Determining design criteria for indoor positioning system projects in hospitals: A design science approach.

Objectives: Indoor navigation systems (indoor positioning systems) can improve orientation for patients in hospitals and help employees to track assets. Many hospitals would like to implement indoor positioning systems but do not know how. To support them in doing this, and to gain knowledge about the requirements for indoor positioning system implementation, our research identifies the design criteria relevant to indoor positioning system implementation projects. Methods: A design science research process is built to design and evaluate an artifact. For this, five indoor positioning system developers and five hospital IT management representatives from various hospitals and companies in Germany are interviewed. Further, controlled experiments are conducted in Germany, using an ultrasound-based indoor positioning system. Results: We determined and tested indoor positioning system functions, evaluated indoor positioning system performance criteria, and identified the operating conditions in hospitals. Our results show that indoor positioning system functions should provide a benefit to a hospital's daily operations, that some performance criteria are more important than others, and that operating conditions are important, e.g., radiation. Conclusion: As a theoretical contribution, we show how design science research can be applied to the context of indoor positioning systems in hospitals. In addition, we make a practical contribution in that our propositions can be used for future indoor positioning system developments.

Do taxpayers consider quality labels as a form of recommendation for good tax-preparation services? Evidence from Germany.

Quality labels are important measures for reducing the information asymmetry between principals and agents to enhance trust. However, little research is available on the effects of quality labels used in tax-preparation services from critical perspectives in accounting. The present research contributes to the field by addressing the underlying reasons for German taxpayers to consider quality labels for identifying good tax-preparation services. These contributions are based on a survey of 199 taxpayers in Germany. The results show that the intention to consider quality labels is mainly driven by taxpayers' attitude and trust in quality labels, perceived norms having some influence, and perceived behavioral control having no influence. Hence, we highlight that the reasoned action approach is appropriate for this study, and aim to identify the relevant factors that influence taxpayers' intention to consider quality labels. The results contribute to a general understanding of the importance of quality labels for tax-preparation services in the context of accounting, organizations, and society. Both academia and practitioners can utilize these insights for further research and consultation on quality labels and tax-preparation services.

Sharing Data With Shared Benefits: Artificial Intelligence Perspective.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and data sharing go hand in hand. In order to develop powerful AI models for medical and health applications, data need to be collected and brought together over multiple centers. However, due to various reasons, including data privacy, not all data can be made publicly available or shared with other parties. Federated and swarm learning can help in these scenarios. However, in the private sector, such as between companies, the incentive is limited, as the resulting AI models would be available for all partners irrespective of their individual contribution, including the amount of data provided by each party. Here, we explore a potential solution to this challenge as a viewpoint, aiming to establish a fairer approach that encourages companies to engage in collaborative data analysis and AI modeling. Within the proposed approach, each individual participant could gain a model commensurate with their respective data contribution, ultimately leading to better diagnostic tools for all participants in a fair manner.

The disease or the vaccination: Which is more important when deciding whether to vaccinate?

RATIONALE: Vaccinations provide adequate protection against many virus-related diseases. Nonetheless, many individuals refuse voluntary vaccinations, and their refusal could contribute to the spread of diseases. Previous research on the intention to vaccinate has been limited by focusing on a single target group. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we develop an integrated theoretical framework incorporating the dual approach with relevant theories related to both disease and vaccination. Our objective is to examine the behavioral reasons for the decision to vaccinate or not. The vaccination-related appraisals concern aspects of vaccination and the disease-related appraisals concern aspects of COVID-19. The framework is applied to the much-discussed context of COVID-19 vaccination. METHOD: We investigate the intention to vaccinate of two target groups, unvaccinated individuals and twice-vaccinated individuals, with a partial squares structured equation model. RESULTS: Our results show that unvaccinated individuals are driven in their intention to vaccinate by their attitude (toward vaccination); factors relating to the disease have no impact. In contrast, when deciding whether to be revaccinated, twice-vaccinated individuals balance factors relating to vaccination and factors relating to disease. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the proposed integrated theoretical model is appropriate for investigating diverse target groups and deriving implications.

Understanding intention and use of digital elements in higher education teaching.

Digital elements are being increasingly used in higher education teaching, but the intention and their actual use vary depending on the lecturers. We used the reasoned action approach to understand the beliefs and intentions behind the use of digital elements in this context. We conducted a quantitative survey in which university lecturers shared their intention concerning the use of digital learning elements and indicated their actual use. The results confirm the influence of attitude, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control on the intention to use digital learning elements. However, we also identified an intention-behavior gap: Only one-time effort to become familiar with digital elements has a significant impact on actual usage. We conclude that, above all, teachers must first be given the opportunity to become familiar with digital learning elements to be able to use them effectively. Understanding why such an intention-behavior gap exists should be the aim of future studies.

Scenario-based solutions for implementing an internet of things system at the organizational level in small- and medium-sized enterprises.

BACKGROUND: Despite the great potential that technical solutions, based on the Internet of Things (IoT), offer for companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), companies are hesitant to implement such solutions. Reasons for this lie in the resulting far-reaching change, which particularly affects working activities and communication between employees and IoT objects in their environment. OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to investigate (1) how the implementation of an IoT solution, consisting of multiple objects, might be integrated into daily working activities; (2) what reactions might occur at the individual level; and (3) what structural conditions should be established at the organizational level. METHODS: We applied a scenario-based design. Specifically, we conducted interviews to develop personas and scenarios describing human-machine interactions during implementation of the IoT solution in an initial phase. RESULTS: Regarding changing work activities, we identified three structural conditions that facilitate the implementation of IoT in SMEs: (1) the development of a support unit that bundles communication and training activities as well as internal and external knowledge; (2) the planning of an appropriate testing and adoption phase that enables participation and feedback; and (3) the creation of an incentive structure that includes social reward, empowerment, and recognition. CONCLUSION: IoT gives employees enhanced access to resources, information, and feedback, supporting an efficient way of working. To successfully implement IoT solutions, companies, especially SMEs, must actively address organizational change and empower their employees to manage technological innovations at an early stage.

Factors Influencing the Intention of Actors in Hospitals to Use Indoor Positioning Systems: Reasoned Action Approach.

BACKGROUND: Indoor positioning systems (IPS) have become increasingly important for several branches of the economy (eg, in shopping malls) but are relatively new to hospitals and underinvestigated in that context. This research analyzes the intention of actors within a hospital to use an IPS to address this gap. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the intentions of hospital visitors and employees (as the main actors in a hospital) to use an IPS in a hospital. METHODS: The reasoned action approach was used, according to which the behavior of an individual is caused by behavioral intentions that are affected by (1) a persuasion that represents the individual's attitude toward the behavior, (2) perceived norms that describe the influence of other individuals, and (3) perceived norms that reflect the possibility of the individual influencing the behavior. RESULTS: The survey responses of 323 hospital visitors and 304 hospital employees were examined separately using SmartPLS 3.3.3. Bootstrapping procedures with 5000 subsamples were used to test the models (one-tailed test with a significance level of .05). The results show that attitude (ß=.536; P<.001; f²=.381) and perceived norms (ß=.236; P<.001; f²=.087) are predictors of hospital visitors' intention to use an IPS. In addition, attitude (ß=.283; P<.001; f²=.114), perceived norms (ß=.301; P<.001; f²=.126), and perceived behavioral control (ß=.178; P=.005; f²=.062) are predictors of hospital employees' intention to use an IPS. CONCLUSIONS: This study has two major implications: (1) our extended reasoned action approach model, which takes into account spatial abilities and personal innovativeness, is appropriate for determining hospital visitors' and employees' intention to use an IPS; and (2) hospitals should invest in implementing IPS with a focus on (a) navigational services for hospital visitors and (b) asset tracking for hospital employees.