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This paper aims to explore and understand the digital divide in older adults when accepting and using smart devices within an organization. Using an in-depth single case study, the digital divide is explored and understood using technology-mediated learning for older adults when using smart devices; ie. tablet devices. The case study is based on a group of educated, older Indian adult volunteers at a local Punjabi radio station. A qualitative approach used the data collection techniques of interviews, observations, informal conversations and reference to archival documents and interpretivism for analysis. Our findings revealed that older adults with ailments have shorter lives, contrary to popular perception, can be very active in their communities, are able to use basic IT and are willing to use technology when it leads to significant tangible or intangible benefits without considering the remaining time of their lives. Contributions for policymakers and industry are also offered in this paper.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) use and work performance during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Specifically, it aims to understand what the role of task–technology fit is, and what effect this has on feelings of loneliness of individuals and their subsequent work performance. As a large proportion of workers are required to work from home during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, understanding what aspects contribute to higher performance and reduced negative psychological outcomes is of increased practical and research interest. Design/methodology/approach To explore these questions, a quantitative approach that employed a sample population of 357 individuals who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic was used. Using a convenience, purposive and snowball sampling approach the authors collected data through a custom-built online questionnaire, and analyzed the data using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings The results highlight the effect that high task–technology fit has in both directly and indirectly influencing work performance of individuals. The authors find that by designing ICTs based on task–technology fit principles, individuals are less likely to experience feelings of loneliness while working from home and are more prone to perform better in their work-related tasks. Originality/value This study offers a new perspective on the role fit of tasks with technology have on influencing psychological states, and indirectly influencing work-related outcomes. The authors, therefore, expand the understanding about why task–technology fit is sought after by explaining part of the psychological mechanisms through which it has an effect on work performance.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine sharing economy online marketplaces with the aim of understanding how trust perceptions form and get communicated through sharing economy platforms. Design/methodology/approach The authors build on online user comments and reviews as aggregated by independent third-party websites, and apply a qualitative analysis. Findings The findings show that the quantity of information and communication are important drivers towards building trust perceptions, while an overall lack of interaction between users and the marketplace provider intensifies perceived risks. Originality/value The authors validated the importance of trust and the authors have illustrated that the critical conditions that hinder trust formation are information asymmetry as well as the lack of interaction. What is also an interesting implication is that the impact of both of these can be exacerbated when there is a perceived lack of support among users and between them and the marketplace operator.

Employees are increasingly relying on mobile devices. In international organizations, more employees are using their personal smartphones for work purposes. Meanwhile, the number of data breaches is rising and affecting the security of customers' data. However, employees' cybersecurity compliance with cybersecurity policies is poorly understood. Researchers have called for a more holistic approach to information security. We propose an employee smartphone-security compliance (ESSC) model, which deepens understanding of employees' information-security behavior by considering influences on the national, organizational, technological (smartphone-specific), and personal levels. The research focuses on secure smartphone use in the workplace among Gen-Mobile (aged 18–35) employees in a cross-cultural context: the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) where 1735 questionnaires were collected. Our findings suggest that those who wish to understand employees' smartphone-security behavior should consider national cybersecurity policies, cultural differences in different countries, and threats specific to smartphone use. In addition, our findings help companies to increase customers’ trust and maintain a positive reputation.

Jyoti Choudrie FBCS, Professor of Information Systems at the University of Hertfordshire, talks to Johanna Hamilton AMBCS about COVID-19, sanity checking with seniors, robotics and how AI is shaping our world.

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 towards project policy formulation within the context of ICT-based initiatives and reforms that aim to bring forward developmental progress.

PurposeResearch has found that the implementation of learning‐based systems development is a complex issue since it requires the input of employees at all levels of an organization. Successful implementation is a challenge for organizations as the basic training and education offered by them and the particular experiences of the individuals on their own and other factors such as fear and ignorance prevent such actions. For this purpose, the addition of other elements is also required. This research aims to identify and explain the usage of the elements that can encourage employees to contribute the inputs necessary for learning‐based systems development.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this aim, this research developed a conceptual framework based on the concepts of meta‐abilities and tacit knowledge externalization and sharing. To illustrate the application of the framework in a real life setting, a case study approach that involved a large manufacturing organization in Malaysia was employed.FindingsThe processes undertaken in the novel conceptual framework of this research should ensure that organizational information systems are subject to continual re‐examination and modification. By internalizing a system's operations, individuals can improve actions by acquiring better knowledge and understanding, which is the learning process. It was concluded that the future focus for the management of information in organizational learning should be towards the development of an individual's meta‐abilities and creating a suitable organizational culture and infrastructure such that knowledge sharing is promoted.Originality/valueGenerally, this paper offers a contribution by illustrating the application of a conceptual framework in a practical situation; thereby demonstrating a theoretical and practical understanding of the integration of staff members into the IS development process.

Teamwork is increasingly seen as a prerequisite for many job functions within those organisations seeking to sustain total quality management (TQM). However, the daunting task of creating a teamwork environment within many companies is often left to pro‐active senior management that assumes the responsibility for creating a culture of interdependency. The opportunity for maximising employee potential through empowered teamwork represents a challenge for many managers. These managers who often become champions for success inevitably contribute towards improving organisational performance through re‐engineering the people process. This paper describes a reflective case experience of a small to medium enterprise that developed a team‐based organisation, where all employees were empowered to challenge the status quo, implement continuous improvement strategies and, thus, strive towards TQM. The paper describes how the formation of self‐directed work teams (SDWTs) is used as a strategy for motivating a diverse group of people with different attitudes, skills and personalities, to work together towards common business goals. Particularly, emphasis is placed on the role of the team facilitator within dynamic teams, and the necessary attributes of such a facilitator are identified. This identification also assists in providing an understanding of how a facilitator can assist in curtailing conflict. The benefits experienced by the case study as it sustains its TQM efforts through flexible SDWTs are also identified.

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Interacting with Computers following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at the link below. Governments around the globe are striving to provide e-government, online products and services to all the citizens of their respective countries. This has meant that there is a shift in the conventional mode of public service delivery from a face-to-face and telephone mode to electronic means. However, not all the citizens are making use of these changes, and the one demographic group that is currently attracting immense interest related to their welfare, health and other such issues is the older age group. Using this as a reason, the aim of this exploratory and explanatory research was to understand the e-government initiatives in the UK, more specifically in London. To conduct this research, a mixed qualitative and quantitative research approach was pursued. It was concluded that the benefits of the Internet to many of the users is relative, depending on the age, perceptions and level of innovativeness of the user. It was learnt that in relation to quality, the local authority websites do contain useful and relevant information for the elderly. However, this information is difficult to access, mainly due to the lack of knowledge, skills in the use of computers or Internet. From this research, it is expected that a contribution to academia will emerge in the form of a better understanding of issues related to e-government, the digital divide and older citizens. For industry, the contributions of this research are the identification and understanding of issues related to online products and services and the older citizen. For policy-makers, this research proffers an understanding of issues related with demand and supply of online products and services that governments are currently providing.

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010. The UK National Health Service (NHS) is embarking on the largest investment programme in Information Technology (IT). The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the NHS is the biggest civil IT project in the world and seeks to revolutionise the way care is delivered, drive up quality and make more effective use of resources of the NHS. Despite these high expectations, the NHS has historically experienced some high profile IT failures and the sponsors of the programme admitted that there remain a number of critical barriers to the implementation of the programme. Clinicians’ reluctance to accept new IT systems at a local level is seen to be a major factor in this respect. Focusing on such barriers, this paper reports research that explored and explained why such reluctance occurs in the NHS. The main contribution of this research derives from the distinctive approach based on Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory (PCT) to understand the ‘reluctance’. The argument presented in the paper indicates that such reluctance should be viewed not as deliberate resistance imposed by clinicians, but as their inability of changing their established group personal constructs related to ISDD activities. Therefore, this paper argues that the means that could occur to reduce the ‘reluctance’ are creative rather than corrective or normative. The research took place in a NHS Trust and the paper pays considerable attention to technological, behavioural and clinical perspectives that emerged from the study. The research was conducted as a case study in a NHS trust and data was collected from two local NHS IT project. The main research participants in this study were: (a) IT professionals including IT project managers and senior IT managers; and (b) senior clinicians.

Large investments have been made by various governments for the deployment of broadband within their respective nations; however, the citizens of such countries have demonstrated a slow adoption of this technology. The Handbook of Research on Global Diffusion of Broadband Data Transmission explores broadband adoption and the digital divide through a global perspective, providing up-to-date research on constructs such as relative advantage, utilitarian outcomes, hedonic outcomes, and service quality. Compiling cutting-edge research from over 100 noted experts in nearly 30 countries, this invaluable reference source allows policy makers, internet service providers, and others to gain multicultural insight into what factors actively influence consumers decisions to adopt broadband.

The aim of this paper is to identify the adopters and non-adopters of Broadband within the silver surfer group. This was achieved using the British Household Panel Survey, a large scale survey used to collect data from UK households. The data was analysed using statistical tools, such as, SPSS v. 15. The conclusions drawn are that Broadband will be adopted in nuclear households (no presence of elderly) with silver surfers who have children aged between 12 and 18, without ignoring the role played by a relatively level of education. This research offers contributions for academics by providing an objective viewpoint of the factors leading to Broadband adoption within silver surfers, a group of immense, current interest. For industry, this research offers an intensive identification of socio-economic factors that are considered important when marketing a product or service within the market.

It has now become evident that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are pertinent for economic prosperity, which has led to governments around the globe to offer online government products and services. For this purpose, websites offering information from governments to citizens and interaction between governments and citizens using static web pages and web portals are considered to be essential. This paper reports the results of an evaluative study of a cross-section of the e-government portals using a common set of performance metrics and web diagnostic engines and empirical evidence gathered from a diverse range of respondents. Results show that not only are there wide variations in the spectrum of information and services provided by these portals, but that significant work still needs to be undertaken to make the portals examples of 'best practice' e-government services.

Although Information Systems (IS) research has paid attention to the understanding of users’ adoption of technology, researchers have had a minimal focus upon the application of various adoption models that study a consumer’s adoption of technology. An attempt to fill this gap is undertaken in this research. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of the extant information systems literature related to users and/or consumers’ adoption of technology with an emphasis on broadband and to develop a conceptual model based upon the review. To achieve the overall aim, three objectives are proposed and they are: (1) to review and assess the appropriateness of previous technology adoption models and constructs; (2) to identify the appropriate constructs from various models that are used to understand the household diffusion of broadband; and (3) to formulate research hypotheses and to develop a model of broadband adoption. The contributions of this paper are: it integrates the appropriate information systems (IS) literature in order to enhance our knowledge of technology adoption from the consumer perspectives; and provides clear directions for future research. That is, first, this paper evaluates the flexibility of various models for studying technology adoption issues. Second, it assimilates previous research findings to develop a coherent and comprehensive picture of the technology adoption research conducted in the IS field. Third, this paper introduces a conceptual model that integrates factors from different technology adoption models to study home technology diffusion from a consumer perspective. Finally, the future research directions to this research are provided in the concluding section.

Part 7: The Contribution of Practice Theories to ICT for Development; International audience; ICT4D projects in rural communities face many challenges to successful execution. These include the development of an ICT artifact which is suited to the needs of a specific community, as well as a complex socio-cultural context which can have unexpected impacts on an ICT4D project. In Mafarafara, a remote rural community in South Africa’s Limpopo province, researchers who were using a Design Science Research framework to guide the development of an ICT platform recognized the importance and potential impact of unvoiced social and political issues. Managing these dynamics are important for not only a better understanding of the community, but also for the success and sustainability of the project. Activity theory is used to complement the DSRM to make these social aspects visible, thus contributing to the success of the project. Two examples of the socio-political dynamics are described using the activity theory concepts of tension and hierarchical activity.

Part 2: Large Scale and Complex Information Systems for Development; International audience; Utilizing concepts derived from computational thinking—a method of thinking coined by Jeanette Wing—a problem-solving paradigm is presented to demonstrate the applicability of thinking computationally beyond the realm of computer science. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are used as a set of real world problems to elaborate the function of the proposed four-stage paradigm. The paradigm seeks to provide a method of approaching problems with the aim of finding local and contextualized solutions that reach all members of different societies. This paper also serves as the foundation of further research in the development of computational thinking as a fundamental tool for finding solutions in a broad scope of disciplines and real-world situations.

Part 2: Large Scale and Complex Information Systems for Development; International audience; A software ecosystem consists of a software platform, a set of internal and external developers and domain experts in service to a community of users that compose relevant solution elements to satisfy their needs. Open source is well-known for its potential to frame software ecosystems with its networking tendency and provision for further customization with access to software source code. Open source is increasingly becoming the choice for health information system implementations in low resource settings.This longitudinal case study was designed to study the research question, how a software ecosystem is being built around an open source health information system implementation. Empirically the study was positioned in a multi-sector initiative identifying and support nutritionally at-risk households to eliminating malnutrition. The discussion reveals how new dependencies between health and non-health sector actors were created with the emerging software ecosystem based on an open source framework and supplementary custom-built web and mobile components.

Part 6: Critical Perspectives on ICT and Open Innovation for Development; International audience; The community dynamics revolve around shared interests, norms, and identities. The sustainable exchange of resources for development is only possible if the members of the community are connected and the collaboration opportunities and practices are well-understood. This work in progress paper proposes social mapping as an innovative way of making sense of the connections between Development Informatics researchers towards understanding the research landscape and behavioural collaboration patterns. The data set includes the associations, collaborations and publication connections of at least 50 South African researchers. The maps were constructed using the Kumu social mapping tool. The results show that social mapping has the potential for presenting research connections visually in a way that supports sensemaking of the social dynamics within the society by considering the structural and behavioural patterns. The findings are limited by the fact that any attempt at representing the members of a dynamic community is seldom up to date and never complete. That limitation is managed by rigorously specifying the data capturing process and period. Furthermore, sensemaking theory informs that human sensemaking implicitly involves the unmaking of sense to adjust to time-space gaps. The contribution is a description and demonstration of how social mapping technology can be used to display information towards making sense of a research community.