Tablets as a vehicle for imprisoned people's digital connection with loved ones

The intersection between criminal justice and technology is fairly understudied, despite increasing technological advancements in the world and within the criminal justice system. A rather recent addition to the technological landscape of prison is the adoption of tablets used by imprisoned people for communication and connection with loved ones and other activities, which is particularly important given the context of COVID-19, a virus which caused a global pandemic from 2020-2022. While the use of tablets by imprisoned people appears to be a new trend, the use of tablets in prison both prior to and during the pandemic has remained an untested phenomenon, not yet evaluated by social scientists. The dissertation sought to address this gap in literature by interviewing fifteen people formerly incarcerated in the Ohio State Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) and surveying a difficult to reach population, people currently incarcerated in ODRC (n=78), concerning their communication with loved ones using tablets and its meaning on their life and re-entry into society. The results of this study indicate that tablets are socially-situated in nature, and therefore the meaning of tablets depends upon the use of tablets by imprisoned people which is mediated by several factors concerning imprisoned people's individual and environmental contexts. The quantitative study indicates that imprisoned people's use and experience of tablets prior to and during COVID-19 is mediated by their demographic characteristics such as their age, parental status, marital status, and years served in prison, according to the quantitative study. The qualitative study indicates that several factors concerning imprisoned people's life inside of prison (e.g., technical glitches and correctional officers' attitudes) and outside of prison (e.g., their support system and financial standing) mediate their use of tablets in prison, and ultimately undermine the meaning of tablets for imprisoned people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Doing and talking: People with intellectual disabilities' handling of challenges of remote communication

This article is about the challenge of communication via smartphones and tablets by people with intellectual disabilities (ID). We will give special attention to persons that struggle with verbal communication. One of our co-researchers, the fourth author, has a severe ID. She cannot read, write or use voice assisted technology in any functional manner. As a result of many years of collaboration, and the need for solutions in connection with the challenges with COVID-19, she and her family have developed ways of remote communication that can be mastered both by the person with an ID and the majority (those without similar disabilities). We call it doing and talking. Successful remote communication not only depends on technology and how to use it, but also on communication strategies that both work for the person with an ID and the majority. It is often the case that people with ID are expected to learn the skills necessary to adapt to the majority. We will show that success is just as much a question of the majority learning new skills and strategies that can make real inclusion and collaboration possible. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Are South Korean College Students Benefitting from Digital Learning?

With COVID-19, the advancement of mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, tablets) has brought a welcoming change to education: digital learning. This study addresses the relationship between mobile device use and academic performance through three different models by controlling demographic data, technological infrastructure conditions, and daily total multi-tasking time. The first model emphasized the daily total mobile device use time. The second model divided the daily total mobile device use time into academic and non-academic oriented uses. The final model divided the overall mobile device use into seven specific usage types. The study found that an increase in the daily total mobile device use time negatively affected GPA;only non-academic purpose use time had a negative significance toward GPA;none of the seven usage types were significant in predicting GPA. Based on the findings, suggestions on improvements for the future digital learning policy were proposed.

Tablets as a vehicle for imprisoned people's digital connection with loved ones

The intersection between criminal justice and technology is fairly understudied, despite increasing technological advancements in the world and within the criminal justice system. A rather recent addition to the technological landscape of prison is the adoption of tablets used by imprisoned people for communication and connection with loved ones and other activities, which is particularly important given the context of COVID-19, a virus which caused a global pandemic from 2020-2022. While the use of tablets by imprisoned people appears to be a new trend, the use of tablets in prison both prior to and during the pandemic has remained an untested phenomenon, not yet evaluated by social scientists. The dissertation sought to address this gap in literature by interviewing fifteen people formerly incarcerated in the Ohio State Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) and surveying a difficult to reach population, people currently incarcerated in ODRC (n=78), concerning their communication with loved ones using tablets and its meaning on their life and re-entry into society. The results of this study indicate that tablets are socially-situated in nature, and therefore the meaning of tablets depends upon the use of tablets by imprisoned people which is mediated by several factors concerning imprisoned people's individual and environmental contexts. The quantitative study indicates that imprisoned people's use and experience of tablets prior to and during COVID-19 is mediated by their demographic characteristics such as their age, parental status, marital status, and years served in prison, according to the quantitative study. The qualitative study indicates that several factors concerning imprisoned people's life inside of prison (e.g., technical glitches and correctional officers' attitudes) and outside of prison (e.g., their support system and financial standing) mediate their use of tablets in prison, and ultimately undermine the meaning of tablets for imprisoned people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

On the benefits of consumer IT in the workplace-An IT empowerment perspective: SSIS

Technology driven organizational transformation-heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic-is gaining momentum, as employees increasingly invest in technology for work. Referred to as IT consumerization, employees use their smartphones, notebooks and tablets in the workplace, accompanied by a growing toolbox of applications. Google Apps and Dropbox are just a few consumer tools that employees use to get their work done, and in doing so, often bypass the authority of the IT department and the organization. While some organizations discourage, or even prohibit, employees from using their personal IT, others embrace the phenomenon. Employees' investment in consumer IT and its accompanying applications has been suggested as related to innovation and productivity gains, but there has been no empirical validation of such a beneficial relationship. With this paper we propose a theoretical root cause for the perceived positive outcomes of employees using their personal technologies in the workplace. Specifically, we explore the role of IT empowerment-a concept that captures the level of authority an employee assumes in utilizing IT in order to control or improve aspects of their job. Surveying 147 employees, we find support for increased levels of IT empowerment and higher levels of perceived performance among those that actively use consumer IT versus those that do not;we also find a close relationship between IT empowerment and perceived innovative work behaviors.

The digital exclusion of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

This reprinted chapter originally appeared in Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 2020, 63[6-7], 674-676. (The following of the original article appeared in record 2021-00510-025.) During the current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, older adults are particularly excluded from in-person society on one hand and on the other hand older adults belong to the population group who are often excluded from digital services because they opt to not use new technologies (e.g., smartphones, Internet, tablets). This missing digital participation includes also various specifically useful online services and content such as health information, digital social events and social networking or online shopping opportunities. Nonparticipation in the digital world could lead to a doubled feeling of social exclusion in times of physical distancing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Detecting Misleading Information on COVID-19 : A Machine Learning Perspective

Online Social networks become a popular way for sharing information among people. With increasing technology like Wi-Fi, Wi-Max ,3G/4G along with handheld devices like smartphones and tablets, popular applications such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, becomes a dominant platform for news and entertainment. The extensive use of these social networks has an incredible influence on sharing news among people It holds both positive and negative effects of its own. Because of it's high popularity,Online Social Networks(OSNs),has become the target for spammers. Also, false news for different political and commercial purpose has been evolving in the large count and spread worldwide. After the spread of COVID-19, there had been a lot of confusion and pitfalls on the topic of who to believe and who should be rejected. With the advent of time, several companies like Facebook, and Twitter joined hands to identify the news and regard it authentic or not. This effort was very hard for people, as the news are spreading at a rapid pace, no matter how many people are upon the task, the rate of expansion of news is always faster than the rate of evaluation of whether the news is authentic or not. Additionally, it can be observed that the news cannot be regarded as fake or true before careful evaluation. This evaluation is based on the results. So it is important to create a method for identifying fake news and distinguishing it from individuals. Thus, the paper evaluates several models in order to find the best fit with the highest level of accuracy..

Testing the Usability of the MediCare System

Smartphones, digital medical devices, smart bracelets, and mobile applications have emerged in the healthcare field as an effective way to help in the treatment of patients. Healthcare services are characterized by ease of use, low cost, accessibility, mobility, and reliability. The MediCare system was built to enhance healthcare services in the Iraqi environment. The MediCare system can run on smartphones or tablets that operate on Android, but it can also be used as a web application. The research team wanted to evaluate if the platform meets customers' needs. Therefore, a usability survey for the MediCare system in regard to healthcare services and underlying technology was done. In this paper, an evaluation and usability measurement of the MediCare system is presented. The quantitative research shows that users found that the system is suitable for their needs. The system is especially necessary now, when the COVID-19 pandemic is a global emergency.

INTEGRATING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN PRECOLLEGE EDUCATION IN KUWAIT: TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVES ON A BOTCHED INITIATIVE

Aim/Purpose This study collects empirical evidence to investigate the extent to which high school teachers adopted the tablet computer in their instruction within the context of the Tablet Project in Kuwait and explores what drove their adoption behavior. Background The role of information technology in education is prominent and takes different forms depending on the purpose of information technology adoption and the adopted information technology systems. To utilize emerging technology in education in Kuwait, the government launched an initiative to integrate the tablet computer into high school education during the 2015-2016 academic year. Three years later, some evidence doubting the project's value had had been circulated, which motivated undertaking a thorough investigation to assess the project's effectiveness, particularly from the teachers' perspectives and its influential factors. Methodology We adapted an expanded Technology Acceptance Model to assess the extent of high school teachers' use of the system in their teaching practice and to examine the effects of teaching efficacy, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness on that use behavior. To test the research hypotheses, a data set was collected from 206 teachers and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. Contribution Our empirically derived results confirm the scanty information that was in circulation at the time of this study and that claimed that the Tablet Project was not progressing sufficiently or achieving its objectives. These results could guide future efforts aimed at effectively integrating information technology into high school education in Kuwait and at enhancing the ongoing online education necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also advise that effective integration of information technology into teaching and learning mandates a comprehensive redesign and digitization of the targeted educational system. Findings Although teachers report minimal use of the system in teaching, teaching efficacy emerges as the strongest determinant of that use behavior, followed by perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The fitted model also has satisfactory explanatory power as it explains 43% of the variance in use behavior. Recommendations for Practitioners The results of this study suggest that, in the public schools of Kuwait, teaching efficacy is a more important determinant of the use behavior of information technology in teaching than perceived ease of use or perceived usefulness. In addition, it is difficult to adopt information technology into teaching where there is inadequate awareness of the role of technology in e-learning, a lack of content modules fit for information technology-assisted teaching, poor Internet connections, a lack of technical support, and a lack of adequate professional and technical training. Recommendations for Researchers This study offers significant empirical results from the Arabian milieu on the utility of the Technology Acceptance Model in elucidating public high school teachers' adoption of the tablet computer in teaching practice. Our results also enhance the growing global body of knowledge on the integration of hedonic systems as well as their individual and contextual determinants in education, in general, and in teaching practice, in particular. Furthermore, teaching efficacy is an important determinant of teachers' adoption of information technology in teaching. Impact on Society Information technology augments traditional, face-to-face teaching and learning in societies by incorporating rich, online learning experiences and creating a motivating and efficient learning environment. Yet, the value of information technology-enabled education depends significantly on the successful integration of the systems into the educational process, and the results of this study could serve as a foundation for policies and plans aimed at successfully integrating information technology into the educational systems in Kuwait and similar societies. Future Research The results and limitations of this study suggest several future research topics. Future research should explore the extent of students' adoption of the tablet computer in learning activities and its important determinants to gain a better understanding of the Kuwaiti Tablet Project initiative. In addition, future research should employ other research methods (e.g., qualitative analysis), use samples from private schools' teachers, and incorporate and test other possible determinants of teachers' adoption of information technology in teaching to verify the validity and generalizability of the reported results.