Cognition and Culture in ICT Experience

Chinese and western have two totally different systems of thought, holistic and analytic, respectively. Rooted in national culture, system of thought forms different cognitive processes toward the performance of using the technology. In this study, we empirically investigate the cognitive pathways underneath the proposed acceptance model in the two cultures. The findings suggest that culturally patterned cognitive processes make people in China and Canada have two contrast preferences on the causal relationships in the model to decide use of information communication technologies

Effectiveness of an Interactive Application to Assist Learning: A Test Case

Advances in computer technologies have made it possible to develop computer-aided learning tools for enhanced learning. Today, most researchers in the field of educational technology seem to be preoccupied with either the development of Artificial Intelligence applications or the representation of various learning theories such as constructivism by a computer program. The enthusiasm to develop technologically advanced learning tools resulted in technologies with limited application. The need to develop simple computer-based tools to assist instruction and demonstrate its effectiveness to enhance learning is paramount. Moreover, those tools need to be designed and integrated into a pedagogical framework. As a result, the instructor transforms into a content facilitator with altered needs. This paper presents the design and use of an interactive computer-aided learning tool for enhanced learning. Two participant groups were randomly selected. One group was allowed to use the interactive computer-aided tool prior to a test, while the second group was not. Performance of the groups was compared. Results revealed a higher mean test score for group one. The impact of the tool on test scores was found to be significant. The findings have direct implications on the design, development, testing and implementation of interactive computer-aided learning tools and on today\u27s transforming roles of educators and learners

Human-Computer Negotiations: A Systematic Evaluation of the Effects of Timespan, Tactic, and Search Mechanism

Artificial Intelligence and Computer Agents are having a substantial impact on our everyday lives. The current paper focuses on the prospects of humans negotiating with computer agents in e-commerce settings. We conducted experiments where the subjects negotiated the purchase of mobile plans with computer agents acting as sellers. Three time-based negotiation tactics and two search mechanisms were employed in synchronous vs. asynchronous sessions. The results suggest that computer agents’ negotiation tactics and search mechanisms have significant effects on both the subjective and objective outcomes of the negotiations, while timespan has marginal effects on the agreement rate of the negotiation

Can a Negotiator Build a Tough Impression Without Chatting? —— Implicit Power and its Influence on Human-Computer Negotiation

In this paper, we studied the influence of implicit power in an e-commerce setting where humans negotiated with computer agents. Implicit power is defined as a kind of perceived power gained indirectly through offer exchange. In much of the past research, power was always considered to be expressed directly through chat or natural language communications during negotiation. We suggest that there is another mode of expressing power other than chat: implicitly influencing. Specifically, we designed an experiment where several aspects of implicit power were studied: anchoring, agent profile image, and experiment subjects’ personality. In our experiment, the subjects negotiated the purchase of a laptop with computer agents acting as sellers. The result suggested that implicit power indeed influenced the negotiation result

Agents and E-commerce: Beyond Automation

The fast-growing information and communication technologies have shifted the contemporary commerce in both its information and market spaces. Businesses demand a new generation of agile and adaptive commerce systems. Towards this end, software agents, a type of autonomous artifacts, have been viewed as a promising solution. They have been taking an increasingly important part in facilitating e-commerce operations in the last two decades. This article presents a systematized overview of the diversity of agent applications in commerce. The paper argues that agents start playing more substantial role in determining social affairs. They also have a strong potential to be used to build the future highly responsive and smart e-commerce systems. The opportunities and challenges presented by proliferation of agent technologies in e-commerce necessitate the development of insights into their place in information systems research, as well as practical implications for the management

Informing physicians using a situated decision support system: Disease management for the smart city

We are in the midst of a healthcare paradigm shift driven by the wide adoption of ubiquitous computing and various modes of information communications technologies. As a result, cities worldwide are undergoing a major process of urbanization with ever increasing wealth of sensing capabilities – hence the Internet of Things (IoT). These trends impose great pressure on how healthcare is done. This paper describes the design and implementation of a situated clinical decision support (SCDSS) system, most appropriate for smart cities. The SCDSS was prototyped and enhanced in a clinic. The SCDSS was then used in a clinic as well as in a university hospital centre. In this article, the system’s architecture, subcomponents and integrated workflow are described. The systems’ design was the result of a knowledge acquisition process involving interviews with five specialists and testing with 50 patients. The reports (specialist consultation report) generated by the SCDSS were shown to general practitioners who were not able to distinguish them from human specialist reports. We propose a context-aware CDSS and assess its effectiveness in managing a wide medical range of patients. Five different patient cases were identified for analysis. The SCDSS was used to produce draft electronic specialist consultations, which were then compared to the original specialists’ consultations. It was found that the SCDSS-generated consults were of better quality for a number of reasons discussed herein. SCDSSs have great promise for their use in the clinical environment of smart cities. Valuable insights into the integration and use of situated clinical decision support systems are highlighted and suggestions for future research are given