It has been reported that as many as fifty percent of adults, including first-year University students, have some sort of computer-related phobia. This report demonstrates that the use of computers still has some unpleasant side effects despite the Internet boom in the past decade. Past research shows that computer anxiety influences how users perceive ease of use of an information system. However, few have investigated the role of computer self-efficacy in mediating computer anxieties on perceived ease of use. Therefore, in this study we base our contribution on the variables of computer self-efficacy and computer anxieties. These two variables are believed to impact an individual’s use of computers and performance for computer-based tasks. Anxiety has been argued to impact computer-based learning by affecting levels of self-efficacy anchored in social learning and outcome expectation theories. Self-efficacy is determined by levels of anxiety such that reduced anxiety and increased experience improves performance indirectly by increasing levels of self-efficacy. In this study, we investigate the influence of computer anxiety on perceived ease of use and the mediating effect of computer self-efficacy on this relationship, within an e-learning context. A survey methodology approach was used in this study using 18 items for 3 constructs (perceived ease of use, anxiety, and self-efficacy). Survey data from 645 university students were analyzed. The psychometric properties of the items and constructs were validated followed by the assessment of mediation of computer self efficacy. Results from the use of a learning management system indicate that computer self-efficacy plays a significant role in mediating the impact of anxiety on perceived ease of use. This role is observed by computer selfefficacy (1) reducing the strength and significance of the impact of anxiety on perceived ease of use and (2) having a strong and significant relationship with computer anxiety. The findings demonstrate the importance of self-efficacy as a mediator between computer anxiety and perceived ease of use of a learning management system (LMS). With the continuous development of richer and more integrated interfaces, anxieties about learning to use the new interface and executing tasks effectively becomes of primary importance. Limitations and suggestions for future research are elaborated.
Originally conceived as a mechanism to enable a trustless cryptocurrency-Bitcoin, blockchain has since unbound itself from its original purpose as an increasing number of industries and stakeholders' eye the technology as an attractive alternative to solve existing business solutions as well as disrupt mature industries. This paper presents a systematic literature review of the blockchain technology, tracking its increase in popularity in relation to similar technologies, such as cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. The objective of this paper is to identify the current standing of the blockchain technology within the literature while also identifying the major fields of study and areas of application for which blockchain offers a valuable solution. This paper finds that unique features to the blockchain, such as privacy, security, anonymity, decentralization, and immutability, provide valuable benefits to various fields and subjects. This paper also finds that exploring the application of blockchain has only begun with some limited studies in areas, such as the Internet of Things, energy, finance, healthcare, and government, that also stand to benefit disproportionately from its implementation.
In recent years, more and more higher education institutions have interests of integrating internetbased technologies in the classroom as part of the learning environment. Compared to studies on other information technologies, users' behavior towards this type of systems, however, has not been assessed and understood thoroughly. In order to get more experience about human behaviors on multimedia learning environment, we conducted a comparative study consisting of 362 students, which is almost three times the sample size of the previous study, participating to test the theoretical model. Results suggest that TAM is a solid theoretical model where its validity can extend to the multimedia and e-learning context. The study provides a more intensive view of the multimedia learning system users and is an important step towards a better understanding of the user behavior on the system and a multimedia acceptance model.
Students' perceptions about the use of online learning tools have been shown to vary among studies. Their perceptions may have a profound impact on performance in the course and subsequent behavior toward continued use. This article presents a theoretical framework to identify three dimensions of perceived usefulness, namely, performancerelated outcome expectations, personal-related outcome expectations, and intrinsic motivation. Based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), a new expanded model is proposed to capture more details about students' perceptions of an online learning tool. I also examine the relationships of these three dimensions with perceived ease of use, attitudes, and behavioral intentions to use in the context of online technologies used as an integral component of the course requirements. My findings demonstrate the utility of the expanded TAM to distinguish between the influences of the three proposed dimensions. Results also show that, within the context of this study setup, intrinsic motivation had the most influence on intentions and perceived ease of use of the learning tool had relatively little importance. Limitations and implications are offered.
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