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In this paper, the first virtual reality (VR) photography application that incorporates elements on panoramic images to assess short-term spatial memory is presented. It also allows the interaction with these elements. A study was conducted (N = 50) to compare participants' performance outcomes and subjective experience when using a VR application with and without panoramic photography. The results show that both applications are effective in assessing short-term spatial memory. The results with panoramic photography include: 1) It was effective for short-term recall since, after using the application, the participants were able to verbally recall the objects and place them without significant differences with respect to the objects correctly placed; 2) The performance outcomes were independent of age and gender; 3) The perceived level of presence was directly related to experiencing less cybersickness when using the application; 4) The level of satisfaction was directly related to perceived enjoyment, concentration, usability, competence, calmness, and expertise; 5) The more the familiarity with VR applications, the less the perceived cybersickness. Finally, the application offers two main advantages: 1) The evaluators can customize the environment by adding as many elements as desired to the panoramic photograph; 2) It could be especially suitable for groups with reduced mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Together with the growth in the presence of e-learning in higher education institutions, the advance of technology allows for the possibility of creating tailored institutional strategies to improve the experience of their students. Moreover, placing the students at the centre of their learning in self-regulated environments also implies offering a more tailored experience that focuses in their learning styles. In order to do so, it is essential to distinguish the different student profiles that arise in these contexts from a meta-cognitive and motivational perspective. The current paper uses hierarchical clustering on a sample of students enrolled in distance education programmes at a medium-sized Spanish university to obtain a set of distinct profiles and show how this technique can be useful both to assess the needs and limitations of the students from the perspective of exogenous and intrinsic factors in TEL environments and to provide specific services for each of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing maturity of information technologies (IT) in hospitals and their infrastructure development is improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare services. In these circumstances, an investigation of the diffusion of IT in this context would provide some insight into adopters’ behaviours and further the diffusion of IT in the near future. The purpose of this paper is to conduct an investigation of the diffusion of IT’s innovations in hospitals. Technology acceptance model and innovation diffusion theory have been applied in this research trying to find factors that permit an effective discrimination between early and late adopters. The differences in characteristics between these two categories are assessed and implications based on the research findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite the opportunities the health sector will offer as a result of the design and development of a technology infrastructure, the fact is that hospitals have been slow to adopt telemedicine technologies, largely because very few organisations are prepared to face this challenge. A possible explanation for the efficiency and effectiveness gaps of services provided by Hospital-in-the-Home Units (HHUs) may relate to the advantages and disadvantages of the knowledge processes that these units exhibit as a result of their different structural properties. This paper investigates the approaches that HHUs have used to update the knowledge of physicians and their members' knowledge of technology, and relates them to an unlearning context (UC) and improvement in the quality of health services. These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 55 doctors and 62 nurses belonging to 44 HHUs. The research findings suggest that the key benefits of a UC in HHUs are clear. It enables them to identify and replace poor practices and also avoids the reinvention of the wheel; it enables cost reduction by minimising unnecessary work caused by the use of poor methods and it enables improvements adopting new telemedicine technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People around the world spend hours of their daily lives using smartphones; therefore, it is important to conduct cross-cultural research on the effects of smartphone use on health and well-being as culture influences values, motivations and communication patterns. The purpose of this study was to explore 5 popular uses of the smartphone – messaging, browsing the Internet, posting social content, reading social content, and playing games – how they relate to anxiety and depression scores, and how they vary depending on the country of the participants: Spain, the United States, and Colombia. In all three countries the ranking of most popular uses was the same: (1) Messaging, (2) Reading social content, and (3) Browsing the Internet. In the USA, game playing contributed to anxiety scores whereas reading social content was a protective factor; regarding depression scores, text messaging was a contributing factor. In Spain, browsing the Internet contributed to anxiety scores; regarding depression scores, messaging was a contributing factor and posting social content was a protective factor. In Colombia, no specific use influenced anxiety scores; regarding depression scores, only game playing was a protective factor. Our results showed that in all the countries, problematic smartphone use contributed to anxiety scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While video games provide different Player Experiences (PE), some genres can provide particularly unique PEs driven by their particular features. Such is the case of MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games, currently led in number of players and popularity by League of Legends. In spite of this popularity, PE in MOBA games remains largely unexplored. We aim to explore this gap by presenting a PE study that focuses in League of Legends and its player base. After surveying more than 400 players in the database of the largest eSports organisation in Spain, a series of tests were run from multiple perspectives using the PENS (Player Experience of Need Satisfaction) model and the SPGQ (Social Presence in Gaming Questionnaire) as response variables. Among our findings, we show how PE differs across different levels of competence (or rank) inside the game. When looking at how team play impact PE, results show how PENS dimensions remain unaffected while empathy is driven by playing with known teammates. Role selection, on the other hand, has an arguably insignificant impact in PE. Last but not least, an invariant behavioural engagement across all dimensions shows how players perceive team collaboration as an essential factor for success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers need to continuously update their information and communication technologies (ICT) knowledge, but they are usually not trained to deal with the problems arising from their use. In fact, studies in the literature report techno-anxiety (i.e. unpleasant physiological activation and discomfort due to present or future use of ICT) in teachers. Thus, the goal of this action research is to study if teachers’ techno-anxiety can be reduced by increasing their ability to solve technological problems. An inter-subject experiment has been carried out with 46 teachers. High school teachers were chosen because they are digital immigrants, while at the moment of this research their students are digital natives (born around year 2000). Since we could not find any specific training for teachers to increase their resolution skills of technological problems, in order to apply the treatment for our study, we have designed and deployed an online course about ICT problem-solving skills based on the 70/20/10 model for learning and development. Results show the success of the course when it comes to increasing the ICT problem-solving skills and to reducing techno-anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research describes and analyses the use made by young Spanish people of Tuenti, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, exploring several variables: level of functional knowledge; frequency of use; place of use; reason for use; purpose and main activity; recipients of communication; degree of difficulty, satisfaction and preference; and intentions regarding future use. We designed and administered an online questionnaire to 757 students enrolled in secondary education (7th–11th levels and Vocational Education and Training) at seven educational centres. The results show that young Spanish people know about and use social networks on a daily basis. Tuenti was the one used with most frequency, followed by Facebook and Twitter. Myspace was the least known and used. Female subjects had a greater functional knowledge of these networks and reported a higher regular use of them. Participants used the social networks in their homes and preferred Tuenti because it is easy to use, allows them to communicate with friends and classmates and provides them with acceptable satisfaction as regards their need for prestige, acceptance and approval through the creation and maintenance of groups of friends and the publication of their achievements and self-realisations. The implications of the results obtained for psychological and social development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the most important determinants of managerial effectiveness in achieving organisational objectives is the success in influencing subordinates, lateral peers and supervisors through influence tactics. However, little attention has been paid to the use of a communication medium in the context of influence tactics. Our objective is to study the frequency of these dyadic influence tactics on diverse communication media. The study involves a questionnaire-based survey conducted on Spanish post-graduate students who had been working in medium-sized or large companies during the last 2 years or more. The results suggest that the richness of the medium explains most similarities and differences in the frequency of influence tactics for different communication media. Furthermore, in the study of hard influence tactics in communication media with similar richness, it is necessary to introduce social aspects and the level of surveillance in order to explain it fully. This study helps managers to understand the relationships between influence tactics and the use of communication media in order to improve their communication effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]