Paradigms of Public Relations in an Age of Digitalization

This study explores the uses of social media in public relations (PR) departments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It seeks to lay the basis for understanding the place of social media in the UAE and to contribute to the analysis of the issue of social change in the PR offices. The chapter assesses the state of PR in the UAE in relation to global media and highlights needs in this area for both public and private enterprises. Presenting interview data taken from a cross section of 40 organizations throughout the UAE, it addresses perceptions of benefits, challenges, public acceptance, and future strategies of social media in relation to global SM as whole. It finds that barriers to the use and acceptance of SM in PR have mostly been lifted.

Library and Information Science Female Undergraduate Preference for Facebook as Information Sharing Tool

This study has examined the library and information science female undergraduates' preference for Facebook as an information-sharing tool. A survey approach was adopted using a questionnaire to collect data from 457 LIS female undergraduate students drawn from five library schools in Nigeria. The findings of the study have demonstrated that most significant factors that lead to the use of Facebook for information sharing among LIS female undergraduate students are user-friendly nature of the tool, personal gain, enjoyment, and self-efficacy while the least factors are social engagement and empathy. User-friendliness nature of Facebook has the highest correlation with the preference for Facebook as an information-sharing tool by female students followed by enjoyment while learning and empathy are the least correlated factors.

Student Satisfaction From E-Learning Systems

This chapter explores the satisfaction level of students from Virtual University of Pakistan mode of e-learning. The research aimed at explaining the various factors of adopting the e-learning mode as well as inquiring about the determinant of satisfaction from virtual educational systems. The quantitative study was conducted through survey method; 240 respondents were selected from all the Virtual University campuses through simple random sampling. Questionnaires based on 25 items were constructed to measure the satisfaction. One sample t-test and regression analysis were applied for data analysis. Results revealed that a majority of the students prefer this institute due to high teaching standards. Interactivity pattern was explained as the main predictor of students' satisfaction from the system. Findings of the study lead to the practical implications and identify the need of face-to-face communication and betterment in interactivity patterns between instructors and students to enhance students' satisfaction from the system.

The Impact of Data Protection Regulations on Start-Up Enterprises

Information is vital for enterprises. However, the usage of information uniquely personal data leads to various legal problems. On the one side, enterprises require free and unlimited usage of personal data as much as possible for their continuity and progression. On the other side, natural and legal persons seek legal protection regarding their personal information or market position. It is challenging to find a fair and reasonable balance that can last for an extended period in such a dynamic field. This article evaluates the general tendencies concerning data usage, sharing, and protection problems considering Start-Up enterprises' situation aside from their legal form. The problems mainly arise in the fields of data protection and unfair competition. Some of the legal problems are also related to intellectual property. Instead of trying to find general and local solutions, it seems more useful to seek and find solutions that shall take the interests of various enterprises and companies from diverse sectors and legal traditions employing good practices. Of course, it is not very easy to reach solutions that will be accepted by all the related parties. The legal solutions should not constraint Start-Up enterprises' innovative progress, as well as meeting related parties' protection and fair trade expectations. Otherwise, privacy violations and abuse of competition will be inevitable.

Technology Adoption

Cryptocurrency has emerged in recent years as a new form of money. With the wave of cryptocurrency developments and wild attention, it is essential to understand consumer attitudes toward the adoption of the cryptocurrency and the factors influencing their decisions. Thus, the chapter aims to fill a gap in the current literature by examining the factors that influence the user's intention to adopt cryptocurrency. This adoption is a purchasing decision where users make a decision based on a set of factors that matters to them. This chapter uses a hierarchical decision model (HDM) to understand the user decision to adopt cryptocurrency. The model proposes four main perspectives that influence the adoption decision: economic, technical, social, and personal. This study aims at providing an in-depth analysis of the factors influencing the adoption of cryptocurrency as well as the ranking of these influencing factors based on the quantification of the users' judgments.

Enabling Digital Transformation in Education and Training

The rapid rise of innovation and digital transformation trends have already begun to cause disruptions to the way we live, work, and learn. Education and training are placed at the forefront of this transformation process because of the learning needs to develop the required competencies for enabling a successful transformation. As educators and training experts become more aware of the potential of open and distance learning, it is essential for their educational planning that the opportunities offered by new technologies like disruptive technologies or digital transformation enabling technologies to be realistically examined. It is evident that educational institutions that fail to embrace digital transformation will be left behind in the upcoming years. Therefore, this chapter aims to discuss the digital transformation process in the field of education and training through the innovative solutions for the development of next generation digital learning environments and spaces.

Exploring Factors in Determining E-Banking Adoption Among Bruneian Corporate Customers

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the significant factors that contribute towards the adoption and use of e-banking in Brunei. The study focuses on 150 corporate customers of major banks in Brunei Darussalam to explore the behavioral intent of the corporate customers toward e-banking through their attitudes. The conceptual framework was developed through theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the intention towards using e-banking. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and PLS smart graph suggests that customers' attitudes toward e-banking is a significant predictor of behavioral intention whereas subjective norms and perceived behavioral control remained insignificant. The model has good parsimony with 52% of the total variance in intention is shared by these independent variables. However, use of e-banking was further supported by the behavioral intention. Based upon conclusion, the study provides the practical implications both for the management and researchers.

MSME Owner/Manager Perceptions Towards the Adoption of E-Marketing Activities in India

This chapter covers the MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprise) owners/managers' perceptions towards the adoption of e-marketing with respect to its importance and effectiveness for business success, implementation, barriers, future use, expenditure, and general awareness about the government e-marketing initiatives. Data was collected from 253 MSMEs located in states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh in India. The authors observed that MSMEs perceive e-marketing as an important element in the success of their businesses. They feel that display advertising, social media marketing, and mobile marketing add more effectiveness to their business. They perceive that display advertising is effective for brand awareness, search engine marketing for lead generation, affiliate marketing for customer acquisition and increasing ROI, mobile marketing for better CRM, and search engine optimisation for generating web traffic. MSMEs indicated an increase in future expenditure on digital marketing activities. However, a large section of MSMEs were unaware of the government's e-marketing initiatives.

The Use of ICTs in Second Language Education

As many aspects of our lives have been increasingly digitized, education has likewise taken its share from this digitization. Consequently, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been progressively incorporated into education to improve the effectiveness of educational practices in formal and informal educational settings. ICTs hold great promise for second language education since they have the potential of providing language learners with increased opportunities to engage with the target language and culture even with a mouse click or a tap on their smartphones. This chapter presents an overview of how ICTs have been employed in the field of second language education over the decades by specifically elaborating on the rationale behind ICT adoption, the properties of ICTs utilized, advantages and disadvantages of ICT adoption in the field, and factors that might impede or facilitate ICT adoption in second language education. The chapter concludes with practical considerations that might affect the efficiency of ICT adoption in second language education.

What Makes Patients Adopt the Web-Based Personal Health Records (PHRs)?

This study analyzed what makes patients adopt the web-based personal health records (PHRs). Patients may consider the perceived value of information, the perceived usefulness of searching, the perceived privacy, the perceived trust, and the perceived security when they adopt the web-based PHRs. By using HINTS (Health Information National Trends Survey), this study found that the perceived value of information is the most important determinant when patients adopt the web-based PHRs. The perceived privacy, the perceived trust, and the perceived security are also determinants to influence their decision to adopt the web-based PHRs. But, the perceived value of searching is not statistically significant to explain the adoption of the web-based PHRs. However, the perceived value of information is a strong antecedent of the perceived usefulness of searching. Based on this study, patients are more likely to adopt the web-based PHRs when they realize that the web-based PHRs provide valuable and reliable information with protecting their privacy and system security.