The Polynesian nurse prided herself on her ability to describe her patient's pain in a one-page hand written note to her doctor. Now, the electronic medical records system was asking her to choose 1 to 10 on a drop down menu scale. This paper analyzed through a series of interviews what it is like for nurses in the remote Cook Islands to use Western-designed medical information systems. Their experiences were examined through the lens of social construction of learning and cultural diffusion. Analysis of qualitative interview data suggested cultural as well as infrastructural barriers to engaged learning. Future researchers are advised to consider Facilitating Factors and Cultural Embeddedness constructs when considering technology adoption attitudes of medical practitioners in remote archipelago.

There have been few studies investigating the effects of collaboration on online shopping. In this paper, we consider an online shopping scenario where the user and a partner, who are not collocated, plan the travel collaboratively. We develop a research model based on Website Trust to explain the user's Website Intentions. To test the model, we conducted a field experiment with 605 individuals and a partner using LiveLook, an online co-browsing platform. A PLS analysis of the influence of advice sharing showed the following variance explained: Website Trust 20.6 percent, Website Enjoyment 55.2 percent, Perceived Control 59.4 percent, and Website Intentions 55.3 percent. We also show separate models for two different user interfaces: one for packaged travel and one for customizable travel. The resulting models show the packaged travel interface to have greater website intentions while the customizable travel interface has greater variance explained. Overall, the results shed light on the network of influences that advice sharing has in online travel planning.

This paper investigates how online travel can benefit from serving Millennials with collaboration support. We test whether the decision support of online shopping in pairs, connected by screen sharing technology, contributes to a greater intent to purchase vacation travel. We conducted a field experiment with 150 subjects. A Partial Least Squares analysis of Collaboration, Ease of Use, Trust, and Perceived Effectiveness combined to explain Intent to Purchase with 42.5% variance explained. The results shed light on the value proposition for offering collaboration support to Millennials. Future research will extend the results to other populations, task domains and devices.

Investigating the trade credit-worthiness of new customers can involve time-consuming and expensive tasks which may impair customer goodwill and results in lost sales. This article examines the role that PC based decision support systems and expert systems can play in streamlining trade credit decisions.

On September 5, 2006, a legal precedent was set for web accessibility in the U.S. Federal judge Marilyn Patel sustained discrimination claims by the National Federation for the Blind against Target Corporation, one of America’s largest retailers. She established that websites must be fully accessible to the blind under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Past research has indicated that organizations doing business on the Web have largely ignored W3C guidelines for making their sites accessible. This study examines web accessibility of e-health providers under the lens of Corporate Social Responsibility. A model is developed linking accessibility behavior to a provider’s propensity to engage in CSR activities, the types of medical services offered, complexity of visual web content, and perceived threat of litigation resulting from an inaccessible site. Fifteen websites of eHealth providers were analyzed using IBM’s aDesigner accessibility tool for the six years before and two years since the commencement of the Target litigation. Results suggest that accessibility of sites has showed significant improvement since the Target case began. A comparison with a benchmark group of companies with a reputation for corporate social responsibility revealed marked differences between the eHealth providers and the top CSR companies.

In 2006, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) sued Target Corporation alleging that the retailer’s website was inaccessible to the blind, in violation of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and various California statutes. Target eventually settled the case for US$9.7 million. The Target case presents an interesting dilemma to private sector healthcare providers. What corporate strategy is appropriate in the case of web accessibility? US Federal and state laws do not specifically require a private company to make its website accessible to customers with disabilities. However, the adverse media exposure from a private class action suit by a disability group can significantly damage a company’s reputation for corporate social responsibility (CSR). We develop a model of corporate web accessibility behavior based on literature linking CSR activities to corporate financial performance. We test its use within the healthcare industry focusing on private-sector companies that deliver online healthcare information. We compare our sample to a group of non-healthcare companies with a reputation for corporate social responsibility for the years before and after the onset of the Target litigation. Results reveal significant differences in the way healthcare corporations choose to address web accessibility.

President Obama's managed healthcare reform plan promises affordable, accessible healthcare built on existing healthcare systems, using existing providers, doctors, and plans. An important component of a county's healthcare system is the quality of online medical reference information available to patients. Such information helps patients understand better the nature of their health issues, while at the same time reducing the need for visits to doctors for informational purposes. At issue is the extent to which the government can control the accessibility of information provided by private sector healthcare providers to patients with disabilities. There are laws governing the accessibility of public sector website information under Section 508(1) of the Americans with Disabilities Act, however there are only guidelines available to web developers in private healthcare providers. This paper investigates the accessibility of online medical reference information to one such disability group, blind(2) consumers in the US.

Innovations in information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the development of global-knowledge- based economies are presenting higher-education institutions throughout the developing world with both opportunities and challenges. New opportunities for remotely located institutions are opening up, but the challenge is to ensure that these innovations can be utilized in a culturally appropriate manner at the local level. Despite a relatively low population base, the scattered geography of the South Pacific region has resulted in wide cultural variations between the different island groups. This makes the South Pacific an ideal region in which to explore the impact of cultural differences on online learning. This research investigates the opportunities offered by online learning; the focus is on the use of e-mail as a mechanism for encouraging Web-based interaction among students in two distance-education institutions with a culturally and geographically diverse student body.

This study examines undergraduate business students' use of PowerPoint slides provided as a supplement to class attendance, textbook reading, and other traditional course resources. We survey students in 4 diverse (accounting, marketing, management, and information systems) lower-level undergraduate courses in which the instructor provided PowerPoint slides in addition to traditional course lectures and materials for student use. The effects of students' learning strategies were measured against class attendance, test performance, and overall course performance. Results indicate that there is little relationship between use of these resources and grades on exams or overall course grades, consistent with several prior studies. Further, we find that students do not view these supplemental on-line resources as a substitute for class attendance.

On September 5, 2006, a legal precedent was set for web accessibility. Federal judge Marilyn Patel sustained discrimination claims by the National Federation for the Blind against Target Corporation. She established that retailers must make their websites accessible to the blind under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Past research has indicated that eCommerce retailers have largely ignored W3C guidelines for making their sites accessible. This study examines web accessibility motivation under the lens of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). A model is developed linking accessibility behavior to a retailer's propensity to engage in CSR activities, the types of products and services sold, complexity of visual web content, and perceived threat of litigation resulting from an inaccessible site. Based on the model recommendations are suggested for future research. Thirty-two websites of the largest online retailers with a physical presence were analyzed using IBM's aDesigner accessibility tool for the three years before and one year since the commencement of the Target litigation. Results suggest that accessibility of sites has showed significant improvement since the Target case began.

The existence of a high degree of inter-organisational Long-Term Orientation (LTO) is an important factor for developing a successful relationship among the supply chain members. Within a supply chain, a LTO fosters a better understanding by each exchange party, which in turn leads to a more cooperative relationship. This study introduces one aspect of culture: collectivism, and proposes that a collectivist culture can facilitate the development of a LTO among the members of a supply chain. Collectivism contributes directly by nurturing LTO. It also contributes indirectly by moderating the influence of inter-organisational conflict on LTO.

Technological innovation and the development of global knowledge-based economies are presenting higher education institutions throughout the developing world with both opportunities and challenges. The development of distance education has particular relevance for remote and widely distributed locations. The scattered geography of the South Pacific has produced immense variations in culture amongst a relatively low population base. This makes the South Pacific an ideal region in which to explore the impact of cultural differences on online learning. Online learning offers the developing countries of the South Pacific the chance to open up access to even the most distantly located students. This research evaluates the effectiveness of e-mail as a mechanism for encouraging Web-based interaction among students in two distance education institutions with a culturally and geographically diverse student body.

The impact of cultural diversity on group interactions through technology is an active research area. Current research has found that a student’s culture appears to influence online interactions with teachers and other students (Freedman & Liu, 1996). Students from Asian and Western cultures have different Web-based learning styles (Liang & McQueen, 1999), and Scandinavian students demonstrate a more restrained online presence compared to their more expressive American counterparts (Bannon, 1995). Differences were also found across cultures in online compared to face-to-face discussions (Warschauer, 1996). Student engagement, discourse, and interaction are valued highly in “western” universities. With growing internationalization of western campuses, increasing use of educational technology both on and off campus, and rising distance learning enrollments, intercultural frictions are bound to increase.

This chapter examines how students from different cultural backgrounds use email to communicate with other students and teachers. The South Pacific region, isolated, vast, and culturally diverse, was selected as an appropriate research environment in which to study the effect of cultural differences and educational technology on distance learning. The context of this research was two competing distance education institutions in Fiji, the University of the South Pacific and Central Queensland University. Three research questions were addressed: Does cultural background affect the extent to which students use email to communicate with educators and other students for academic and social reasons? Does cultural background affect the academic content of email messages? Does cultural background influence students’ preference to ask questions or provide answers using email instead of face-to-face communication? To address these issues, two studies were conducted in parallel. Subjects were drawn from business information systems and computer information technology classes at the University of the South Pacific (USP) and Central Queensland University (CQU). Four hundred students at USP were surveyed about their email usage. In the CQU study, postings to course discussion lists by 867 students were analyzed. The results of these studies suggest that there are significant differences in the use of email by students from different cultural backgrounds.

This paper examines how students from different cultural backgrounds use email to communicate with other students and lecturers. The South Pacific region, isolated, vast, and culturally diverse, was selected as an excellent research environment in which to study the effect of cultural differences and educational technology on distance learning. The context of the research was two competing distance education institutions in Fiji, the University of the South Pacific and Central Queensland University. The two institutions use email for teaching and learning in quite different ways. At CQU email has been incorporated in teaching pedagogy across all courses, whereas at USP email is available to students, but usage is voluntary. Three research questions are addressed: Does cultural background affect the extent to which students use email to communicate with educators and other students for academic and social reasons? Does cultural background affect the academic content of email messages? Does cultural background influence students' preference to ask questions or provide answers using email instead of faceto-face communication? Two studies were conducted in parallel. Subjects were drawn from business information systems and computer information technology classes at USP and CQU. 400 USP students located at different regional centers were surveyed about their use of email. In the CQU study, postings to course discussion lists by 867 students based in Fiji and Australia were analyzed. The results suggest that there are significant differences in the use of email by students from different cultural backgrounds.