Measuring Behavioural Intention to Accept Autonomous Vehicles: A Structural Equation Model

For decades, the user acceptance of information technology has been a vital field of study for psychologists and sociologists investigating new insights into the acceptance of behaviour at individual and organisational levels. Despite numerous models being proposed to predict consumer use of the behaviour of technology; the latest models and theories are still not able to fully capture the complexity of the factors influencing people behavioural intention to adopt Autonomous Vehicles (AV). The research adopts a pragmatic approach using multiple methods that was executed in the following phases. In phase I, the key factors influencing behavioural intention to use AV were identified using an initial survey with 408 participants, interviews were conducted with experts in the field of Psychology, Sociology and Computer Science, then the model was developed, and finally the hypothesis defined. In phase II, the conceptual model was empirically validated and refined by employing a survey research approach with another 482 participants. The constructs were operationalised by developing and validating the research instrument with content validity, reliability, construct validity approach and Structure Equation Modelling (SEM). In phase III a tool for information visualisation was developed bridging the gap between theoretical concepts and practical industry requirements. The findings suggested that all the constructs included in the conceptual model significantly influence the consumers’ behavioural intention (BI) to adopt AVs. Based on our evaluation we take the determinants self-efficacy, perceived safety, trust, anxiety and legal regulations into consideration and propose a theoretical AV technology acceptance model (AVTAM) by incorporating these determinants into the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model. The results show that anxiety is negatively correlated with BI. The contribution of this research towards theory is the development and validation of a research instrument that future studies can utilize to examine AV and other similar emerging technologies from a consumers’ perspective. An added contribution to practice is the development of an information visualisation tool to further explain different group behaviours towards technology adoption

The Future of Mobility with Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in Smart Cities

Cities around the world are being wrecked by the ever-increasing bur-den of traffic. Smart cities are a recent innovation perceived as a winning strategy to cope with some severe urban problems such as traffic, pollution, energy consumption, waste treatment. This concept is attracting significant interest in the world of technology and sensors. Governments can streamline the way cities are run, saving money and making them more efficient as a result. Rapid urban developments, sustainable transportation solutions are required to meet the increasing demands for mobility whilst mitigating the potentially negative social, economic, and environmental impacts. This study analyses the smart mobility initiatives and the challenges for smart cities with connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), it also highlights the literature that supports why CAVs are essential for smart maintainable development as part of the intelligent transportation system (ITS)

BAME Attainment in Higher Education: Exploring the Experiences of Black Students of African Descent and the factors that Impact on their Low Grades at Northampton University

In recent years the success rates of different groups of students in HE, has come under considerable scrutiny. Gender and ethnicity were identified as key attributes for predicting differential achievement of ‘good degrees’. According to a report available on Universities UK (#CLOSINGTHEGAP) in 2019, there was an increase of more than 50% in the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic full-time undergraduates in the UK between 2007 and 2017, 71% of Asian students who graduated in 2017 achieved a first or a 2:1, and just 57% of black students compared to 81% of white students. Data shows that qualifications before attending university, are a key factor in degree outcomes, but it does not explain the differences between ethnic groups. There is also an issue with Black attainment at the University of Northampton and we have seen the award gap between white and black students increase year on year, faster than the overall sector. This project has examined the barriers impacting Black students’ attainment at the University of Northampton. The study has explored the experiences of students of African descent (Black British, African, Caribbean and other black) studying at the University of Northampton, while concentrating on the challenges they face, the coping strategies used at various stages of their studies and how the university could better support them on their journey to success. In this study, we interviewed 9 academics from various faculties and departments at the university, conducted 2 focus groups (focus group 1 had 4 academic staffs & focus group 2 had 5 academic staffs). Moreover, 2 other focus groups were conducted with students from various subject groups (focus group 1 had 4 students & Focus group 2 had 3 students)

Understanding the factors influencing consumers’ behaviour towards autonomous vehicles adoption

In this study, the key determinants or factors influencing consumers’ behavioural intention to accept autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been explored and tested. Although, there is a plethora of studies in the literature evaluating various technologies, most of the models of technology acceptance and theories selected are applied on barriers of successful IT implementation in organisations or generally on technologies that have long been deployed. There are very few studies conducted on disruptive technologies such as AV. In this paper, this issue has been addressed with the identification of context-related constructs partly re-trieved from existing literature, that describe a modelling process for a technol-ogy acceptance attempting to explain the main factors influencing people behav-ioural intention to adopt autonomous vehicle technology. Constructs such as trust, self-efficacy, anxiety, perceived safety and legal regulation have been con-sidered. The main contribution of the study is the detailed exploration on the us-ers’ acceptance of AV. We propose a theoretical model called Autonomous Ve-hicle Technology Acceptance Model (AVTAM) that gives us a better under-standing of what will eventually influence future AV customers. The main find-ings of this work suggest that users’ safety on the road, the cost associated to the technology and the trust on car manufacturers will play a very important role for large scale AV adoption

Effective Security as an ill-defined Problem in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs)

As the application of computer technology continues to proliferate and diversify, vehicles are becoming increasingly intelligent and it is expected that in the near future they will be equipped with radio interfaces for short range communications. This will enable the formation of vehicular networks, commonly referred to as VANETs, an instance of mobile ad hoc networks with vehicles as mobile nodes. Vehicular networks are receiving a lot of attention due to the wide variety of services they can provide and are likely to be deployed commercially in coming years. Security is a fundamental issue because such networks will provide the necessary infrastructure for various applications that can help improve the safety of road traffic. Effective security of vehicular ad hoc network is an ill-defined problem as most existing security mechanisms available for VANET do not combine efficiency, security and traceability. They tend to score well in one or two qualities, but not all three because of the potential contradictions between some of their attributes. In this paper, we give an overview of VANETs and the security challenges related to their deployment. We identify and analyse current security limitations, then an effort is made to show that efficiency, security and traceability are the key qualities to consider while implementing an effective security mechanism. Therefore the most suitable way to achieve this goal is by identifying the intersection point connecting their attributes. © 2012 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other work

Experiences of Global Ethnic Majority Students in UK Higher Education: Evaluating Multiple Theoretical Frameworks to Understand the Ethnic Majority Awarding Gap

An award gap between Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) and White students has been an issue in UK higher education (HE) since the 1990s and its persistence overtime has motivated a lot of research. Many studies, however, have focused on UK-domiciled GEM students thus creating a knowledge gap on GEM International students. Additionally, recent findings offer insight into only a part of the equation by attributing poor performance in GEM students to unmet psychological needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy based on the principles of self-determination theory (SDT). In including GEM International students and evaluating multiple theoretical frameworks, this study not only addresses the literary gap but also delves deeper to ascertain the most accurate and reliable depiction of the root cause of this phenomenon. The methodology comprised 2 focus groups examining the experiences of 7 GEM students in different courses. Developed themes were based on the theories of cultural deficit, Pierre Bourdieu cultural capital deficit, community cultural wealth, critical race, educability perspective and functionalism perspective. The themes were evaluated against the principles of SDT. Findings revealed discrimination and segregation of GEM students by staff and students alike because of their race. This highlighted critical race theory as a powerful underlying influence over the theories of cultural capital, community wealth and education function. Racism has been ingrained into the society such that its manifestations are admissible in the guise of lack in the GEM individual. This study poses a challenge to education institutions to take responsibility in curtailing racism among its members and thereby ensure suitable learning conditions for GEM students that promote their performance and bridge the award gap