Feng-Yang Kuo

Development and Validation of Ethical Computer Self-Efficacy Measure: The Case of Softlifting

The concept of self-efficacy is concerned with peoples beliefs in their ability to produce given attainment. It has been widely applied to study human conduct in various settings. This study, based on Albert Banduras social cognitive theory, proposes the employment of self-efficacy for investigating peoples ethical conduct related to computer use. Specifically, an ethical computer self-efficacy (ECSE) construct concerning software piracy is developed and validated. The measurement model of the construct was rigorously tested and validated through confirmatory factor analysis. The results suggest that ECSE can be operationalized as a second-order factor model. The first order constructs are termed use&keep (do not use), distribution (do not distribute), and persuasion (persuade others not to commit piracy). These factors are governed by a second-order construct of ECSE. This construct could be useful to research a wide range of information ethics in the future.

Understanding human-computer interaction for information systems design

Over the past 35 years, information technology has permeated every business activity. This growing use of information technology promised an unprecedented increase in end-user productivity Yet this promise is unfulfilled, due primarily to a lack of understanding of end-user behavior End-user productivity is tied directly to functionality and ease of learning and use. Furthermore, system designers lack the necessary guidance and tools to apply effectively what is known about human-computer interaction (CHI) during systems design. Software developers need to expand their focus beyond functional requirements to include the behavioral needs of users. Only when system functions fit actual work and the system is easy to learn and use will the system be adopted by office workers and business professionals. The large, interdisciplinary body of research literature suggest HCIs importance as well as its complexity. This article is the product of an extensive effort to integrate the diverse body of HCI literature into a comprehensible framework that provides guidance to system designers. HCI design is divided into three major divisions system model, action language, and presentation language. The system model is a conceptual depiction of system objects and functions. The basic premise is that the selection of a good system model provides direction for designing action and presentation languages that determine the systems look and feel. Major design recommendation sin each division are identified along with current research trends and future research issues.

To share or not to share: a critical research perspective on knowledge management systems

This paper looks at Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) from the perspective of critical research. Using the concepts of ‘gaze’ and ‘face’, we examine the development and use of a web-based KMS in Taiwan. The findings indicate that, although a web-based KMS was developed to enable knowledge sharing, the capabilities for surveillance inherent in the KMS severely limited sharing. This study raises broader questions about the relationship between cultural values and the production of knowledge in KMS.

Exploring individual communication power in the blogosphere

Purpose – Viewing the blog technology as an integral part of the current social‐technical environment, this research aims to investigate whether the main influences on message diffusion within a blog community originate from external mass media channels or internal interpersonal communication channels.Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed the innovation‐diffusion model and the OLS estimating method to study message diffusion of two documentary films on the Wretch, the largest blog community in Taiwan.Findings – The results indicate that the mass media is the main source of message diffusion and that the internal communication power may increase as the opinion leader promotes these messages.Research limitations/implications – Other factors that may influence message diffusion such as topic, design characteristics, and the existing social network have not been included.Practical implications – For practice, the result indicates that the mass media and the blog might complement each other.Origin...

AN INVESTIGATION OF VOLITIONAL CONTROL IN INFORMATION ETHICS

The main motivation of our research is how the issue of volitional control might affect the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to research decisions related to information ethics. Specifically, a TPB-based model provides the best fit to the sample collected for the present study. In this model, the contribution of both the attitude and perceived behavioural control to the intention is shown to fluctuate depending upon the degree of volitional control concerning the targeted behaviour. As the behaviours degree of volitional control lessens, the weighted influence of perceived behavioural control increases and that of the attitude decreases. Thus, it is confirmed that degree of volitional control concerning an ethical act indeed plays a central role in applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to information ethics research.

An eye‐tracking investigation of internet consumers' decision deliberateness

Purpose – Because presentation formats, i.e. table v. graph, in shopping web sites may promote or inhibit deliberate consumer decision making, it is important to understand the effects of information presentation on deliberateness. This paper seeks to empirically test whether the table format enhances deliberate decision making, while the web map weakens the process. In addition, deliberateness can be influenced by the decision orientation, i.e. emotionally charged or accuracy oriented. Thus, the paper further examines the effect of presentations across these two decision orientations.Design/methodology/approach – Objective and detailed description of the decision process is used to examine the effects. A two (decision orientation: positive emotion v. accuracy) by two (presentation: map v. table) eye‐tracking experiment is designed. Deliberateness is quantified with the information processing pattern summarized from eye movement data. Participants are required to make preferential choices from simple deci...

EXTENDING ICT4D sTUDIES: the value of critical research

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value of critical research for information and communications technology for development (ICT4D) studies. Most previous IS research on ICT4D projects is interpretive and has focused on the immediate organizational context, but there are very few critical studies that have engaged in macro sociopolitical analyses regarding institutional change. Hence we extend previous IS research on ICT4D by adopting a critical research perspective on the macro sociopolitical context within which most ICT4D projects take place. We illustrate this with an ethnographic study of a project that was intended to improve the education and social welfare of the aboriginal people in Taiwan. On the surface the project was tremendously successful; it became a showcase on national radio and TV showing how ICT could be used to support underprivileged children. However, our research uncovered a different story altogether--a story of the aboriginal people themselves feeling marginalized and without much of a voice. We use concepts from postcolonial theory to make sense of these two contradictory stories. We found that the interrelationship between the macro sociopolitical context and the local organizational context of the ICT4D project is the key to understanding what went wrong, something which we would not have discovered if we had taken the traditional approach. The postcolonial context is powerful and pervasive, hampering any real progress.

An approach to the recursive retrieval problem in the relational database

The host query language often impairs data retrieval in recursive database structures. Functional extensions to QUEL are explored in order to simplify the user interface.

User interface design from a real time perspective

Using a data flow diagram (DFD) to represent the functional requirements of a system to be developed, an analysis of a real-time perspective is augmented to generate user interface specifications. By applying a set of heuristics, these specifications facilitate the design of three user interface styles: question/answer, menu/form, and command language.

A methodology for deriving an entity-relationship model based on a data flow diagram

This article descirbes an object-oriented methodology for deriving an entity-relationship (ER) model from requirements specified in a data flow diagram (DFD). The methodolgy is top down. It begins with an analysis of the objects described in the DFD to produce an object model. Modeling objects instead of individual data items reduces the number of data elements with which the analyst must be concerned initially. Next, information about data synonyms and interdependency is considered to refine the object model. Guidelines for removing redundant, overlapping descriptions of objects are also proposed and the object model is transformed into an ER model by applying a set of abstraction heuristics. The methodology integrates the DFD-based structured analysis methodology and the ER model so that process and data requirements can be analyzed simultaneously. It enables the system developer to understand the relationships between the processes (embedded in the DFD diagram) and data (described in the ER model) at the early stage of system analysis. Moreover, changes of requirements, either in process or in data, can be correlated easily to foster a quality design of the final system. This methodology can facilitate application development based on an existing data base or on an entirely new data base.