gap between the percentage of existing e-services and the percentage of those that are actually being used. We believe that existing knowledge could be better used by e-service researchers and especially by e-service providers, if they would have a knowledge system that would be capable of synthesizing the existing knowledge and presenting it in a more people-friendly format. The practical outcome of this article is a proposal for an e-service knowledge system, which could be used to improve the quality and user acceptance of e-services

Understanding the everyday designer in organisations

This paper builds upon the existing concept of an everyday designer as a non-expert designer who carries out design activities using available resources in a given environment. It does so by examining the design activities undertaken by non-expert, informal, designers in organisations who make use of the formal and informal technology already in use in organisations while designing to direct, influence, change or transform the practices of people in the organisation. These people represent a cohort of designers who are given little attention in the literature on information systems, despite their central role in the formation of practice and enactment of technology in organisations. The paper describes the experiences of 18 everyday designers in an academic setting using three concepts: everyday designer in an organisation, empathy through design and experiencing an awareness gap. These concepts were constructed through the analysis of in-depth interviews with the participants. The paper concludes with a call for tool support for everyday designers in organisations to enable them to better understand the audience for whom they are designing and the role technology plays in the organisation

Technology Acceptance Model y mayores: ¿la educación y la actividad laboral desarrollada son variables moderadoras?

ResumenEl objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la influencia, como variables moderadoras, del nivel educativo y la actividad laboral desarrollada por los mayores de 50 años en su proceso de aceptación de Internet, dentro del marco del modelo TAM (Technology Acceptance Model). Proponemos un modelo basado en TAM, testado mediante PLS y multi-grupo para comprobar el cumplimiento de las hipótesis de moderación propuestas. Los resultados apoyan la idoneidad del modelo aunque el poder moderador de la actividad laboral no es significativo mientras que el nivel educativo tiene mayor capacidad explicativa en el caso de los mayores sin estudios universitarios. A su vez el TAM se muestra como una herramienta apropiada para explicar la heterogeneidad de los mayores con respecto a Internet.AbstractOur aim in this work is to analyze the impact, as moderator variables, of the level of education and the profession on the Internet acceptance level in people older than 50 years old. We propose a model based on a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). We contrast the moderator hypotheses proposed using Partial Least Squares (PLS) and multi-group analysis. The results support the suitability of the model showing a non-significant moderator effect of the profession, whereas the education level presents a higher explanatory power for older adults with no university degree. In addition, TAM appears to be an appropriatetool to explain the heterogeneity of this segment as regards the Internet

Understanding consumer adoption of mobile payment in India: Extending Meta-UTAUT model with personal innovativeness, anxiety, trust, and grievance redressal

YesMobile payments are the future as we move towards a cashless society. In some markets, cash is already being replaced by digital transactions, but consumers of many developing countries are slower in transition towards digital payments. This study aims to identify major determinants of consumer mobile payment adoption in India the country with second largest mobile subscribers in the world. Existing mobile payments adoption studies have predominantly utilised Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which was primarily developed in organisational context and criticised for having deterministic approach without much consideration for users’ individual characteristics. Therefore, this study adapted meta-UTAUT model with individual difference variable attitude as core construct and extended the model with consumer related constructs such as personal innovativeness, anxiety, trust, and grievance redressal. Empirical examination of the model among 491 Indian consumers revealed performance expectancy, intention to use, and grievance redressal as significant positive predictor of consumer use behaviour towards mobile payment. Moreover, intention to use was significantly influenced by attitude, social influence, and facilitating conditions. The major contribution of this study includes re-affirming the central role of attitude in consumer adoption studies and examining usage behaviour in contrast to most existing studies, which examine only behavioural intention

Legal protection for children and children\u27s rights in hospital

Otrokove pravice so tudi človekove pravice, zrelosti in starosti primerne. Uresničevanje in spoštovanje pravic otrok in mladostnikov, posebej v času bolezni in hospitalizacije ni le obveza zaradi zakonov in predpisov, temveč zavest vsakega zdravstvenega delavca in sodelavca, da dela vedno v korist otroka, ne glede na okoliščine. Otroci niso pomanjšani odrasli, zato jih je potrebno upoštevati in sprejemati kot subjekt. Bolni otroci in mladostniki si v bolnišnici zaslužijo popolno varnost, skrb in zdravstveno obravnavo. Pravice so enako pomembne za vse otroke. Raziskovalna metodologija. V raziskavi je bila uporabljena kvantitativna metodologija. Podatke smo dobili z delno strukturiranim vprašalnikom o spoštovanju otrokovih pravic v bolnišnici. Raziskovalni vzorec je zajemal 59 zdravstvenih delavcev in sodelavcev, zaposlenih najmanj dve leti na otroških oddelkih dvanajstih slovenskih bolnišnic. Rezultati. Rezultati raziskave kažejo, da se pravica do najvišje dosegljive ravni zdravstvenega varstva, pravica do informiranja in sodelovanja otrok, mladostnikov in staršev pri vseh odločitvah povezanih z zdravstveno obravnavo, pravica do varovanja otrok in mladostnikov pred vsemi oblikami nasilja, v času pred, med in po hospitalizaciji, v slovenskih bolnišnicah na otroških oddelkih, uresničujejo in spoštujejo bistveno bolj kot v preteklosti. Odkrito spregovorijo tudi o pomanjkljivostih in predlagajo vrsto izboljšav v prid hospitaliziranih otrok, mladostnikov in njihovih staršev. Prepoznajo pomanjkljivosti na področju komunikacije z otroci, mladostniki in njihovimi starši. Sklep. Zdravstveni delavci in sodelavci v slovenskih bolnišnicah spoštujejo in uresničujejo pravice hospitaliziranih otrok, podobno kot v državah v Evropi in v svetu. Zavedajo se, da le z dobrim teoretičnim znanjem in praktičnimi izkušnjami lahko uresničijo in spoštujejo pravice hospitaliziranih otrok in mladostnikov ter staršev, kar je dobra popotnica na poti do popolnega spoštovanja pravic, posebej v času otrokove bolezni in hospitalizacije.The children\u27s rights are also the human rights, appropriate to age and maturity. The exercise and respect of children’s and adolescents’ rights, especially during illness and hospitalization, is not only an obligation by virtue of laws and regulations, but also the conscious of each medical and allied professional, always to act in favour of a child, no matter what circumstances are. Children are not diminished adults, therefore we have to pay regard to them and accept them as persons, not as objects. Sick children and adolescents deserve the total safety, care and medical treatment while they are in hospital. All rights are equally important for all children. Research methodology. In the research the quantitative methodology was applied. The data had been gained by the partly structured questionnaire on the respect of children’s rights in hospital. The research sample comprised 59 medical and allied professionals, working at least two years on the paediatric wards of twelve Slovenian hospitals. Results. The results of this research show that the right to the highest attainable level of health care, the right of children, adolescents and their parents to be informed and take part in all decisions regarding the medical treatment, the right of children and adolescents to be protected from all forms of violence before, during and after the hospitalization, that all these rights are exercised and respected on the paediatric wards of Slovenian hospitals much more than in the past. The medical professionals speak straightforward about deficiencies, suggesting number of improvements in favour of the hospitalized children and adolescents. They also recognize the lacks in communication with children, adolescents and their parents. Conclusion. Medical and allied professionals in Slovenian hospitals respect and exercise the rights of hospitalized children, similarly as in individual European countries and worldwide. They realize that only by good theoretical knowledge and practical experience it is possible to exercise and respect the rights of hospitalized children/adolescents and their parents, which is a good provision on the way to the total respect of rights, particularly during the child’s illness and hospitalization

A Comparison of Teaching Methods for Consecutive Interpretation in English and German on the Basis of Note-taking Techniques

Pričujoče diplomsko delo povzema zgodovino ter razvoj tolmačenja in predstavi vrste tolmačenja s poudarkom na konsekutivnem tolmačenju. Izpostavi vlogo spomina pri procesu tolmačenja in osvetli različne tehnike zapisovanja pri konsekutivnem tolmačenju. V osrednjem delu je predstavljena podrobna analiza raziskave osmih sodelujočih tolmačev, primerjava napak pri tolmačenjih in tehnik zapisovanja med dvema programoma – Prevajanje in tolmačenje -angleščina in -nemščina ter končne ugotovitve oziroma problematika, ki smo jo izsledili pri študentih. Naša hipoteza je bila, da si zapiski glede na smer programa med seboj ne bodo podobni, kajti sodelujoči študenti so bili deležni različnih šol tehnik zapisovanja. Namen diplomskega dela je bil analizirati in primerjati različne metode tehnik zapisovanja pri predmetu Konsekutivno tolmačenje in ugotoviti, ali različnost uporabljenih metod na kakršenkoli način vpliva na kakovost tolmačenja. Za potrebe raziskave smo izbrali krajši članek, ki so ga študenti konsekutivno stolmačili iz tujega v materni jezik. Snemanje smo izvedli v fonolaboratoriju Filozofske fakultete UM. Naša raziskava je pokazala, da se študenti poslužujejo različnih metod zapisovanja. Študenti so dokazali, da je »prost pristop« tj. da si vsak tolmač izdela sebi najlažji in najučinkovitejši sistem zapisovanja v praksi uspešen. Torej ni pravilnih ali napačnih načinov, kako zapisovati pri konsekutivnem tolmačenju. Vsak tolmač razvije lasten sistem zapisovanja, ki ga z leti izboljšuje. Rezultati raziskave so potrdili, da različni pristopi tehnik zapisovanja ne vplivajo na kakovost tolmačenja.The thesis summarizes the history and development of interpretation and presents modes of interpreting with a focus on consecutive interpreting. It highlights the role of memory in the process of interpretation and note-taking in consecutive interpreting. The central part comprises a detailed analysis of eight students, a comparison of errors and note-taking between the two programs - Translation and interpretation –English and -German as well as final conclusions and issues that were observed in the students. Our hypothesis was that notes between English and German students would differ, because participating students were taught different note-taking techniques. The aim of our research was to analyze and compare these different methods and establish whether different approaches to teaching note-taking technique for consecutive interpreting had an effect on the quality of interpretation. For the purpose of our study, a short article was selected that students had to interpret consecutively from foreign language into their mother tongue. Our research took place in the language laboratory at the Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor. Our study showed that students used different note-taking techniques. Students demonstrated that the “it-is-up-to-every-individual” approach, ie. that each interpreter develops his or her own most efficient technique, is successful in practice. So there are no correct or incorrect approaches to note-taking. Interpreters develop individual techniques that improve over time. The results of our research confirmed that different approaches to note-taking for consecutive interpreters do not have an effect on the quality of interpretation

Optimization of routes and schedules for the collection of dangerous medical waste

V magistrskem delu smo podali povzetke strokovne literature, ki se vsebinsko nanašajo na obravnavani problem. Ugotovili smo, da je način, ki smo ga preučevali, teoretično najbolj primeren za planiranje zbiranja odpadkov, hkrati pa je glede na točnost podatkov tudi samo zbiranje boljše, hitrejše ter tudi bolj učinkovito.In this thesis a summary of the scientific literature, substantively related to the problem discussed, is presented. Our key findings are that the observed and analysed manner of waste collection is the most appropriate and at the same time, as to the accuracy of analytical data, collection of waste is also better, faster and much more efficient