Search results

The purpose of this paper is to establish a categorization of corporate websites as tools of online communication, in accordance with how they apply usability to the content they present, and to determine the indicators of the content and usability variables which mark the differences between each group of websites.

The present study analyses how 754 firms manage the usability of the content they provide through the channels of their corporate websites. To this end, a cluster analysis was applied to distinguish the types of firms according to the usability and content of their websites, followed by a discriminant analysis to determine which variables differentiate the groups.

The work has presented a list of the indicators that the literature has considered to be determinant aspects of firms’ use of their websites for corporate strategic communications. These indicators can be applied in forming an instrument to measure the quality of company websites in this area.

The present paper has attempted to clarify the panorama of corporate online communication via websites, understanding the issue as being not just a mere technicality but addressing it from the perspective of the emitter of the communication as a strategic instrument.

The purpose of this study is to review the effect of usability factors on e-learning user relationships, namely, student–student interaction (SSI), student–instructor interaction (SII) and student–content interaction (SCI), in the existing e-learning literature. Further, this study intended to identify whether usability contributes to the satisfaction of e-learners.

This study has undertaken a systematic review using the PRISMA methodology to filter the literature in the domain of e-learning with respect to usability concerns using six databases. An analytical framework has been formulated to evaluate the literature against different dimensions of interactions and usability.

Results reveal that while SSI has grabbed 71.4 per cent research attention with respect to usability factors of e-learning systems, SCI has been given the least focus, i.e. 26.6 per cent. According to the results, e-learning systems’ usability issues influence the user relationships and affect the user satisfaction, which will lead to lack of user continuity.

The findings of this review will provide insights to instructional designers to construct more satisfied learning content for the users. The analysis framework of this study will encourage researchers to drive future research in e-learning along with the concern of usability.

This research emphasizes on the importance of SCI to focus future e-learning research on a different angle, in addition to SSI and SII. The analysis framework of this study will provide different dimensions, specifically for the empirical research in the domain of e-learning.

On account of competence‐led market demands, it is important that employees gain new knowledge efficiently. One solution is to set‐up IT‐based courses using interactive media for learning (IML) so that employees can learn at their workplace and also learn as a part of their ordinary work. Choosing technology as a media for learning is not simply chosen for its own sake rather because it is more efficient for the task. However, for a number of reasons, it is becoming increasingly difficult to assess the efficient use of technology. Thus there are needs for processes to quality assure usability or even to create a process to certify usability. Before this is possible a number of issues have to be resolved. All issues are fundamental to assure usability. We address each issue in our paper. The purpose of this paper is to review current approaches to quality assurance as applied in the field of IML. This paper discusses the difficulties of distinguishing between learning and usability in an IML context. We discuss quality‐assuring usability in terms of learning and we outline a certification process for IML in terms of usability. Our concluding remarks indicate possible future research directions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of different product presentation modes on consumers' perceptions of web site quality. Specifically the paper identifies the perceived degree of usability as the continent quality and the perceived quality of the information as the content quality of the web site.

An experiment was conducted with a sample of 86 individuals. Changes in the presentation of the information were made in terms of mode (paragraph or schema) and arrangement (list or grid).

Users perceived a higher degree of usability and a higher quality of information when the information was presented in a schematic way than when it was presented as a paragraph. However, no significant effects were found regarding the spatial arrangement of the products. Regarding the possible interaction effect, the combination of schematic information displayed in a list produced the greatest effects on users' perceptions.

Consumers show a greater preference for those web sites that provide them with efficient tools for acquiring information and forming knowledge about the alternatives available. Specifically, when products are displayed on the computer screen, designers should focus on presenting the information in a schematic way. Moreover, if this information is organised in a list or table where all the products can be assessed consecutively, the perceptions about the web site may be enhanced.

This is one of the first studies that explains the main factors that affect the perceived quality of a web site from the users' perspective. The analysis of the users' perceptions and the marketing viewpoint could help designers to create web sites that best match their users' information needs.

The range of official business that can be handled online has grown in the recent decade. In many cases, e-services are a must. At the same time, the economic impact and social importance of mobile technology have increased. Mobile devices are becoming more and more popular, and their applications diversify. It comes as no surprise that mobile users expect e-services and official information to be available through this channel. The purpose of this paper is to identify problems (difficulties) occurring when browsing websites of local government units (LGU) on mobile devices.

The comfort of website browsing depends mostly on the development technique, and the way content is published. Responsive websites are much easier to view on mobile devices than “static” ones. The study involves 400 websites of LGU in Poland. The websites were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analyses with selected techniques and computer tools.

The set of 400 websites contained 119 (29.75%) that were not responsive. It exhibited a substantial potential for the optimisation of websites for mobile devices. The study revealed the most common usability failures such as distorted images, “scattered icons”, partial responsiveness and bothersome messages in pop-ups.

The research identified the most widespread problems with the tested websites. The study yielded recommendations for local governments, which may be useful when managing content, upgrading the website or replacing it with a new one.

The purpose of this paper is to review cross‐disciplinary research on e‐learning from workplace learning, educational technology, and instructional communication disciplines to identify relevant e‐learning design principles. It aims to use these principles to propose an e‐learning model that can guide the design of instructionally sound, usable, and interactive e‐learning courses and programs for workplace learning.

The paper is a review of empirical and conceptual e‐learning literature from human resource development, workplace learning, educational technology and instructional communication.

The paper presents a current review of e‐learning design research, identifies convergent areas of e‐learning design practices, and proposes a tripartite e‐learning design model. Design principles identified in the literature review include adherence to instructional design principles based on adult learning principles, ensuring human‐technology interface (usability) guidelines, and supporting online immediacy (social presence) attributes.

An expanded view of e‐learning design strategies grounded in a learning sciences perspective and encompassing research on behavioral, cognitive, constructivist and humanistic theories is offered.

The study provides an integrated e‐learning design model that represents main areas of e‐learning research and suggests competencies for e‐trainers.

The commonly used e-procurement systems still show unsatisfactory implementation outcomes because many organisations are still unable to effectively interpret the initial adoption decision. The e-procurement systems are generally developed at organisational level, but their usage is at individual level, by the employees particularly. This paper examined technology acceptance model’s (TAM) key antecedents, involving e-procurement systems usage by employees in their daily activities. This study aims to examine the impact of factors affecting e-procurement acceptance among users through the mediating role of users’ attitude. The commonly used e-procurement systems still show.

TAM was applied and expanded in this study, in exploring the factors impacting the employees’ e-procurement acceptance. This study used quantitative method, and questionnaires were distributed to 200 users in Jordanian public shareholding firms. The collected data were quantitatively analysed using PLS modelling.

Significant TAM relationships involving e-procurement were affirmed. The expanded TAM in the scrutiny of antecedents showed that content, processing and usability affected perceived usefulness, while perceived convenience did not affect the usefulness factor. Furthermore, it was noticed that perceived ease of use was affected by usability and training, while perceived connectedness was not affected by usability and training.

The results demonstrated the necessity of e-procurement training. Furthermore, at the start of the implementation stage, effective design on system navigation and system usability, and consistent support, could increase use effectiveness and acceptance. Also, expedient information and buyer–supplier product flows should be made available.

Most organizations invest a lot of time and money in installing e-procurement systems to deliver their goods at the right time and at the right price. However, many of these e-procurement systems have failed due to low acceptance among users. Thus, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that used TAM and theory of planned behaviour in examining the effects of perceived convenience, perceived connectedness, content, training, processing and usability factors, in Jordanian firms. Lastly, the focus of this study was on the individual employee’s acceptance, rather than on the organisational-level adoption, as the unit of analysis, to provide insight on how organisations can achieve maximally from e-procurement investments and from other comparable technologies of e-supply chain management.

This chapter explores different strategies implemented by three companies using professional (LinkedIn) and non-professional (Facebook) social networking websites (SNWs) as a recruitment tool and investigates the influence of their perceived usability and attractiveness on job seekers’ attraction and their intention to apply.

First, a laboratory experiment involving 171 MBA students compares the effectiveness of three different social recruitment strategies. Second, a survey among 110 job seekers focuses on the most effective strategy in terms of attraction as an employer and the influence of perceived usability and attractiveness of professional SNW pages on job seekers’ intention to pursue the job.

The laboratory experiment confirms the key role of LinkedIn as an e-recruitment practice. The survey shows that the overall company image, the usability of the LinkedIn page and the interaction between the attractiveness of the page and the overall company image positively influence job seekers’ intention to pursue the job.

The research offers insights on job seekers’ reactions to 2.0 Internet-based recruitment. Companies should focus on and invest in professional social medias, paying attention to the usability of their SNWs pages.

Recruitment is a strategic HRM practice to attract talents; however, research lags behind practice and little is known about job seekers’ perceptions and reactions to Internet recruitment. This chapter sheds light on the use of social media for recruitment and identifies two features that contribute to an effective e-recruitment strategy.

The purpose of the paper is to present usability heuristics for the evaluation of public library web services.

Heuristics for library services are based on Nielsen's classical list of heuristics and results of previous usability research of library web services. A total of 15 public library web sites were evaluated on the basis of these applied heuristics. One part of the study was supported through usability tests. The results of these studies were utilized to evaluate the applied heuristics.

The applied heuristics are divided into three categories: heuristics critical from the usability viewpoint; heuristics concerning major problems; and heuristics connected to minor usability problems but still important and concerning conventions of web design. The use of the heuristics and the results they give are evaluated to provide a basis for their use in future.

The applied heuristics lists have been tested in two different studies, and the combined list based on them has so far been utilized in practical evaluation, but has not been formally tested.

The heuristics for library web services presented in this paper can be applied to usability evaluation of public library web services.

Library web sites should be user friendly, because the services are meant for all citizens. The applied heuristics for public library web services provide a starting point for usability evaluation that can be continued with other methods.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and development of the digital platform for the development and monitoring of care plans for older adults with complex care needs who are users of a home care service.

Case study. The authors conducted an iterative process of design adapted to the environment and user-centred, agile development and research methodologies and a framework of complex interventions. They followed a four-step process: (1) conceptualization: analysis and design; (2) usability and high-fidelity prototyping; (3) software development; and (4) field testing in usual care. Older adults, informal caregivers, professional caregivers, and healthcare and social workers identified specific requirements and participated continuously through interviews, focus groups and consensus.

In the conceptualization phase, the theory, context and requirements were identified, and the content and prototypes were developed. In the usability phase, the design was validated. The approach employed resulted in a digital technology that supports a person-centred care model in a home care company. In the conceptualization phase, the theory, context and requirements were identified, and the content and prototypes were developed. In the usability phase, the design was validated. The approach employed resulted in a digital technology that supports a person-centred care model in a home care company.

The methodology employed has allowed the development of a platform based on theory, user needs and context. This could increase the possibilities of use and implementation of the technology and inspire other developers.