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1 – 10 of over 1000Arthur Harkins and George Kubik
This article is the fourth in a series examining the projected impacts of new technology and software on K‐12 education. The data was collected from 166 school…
Abstract
This article is the fourth in a series examining the projected impacts of new technology and software on K‐12 education. The data was collected from 166 school administrators attending a workshop in the United States during January 2001. The data is presented in the form of brief composites representing administrator uses of handhelds for school management performances. The authors then comment on the administrators’ assessments based on the background reasoning.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose that sales managers use mobile technologies in the working environment to communicate and supportively monitor sales person performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose that sales managers use mobile technologies in the working environment to communicate and supportively monitor sales person performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A model of supervisor monitoring using mobile technologies is conceptualized that specifies the types of behaviours that promote high‐quality working relationships, how mobile technologies increase the likelihood of work‐to‐nonwork role spill‐over that may damage the relationship and why perceptions of supervisor fairness are critical. The paper concludes by presenting strategies for testing hypotheses and for researching mobile technology use by sales managers using qualitative and quantitative methods.
Findings
Mobile technology use, supervisory monitoring, and relationship development co‐exist in the current workplace. This research heightens awareness of how work‐to‐nonwork spillover may influence important outcomes of mobile technology usage. Perceptions of quality supervisor‐employee relationships are important to retaining and motivating employees. As the workforce ages and skilled workers become more scarce, it is expected that this theoretical examination and ensuing future research will be interesting and important to the twenty‐first century manager.
Originality/value
This paper aligns research in the areas of leadership, monitoring and ubiquitous or mobile technologies. Previous leadership researches have questioned whether or not the use of different electronic monitoring tools affects the leader's ability to influence others. However, few researchers have examined performance‐based monitoring using mobile technologies, although mobile technologies make it easier for sales managers to monitor non‐traditional work arrangements (i.e. off‐site or contracted work). Furthermore, past research has been inconsistent in explaining how employees view information‐gathering or monitoring by their managers.
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Ahmedabad Container Depot (ACD) was a fast growing inland container depot (ICD) in Ahmedabad. The area of the depot was 15 acres and it had a monthly turnover capacity of…
Abstract
Ahmedabad Container Depot (ACD) was a fast growing inland container depot (ICD) in Ahmedabad. The area of the depot was 15 acres and it had a monthly turnover capacity of approximately 25,000 containers. The primary processes at the facility were imports, exports, and transshipments. ACD had been facing various challenges due to inefficient manual container tracking system at the facility. Due to good business, the company was able to reach 90–95% of its capacity which was also the main problem ACD had to deal with. The management wanted to increase efficiency by reducing the number of moves required to locate a container by implementing a technology solution. The Head IT of ACD, Bhavik, was examining proposals from vendors and had identified a few alternatives. He was also considering the options that other large container yards had used successfully. His dilemma was to determine the feasibility of the alternatives, particularly those which had not been tested by any other firms in the country. Also, implementing technology could cause a change in roles and responsibilities; dealing with that situation was another area of concern.
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Alberto Brunete González, Micheline Selmes and Jacques Selmes
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the needs of people with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers in terms of information and communications technology (ICT) and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the needs of people with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers in terms of information and communications technology (ICT) and home automation, and how to foster the use of smart devices in their homes and also, to determine whether the use of ICT can extend people with Alzheimer’s disease stay at home in the first stages of the illness, while facilitating their caregivers’ tasks.
Design/methodology/approach
Groups of caregivers, ICT researchers and Alzheimer’s disease experts were gathered to discuss the utility of several solutions. Sessions were grouped into four topics: safety, leisure, activities of daily living and friendly atmosphere. In total, 23 ICT-based solutions to improve life at home of people with Alzheimer’s disease were analysed and grouped under “no interest”, “some interest” and “very interesting”. Caregivers rated these solutions and suggested improvements to them.
Findings
In total, 18 out of 23 proposals were considered “very interesting”, meaning that caregivers considered that they could truly improve the lives of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Caregivers also suggested how to progressively introduce these technical solutions into their homes.
Originality/value
ICT and home automation advances could be very useful if used conveniently. Caregivers consider that smart homes can help people with Alzheimer’s disease in the security, leisure and daily tasks fields, increasing the time they can live alone in their own homes.
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Williams Ezinwa Nwagwu and Henry Abolade Areo
The purpose of this study was to examine how cost, network and technology factors affect the use of mobile technologies for clients’ care in internal medicine department…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine how cost, network and technology factors affect the use of mobile technologies for clients’ care in internal medicine department in Nigeria’s premier teaching hospital, the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a survey design covering a cross-section of medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses and medical laboratory technologists in the Department of Internal Medicine. A questionnaire guided data collection.
Findings
There is a high level of consciousness and use of mobile technologies for meeting healthcare needs of internal medicine clients in the University College Hospital, Ibadan and medical practitioners are deploying the technology most. However, there is no similar evidence of consciousness and use of wearable health-care technologies and solutions. The hospital makes some provision for mobile technology support for relevant medical staff and purposes. However, about three in 10 of the respondents reported that they use their own funds to recharge hospital-provided mobile phones means.
Research limitations/implications
The study focusses only on one institution but the result reflects the situation in other hospitals, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria being the major supplier of health and medical human resources in the country.
Practical implications
The hospital requires undertaking institutional assessment of mobile service need and consumption for clients’ care and thereafter make adequate provision to match the need. Furthermore, the institution could work out various forms of collaboration with mobile technology operators in the country to subsidise the cost of the use of telephones for clients’ care as part of their corporate social responsibility.
Social implications
The institution could work out collaboration with mobile technology operators in the country to subsidise cost of mobile client care as part of the philanthropic and corporate social responsibility of telecom companies.
Originality/value
This study focusses mainly on internal medicine and has implication for a more proper understanding of adult deployment of mobile phones for client care.
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Alan Kerr and Diane Rasmussen Pennington
The purpose of this paper is to examine current public library apps in Scotland and assess Scottish public library users’ opinions of those apps.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine current public library apps in Scotland and assess Scottish public library users’ opinions of those apps.
Design/methodology/approach
Two qualitative and quantitative surveys were conducted. One survey was distributed to each Scottish local authority, the entities responsible for public libraries and Scotland. The second survey was made available to the public. The results were analysed with nonparametric statistics and content analysis.
Findings
All 32 authorities responded. In all, 17 authorities had an app, two had one in development, and 13 had none. Offering an alternative means of communication to patrons was the main reason for providing an app, while cost and low priority were the main reasons provided against app provision. Authorities were satisfied with the core services offered in their apps, but less so with others. No authorities had consulted the public regarding app provision. The public (n=185), while satisfied with current library apps, criticised the complex procedures required to access external services. Patrons from authorities without an app stated interest in apps.
Research limitations/implications
It is vital for public libraries to implement at least core services that are optimised for mobile devices. They should consult with the public before and throughout the development process to ensure they are happy with the implementation.
Originality/value
This is the first known study to explore public library app use in Scotland as well as one of the first in public library app use worldwide.
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Abdul Hafeez‐Baig and Raj Gururajan
The purpose of this paper is to understand the phenomenal of wireless handheld technology in healthcare environment.
Abstract
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 systems
Research 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 settings
Originality/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 in Australian healthcare systems. The study also identified challenges, such as the lack of management commitment, in realizing the acceptance.
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This paper explores the context, development and outcomes of a cross-European in-service training programme, developing mobile learning practices in school classrooms …
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the context, development and outcomes of a cross-European in-service training programme, developing mobile learning practices in school classrooms – MLEARN – in The Netherlands, England, Greece and Italy. This paper focuses on: contextual backgrounds; a training needs analysis; and initial, mid-term and final outcomes from teachers and learners.
Design/methodology/approach
Evidence was gathered about: contextual backgrounds through literature reviews and key informant responses; a training needs analysis through online survey responses from teachers and trainers; and outcomes of uses from five surveys, largely completed online by teachers and learners, after some 2, 3, 5, 9 and 13 months of use.
Findings
Findings from survey periods were compared to identify shifts and gaps. The training programme led to successful outcomes; there was rapid uptake and use of the mobile devices, as well as shifts in emphasis across the period of the pilot, dependent on contextual factors. But long-term integration requires focus on specific learning activities, as well as on integration beyond a one-year period.
Social Implications
Uses of mobile devices are increasing, across countries and age ranges. How devices can be used to support learning and teaching in contemporary contexts is not temporally independent. Country curricula, legislation, training programme access, and teacher and learner awareness and perceptions, all influence practice.
Originality/value
Teachers have limited access to training programmes in this field. This study investigated a key pilot in this under-developed research area. Key factors need to be considered when programmes are developed and run.
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