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Users' Perceptions (user + perception)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	33%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	33%

Selected Abstracts

Comparison between objective and subjective measurements of quality of service over an Optical Wide Area network

EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, Issue 3 2008
Francesco Matera
The introduction of intelligence for management and control of the quality of service (QoS) are key issues for the evolution of the next generation IP optical network based on Ethernet technology. A test bed of a core-access network was implemented to investigate such issues and in this paper, the authors report measurements concerning the QoS of multimedia services for different traffic conditions. The network was implemented with a differentiated service over Multi-Protocol Label Switch (MPLS) architecture; it consists of a real optical network based on core routers with optical Gigabit Ethernet (GBE) interfaces connected by means of long single mode fibres (about 50\,km), contained in an installed cable between Rome and Pomezia. The network is based on different access devices, but in this paper we only refer to an access based on Fibre To The building (FTTB) architecture. The QoS was investigated both in terms of network (or objective) tests that include packet loss, jitter, one way delay and throughput measurements and perceptive (or subjective) tests that conversely are based on the evaluation of user perception. The services under test mainly consisted of video streams that circulated in the network according to the switching operations based in the IP differentiated service over MPLS technique that allowed us to guarantee the QoS for some class of service, also in the presence of network overload. Particular attention was given to the correlation between objective and subjective measurements. Furthermore, in order to have a complete analysis about QoS of real networks, measurements were performed also in the presence of restoration operations for link failures; in particular we compare the results in the case of conventional IP network restoration with a procedure proposed by us and based on a link switching activated by the loss of signal command coming from the routers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Hyperlinking Audited Financial Statements to Unaudited Information in the Presence of the WebTrust Logo: Hodge's Model Revised

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2003
Ruth V. Pike
This paper identifies a possible relationship between WebTrust, initiated by the AICPA/CICA as an attestation service for web sites, and the potentially misleading effect of hyperlinking audited financial statements to unaudited information. We argue that firms hyperlinking such information increase the perceived credibility of the unaudited information, which may be exacerbated by the presence of a recognisable, symbolically trustworthy logo. We formulate testable hypotheses by modifying an existing theoretical framework which relates to hyperlinked materials and their effect on investor judgements. The amended model extends to all potential users of financial information and incorporates the web-based assurance logo of WebTrust. We anticipate that this model will become instrumental in determining the extent of any expectation gap regarding user perceptions, thus facilitating the process of recommending policies to eliminate the potentially misleading effects of web-based financial information and therefore limiting the risk of corporate fraud and the legal liability of auditors. [source]

Planned telephone support for disadvantaged parents in North Wales: perceptions of service users

CHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 4 2007
Iolo Madoc-Jones
ABSTRACT This paper draws on the findings of a qualitative evaluation to examine user perceptions of a planned telephone support intervention based in a disadvantaged area in North Wales. Telephone support services are tailored differentially to offer information, advice and/or counselling on a crisis-led or planned-intervention basis. Research focusing on telephone support, for the most part (and particularly in the UK) has examined crisis-led as opposed to planned support services. The findings of our study resonate with earlier research findings about telephone support that suggest provision of non-visual support in social care can overcome some practical and financial difficulties for users with little discernible loss to their experience of satisfaction with the service. In addition, the paper suggests that planned support may provide a valuable service to users who are most disadvantaged and marginalized and who have found traditional forms of support unsatisfactory. For such users, planned telephone support can offer one-to-one communication tailored to specific client needs. Moreover, it can enable the development of user trust in the service which empowers users to operationalize strategies in the context of a reliable, sustained, unthreatening (and thus minimal risk) relationship. [source]

Library portal images that positively influence their users' perception of the portal

PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2008
James P. Smith
This paper provides an example of how visual information , the images used on academic library Web portals (ALWPs) , transforms users' perceptions of, and preference for, the portal. As a result of the information derived from this research the manner in which visual information is presented in ALWPs may be transformed. The study reported here compared the effect that high-image-pertinent (HIP) academic library portals and low-image-pertinent (LIP) academic library portals have on the users' preference for one portal over the other. One hundred undergraduate students searched for the answers to two ten-question information retrieval exercises using matched-pairs of HIP and LIP academic library portals. The exercises were constructed of questions similar to those asked at an academic library's reference desk. Data collected and statistically analyzed included: the scores from the information retrieval exercises, the time to complete the information retrieval exercises, the mouse-clicks used to complete the information retrieval exercises and the users' stated portal preference. The HIP portals outperformed the LIP portals and the subjects preferred the HIP portals to the LIP portals in 3 out of 4 measures of performance and preference. [source]

Managing empowerment and control in an intranet environment

INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003
Aidan Duane
Abstract. An intranet increases in sophistication and complexity as it evolves. This evolution leads to an increasing need for control over the intranet. However, this is a contentious issue, as an intranet is deemed to be an empowering technology. Consequently, intranet control systems must balance empowerment and control so as not to negate each other. This paper investigates intranet control activities and their effect on users' perceptions of empowerment throughout the evolution of an intranet in Hewlett Packard (Ireland). The growth of the intranet is charted as a six-stage model that illustrates an evolution of purpose, control and empowerment. The control strategies for managing the intranet implemented at each stage are investigated, and their resultant effects on empowerment are evaluated. The study reveals the importance of balancing control strategies with empowerment initiatives in managing intranet environments. Based on the evidence available, the study recommends the implementation of specific controls at particular stages in the evolution of an intranet in order to achieve control systems that balance empowerment and control. [source]

An exploratory study of adolescent's perceptions of the Web

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 4 2003
J. Dinet
Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the influence of two individual characteristics (Web experience and academic focus) of adolescents on the Web perception, using off-line questionnaires (a Lickert response scale) constituted on the basis of a series of interviews. Questions concerned: perceptions about the nature of information found in the Web; ,strategies' of access to the interesting Internet sites and the reliability of different information resources (libraries, television, Web, etc.). Results lead to the assumption that adolescents with high Web experience became more critical, less confident and less enthusiastic than adolescents with low Web experience and that, in some dimensions, perceptions of literature students are different to those of science students. Even if some interesting results were obtained, further research is needed to explore users' perceptions related to individuals' characteristics and to determine the generalisability of the influences identified in this exploratory study. [source]

Library portal images that positively influence their users' perception of the portal

Assurance of Sustainability Reports: Impact on Report Users' Confidence and Perceptions of Information Credibility

AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 3 2009
Kristy Hodge
This study examines whether (1) assurance, (2) the level of assurance (reasonable vs limited) and (3) the type of assurance practitioner (accountant vs specialist consultant) affect users' perceptions of reliability of sustainability reports. Based on an experimental questionnaire, we find that the provision of assurance improves perceived reliability of the environmental and social information. There are no significant main effects for both the level of assurance and type of assurance practitioner. However, a significant interaction is found between these two experimental factors and report users' perceptions of reliability of such reports. More specifically, report users place more confidence in sustainability reports when the level of assurance provided is reasonable (that is, high but not absolute), and when such assurance is provided by a top tier accountancy firm, compared to when the assurance is provided by a specialist consultant. No such difference is found when the level of assurance provided is limited for either type of assurance practitioner group. The results of this study thus highlight the relevance of assurance for sustainability reporting. [source]