Academic Motivation of University Students Towards the Usage of Web 2.0 Technologies

Web 2.0 technologies refer to useful and modern tools to motivate students for actively engaging in learning activities. However, there are difficulties to Web 2.0 technologies adoption among university students. Understanding users' motivation could enhance the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies. The aim of this chapter was to use the multivariate methods to quantitative describe the student's user experience (UX) regarding the acceptance of Web 2.0 technologies in higher education. An excellent validity of the structural model for testing the intention to use Web 2.0 technologies by university students was revealed. The data indicate that the intrinsic motivation was composed by users' expectations and educational aspirations. Moreover, the findings revealed that the extrinsic motivation can influence the intention to use Web 2.0 educational tools. This study completed the current knowledge on behavioral intention to use digital tools across university students and released new opportunities for UX investigations.

Motivational Factors of the Usage of Web 2.0 Tools for E-Learning in Business

The reasons for introducing Web 2.0 tools into the business area are multiple, from efficiency to better time management. The provision of online services by companies develops the computer skills of team members, and the materials provided through Web tools 2.0 can be accessed by a larger number of end users and their quality can be permanently evaluated. This chapter proposes to investigate the motivational factors of the usage of Web tools 2.0 by companies' team members. In particular, the research is focused on e-learning based on Web 2.0 tools for training sessions organized by companies in Romania. The in-depth analysis revealed that this generally positive perception of using the e-learning course is founded on a series of objective aspects, identified in a multiple linear regression model, ranging from the perception of the benefit of professional development to the subjective character given by user experience (UX).

Cross-Cultural Study of Trust Types in Sharing Economy Organizations

The sharing economy has developed very quickly. However, organizations like Airbnb and Uber have encountered crisis of trust. Academia still does not know what is the type of trust in sharing economy organizations. Therefore, the authors designed two studies, used data from Airbnb, to test 2 hypotheses: (1) the level of inter-organizational trust in sharing economy organizations is relatively positive to the level of participation, and (2) the price of the product or service being shared is relatively negative to the level of participation. The results find out that consumers are more willing to choose non-shared renting methods in China, yet the opposite in America. Under both conditions, price is an important moderator. This shows that the role of trust in China is mainly inter-organizational trust, but interpersonal in America. The theoretical contribution is to reveal the type of trust in the sharing economy organizations, collaborative relations and studies of Airbnb.

Incorporating Classroom Blogs in Teaching

There are 1,518,207,412 websites in the world as of January 2019. These websites can be a personal, commercial, government, or non-profit organisation website. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, ranging from entertainment and social networking to providing news and education. Blogs are another form of website and they have been in use for years, but it is more recently that teachers are including them as a learning tool in the classroom – as it provides many positive aspects to their students. When speaking about blogging in the classroom, we are running away from the academic writing and practising informal writing, which in many occasions takes off pressure and gives a voice to our students in a ‘safe environment'. This does not mean that it may be also used to publish assignments and essays, which do contribute to share and educate in particular topics and to practice writing.

Online Inter@ctivity via Web 3.0

The end of the 20th century was marked by the advent of the internet along with the transformation of the consumer behavior into an information behavior. As a matter of fact, our daily life becomes centered on a multitude of informational exhibitions through which brands have invested this cutting-edge information technology, tending for delivering the perfect service by adopting the multichannel communication strategies. The advent of interactive marketing has brought new features to the web, allowing online companies to configure websites and manage smarter, more social, and more personalized interactions and communications. Accordingly, this chapter aims to make a synthetic study of the concept of online interactivity and to present a review of the literature, and to better explain the concept and to how to achieve the role of Web 3.0.

The Changes Brought by Digital Technology to Cognitive Learning

The use of technological devices has become natural, which is why technology seems to become a natural learning environment. Many studies show that technologically-rich learning environments improve learning outcomes. It has been shown that technological integration helps to create more authentic learning environments, in which students are more motivated to participate. Digital world has greater opportunities for communication, collaboration, and problem-solving and have more opportunities to expand and even amplify thinking, thus changing the role of students by building knowledge rather than reproducing information. Given the possible disadvantages of using digital devices permanently, it is important to find a good balance between constructively using digital technology and keeping it to avoid distraction and concentration. However, some research shows that electronic learning does not differ in effectiveness or efficiency from traditional learning. This chapter presents an in-depth and reasoned analysis of cognitive learning of university students using Web 2.0 tools.

Did AI Kill My Job?

People and organizations have been witnessing tremendous changes taking place in the job market. Technologies (ex. AI, machine learning, IoT) are pushing individuals away from their comfort zone and forcing them to adapt, to develop new skills and to reinvent their job positions. Reports on the changes in the workplace and on the workforce have been raising concerns about the potential of AI to replace humans in job positions. The current challenges, brought by the 4th IR, have been providing countless opportunities for business growth, optimization and internationalization; however, tremendous concerns are currently raised regarding the sustainability of the human resources which are currently on the market and of those who are being trained to enter it. In this chapter, the authors focus on administrative job positions, which have been pointed out as one of the most prone to be taken over by AI and identify the already available technologies that can perform the job description tasks, as a current diagnose of the profession.

Development of a Regional Digital Strategy

Wine regions constantly question their visibility on the internet to fully be able to embrace the 3.0 digitalization. Recent controversy of the geographic domain name “.vin” and “.wine” has raised awareness of the need to be proactive in Internet naming. The objective of the chapter is to understand how wine regions could develop a digital territory strategy to increase their competitive advantage by using specific geographic domain name. The chapter provides an overview of origin, role, and functioning of stakeholders involved in the internet naming industry. The specific case of Alsace wine region has been investigated with a specific focus on the digital wine territory strategy based on the development of the “wine.alsace.”

Digital Transformation and Work 4.0

Changes brought by the 4th Industrial Revolution and digitalization impact directly in the way we live, shape the organizations, and change the way we work. These changes imply some challenges in the preparation of youngsters to work in such an environment due to their characteristics. All over Europe, and in order to anticipate the scope and depth of the impacts that current and emerging technologies are imposing, some projects and initiatives are being carried out. The aim of this chapter is to subsidize a reflection about this complex environment by discussing the possible changes brought by the technologies and present some of these initiatives aiming to prepare students to thrive in this world of work.

Are We Ready for the Job Market?

One of the key factors to be successful in the job market is to detain the right and needed knowledge and competences, being these hard or transversals (e.g., communication, negotiation, leadership, creativity, proactivity, responsibility, just to name a few). Experiential learning, problem-based learning, and game-based learning are pedagogical methods that allow students to consolidate the technical competences but also to develop the necessary soft skills in order to be employable in the Society 4.0. Among the solution offered is the business simulation that can be defined as an instrument that transforms the real business world in a simplified model enabling students to make decisions and simulate activities as if they were in a real business environment, without any risks. In this chapter, the authors describe a business simulation used in a higher education institution in Portugal. They analyze this simulation in terms of experiential learning and problem-based learning and draw some reflections about the results as this might be inspiring for other teachers/trainers.