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

Focus Issue on Legacy Information Systems and Business Process Change:On the Integrated Design and Evaluation of Business Processes and Information Systems

The role of information systems in influencing and enabling organisational design is widely acknowledged. Yet limited attention is paid to the theoretical legitimacy and conceptual basis of IS-enabled organisational change i.e., business engineering. In this paper we review business engineering\u27s reference disciplines critically: process-based organisational design, IS development, and IS evaluation. Findings from a case study of business engineering provide empirical support to the theoretical analysis. Synthesis of the conclusions of the review and the case study lead to a number of propositions and potential avenues for further research into the theoretically attractive and practically important field of aligning the design of organisational structures with the design of Information Systems intended to support them

Dynamic process modelling for business engineering and information systems evaluation

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This research is concerned with the pre-implementation evaluation of investments in Information Systems (IS). IS evaluation is important as organisations need to assess the financial justifiability of business change proposals that include (but usually are not limited to) the introduction of IS applications. More specifically, this research addresses the problem of benefits assessment within IS evaluation. We contend that benefits assessment should not be performed at the level of the IS application, as most extant evaluation methods advocate. Instead, to study the dynamics and the interactions of the IS applications with their surrounding environment, we propose to adopt the business process as the analytic lens of evaluation and to assess the impacts of IS on organisational, rather than on technical, performance indicators. Drawing on these propositions, this research investigates the potential of dynamic process modelling (via discrete-event simulation) as a facilitator of IS evaluation. We argue that, in order to be effective evaluation tools, business process models should be able to explicitly incorporate the effects of IS introduction on business performance, an issue that is found to be under-researched in previous literature. The above findings serve as the central theme for the development of a design theory of IS evaluation by simulation. The theory provides prescriptive elements that refer both to the design products of the evaluation and the design process by which these products can come into reality. The theory draws on a set of kernel theories from the business engineering domain and proposes a set of meta-requirements that should be satisfied by business process models, a meta-design structure that meets these requirements, and a design method that provides guidance in applying the theoretical propositions in practice. The design theory is developed and empirically tested by means of two real-life case studies. The first study is used to complement the findings of a literature review and to drive the development of the design theory's components, while the second study is employed to validate and further enhance the theory's propositions. The research results support the arguments for simulation-assisted IS evaluation and demonstrate the contribution of the design theory to the field

The Evaluation of Investments in Electronic Commerce

The decision to adopt inter-organisational Electronic Commerce (E-Comm) applications may have unforeseen consequences for the firms involved. It should therefore be taken only after careful consideration of possible implications and pitfalls. In this paper we present a real-life case study of E-Comm investment evaluation, where computer-based models of the business processes to be supported by E-Comm were developed. The models were then dynamically simulated to assist the companies involved in gaining insight on the real benefits and dangers associated with the planned business change

A motivation and effort model for members of wireless communities

The aim of this paper is to develop an analytical framework and model for understanding motivation and effort among members of Community-based WLANs. Wireless communities represent a stimulating area for research due to their organizational uniqueness as loosely-knit communities of wireless enthusiasts who cooperate to set up and operate a wireless communications infrastructure; in other words, they represent an example of collective action. Thus, two research issues are critical in understanding the mechanics behind the sustained existence of wireless communities: motivation – why individuals become community members – and coordination – how individuals within a community interact with each other. Focusing on the first issue, the paper provides a theoretical explanation of motivation which, in turn, informs the design of a conceptual model. According to this explanation, an individual decides to participate in a wireless community because of intrinsic as well as extrinsic motives. These motives are balanced against the perceived effort to join and participate in the community to jointly determine a suitable participation level for each community member. The resulting model adopts a cost-benefit (utility) perspective that is being empirically tested through a large-scale questionnaire survey

“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

Blockchain: The Next Breakthrough in the Rapid Progress of AI

Blockchain technologies, once used exclusively for buying and selling bitcoins, have entered the mainstream of computer applications, fundamentally changing the way Internet transactions can be implemented by ascertaining trust between unknown parties. In addition, they ensure immutability (once information is entered it cannot be modified) and enable disintermediation (as trust is assured, no third party is required to verify transactions). These advantages can produce disruptive changes when properly exploited, inspiring a large number of applications. These applications are forming the backbone of what can be called the Internet of Value, bound to bring as significant changes as those brought over the last 20 years by the traditional Internet. This chapter investigates blockchain and the technologies behind it and explains their technological might and outstanding potential, not only for transactions but also as distributed databases. It also discusses its future prospects and the disruptive changes it promises to bring, while also considering the challenges that would need to be overcome for its widespread adoption. Finally, the chapter considers combining blockchain with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and discusses the revolutionary changes that would result by rapidly advancing the AI field