Usage Of Digital Technologies Research Articles

Digital technology and University leisure: Exploring learner access, use and attitudes

Digital leisure has become a useful and motivating didactic tool for student learning, which also contributes to the acquisition of digital skills. The aim of this study is to analyse the access and use of digital technology by university students at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC), as well as their attitudes towards digital leisure. This study is framed within the quantitative paradigm, with a non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive, exploratory, and correlational design. A total of 203 university students (47.5% male; 52.5% female) from USAC between the ages of 17 and 49 (M=23.33; SD=5.55) participated in the study. The results indicate that the most accessed digital devices and services by university students are smartphones (91.8%) and laptops (80.3%). Additionally, 96% of the students have profiles on social networks. Specifically, younger students (17-20 years) are the ones who have the highest usage of digital technology for leisure purposes and show greater enjoyment of these digital activities. This data shows how university students, particularly newly admitted ones, are highly familiar with digital technology and possess a positive attitude towards digital leisure. Thus, teachers can make use of this openness towards technology and include it as a learning tool in the classroom to then promote digital competences and so create a motivating and effective learning environment.

Insomnia and distress as mediators on the relationship from cyber-victimization to self-reported psychotic experiences: a binational study from Tunisia and Lebanon

BackgroundWhile expansive research has accumulated concerning the association between traditional, face-to-face peer victimization and psychosis, a paucity of empirical research has been undertaken so far to investigate these associations with experiences of new and evolving ways of victimization through the digital world. Exploring these associations is highly relevant and timely, given that emerging adults are heavy users of digital technologies, highly exposed to online risks, and are at the peak age of onset of psychosis. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that psychological distress and insomnia symptoms have a significant indirect mediating effect on the association between cyber-victimization and self-reported positive psychotic experiences (SRPEs) in a binational sample of Tunisian and Lebanese community adults.MethodThe total sample was composed of 3766 participants; 3103 were from Lebanon (Mean age: 21.73 ± 3.80 years, 63.6% females) and 663 from Tunisia (Mean age: 26.32 ± 4.86 years, 59.9% females). Online anonymous self-report questionnaires were administered to all participants.ResultsHigher SRPEs were found in Lebanese participants compared to Tunisians, in single participants compared to married ones, in those with a university level of education compared to secondary or less, in those who live in rural areas compared to urban, in those who do not smoke, do not drink alcohol and do not use marijuana or any other illegal drug. Furthermore, more cyber-victimization, a higher insomnia severity and psychological distress were significantly associated with higher SRPEs. After adjusting for potential confounders, mediation analysis demonstrated that higher cyber-victimization was significantly associated with more insomnia severity/psychological distress; which were, in turn, significantly associated with greater SRPEs. Finally, more cyber-victimization was significantly and directly associated with more positive dimension.ConclusionIdentifying insomnia and distress as mediators could provide novel insight for psychosis prevention efforts and intervention targets for cyber-victimized individuals prone to experience subclinical psychotic symptoms.

The Role of Digital Technologies in Online Learning: A Study on the Students' Perceptions

This research aims to find out the role of digital technologies in online learning based on the students’ perceptions. The qualitative descriptive method is applied in this research. The researchers implied semi-structured interview to collect the data with 10 English Education Department students of Maros Muslim University as the participants. The interviews are done by individually and recorded through audio recording. The findings of this research show two different perceptions from students. The first, students who think that online learning using digital technology is very helpful to assist them in understanding the material well because they can directly look for on the internet and they can repeat the materials many times in learning platform. The second, students who argue that utilizing digital technology in online learning is not effective since the direct interaction is absence. They feel difficult to communicate with the teachers in virtual way when the teaching and learning process is run so that they cannot comprehend the material well. Likewise, some students are bothered with the unstable internet network that makes them are difficult to attend the online learning smoothly. Therefore, all of these perceptions can lead to the positives and negatives of the usage of digital technologies in online learning. Keywords: Digital technologies, online learning, students’ perceptions

Firm performance in digitally integrated supply chains: a combined perspective of transaction cost economics and relational exchange theory

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how interfirm transactional and relational assets drive firm performance (FP) in digitally integrated supply chains.Design/methodology/approachThe authors combine the Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) and Relational Exchange Theory (RET) frameworks to hypothesize that FP will be a function of Asset Specificity (AS), Digital Technology Usage (DTU) and Collaborative Information Sharing (CIS). In addition, the authors hypothesize that Supply Chain Integration (SCI) will partially mediate the effect of DTU and fully mediate the impact of AS and CIS on FP. A cross-sectional survey of supply chain managers is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsFindings indicate that specific investments in digitally integrated supply chains would increase FP. In addition, SCI fully mediates the relationships between AS and FP and CIS and FP, while SCI partially mediates the influence of DTU on FP.Practical implicationsManagers could strategically engage in the technologies that effectively fit within the firm’s supply chain strategies and seek to develop a pragmatic expertise that enables the effective use of technology in a comprehensive setting.Originality/valueThe study enriches the extant literature by incorporating TCE and RET as contradictory viewpoints on AS and investigating how transactional and relational assets affect FP in digitally integrated supply chains.

The Role of Digital Technology within the Business Model of Sustainable Entrepreneurship

The adoption and usage of digital technologies is considered one of the most promising transformations for sustainability, and sustainable entrepreneurship is considered key for providing solutions for the grand social and environmental challenges. The purpose of our study is to shed light on the role of digital technologies in value creation, value delivery, and value capture within the business models of sustainable entrepreneurship. This is important for understanding how digital technologies leverage sustainability. In fact, we have little knowledge on the impact of digital technologies within the business models of sustainable entrepreneurship. We studied the adoption and usage of digital technologies within the business models of 10 born-sustainable new ventures in Mexico applying a comparative case study approach. We found that context matters. Extant research claims that digital technologies promote social inclusion, increase connectivity, and lead to broader stakeholder integration. Despite these claims, this is the most challenging part for entrepreneurs. Our main findings, therefore, emphasize the constraints of the implementation of digital technologies within sustainable business models. This adds to the academic discourse a cross-geographic perspective from the Global South.

Accessibility and Usage of Digital Technologies among Academics for Research: A Case of Selected Humanities and Social Sciences Faculties in Sri Lankan Universities

The Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) involve understanding the human experience and the relationships between individuals and groups in society. The adoption of digital technologies has challenged the discipline of HSS, creating an entirely new environment for the study of human activities. This research aims to explore the employment of digital tools, resources and services in HSS research. Further, the use of digital methods (DM) throughout the research process; the impact of COVID-19 on the use of DM in research; the constraints of using DM in research were tested. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from Colombo, Kelaniya and Sri Jayewardenepura universities targeting academics in Economics, English, English Language Teaching, Geography, History and Archeology, Buddhist Studies, Political Science, Sinhala, and Sociology. Considering the digital infrastructure facilities, most of the academics rated email (45.6%) and LMS services (46.7%) as excellent but maintenance provided by the institute was not adequate. Most academics rated good on access to data storage (37.9%); reference management software (27.5%); plagiarism detection software (29.1%); institutional repository (35.2%); and support to online publications (39.6%) provided by their institutes. 55.7% of surveyed academics in SS often use digital data collection methods while in the Humanities it was 43.4%. Online publishing was most often used by SS (50.9%) and only 39.5% by the Humanities. 53.8% of SS academics and 43.4% of humanities academics often use cloud storage. Findings confirmed the expansion of using digital research methods during the pandemic compared to the early pandemic situation. Collaborative research works, virtual conferences, citation databases and digital indexing were identified as popular trends.

Characteristics and parental viewpoints regarding digital device use in children aged 4 to 8 years

In the present digital age, the number of digital devices and media has multiplied, giving young children and their parents access to them anytime and anywhere. The family and home environment constitutes an important ecological context for fostering and supporting the development of safe online behaviour, as well as preventing risky online behaviour in young children. During childhood, parents play an influential role in shaping a child’s use of digital technology (DT) devices through parental practices that are shaped by their beliefs about DT. The first aim of this study was to describe preferred digital devices, activities, and emotional states related to digital device use among children aged 4 to 8 years. The second aim was to describe parental viewpoints about their children’s device use. The data was collected through online interviews with 31 children (16 girls), aged 4 to 8 years, and one parent of each of the children included in the project “Digital technology in the family: patterns of behaviour and effects on child development”. The results show that smartphones are the children’s favourite device and playing video games is their preferred digital activity. Most children reported feeling happy when they used DT devices, as well as feeling sad and angry when they had to stop using them. Parental motivation for providing children access to DT devices can be child- and parent-oriented. Parents frequently emphasised the educational aspects of their children’s device use, but they were aware of the negative and positive effects on the children’s functioning. The findings indicate that children’s daily context of living in association with DT usage is characterised by small, portable devices that are used mainly for entertainment. Additionally, their parents allow the use of such devices because they believe that DT can have a positive impact on child development, and they need to occupy children’s attention in specific situations. However, DT device usage is limited due to the awareness of the negative impact on child development.

THE INFLUENCE OF DIGITAL BUSINESS TO INDRAGIRI HULU ECONOMY

The economic component of digital business is built on the usage and empowerment of digital information and communication technology. The digital economy in Southeast Asia is quickly expanding, as is the market potential. The goal of this study is to determine the influence of the digital business economy in the development of Indonesia's modern market economy. The technique employed is library research or library research. Findings of this study shows the existence of digital trade produces creative quality presentations, one of which is better negotiations, in the presentation of delivery or business style, so the industry is currently required to adapt in order to cope with current and future businesses. Modern and traditional marketplaces cannot coexist because both are vital to the Indragiri Hulu Regency.

A Study on the Journey of Transformation from a Traditional Platform to Online Teaching Practices at Higher Education Institutions

The widespread usage of digital technology has placed pressure on academic institutions to rethink their approaches to learning and instruction in contemporary times. The fundamental objective of this investigation was to explore departmental heads' perspectives on online teaching practices at HEI (Higher Education Institutions). Secondly, to suggest some suitable initiatives for the best online teaching practices at HEI. This investigation was qualitative in nature. For this study, five (5) HEIs in South Punjab, Pakistan, were chosen. To obtain qualitative data, a semi-structured interview was arranged for a sample of eighteen (18) heads/chairpersons selected by convenient sampling. The data was analyzed using NVIVO 12 for a comprehensive thematic analysis. This qualitative research unearthed a number of issues associated with the transformation towards online learning practices. Furthermore, it revealed the initiatives presented by the departmental heads to address the issues and the requirement of providing further training for teachers to improve their potential.

THE DIGITAL LEADERSHIP IN KP SCHOOLS OVER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: EVIDENCE FROM EMERGING ECONOMY

Leadership skills that are particularly important in digital era include the ability to think strategically, drive change and foster culture of innovation. Bases on the detailed literature it is the first ever study to investigate digital leadership based on various characteristics proposed by (Karakose, Polat, & Papadakis, 2021) the qualitative study conducted in the work context of turkey. Based on the literature it is concluded that digital leadership is diverse phenomena and it cannot be measured by just defining concept and tries to measure it by limited number of items as most of the previous researchers. Based on detail literature it is evident that digital leadership is phenomena that is based on many attributes namely (digital technology usage aim and reasons), for or against (digital transformation in schools), reasons for and against (technological based professional development), reason for and against (digital learning culture) & digital leadership skills/ abilities as well as characteristics. The results offered valuable information in reaching the conclusion and making certain recommendations to policy makers & future researchers.

The Toy Brick as a Communicative Device for Amplifying Children’s Voices in Research

The Toy Brick as a Communicative Device for Amplifying Children’s Voices in Research

Digital technology usage, strategic flexibility, and business model innovation in traditional manufacturing firms: The moderating role of the institutional environment

This paper investigates how digital technology can be used to facilitate business model innovation in manufacturing firms. Building on organizational adaptation theory and institutional theory, this study examines the impact of digital technology usage on business model innovation, the mediating role of strategic flexibility, and the moderating role of the institutional environment, including policy support and regulatory turbulence. The results based on a sample of 236 traditional manufacturing firms show that there is a significant association between digital technology usage and business model innovation in which strategic flexibility plays a mediating role. The institutional environment has a dual role in this association: policy support strengthens the impact of digital technology usage on strategic flexibility, but regulatory turbulence weakens it. The findings enrich the existing research on the mechanisms and boundary conditions of digitally driven business model innovation and support manufacturing business model innovation in the digital context.

Need assessment of ICT literacy for development of multi‐domain telehealth intervention among cognitive frail (CF) older adults: A preliminary study

AbstractBackgroundTelehealth is an alternative platform in managing and delivering health care services to clients using information and communication technologies (ICT). Usage of digital technology among older adults is influenced by many internal and external factors. However, information related to the readiness of tehnology use in developing multi‐domain telehealth among community‐dwelling older adults was still lacking.MethodThis study was part of the screening phase of an ongoing Ageless trial for developing multi‐domain telehealth intervention for CF older adults. This study included community dwelling older adults aged 60 years and above with cognitive frailty assessed using Fried’s criteria. A questionnaire related to digital technology usage was administered to evaluate the need assessement of ICT literacy. Sampling method was purposive sampling. Data was analysed descriptively and using the Chi Square test.ResultAt this preliminary stage, 170 older adults (68.5 year old ± 5.7) living in Kuala Lumpur city participated. Majority of the participants were females (60.6%), from Malay ethnic group (71.2%), married (60.6%), attained upper secondary education level (29.7%) and retired. About one‐third of participants were precognitively‐frail (30.4%) and prefrail (32.8%) and were able to access internet (26.7%) at their homes using smartphones (34.1%), followed by computers or laptops (3.0%) and tablets (2.7%). Older adults with CF used less digital technology and reduced playing games on their phone (4.4%). Therefore, the framework of multi‐domain telehealth intervention designed for older adults must include senior‐friendly specifications for motivating its use among them. Proper training and guidance may boost confidence of older people to use the telehealth. Components in multi‐domain telehealth have to provide more educational talks, assistance during session and design more friendly‐user.ConclusionOur preliminary results suggest that older adults with cognitive frailty utilised less digital technology and preferred senior‐friendly and less complex digital technology. Promotion and expansion of the use digital technology among older adults with CF especially in rural area must be emphasized. Framework of multi‐domain telehealth intervention have to be refined in order to be suited among older adults, their cargivers and stakeholders.

Psychosocial factors associated with loneliness change during COVID‐19 pandemic in Italian older‐old individuals: Findings from the InveCe.Ab cohort

AbstractBackgroundLoneliness is an issue for many older adults, significantly affecting physical, cognitive and mental health. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if loneliness worsened in older‐old individuals during the COVID‐19 nationwide lockdown in Italy, compared to their pre‐pandemic status. Moreover, we explored which pre‐pandemic psychosocial factors predict loneliness change.MethodThe present investigation was conducted on 409 older adults without dementia and aged between 79 and 84 years, participating in the fourth evaluation wave of the InveCe.Ab study in 2018 (NCT01345110) and then performing a telephone survey between March and May 2020, during the first Italian nationwide lockdown. Loneliness was evaluated with the UCLA 3‐item loneliness scale both in 2018 and 2020. The following pre‐pandemic measures, collected as part of the in‐person multidimensional assessment in 2018, were considered: age, sex, education, social contact, leisure and physical activity, digital technology usage (yes/no), perceived support from family network (yes/no), personality traits (psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism), depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS), global cognition (Mini Mental State Examination, MMSE) and baseline loneliness. To compare pre‐post pandemic loneliness, we performed the Wilcoxson signed‐rank test. Kendal tau rank correlations were calculated to preliminarily explore the associations between each psychosocial factors and loneliness change (delta). Finally, stepwise multiple linear regression based on the p‐value criteria was used to test which variables independently predicted loneliness change.ResultLoneliness showed a significant increase during the lockdown (p<0.001). Loneliness change was associated with lower GDS (τ = ‐0.221, p<0.001), psychoticism (τ = ‐0.086, p = 0.024), neuroticism (τ = ‐0.116, p = 0.002) and higher extraversion (τ = 0.079, p = 0.035), MMSE (τ = 0.106, p = 0.006), social contacts (τ = 0.091, p = 0.015) leisure activities (τ = 0.103, p = 0.006). Multiple regression showed that only 2 psychosocial factors explained 27% of the variance (R2 = 0.27, F = 74,7, p<0.001). Specifically, baseline loneliness (β = ‐0.70, p<0.001) and perceived support from family network (β = ‐0.50, p = 0.007) predicted loneliness change.ConclusionLoneliness increased during the first nationwide lockdown among older‐old individuals in Italy, compared to their pre‐pandemic level. This change was most prominent among those with lower pre‐pandemic loneliness levels and it was mitigated by perceived support by family network.

Digital technology usage and entrepreneurship in Africa

In relation to actual digital usage, empirical research is limited on whether digital technology promotes entrepreneurial development in African economies. This study, therefore, investigates the impact of digital technology usage on entrepreneurship in selected African countries. This study contributes to the literature by using 20 selected African countries over the period of 2012–2016. Unlike existing studies, this paper differentiates between the impact of business, government and individual usage of digital technology by employing the 6th, 7th and 8th pillars of the Network Readiness Index. The study employs panel least square and instrumental variable (IV) estimating techniques and panel corrected standard errors (PCSEs) to analyze the data. The results show that digital technology usage has a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurship in Africa. Further analysis shows that individual usage and business usage have a positive and significant impact on business creation. Social media network usage has a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurial development. The study suggests that the growth of entrepreneurship can be enhanced through an ICT usage enabling environment. Individual usage and business usage including social media usage of digitalization are the main drivers of entrepreneurial development in the region.

Evaluating Digital Technology Access and Usage among Teachers

This study investigates teachers' access to digital technologies in Public Basic Schools in Asante Akim Central Municipality, Ghana. The study uses a quantitative approach to evaluate the availability and types of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools, teachers' motivational and physical comfort with digital technologies, and their skills and usage patterns. Engaging with 108 teachers highlights gaps in access to and use of ICT tools. The results demonstrate that while teachers have access to digital tools such as laptops and smartphones, their access to specific software and digital tools is limited. In terms of motivation, teachers are primarily intrinsically motivated to use digital technologies. Teachers exhibited comfort and confidence in utilizing ICT tools, indicating operational skills and access to ICT. The findings underline the need to address these educational implementation gaps and reduce the digital divide. This research contributes to the literature on digital technology access in developing countries and provides valuable insights for stakeholders involved in integrating educational technology.

Digital cultural tourism: older adults’ acceptance and use of digital cultural tourism services

ABSTRACT Physiological and psychological constraints, e.g. increased risk of serious illness or loneliness imposed by mobility restrictions, make older adults one of the hardest hit tourist segments amidst during and after COVID-19. Older adults play a particularly important role as consumers of cultural tourism services. To mitigate for lack of in-situ cultural tourism experiences, many service providers have moved their offerings to a digital format, from virtual museum tours to livestreamed concerts. However, previous research suggests that older adults may not be as agile users of digital technology as younger tourists, potentially making it difficult for them to partake in digital cultural tourism. To that end, this paper explores factors influencing older adults’ acceptance and use of digital technology to access and partake in digital cultural tourism experiences. An empirical study drawing on technology acceptance model (TAM) is conducted, whereby 357 Finnish older adults (aged 60+) are surveyed. Findings indicate that digital cultural tourism services are seen to complement in-situ cultural tourism experiences to some degree, but that challenges such as lack of feeling of community and interaction, technical constraints, as well as lack of information of available services limit adoption. Implications for tourism management are considered.

The Impact of Using Technological Devices on Mental and Physical Health in Adolescents

Objectives: In recent years, adolescents spend increasingly more time on technologic devices such as smartphones, televisions, computers, and tablets. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the usage of digital technology and health-related problems among adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted by using a face-to-face survey administered to a sample of students studying at 4 randomly chosen public middle school and 4 randomly chosen public high school in the city of Istanbul. In this study recruited 1147 volunteer adolescents. All participants were answered a questionnaire regarding the demographic characteristics, technological devices useage patterns and health-related problems. Results: Most of the adolescents had smartphones (99.4%) and the fewest had game consoles (18.2%). The rate of using television and smartphone for more than two hours a day among adolescents was 13.1% and 28.4%, respectively. A decrease in sleep duration, increase in falling asleep time, distraction, fatigue, eating disorders and psychological symptoms were significantly more present for individuals using smartphone more than two hours. A positive and very weak relationship was detected between the duration of smartphone use and neck (r=0.096; p=0.002), wrist (r=0.079; p=0.008) and shoulder (r=0.069; p=0.021) pain. Also, positive and very weak relationship was detected between the duration of computer use and upper back (r=0.102; p=0.001), lower back (r=0.078; p=0.011) and shoulder (r=0.069; p=0.041) pain. Conclusion: This study showed the most widely used technological device among adolescents is smartphones and it was observed that the excessive use of this device among adolescents is more associated with many different health-related problems than other technological devices.

Digital Technologies as an Important Factor of the Restaurant Business Development

Topicality. The restaurant business success is determined by the high level of service and efficient work of the staff. The combination of quality and speed of service, first of all, became real due to the possibilities of information technologies implementation in the work of restaurants. The relevance of the study grounds on the fact that the use of information technologies in restaurant service can allow to quickly and efficiently solve many management tasks, improve service quality, and, consequently, increase business revenue. The aim of the article. The aim of this study is to analyze the current state and to identify key aspects of modern digital technologies implementation and usage in order to improve the efficiency of restaurant business enterprises. Research methods. When conducting research, the following general scientific methods were applied: analysis, abstraction, induction, deduction, synthesis, inference, generalization, comparison. Results. The article considered the main tendencies in the restaurant market development in the digital economy period. Special attention was paid to the analysis of digital technologies use in the activity of restaurant business enterprises. The main directions and tools of the restaurant business digitalization were studied. Promising information and technological innovations for business protection during the coronavirus pandemic were outlined. Conclusions and discussion. It was determined that the information support of the restaurant business and the use of digital technologies are a strategic resource that helps to attract as many customers as possible, to achieve maximum sales and attendance, to gain the trust of guests, as well as to form a positive image of the enterprise. The scientific novelty of the study is to substantiate peculiarities of the use of modern information technologies in the management of restaurant business enterprises in order to ensure their effective functioning. Promising areas for further digitization that require tracking and the proper strategy choosing are based on more sophisticated solutions, including the Internet of Things technology, big data analytics, robotics, and mobile technologies.

An Investigation of Processes of Children's Digital Technologies Usage from the Perspective of Digital Age Parents

The developments in digital technologies and their widespread use among children day by day bring the need to investigate the processes of children's use of digital technologies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the processes of children's digital technologies usage from the perspective of digital age parents. The phenomenology pattern is used to conduct the study. The study group consists of 15 parents, selected according to the criterion sampling. A semi-structured interview form is used as a data collection tool. Content analysis is used in the analysis of the data. It is found that the majority of parents do not find digital environments safe. Parents stated the negative effects of digital technologies on children as developing various addictions, health problems, decline in academic success, decline in face to face communication skills, moving away from real life experiences, and moving away from cultural values. The majority of parents indicated that they did not witness a negative event that their children experienced in digital environments. Another important result is that the majority of children do not seek help from their parents regarding the problems they encounter in digital environments. It is recommended that parents should create an environment of trust where their children can share their negative situations and establish a strong communication with their children.