Information technology (IT) acceptance research has yielded many competing models, each with different sets of acceptance determinants. In this paper, we (1) review user acceptance literature and discuss eight prominent models, (2) empirically compare the eight models and their extensions, (3) formulate a unified model that integrates elements across the eight models, and (4) empirically validate the unified model. The eight models reviewed are the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, the motivational model, the theory of planned behavior, a model combining the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior, the model of PC utilization, the innovation diffusion theory, and the social cognitive theory. Using data from four organizations over a six-month period with three points of measurement, the eight models explained between 17 percent and 53 percent of the variance in user intentions to use information technology. Next, a unified model, called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), was formulated, with four core determinants of intention and usage, and up to four moderators of key relationships. UTAUT was then tested using the original data and found to outperform the eight individual models (adjusted R 2 of 69 percent). UTAUT was then confirmed with data from two new organizations with similar

This paper explores the way women perceive and talk about the nature of their work, in the context of the declining participation of women in the Information Technology (IT) industry. The study is part of an ongoing project (WinIT), commenced in 1995, that has examined the attitudes of high school and university students and IT personnel towards IT education and careers. The research so far has shown that most students have a poor understanding of IT education and work and perceive IT as a difficult, boring and masculinised domain. IT education is not attracting high achieving students in general and female students in particular. Interviews of women working in IT reinforce widely held impressions of the IT industry. This paper discusses a recent study (1999-2000) in which 32 female and 2 male IT professionals were interviewed. The data were initially sorted and analysed by the third author, using NUD*IST, an Australian qualitative analysis software tool. Giddens ’ Structuration Theory (1984) was used to interpret the discourse, revealing that the professional women’s discourse is characterised by dualisms that are not always consistent with the women’s lived experiences. The dualisms discussed in this paper are those relating to skills and attributes, such as technical and people skills, as well as gender specific dualisms, such as attention to detail and assertiveness. The dualisms

There is evidence to suggest that health professionals are reluctant to accept and utilise information and communication technologies (ICT) and concern is growing within health informatics research that this is contributing to the lag in adoption and utilisation of ICT across the health sector. Technology acceptance research within the field of information systems has been limited in its application to health and there is a concurrent need to develop and gain empirical support for models of technology acceptance within health and to examine acceptance and utilisation issues amongst health professionals to improve the success of information system implementation in this arena. This paper outlines a research project that will examine ICT acceptance and utilisation by Australian occupational therapists. It describes the theoretical basis behind the development of a research model and the methodology that will be employed to empirically validate the model using substantial quantitative, qualitative and longitudinal data. The theoretical significance of this work is that it uses a thoroughly constructed research model, with potentially the largest sample size ever tested, to extend technology acceptance research into the health sector. The results of this study will have practical and theoretical applications for five major stakeholder groups.

Association (IRMA) Conference. Both conferences were held in Philadelphia, PA. The current version of the study provides additional data analysis and implications. Forthcoming in Data Base for Advances in Information Systems In this paper, I examine how and why the situated knowledge and lived experiences of working-class African American women shape their standpoint on information technology (IT). Using the biblical metaphor of the exodus and narratives of ascent, these women view IT access and training as part of a strategy for escaping poverty and despair. Whereas most of the extant gender and IT research provides rich insights into the marginalization of women, the women in this study felt empowered by IT. This contradictory outcome has three implications for the study of gender and IT. First, researchers must consider the multiple identities such as gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and sexuality that shape and are shaped by women’s engagement with IT. Second, the notion of IT workforce should take into account not only the highly skilled IT workers who design and build IT artifacts, but should also consider the lower skilled workers who indirectly use IT. Third, IT training programs that serve working-class women must go beyond the transfer of IT skills to individuals. They must also redress the persistent structural barriers of poverty, spatial isolation, illiteracy, sporadic work, and racial and ethnic discrimination that systematically limit women’s ability to compete for jobs that provide higher incomes, greater safety, more security, full-time hours, increased benefits, higher status, and less stressful work environments. ACM Categories: K4.2, K4.3

The integrative framework of technology use (IFTU) posits that to fully explain technology adoption and sustained usage, four mechanisms—namely, reason-oriented action, sequential updating, feedback, and habit—should be taken into account simultaneously in a unified model. Recently, a TAM-based two-wave panel model drawing on the IFTU paradigm has been shown to be superior to other partial models in explaining individuals ’ use of a Web-based portal. In a continuing effort to reinforce the IFTU paradigm, this study first develops and tests a TPB-based three-wave panel model to explain individuals ’ use of a software application in an organizational context. In addition, this study attempts to refine the IFTU paradigm by examining long-time (as opposed to short-time) effects of the four mechanisms that cannot be systematically examined in a two-wave setting. The findings of this three-wave panel study indicate that the proposed model integrating the four mechanisms represents technology use better than other conventional models. Yet, this research also shows that IFTU should be refined further in a way to represent the distal effects of sequential updating and habit on post-adoption phenomena. Overall, this research clearly reveals that a refined IFTU paradigm will be a simple, but powerful, conceptual tool for explaining how user evaluations and behavior evolve with experience. This article concludes with a discussion of distal effects vis-à-vis proximal effects and suggestions of interesting avenues for further development of the IFTU paradigm.

A contingency approach to incorporate human, emotional and social influence into a

In this paper we analyze how the quality of relationships among individuals affects the users ’ adoption of technology. Departing from the existing literature, the theoretical model of this paper argues that users develop their beliefs toward a new technology on the basis of the quality of their relationship with peers, supervisor and the organization as a whole. We examine the effect of these variables through a quantitative analysis of a dataset collected on 109 call center operators organized in teams. General Linear Model results confirm the significant impact of the described variables on beliefs about technology. In particular, results point out that perceived usefulness is positively related to the quality of the relationship between individuals and team leaders, and individuals and the organization; while, ease of use is positively influenced by user-organization and user-team relationships.

Information technology (IT) is fundamentally altering the way in which healthcare is delivered to consumers, and offers the promise of improving patient safety, reducing medical errors, improving efficiency, and increasing the reach of health delivery programs. The aim of this research is to examine the factors affecting the adoption and post-adoption of a significant IT innovation in healthcare: online health intervention programs that provide technology-mediated guidance and aid individuals in self-managing their health care. A key challenge confronting health program providers is that of motivating initial enrollment and subsequent continued participation in these interventions. Limited prior work in the information systems and health informatics literature has examined the uptake of technology-mediated health intervention programs. Using data from an online healthcare portal site, this study proposes and empirically tests relationships between the determinants and participation in online health intervention programs.

Software testing is crucial to ensure that systems of good quality are developed in industry and for this reason it is necessary to investigate the extent to which there is an alignment of software testing skills of Information Systems students at the University of Cape Town and industry practices in South Africa. A number of criteria were identified as the basis for this investigation. These criteria were used to examine the data collected from companies in the software testing industry and students at the University of Cape Town. Significant differences were found between software testing skills required by industry and those claimed by students, particularly with regard to the tests being used and the percentage of time spent on testing. This study should be seen as work in progress to investigate current practice in industry that might inform future research to enhance curricula.

The current higher education, both distance education and traditional campus courses, relies more and more on modern information and communication technologies (ICT). The use of computer systems and networks results in a wide range of security issues that must be dealt with in order to create a safe learning environment. In this work, we study the security status within Swedish Net University, where several universities collaborate in order to offer ICT supported higher education distance courses. The total ICT-security is defined as a combination of computer security and information security, and the focus in this work is on the information security. The four main components of the information security that are used in the study are: confidentiality, integrity, availability and accountability. The data gathering was made in two steps: first preliminary interviews then the main questionnaire. The interview respondents were a small number of students, teachers and ICT-experts at various universities, and the results of this preliminary study were then used to complete the questionnaire. The main questionnaire was sent to approximately 747 students, 106 lecturers and 40 ICT-pedagogues. The answers were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. However, due to a relatively low response rate, we must point out that the conclusions made are based on these