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With growing interest in the uses of hedonic technologies and gamification in system design, the concept of cognitive absorption (CA) has become increasingly salient in the information systems literature. However, little effort has been made to evaluate the research status and consolidate the current literature findings. To fill these research gaps, the authors conducted a literature review on CA. The authors then proposed an integrative framework that summarises the key elements of and variables related to CA and their relationships. The major findings of the study are discussed, and an agenda for future research is proposed.

This chapter reviews and integrates recent research on curiosity. We discuss potential costs and benefits of curiosity, both hedonic and motivational. In particular, we examine the Pandora effect, the teasing effect, and the motivating-uncertainty effect.

Brand pages are a very popular tool for companies to communicate with consumers in SNSs. Although brand pages could be considered virtual brand communities, they differ in several aspects. Thus, this chapter reviews the literature on brand pages attending to the main differences with other virtual communities, the motivations to join brand pages and its consequences for consumers and brands.

The studies reviewed have allowed us to identify the main characteristics of brand pages as a communication tool, as well as the definition of an important research agenda for this topic.

We have identified the main unique aspects that characterize brand pages as a virtual brand community. The motivations to become members of brand pages are analyzed as well as the positive consequences of these pages on the marketing variables. We also identified the research needs on brand pages.

This chapter can be useful to both, marketers, by showing them how brand pages work and what motivate consumers to join it; and researchers, by showing them the main gaps on brand pages that should be addressed in future studies.

This chapter highlights the role of brand pages as a communication tool. It constitutes an attempt to review the literature and organize knowledge on brand pages. The characteristics of brand pages and virtual brand communities, the motivations to participate, the consequences for the brand and an important research agenda are developed.

This paper analyzes the effects on housing prices of fire hazard disclosure in real estate transactions. In 1998, California passed the Natural Hazard Disclosure Law (AB 1195), which requires sellers to fill out a form disclosing to potential buyers whether their residence is in a statutory flood, wildfire, or seismic zone. This study looks specifically at whether homes in designated wildfire hazard zones in California saw any drop in value following this law. We found that location in a statutory fire zone is actually associated with a 3% positive price premium both before and after AB 1195, probably due to the unmeasured amenity values associated with location in the urban–rural interface. However, the combination of proximity to recent fire perimeters and post-AB 1195 disclosure does have a negative effect on selling price. After AB 1195, homes in statutory fire hazard zones that were within five kilometers of the perimeter of a major and recent fire sold on average for 5.1% (or $10,600) less than comparable homes that were in statutory fire zones but not near the perimeter of a recent fire, while no such differential exists prior to the law. This indicates that state-level fire-disclosure requirements prior to AB1195 (which were numerous, but vague, limited to fewer hazard zones, and poorly enforced) were inadequate. Therefore, while disclosure on its own does not appear to have influenced the real estate market in all statutory fire zones, it does negatively impact prices when in combination with proximity to a recent major fire.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which academic researchers consider the relationship between broadband access and children’s information seeking in the United States. Because broadband has been cited as an essential element of contemporary learning, this study sought to identify gaps in the attention given to the role of broadband in the information seeking environment of youth.

The researchers conducted a mixed method synthesis of academic research published in peer-reviewed journals between 1991 and 2011 that reported the information seeking of children aged 5–18 years. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from leading databases, analyzed separately, and conclusions drawn from integrated results.

The results of this study indicated that broadband is rarely considered in the design of children’s information seeking published in peer-reviewed research journals. Only 15 studies showed any presence of broadband in study design or conclusions. Due to the small number of qualifying studies, the researchers could not conduct the synthesis; instead, the researchers conducted a quantitative relationship analysis and qualitative content analysis.

Given the focus of policymaking and public discussion on broadband, its absence as a study consideration suggests a crucial gap for scholarly researchers to address.

The data set included only studies of children in the United States, therefore, findings may not be universally applicable.

Despite national imperatives for ubiquitous broadband and a tradition of information seeking research in library and information science (LIS) and other disciplines, a lack of academic research about how broadband affects children’s information seeking persists.

Today the research area on technology acceptance is mainly dependent on the theory of technology acceptance model (TAM). The TAM was used in this study primarily for the purpose of providing a basis for determining the impact of various external variables on the adoption of edtech platforms. The TAM is a theory of information systems that suggests steps for learners to take as they adopt and use new technologies. The primary TAM variables for adoption of edtech platforms are evaluated in this study: perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) by using the factors – perceived enjoyment (PE), information quality, electronic-word of mouth (e-WOM), perceived compatibility, computer self-efficacy and objective usability. By analyzing and defining the relationship between the external variables with respect to the adoption of edtech platform among students, we hope to contextualize the TAM model. The end result provides a clearer understanding of TAM and its growth as a useful model for technology adoption studies and for clarifying the relationship between the uptake of edtech platforms and technological acceptability. The study employed a qualitative methodology and selected publications and research papers about the adoption of technology. These were then carefully assessed, analyzed and scrutinized for the terms of how students adopted edtech platforms. It was proposed that the adoption of an edtech platform may result from proper training in technology usage and its application to real-world scenarios.