Incorporating Temporal Structure Components to Electronic Temporal Coordination Systems

Effective temporal coordination between individuals and organizations is becoming increasingly crucial in today’s dynamic business environment. This coordination process typically involves a series of interactions among temporal structures, since temporal structures provide a possible explicit and implicit mechanism to structure activities across time and space. Organizations should be more proactively engaged in temporal coordination in order to ensure that temporal structures are now used to enhance and integrate business processes. However, the temporal structures have not been explicitly integrated into the current temporal coordination system. Therefore, through a temporal structure lens, this research was designed and carried out to identify what difficulties and challenges the individual users have with their current temporal coordination systems in their personal time management practices. Based on two sets of in-depth interview studies with a group of busy knowledge workers, a set of system recommendations to incorporate more extensive temporal structures was made, in order to enhance the current electronic coordination systems, such as personal and collaborative calendars

Supporting individual time management through the capture and display of temporal structures

This thesis work examines the time management strategies of individuals in an academic institution and gathers information on the complex temporal structures they experience and manage. Its focus is on understanding the relationship between the quality of individual time management and an individual\u27s understanding and use of temporal structures. This work consists of an exploratory field study to gather data on how people use temporal structures with electronic tools. It is followed by a survey that is given to a larger group of respondents in the same subject population examined with the field study. The survey examines the hypotheses developed from a literature review on the impact and role of time in people\u27s work lives coupled with the information uncovered in the filed study on time management practices. A research model is developed using partial least squares to examine the relationships between the key survey constructs. This study demonstrates that the use and understanding of temporal structures is an important component for good individual time management. Four properties of individual time management quality were identified and utilized to characterize who are good time managers. These four properties include planning, meeting deadlines, sensing a lack of time control and engaging in procrastination. Significant differences are found in the use of explicit temporal structures, creation of temporal structures and understanding of temporal structure relationships between good time managers and poor time managers. A research model was built to understand the interacting variable relationships. Significant differences in the relationships between quality of individual time management and various temporal structures were discovered among students, faculty and staff members in the university studied. Students mostly use and understand a range of explicit and implicit temporal structures in their personal time management. Faculty members focus on using explicit temporal structures and creating their own temporal structures to support their time management. Staff members only utilize the temporal structures to do time planning. Implicit temporal structure understanding helps them avoid procrastination in their work. We explain these results as follows. The students are greatly entrained by a large number of tight and short deadlines which they do not have power to adjust, e.g., assignment due dates. Faculty members have much more time control and flexibility to create their own temporal structures. Except for meeting classes and turning in grades, they set their own schedules. Staff members are not concerned with meeting deadlines. They have constantly shifting instantaneous demands, part of which is responding to others temporal structure needs. Thus, their temporal structures only support their time planning, and avoid potential work delay. This research concludes that people exhibit different time experience based on their professions. Furthermore, good time managers demonstrate more skill in capturing and using their temporal structures than poor time managers. Because the current information technologies do not provide much support to capture temporal structures explicitly, this study also implies that it is likely to be a valuable exercise to integrate temporal structure features into personal time management systems such as electronic calendar tools

Relationship between the Quality of Individual Time Management and Temporal Structure Usage: Design Implications for Electronic Calendar Systems

This research examines the time management strategies of individuals and gathers information on the complex temporal structures they experience and manage. Its focus is on understanding the relationship between the quality of individual time management and an individual’s understanding and use of temporal structures involving electronic calendar systems. This work consists of a survey study which examines the hypotheses developed from a review of literature on the impact and role of time in people’s work lives. A theoretical research model is proposed and tested using partial least squares (PLS) technique to examine the relationships between the key survey constructs. This study demonstrates that the use and understanding of temporal structures is an important component for good individual time management. Significant relationships between the quality of individual time management and various temporal structures were discovered and also indicate that temporal structures could be a new design component for the electronic calendar systems

Are You Annoyed? The Effects of Mobile Device User Interface and Intrusiveness of Security Notifications on User Security Perceptions

Research on the behavioral-based security of information systems within organizations and for personal use has been common over the last decade, however little is known regarding how individuals perceive the security of their mobile devices. This study seeks to explore how the security notifications within a mobile application environment alter adoption and security-related beliefs concerning their device. We proposed a theoretical model based on the technology adoption and psychological theories, and conducted a set of controlled experiments with 351 subjects in six US universities. A structural equation modeling technique was utilized to examine the overall research model. The data analysis results demonstrate that the majority of our proposed hypotheses were significant. We find that disruptive mobile security notifications cause user irritation, which negatively impacts user perception about mobile security. Mobile device user interface also has compounding effects on users’ perceived usefulness and security with mobile devices

M-Learning on iPad: An Exploration of User Learning Experiences on Road Safety

Road traffic injuries are predicted to be the fifth leading cause of death and injury by 2030 if no further action is taken. Young drivers, in particular motorcyclists and scooter riders, are among the most vulnerable road users, so it is crucial to conduct effective road safety training for them. In this study, we examined the unique characteristics in an iPad road safety training program for young road users. Based upon the Uses and Gratification Theory, we proposed a conceptual research model to measure how users’ perceptions of information needs, new and cool trends, innovativeness, and user preference impact their learning outcomes, while perceived multimedia enjoyment plays a mediating role in the training processes. A field study was designed and conducted before drivers took their license exam. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was utilized to test the proposed research model. Perceived information needs, user preference, and innovativeness were found to have significant mediating relationships with perceived multimedia enjoyment and were prominent in effectively leveraging and promoting higher-order learning outcomes. This study implies the importance of designing multimedia contents with latest technologies to effectively engage young users to foster innovative learning experiences

The Impact Of Cognitive Task Complexity on Mobile Collaborative Training

Mobile collaborative training is getting increasing attention in today’s mobile world. However, the field lacks solid empirical studies to understand how to effectively design mobile collaborative training systems in order to make user interactions more engaging and meaningful to mobile learners. Grounded upon cognitive load theory and Bloom’s taxonomy, this paper proposes a research framework and a set of research questions to understand how cognitive task complexity interplays with user interactions on a mobile collaborative training platform, and how they collectively affect training outcomes and user perceptions about the training. Accordingly, we designed a set of mobile collaborative training field experiments, and we plan to recruit about 400 participants to work on different levels of cognitive complexity tasks while interacting with a noninteractive vs. an interactive mobile collaborative app. at an individual vs. a group work setting. The study is currently ongoing, and we expect this study will offer some useful insights to the mobile collaborative training sectors and academic institutions

Personal Temporal Structure Usage in Electronic Temporal Coordination Systems: A Qualitative Study

Temporal structures have been argued to be an important element of business affecting both the processes that are undertaken within an organization and the overall productivity of the organization. As such, it might be considered appropriate for an organization to engage in what can be called temporal coordination in order to ensure that previously ad hoc temporal structures are now used to enhance and integrate business processes. Two in-depth interview studies with management were conducted to explore what types of temporal structures were used by professionals in their temporal coordination processes. The preliminary study results indicate that the majority of temporal structures being used are explicit clock-based temporal structures. This study therefore suggests that system design modifications are needed for enhancing the current electronic temporal coordination systems through incorporating new functions of manipulating more diverse temporal structures (e.g., implicit temporal structures) to achieve more efficient temporal coordination

Understanding the Impact of Mobile Social Networks on a Collaborative Setting

Today’s mobile technologies and the use of social networks are pervasive, however, studies on mobile social networks in a collaborative setting at school are still scant. In this research-in-progress paper, we propose a research framework which explores how two important aspects of social networks including network Eigenvector centrality and network reciprocation influence user enjoyment and their knowledge self-efficacy, which are likely to affect their attitude towards using mobile technologies to connect with their peers, and further impact their academic performance in a collaborative task setting. A brief theoretical background and hypothesis development are presented. A study plan is then described at the end