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In the context of lifelong learning society, education experts pay more and more attention to online assessment (OLA) correlated with the concept of e-learning environment. This chapter builds upon these issues concerning the e-learning environment and the inevitable move to using OLA which is a natural outcome of the increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) assisting in enhancing flexible learning and assessment.

The main purpose of this research is to (a) analyze the postgraduates’ perceptions toward OLA they had taken part in, and (b) identify if there are significant differences in these perceptions based on the variables of gender and skills of using ICTs. Subjects were postgraduate students of master third level enrolled in “Advanced seminar in Islamic Education” syllabus in Faculty of Education, Umm Al Qura University, K.S.A. The study used an e-questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to investigate postgraduate students’ attitudes and opinions about OLA.

The results of the study indicated highly positive perceptions of OLA. In addition, the study concluded that gender and ICTs familiarity significantly affect postgraduate students’ responses in most of the areas studied. The study recommended the necessity of implementing OLA culture as a way to the formation of the knowledge-based society.

This study demonstrates the potential usefulness of isolating for analysis an additional component of aggression, namely direct non‐verbal aggression. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures were used to design a self‐report inventory measuring direct physical, direct verbal, indirect and direct non‐verbal aggression (eg. silent treatment) in adults (Sample 1: n = 101 males, n = 112 females; Sample 2: n = 56 males, n = 160 females) and adolescents (Sample 3: n = 75 males, n = 100 females). The factor structure was replicated across the adult and adolescent samples. Analysis of sex differences on all three samples showed that men and adolescent boys were more physically aggressive than women and adolescent girls, while women and adolescent girls were found to use direct non‐verbal aggression more than men and adolescent boys. No sex differences were found on indirect aggression, strictly defined, wherein aggressors must take steps to hide their identities and may use others as vehicles to deliver the harm.

Service employees in subordinate service roles are crucial for operational efficiency and service quality. However, the stressful nature of these roles, inappropriate hire selection, and the proliferation of job boards have created massive recruitment problems for HR departments. The purpose of this paper is to highlights the growing costs of recruiting the right candidates for service roles while offering an alternative approach to recruitment that is more efficient and effective than the traditional approach.

The study offers empirical evidence of five instances in which the use of psychometric sifting procedures reduced recruitment costs, while improving the quality of the resultant hires.

By standing the traditional recruitment process “on its head” and using psychometric tests at the start of the selection process, the recruitment process can be significantly improved. Such tests efficiently weed out unsuitable candidates before they even enter the recruitment process, leaving a smaller, better-qualified pool for possible recruitment.

Firms can safely use the psychometric sifts to select applicants according to their operational efficiency, customer orientation, and overall performance. This paper illustrates the use of both traditional questionnaire measures and situational judgment tests to remove unsuitable applicants at the start of the selection process. A real-life case study suggests that such an approach increases the hiring success rate from 6:1 to 2:1. In the opening of a new supermarket by a UK group, this process saved 73,000 hours of managers’ time, representing $1.8 million savings in opening costs.

The paper offers a viable cost-saving alternative to a growing problem for HR departments in service firms and provides directions for further research.

The purpose of this paper is to gain first insight into factors which might be associated with exposure to internet‐delivered interventions.

Semi‐structured focus group interviews were conducted with five groups of Dutch adolescents (n=54), aged 12‐17 years. Several aspects of exposure: a first visit; staying long enough actually to use and process the information; and revisiting the intervention, were explored.

Several factors that are likely to improve exposure to internet‐delivered interventions were identified, such as the use of “word of mouth” marketing, comparison of own behaviour with friends and the use of reminders.

Focus group interviews are only a first step in the generation of ideas and opinions. A next step would be to conduct observational, experimental and longitudinal studies to test if and how these factors improve exposure to internet‐delivered interventions.

This paper is a useful source for those developing internet‐delivered interventions who want to improve exposure rates to their interventions.

The results of this exploration serve as an important first step to gain more insight into factors that improve exposure to internet‐delivered interventions.

Conventional wisdom indicates that companies offering digital and information‐based products that can easily be delivered online, are likely to benefit from Internet commerce. However, the validity of this statement is not clear. Endeavours to explore the relationship between product characteristics and their impact on Internet commerce among small businesses. We classified products into search and experience, tangible and intangible goods and examined their effects on Internet commerce benefit. The key finding is that product characteristics alone might not have significant influence on Internet commerce benefit and further research into market scope, characteristics of business sector and value chain is needed to understand more precisely what contributes to Internet commerce benefit.

Citizens are substantial stakeholders in every e-government system, thus their willingness to use and ability to access the system are critical. Unequal access and information and communication technology usage, which is known as digital divide, however has been identified as one of the major obstacles to the implementation of e-government system. As digital divide inhibits citizen’s acceptance to e-government, it should be overcome despite the lack of deep theoretical understanding on this issue. This research aimed to investigate the digital divide and its direct impact on e-government system success of local governments in Indonesia as well as indirect impact through the mediation role of trust. In order to get a comprehensive understanding of digital divide, this study introduced a new type of digital divide, the innovativeness divide.

The research problems were approached by applying two-stage sequential mixed method research approach comprising of both qualitative and quantitative studies. In the first phase, an initial research model was proposed based on a literature review. Semi-structured interview with 12 users of e-government systems was then conducted to explore and enhance this initial research model. Data collected in this phase were analyzed with a two-stage content analysis approach and the initial model was then amended based on the findings. As a result, a comprehensive research model with 16 hypotheses was proposed for examination in the second phase.

In the second phase, quantitative method was applied. A questionnaire was developed based on findings in the first phase. A pilot study was conducted to refine the questionnaire, which was then distributed in a national survey resulting in 237 useable responses. Data collected in this phase were analyzed using Partial Least Square based Structural Equation Modeling.

The results of quantitative analysis confirmed 13 hypotheses. All direct influences of the variables of digital divide on e-government system success were supported. The mediating effects of trust in e-government in the relationship between capability divide and e-government system success as well as in the relationship between innovativeness divide and e-government system success were supported, but was rejected in the relationship between access divide and e-government system success. Furthermore, the results supported the moderating effects of demographic variables of age, residential place, and education.

This research has both theoretical and practical contributions. The study contributes to the developments of literature on digital divide and e-government by providing a more comprehensive framework, and also to the implementation of e-government by local governments and the improvement of e-government Readiness Index of Indonesia.

The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is especially relevant in the context of Indonesian Airline companies. Therefore, many airline customers in Indonesia are still in doubt about it, or even do not use it. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for e-services adoption and empirically examines the factors influencing the airlines customers in Indonesia in using e-services offered by the Indonesian airline companies. Taking six Indonesian airline companies as a case example, the study investigated the antecedents of e-services usage of Indonesian airlines. This study further examined the impacts of motivation on customers in using e-services in the Indonesian context. Another important aim of this study was to investigate how ages, experiences and geographical areas moderate effects of e-services usage.

The study adopts a positivist research paradigm with a two-phase sequential mixed method design involving qualitative and quantitative approaches. An initial research model was first developed based on an extensive literature review, by combining acceptance and use of information technology theories, expectancy theory and the inter-organizational system motivation models. A qualitative field study via semi-structured interviews was then conducted to explore the present state among 15 respondents. The results of the interviews were analysed using content analysis yielding the final model of e-services usage. Eighteen antecedent factors hypotheses and three moderating factors hypotheses and 52-item questionnaire were developed. A focus group discussion of five respondents and a pilot study of 59 respondents resulted in final version of the questionnaire.

In the second phase, the main survey was conducted nationally to collect the research data among Indonesian airline customers who had already used Indonesian airline e-services. A total of 819 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was then analysed using a partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to produce the contributions of links in the e-services model (22% of all the variances in e-services usage, 37.8% in intention to use, 46.6% in motivation, 39.2% in outcome expectancy, and 37.7% in effort expectancy). Meanwhile, path coefficients and t-values demonstrated various different influences of antecedent factors towards e-services usage. Additionally, a multi-group analysis based on PLS is employed with mixed results. In the final findings, 14 hypotheses were supported and 7 hypotheses were not supported.

The major findings of this study have confirmed that motivation has the strongest contribution in e-services usage. In addition, motivation affects e-services usage both directly and indirectly through intention-to-use. This study provides contributions to the existing knowledge of e-services models, and practical applications of IT usage. Most importantly, an understanding of antecedents of e-services adoption will provide guidelines for stakeholders in developing better e-services and strategies in order to promote and encourage more customers to use e-services. Finally, the accomplishment of this study can be expanded through possible adaptations in other industries and other geographical contexts.

This paper aims to describe the impact of internet technology on psychometric testing and the issues this raises for best practice in test use.

The approach draws on best practice in the field of psychometrics and the author's experience in using the internet for test delivery.

The internet offers may significant advantages for the delivery and application and psychometric tests, but also poses a number of significant challenges to good test use, particularly in terms of the quality of test materials, effective administration and the authenticity of test results. These challenges, however, need not undermine the effectiveness of tests when they are used sensitively and with due regard for the issues raised by remote testing through the internet. Engaging respondents in the testing process is identified as key to all parties getting the maximum value from the applications of tests, as is a developmental mindset which identifies the value to both test users and respondents of participating in any testing process.

Users of internet‐based tests need to be aware of how to evaluate the quality of test materials and how to administer tests effectively. Although issues around respondent authenticity remain, these can be significantly overcome by helping test takers seen how they will benefit from test completion. Guidelines are given to test users on effective test administration.

This paper offers practical guidance on how to maximise the effectiveness of the increasing number tests that are available for internet delivery.

Services provided through the internet (e‐services) are typically offered as part of a broader Multi‐Channel (MC) service package, combining these services with services delivered through traditional channels (e.g. phone, physical facilities). Customers of e‐services display heterogeneity in channel use, ranging from customers with a high Degree of Focus on the Internet (DFI) channel (internet‐oriented customers) to customers with a low DFI (low focus on the internet and strong reliance on traditional channels). The purpose of this study is to examine whether a customer's DFI moderates the relationship between e‐service quality (eSQ) and e‐loyalty behavioral intentions in an MC e‐service.

Perceptual and objective data were collected from multiple sources in a major retail MC e‐banking service (survey of online customers, transactional data and customer database).

First, there is high diversity in DFI among e‐service customers; second, a customer's DFI negatively moderates the quality‐loyalty relationship.

The study should be extended to other types of e‐services.

eSQ seems to be a more important driver of e‐loyalty behavioral intentions for low DFI customers than for high DFI (internet‐oriented) customers. Different strategies may need to be employed to drive retention across customers with different levels of DFI. Specifically, driving e‐loyalty among internet‐oriented customers may require complementing eSQ investments with additional retention mechanisms (e.g. building communities or creating switching barriers). DFI should be recognized as a useful and readily available customer segmentation variable for devising loyalty strategies.

The study pioneers the examination of the impact of channel use on the quality‐loyalty relationship. It breaks new ground in proposing DFI as a relevant customer segmentation variable for e‐service research and practice. External validity is enhanced by the use of objective (rather than self‐reported), real‐world data to measure customer channel use.