TOWARDS EUROPE’S AI STRATEGY: DESIRES & REALITIES

Artificial Intelligence is possibly the most talked about topic among all emerging and disruptive technologies. Being under continuous development for the last 60 years or more, AI promises to provide benefits within a number of domains, including healthcare, finance security and energy, to name only a few. In this paper, we explore stakeholder perceptions with regards to the forthcoming European AI Strategy, as expressed during the European Commission’s formal consultation process. We follow a qualitative inquiry to analyse our data and identify emerging themes. Our findings reveal six dimensions that are considered crucial for a responsible and ethical AI strategy: ecosystems; education; liability & accountability; data availability, data sufficiency & protection; and governance. We elaborate on these dimensions and develop a desires-realities framework. Our work contributes to a better understanding of stakeholder expectations from the AI strategy and holds important implications for research on addressing grey areas and overcoming the realities in the AI domain

Investigating the adoption and use of smartphones in the UK : a silver-surfers perspective

Copyright and all rights therein are retained by the authors. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and conditions invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be re-posted without the explicit permission of the copyright holdersSmart phones are innovations that currently provide immense benefits and convenience to users in society. However, not all members of society are accepting and using smart phones; more specifically, for this research study silver-surfers or older adults (50+) are a demographic group displaying such an attitude. Currently, there is minimal knowledge of the reasons for older adults adopting and using smartphones. Bearing this in mind, this research study aims to investigate the adoption and usage behaviours of silver-surfers. For this purpose, the conceptual framework applied to this research draws factors from the following theories: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the Diffusion of Innovations theory (DoI), and TAM3 (Technology Acceptance Model). From the online survey of 204 completed replies it was found that observability, compatibility, social influence, facilitating conditions, effort expectancy and enjoyment are important to the adoption and use of smartphones within silver-surfers. The contributions of this research are an identification and understanding of the factors that encourage or inhibit smartphone use within the older adult population. Second, this research can inform the design of computing devices and applications used for silver-surfers. Finally, this research can enlighten policy makers when forming decisions that encourage adoption and use of smartphones among silver surfersFinal Published versio

Implementing e-Services in Lagos State, Nigeria: the interplay of Cultural Perceptions and Working Practices during an automation initiative : Nigeria e-government culture and working practices

Accepted for publication in a forthcoming issue of Government Information Quarterly.The public sector’s adoption of Information and Communication Technologies is often seen as a way of increasing efficiency. However, developing public e-Services involves a series of organisational and social complexities. In this paper, we examine the organisational issues of implementing an ERP system, which was designed and developed within the context of Lagos State’s e-Services project. By doing so, we showcase the impact of organisational cultural perceptions and working practices of individuals. Our findings illustrate the strong role of cultural dimensions, particularly those pertaining to religion and multi-ethnicity. Our study provides insights to international organisations and governments alike toward project policy formulation within the context of ICT-based initiatives and reforms that aim to bring forward developmental progress.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Understanding Individual User Resistance and Workarounds of Enterprise Social Networks: The Case of Service Ltd

The purpose of this study is to explore the use of Enterprise Social Networks (ESN), namely, Yammer and Chatter, using the lens of resistance and deployment of workarounds among individuals employed in a large, service sector organization. By doing so, we can illustrate the motivation behind individual use of ESN within a large organization, the reasons for not using it and the outcomes of their choices on the organization\u27s performance and day-today activities. The research approach of our study involves employing a qualitative approach and adopting the interpretive research perspective. Our findings illustrate that there are several bottom-up and top-down pressures, which effectively hinder the adequate or successful use of ESN and drive user resistance and workarounds. The contributions of our study are manifold. First, since ESN are actively considered by organizations, our findings can inform policymakers on the issues that might arise beyond implementation, more so, during the actual use of the system. In other words, the results of this research can shed light on the areas where their efforts are best placed. At a theoretical level, our study enriches the extant literature associated with adoption issues, by explaining that ESN involve multi-level organizational characteristics found within a specific context of use, that of ESN

The Impact of Virtuality and Shared Leadership on Virtual Team Performance

Previous studies show divergent views of shared leadership in the team performance of virtual teams. In this study, we seek to understand the mediating and moderating roles of trust, commitment, and virtuality among virtual team members on performance within the context of shared leadership. We conducted a questionnaire-based survey to gather perspectives on shared leadership and performance and analysed responses through structural equation modelling. We find that there is a significant positive effect between the two and that virtuality plays a significant moderating role for virtual team performance. In addition, we find that when virtuality increases, the mediating effect of trust and commitment is not significant, which challenges previous findings

The Use Of Bitcoins In Light Of The Financial Crisis: The Case Of Greece

In 2008, following the outbreak of the global financial crisis, a new trading system emerged that was made possible by cryptographically-produced currencies. Among them, the most popular digital cryptocurrency is undoubtedly the Bitcoin. This alternative way of trading quickly captured the interest of both businesses and consumers. Combined with a general lack of confidence towards financial institutions, central governments, and the effect of capital controls imposed across several countries, Bitcoins begun being used extensively for funds transfer across borders and general payments. However, it is unclear whether the use of Bitcoins is extensive enough so as to lead to complete or partial disintermediation of monetary transactions, and whether users understand how the technology works and what are the inherit risks of this alternative payment mechanism. This paper addresses these questions through a survey-based study, conducted within the Greek context, where capital controls are still active and awareness regarding cryptocurrencies seems to be on the rise. Our findings show that despite that end-users of Bitcoin are somewhat concerned with regards to security issues, they are nevertheless interested in its use for identifying new business opportunities and bypassing residencybased measures, such as capital controls

Online Communities and the Immigration Journey: A mixed-methods study on Facebook Groups

Online communities are increasingly becoming a useful tool in for the immigration process. As the decision to immigrate can bring about a significant disruption to one’s life, it is vital to understand how the use of online communities may influence the immigration decision and support the immigration process. In this paper, we focus specifically on South African immigrants who plan to immigrate or have already immigrated to the United Kingdom and their use of Facebook groups. We adopt a mixed methods approach and combine quantitative and qualitative techniques to develop a holistic understanding of the immigration decision and process. Our findings show that online communities can be influential towards the immigration decision, but instrumental during the immigration process, transforming one’s social network before and after their immigration

Factors Affecting the Adoption of M- government services in Saudi Arabia: A Female Citizen Perspective

There are several studies about M-government adoption in Saudi Arabia, but few of these focus on women. However, in 2019 the Saudi government enabled women to access government services independently of their male guardians. Hence, this study addresses the adoption of M-government by women to see what factors affect adoption and the extent to which accessing government services via mobile phone is perceived to empower Saudi women. A theoretical model that utilises a modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) adoption framework and the Capability Approach (CA) is created for this study. Data will be gathered by semi-structured interviews with Saudi women to identify core themes that will form the basis for a survey which examines the relative importance of each factor. The study\u27s findings will contribute useful information for policy-makers to enhance the provision of M-government to Saudi women and to find strategies to encourage adoption

“DAD BOUGHT ANOTHER TOY”: MEANING MAKING AND EMOTIONS WITH TABLETS

This paper examines the interplay between meaning and emotion of tablet users during the interaction with these artifacts. Following an interpretive case study approach, we examine users’ meaning making as the context of use changes from the business context to the personal environment, trailing users’ interpretation of the tablet and their overall experience, in order to detect changes in their feeling states and understand their emotional experience with the IT artifact. Having examined mainly on-the-go professionals, our findings illustrate that the tablet is considered as a compelling device, being interpreted simultaneously as an extension of the office environment, while being mobile or at home, as a multimedia and content consumption station and as communal device, awarding or strengthening the social character of group activities. In addition, the findings suggest that users develop an attachment to the device, by either personalizing it and approaching it as a companion, or by attributing to it a symbolic significance, by recognizing a value in its expressive characteristics and assessing it as a ‘possession to own’. Our findings demonstrate that, as the tablet moves from the business to the home environment, gradually losing its utilitarian purpose, changes in feeling states become more significant and the emotional experience intensifies

Embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in usability testing: recommendations and a research agenda

Technologies support our everyday lives, and to ensure that people are not routinely excluded they must be usable by the wider population. However, technologies are not commonly tested with participants from a range of backgrounds. This paper reports on interviews and roundtable discussions with people whose identities can be underrepresented in usability testing and usability researchers to discuss how equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) can be embedded in usability testing.Key findings include (1) when people participate in research they need a sense of value, trust and agency, and (2) challenges for researchers for embedding EDI in usability testing include organisational pressures, stakeholder culture, getting guidance and recruiting who you need. Recommendations are made to researchers, and to the organisations that employ them. Additionally, we propose a research agenda for a community of users, creators of services and products, usability researchers, and all those advocating for EDI in usability research