Abdul Hafeez-Baig

Exploratory study to understand the phenomena of adoption of wireless handheld devices in the Australian healthcare system

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the phenomenal of wireless handheld technology in healthcare environment.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a mixed method approach and a qualitative approach with focus group and survey techniques.Findings – The study indicates that organizational readiness, technical readiness, clinical practice, social aspects as well as compatibility of new hardware with the existing system, play a crucial role in the adoption of wireless handheld devices in Australian healthcare systemsResearch limitations/implications – Future research in this domain needs to examine implications of wireless handheld technology at an organizational level in the healthcare environment and its adoptability to unique healthcare settingsOriginality/value – The research has established that access to data, communication enhancements, policy development, high quality information transmission and easy interfaces, are some of the factors influencing the acceptance of wireless ...

Technology Management, Data management, Improved outcomes, Efficiency and Software limitation influencing the use of wireless technology for healthcare in Pakistan

The commercialization of internet and maturity of wireless technology have brought changes in the industrialised and developing world. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Pakistan is on the rise in almost every industry. Despite the early stage of the technology and the lack of adequate resources and standardization, the use of ICT is expected to continue to grow in the Pakistani healthcare environment. In the Pakistani healthcare system, use of ICT technology has emerged as an important ingredient in formulating a business strategy that helps them to improve customer services, business processes and communication channels, both within the institution and with external stakeholders. This paper presents the results of our study into the use of wireless technology in the Pakistani healthcare system, and the determinants that were identified for the adoption of wireless technology in the Pakistani healthcare environment. The study used the quantitative approach to collect physicians views about the determinants of wireless technology. 150 healthcare professionals were surveyed to identify the drivers and inhibitors of wireless technology in the Pakistani healthcare environment.

An empirical study to determine factors that motivate and limit the implementation Of ICT in healthcare environments

BackgroundThe maturity and usage of wireless technology has influenced health services, and this has raised expectations from users that healthcare services will become more affordable due to technology growth. There is increasing evidence to justify this expectation, as telehealth is becoming more and more prevalent in many countries. Thus, health services are now offered beyond the boundaries of traditional hospitals, giving rise to many external factors dictating their quality. This has led us to investigate the factors that motivate and limit the implementation of ICT applications in the healthcare domain.MethodsWe used a mixed method approach with the qualitative aspects leading the quantitative aspects. The main reason for this approach was to understand and explore the domain through the qualitative aspects as we could be part of the discussion. Then we conducted a quantitative survey to extract more responses in order to justify the claims explored in the qualitative process.ResultsWe found that there are a number of internal and external factors influencing ICT adoption in the healthcare environment so that services can be provided via ICT tools. These factors were grouped under factors contributing to improved outcomes, efficiency and the management of technology. We conceptualised that these three groups of factors drive ICT implementation to assure health services.ConclusionsThe main lesson learned from this research was that Information Systems discipline needs to urgently consider health informatics as a serious growth area. We also found that as IS researchers, we need to ‘mix’ with the health environment in order to understand the environment and then develop suitable methods to answer posited research questions.

An Exploratory Study of Mobile Learning for Tertiary Education: A Discussion with Students

Abstract The drive to understand and to improve the adoption of self-service, technology-based teaching and dynamic learning environments has created interest in recent years. Owing to the availability, flexibility and convenience of wireless devices, learning/training programs appear to be providing benefits to instructors and students alike. Over the years, wireless technologies have improved communication capabilities, videoconferencing, data management and live discussion forums. The reduction in the cost of hardware and Internet services and the increased capabilities of wireless devices in conjunction with the capabilities of the World Wide Web are popular among students and academics. While universities, Technical and Further Education colleges and other training providers realise the potential role played by wireless technologies in dynamic learning environments, users of those technologies have indicated conflicting outcomes, claiming a failure of wireless technologies in learning environments. What appear to be consistent factors in the success or failure of such technologies is the context in which these applications are used, the specific applications for learning and teaching, infrastructure and change management. The literature indicates that sophisticated applications and features are constantly being developed for the wireless learning environment. Australian institutions are using wireless technologies for specific objectives in educational environments, but the adoption of those technologies is a complex and technical process. This exploratory research reports outcomes of a preliminary discussion with students about the influence of wireless technologies on learning purposes. The prime focus of the discussion was to extract themes that can identify factors that have an impact on the adoption of wireless technologies in learning environments in order to develop an initial conceptual model.

Moving towards the effective evaluation of mobile learning initiatives in higher education institutions

Mobile learning is viewed by many institutional leaders as the solution for a student cohort that is demanding an increasing flexibility in study options. These students are fitting study around other aspects of their lives including work and caring responsibilities, or they are studying at a geographical location far removed from the university campus. With ubiquitous connectivity available in many parts of the world and with the incremental improvements in design and affordability of mobile devices, many students are using mobile technologies to access course materials and activities. Even so, there are relatively few formal mobile learning initiatives underway and even fewer evaluations of those initiatives. This is significant because without a rigorous evaluation of mobile learning, it is impossible to determine whether it provides a viable and cost-effective way of accessing courses for both the student and the institution. This chapter examines the broad groupings of uses for mobile devices for learning, before considering the evaluation frameworks that are currently in use. The characteristics, affordances, and issues of these Q1 frameworks are briefly discussed. A project to develop a Mobile Learning Evaluation Framework is introduced, which will consider evaluation from four aspects: (1) pedagogical learning, (2) pedagogical teaching, (3) technical, and (4) organizational.

Principles and pressures in managing student attitudes to innovative mobile learning: a view from an Australian distance-education-intensive university

A crucial element of managing innovative distance learning is engaging efficiently with students’ experiences and expectations of such learning. This paper discusses the results of an institution-wide survey conducted in 2008 among 228 students in two faculties at an Australian distance-education-intensive university. The survey recorded students’ attitudes to mobile learning. The results were analysed in terms of principles of innovative education as well as pressures on the university and staff members. The authors argue that sustainably innovating mobile learning in this context requires careful management of students’ attitudes to align them with effective teaching strategies and engaged educational technologies.

Constructs for successful implementation of m-business: an Australian case study

Mobile data services have changed the interactions among the business, customers, and suppliers in the recent years. The services and consequential organisational transformation has become an essential issue for industries and academics. It prompts the authors to study the issue based on the experiences of 84 Australian organisations. The findings indicated that three major constructs including customer support, availability of information, and productivity are identified as motivators of m-transformation, and organisational support, security, and integration of resources are found as challenges for a successful implementation of m-business. The findings are useful for the future research to the wider domain.

Adoption phenomena for wireless handheld devices in the healthcare environment

Abstract While prior studies agree that wireless applications have the potential to address some of the data management issues encountered by healthcare, very limited information can be found about the drivers and inhibitors of applications that facilitate data management. Therefore, there is a need to identify the factors that assist in the adoption of wireless applications in healthcare and the factors acting as barriers for the uptake of wireless applications. This research will explore the influence of clinical practices, compatibility, and social demographics on the intention of using wireless handheld devices in the Australian healthcare environment. A survey instrument was developed from the focus group discussion secessions. A total of 373 usable surveys were used to analyse the effects of clinical practices, compatibility, and social demographics on the intention of using wireless handhelds. The initial results provided strong evidence on the factors: Social Demographics, Clinical Practices and Compatibility of Wireless Technology, with the intention of using this technology. The results indicated that Social Demographics was acting as a mediating variable for clinical practices and compatibility in the context of the intention to use wireless handheld devices in the Australian healthcare environment.

Exercise, Diet Counselling, and Management for the Adults with Diabetes Mellitus: An Indian Case Study

Physical and mental wellbeing and freedom from disease and pain are the signs of a healthy individual. Health is wealth is an apt proverb as without health one cannot live a holistic life. Diet and nutrition are important factors in the promotion and maintenance of good health. In the past decade, rapid expansion in a number of relevant scientific fields and, in particular, the population-based epidemiological evidence has helped to emphasize the need for immediate and effective action in preventing and controlling morbidity and premature mortality resulting from non-communicable diseases (WHO 2003). Today, surveys indicate that diabetes mellitus rules the roost among all non-communicable diseases. This research study was undertaken in the Indian region to access the effects of periodic intensive counselling. Around 150 male and female participants aged between 40 and 60 years participated in this study. The findings of the study show diabetes mellitus is major contributor among the non-communicable diseases. This disease can be a major cause for loss of vision, problems with limbs, renal failure and issues associated with cardiovascular diseases. There is no lack of effective therapy or treatment for diabetes mellitus. Successful and effective implementation of these treatments for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus is the real challenge. This research study is limited to one state of India, Tamil Nadu, and further research is need to generalize the findings of this research.

Deploying Mobile Data Services: An Australian Case Study

Based on the motivations of six Australian organizations, the authors propose an analytical model to help decision makers identify the complex relationships between their internal goals and targeted users when deploying mobile data services.