Literature reviewe (Technology adoption) Thesis

Literature reviewe (Technology adoption) - Thesis Example The developing countries have now started embracing technology to offer e-government services to the citizens but it has not been adapted globally at the same rate. The factors responsible for low penetration of technology is developing nations could vary across nations and regions. However, to make the services fruitful and to enhance adoption by consumers, various researchers have formulated and developed theoretical frameworks to understand and explain the process of technology adoption. Agarwal (2000) defines technology adoption as the use, or acceptance of a new technology, or new product. In Information Technology and Information system (IT/IS) research, numerous theories have been used to study users adoption of new technologies. Various models were developed including Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)(Davis, 1989), Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)(Ajzen et al., 1980) , Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991), and recently, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Te chnology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003) which have all identified factors that affect an individual’s intention to use or the actual use of information technology. 3.2 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) The theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, Ajzen et al., 1980) is well-accepted model that has been used successfully to explain behaviour across wide variety of settings (Chau, 1996, Chen et al., 2002, Davis et al., 1989, Venkatesh, 1999). According to TRA, an individual’s behaviour is best predicted by his/her behavioural intention which, in turn, is determined by the person’s attitudes and subjective norm (social influence) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). This implies that individuals consider the implications of their actions before they decided to engage or actually engage in any given behaviour. This theory focuses on behaviour intentions rather than on attitudes that influence behaviour (Al-Quesi, n.d.). However, an individual may not always consider the implications of his actions. This too may differ across individuals and across situations. According to TRA an individual’s intention to perform behaviour encompasses two factors – attitudes the performance of behaviour and subjective norms. Behavioural intention refers to the strength of one’s intention to perform a specified behaviour (Davis et al., 1989). Attitude is defined as the degree to which an individual makes a positive or negative evaluation about certain behaviour (Alzharani, n.d.). It is a set of beliefs about the object under consideration. An individual’s attitude towards any object can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy if the researcher has knowledge about the individual’s beliefs about the attitude object and the evaluation aspects of these beliefs (Al-Quesi, n.d.). If an individual believes that e-banking is risky or cumbersome or economic, his action would depend upon the evaluation of the attribute, Subj ective norm is defined as beliefs about what others will think about the behaviour (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). It is also the social norm to perform or not perform behaviour (Alzharani, n.d.). That is, if an individual believes that most of people who are important to him perceive the outcome of performing the behaviour as positive, he/she will be more likely to perform the behaviour. Hence it can be defined as the individual’s perception of what most people would like, especially people who matter to him. The subjective norms are generally determined by

Fast Food in US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fast Food in US - Essay Example They are modeled after success, and as long as you go away with food in hand, they really could care less about the effects it has on you, or your life down the long road. This is what Eric Schlosser took a deep look into in the book Fast Food Nation. Using witty examples and biting realism, Schlosser was able to tear apart the wrapper surrounding the Big Mac that is the fast food industry. Showing the whole what they really were eating, Schlosser offered a unique journalistic look into the making, formation, and distribution of the one of the most beloved things in America: Food. The companies probably weren't expecting this to happen. They were safe under the wrappers they had made, and didn't want people to know how unhealthy the food is, and how it really is all part of a consumer fraud in a way, where the supplier is supplying the consumer with something that is unhealthy while making no attempts to change this. One of the main reasons the companies do as good as they do is their products. In today's fast paced society, everybody is busy, hustling around, always moving. We live in a very fast paced society, and time is money. And everybody needs to eat, but not everybody can find the time to sit down at an expensive meal. Money is also an issue here. Some people can't afford to eat out all the time. The state of families is not what is was years ago, and in effect, is causing more people to eat out compared to what they used to. So here comes fast food to save the day. Offering a quick and easy solution to each of these problems, fast food is quick, easy, cheap and simple. It offers a quick hamburger to a busy businessman, or to a family who only has a spare few minutes in which time they need to eat dinner. Fast food offers all of these solutions, and with new to go orders and serving sizes, the convenience only continues to grow. As popularity grows, so does the message, you can come here and get a quick food in the middle of your fast passed life. No busy lines, no busy sit down restaurants, just a cheap easy and quick meal. Than it itself offers a lot to customers and really widens the fan base of such fast food joints. Convenience and price are two factors of the product, but only a small part of the large picture of the product. Mass producing the product is important, and I am not just talking about mass producing the product actually, but in the people's minds. Images of good looking fast food sandwiches are thrown every, on build boards, on commercials on tv, on magazine ads, everywhere you look is the image of a good tasting burger. This is very in your face advertising, but when a person needs something quick, they remember that add and that image and go back to that fast food place to eat. The image of the product that is displayed is just as important as the actual product, and the fast food companies make sure to display a good quality image, and to display it all over the place, well engrained into people's memories. All of these are strong factors to the product of fast food, but one of the next items is how the food is actually presented. Although most fast food is not different from one another, they would have you believe that it is way better than the other guys, and the competition between the chains keeps more and more original