Kuwait University Library has invested in electronic information resources (EIR) to facilitate us... more Kuwait University Library has invested in electronic information resources (EIR) to facilitate users’ access to library materials. However, this has been insufficiently investigated to identify the factors that influence the use of EIR. Therefore, this study aims to explore the factors influencing the use of EIR by faculty members at Kuwait University, as the study further aims to enhance library services. Specifically, the study uses a modified technology acceptance model (TAM) to investigate whether the perceived ease-of-use, the perceived usefulness, and prior experience of using EIR affect their adoption. The EIR adoption, consequently, impacts the faculty’s academic performance. A mixed-method approach was adopted using the questionnaire and interview tools sequentially to collect primary data from faculty members at the College of Social Science, Kuwait University. Out of 116 questionnaires sent to participants, 48 were returned, yielding a 41 % response rate, which was supple...
This study explored the use and acceptance by sixth-grade Kuwaiti English language teachers of th... more This study explored the use and acceptance by sixth-grade Kuwaiti English language teachers of the Telegram application as an information source and a knowledge-sharing tool that enables users to easily find, store and share useful learning information and enhances their teaching–learning practices. A mixed method approach was employed that included data triangulation: observation, a survey and a focus group to empirically reveal the results. The findings revealed that Telegram application was an effective source of textual and non-textual information as well as an information-sharing tool that saved time, effort and costs and overcame time and place limitations. Telegram’s various information sets allowed for the generation of innovative ideas, which improved the effectiveness of the teaching methods and accelerated language learning. The results of this study can assist information specialists to work collaboratively with teachers to plan and design information content for Telegra...
This course has been in place for the last two years. This study was designed to assess the relev... more This course has been in place for the last two years. This study was designed to assess the relevance, usefulness and effect of this course on developing the needed capabilities among students. The study had two purposes; first, studying if the course had made any significant difference in the information literacy and research capabilities of students. Secondly, it assessed whether certain personal and social variables of students were associated with significance differences in student capabilities. A research instrument was designed around the constructs that had been defined in the course description and syllabi of 1380-131. This instrument was administered in the first week of the Semester 1 classes of the year 2009-10 in five sections of the same class. The same instrument, with changed facts and multiple choice statements, was administered in the last week of the same semester in the same five sections. Students also provided information about personal and social variables. Data were analyzed and it was found that the students performed significantly better for the overall information literacy and for the three segments of information, computing and research. Majors of students, types of schools they had attended and mother's academic qualifications were found to be associated with significant differences in students' performance on information literacy measures.
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2019
The use of social media by citizens, businesses, and public agencies at local, regional, or natio... more The use of social media by citizens, businesses, and public agencies at local, regional, or national levels is a critical area in online communications and social interaction that has become mainstream. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and WeChat offer global tools that facilitate the interaction between all actors in society. Social media is not only a channel of information exchange between government agencies and users but also a powerful tool for service delivery and citizen participation and an arena of public deliberation. For researchers as well as practitioners, many questions remain unanswered and are worth exploring.
The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and perceptions of citizens towards the adopti... more The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and perceptions of citizens towards the adoption of e-government services in developing countries. This is deemed of value at a time when e-government initiatives are still emerging in many developing countries and many government departments and units have put a wide range of materials from publications and information about government services online for use by citizens. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was adopted in this study to identify factors that determine the adoption of e-government services. The use of a theoretical model allowed for formulating hypotheses governing the relationship between the different variables. Mixed research methods were utilised to fulfil the aims and objectives of this study. The quantitative and qualitative methods used included a questionnaire survey, which incorporated the amended version of the UTAUT model and which was completed by more than 800 students at...
Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 2013
The College of Social Sciences at Kuwait University introduced a 3-credit hour formal course of i... more The College of Social Sciences at Kuwait University introduced a 3-credit hour formal course of information and computing literacy as a required course for the undergraduate students. Four years back, the course structure and content were revised and the component of inquiry was added to the same course. This course has been in place for more than a decade. This study was designed to assess the relevance and usefulness of this course for developing the needed computing, information and inquiry capabilities among students. The study was thus designed to investigate; firstly, whether the course had made any significant difference in the computing, information and research capabilities of students. Secondly, it assessed whether certain personal and social variables of students were associated with significance differences in student capabilities. A research instrument was designed around the constructs that had been defined in the course description and syllabi of 1380-131. This instru...
World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Electrical, Computer, Energetic, Electronic and Communication Engineering, 2017
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social media in the marketing of academ... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social media in the marketing of academic library resources and services in Kuwait and identifies the factors related to the use of social media applications in marketing academic libraries.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative data-collection approach using a paper and online questionnaire has been employed to elicit the opinions of librarians working in academic libraries in Kuwait in both private and public institutions. In total, 89 valid questionnaires have been analyzed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (factor analysis, correlations, experimental analysis and regression).FindingsThe study shows that the academic librarians have a positive perception toward the use of social media. The identified factors relating to the use of social media for marketing library information resources and services are the usefulness of social media tools in raising a...
Quite a number of smart-city initiatives from around the world have been analyzed and documented,... more Quite a number of smart-city initiatives from around the world have been analyzed and documented, and a growing body of academic knowledge is evolving around the phenomenon of the smart city. Smart-city government is seen as an important driver for developing a smart urban environment. The eCityGov Alliance in the Pacific Northwest of the USA represents a special case of a successful smart-city collaboration between nine neighboring municipalities, which combined forces to provide smart services to citizens and businesses that no single municipality could have provided alone. Developing and maintaining a collaborative governance model appears as the most important key success factor in such multi-jurisdictional smart-city undertakings. This study investigates the governance model of the eCityGov Alliance and its opportunities, and potential pitfalls. It concludes that the eCityGov Alliance can serve as a role model for such multi-jurisdictional smart-city initiatives.
2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), 2016
City governments around the world have embarked on smart-city initiatives and projects with the a... more City governments around the world have embarked on smart-city initiatives and projects with the aim of creating a future-ready urban environment, in which critical infrastructure components and online services are intelligent, efficient, and highly interconnected. Reshaping administrative structures and processes across multiple local government agencies and departments appears as an important prerequisite to success in these initiatives. Moreover, the model of governance in such multi-agency initiatives is key to achieving desired outcomes and sustainability. Such "smart" governance is viewed as foundational to creating smart cities. This study investigates and documents the governance models that emerged in four recent smart city initiatives (Seattle/USA, eCityGov Alliance/USA, Munich/Germany, and Turin/Italy). The findings indicate that governance models vary from one case to another depending on a number of factors. Furthermore, despite notable similarities decision-making processes differed across the cases, and each case exhibits specific methods of conflict resolution. However, stakeholder involvement in governance was found fundamental across all cases.
Around the end of the first decade in the 21 st century, quite a few city governments in municipa... more Around the end of the first decade in the 21 st century, quite a few city governments in municipalities of various sizes began conducting so-called smart-city initiatives. While many of these initiatives have successfully reached for lowhanging fruits and easy wins when responding to the growing demand of smart online services, others have identified the need for fundamental change and overhaul with regard to organizational integration and alignment as well as interorganizational information system interoperability as a pre-requisite for creating smart operations and providing smart services. Sweepingly changing the governance over citywide information and communication technologies (ICTs) turned out to be at the core of creating an environment conducive to smart operations and smart services, and ultimately, smart city government. The City of Munich in Germany embarked on a fundamental overhaul of its ICT structures. The article describes the case and the challenges, insights, and workarounds in this multiyear change program, which ultimately led to the successful overhaul of the ICT governance model. In principle, Munich's approach might be transferable to other cases. At the very least, the case holds valuable lessons learned when engaging in smart government initiatives in practice.
Purpose – This research aims to analyze academic libraries’ Twitter content and present a categor... more Purpose – This research aims to analyze academic libraries’ Twitter content and present a categorization framework for the study of their tweets. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted a statistical descriptive analysis in addition to a content analysis of the tweets. Consequently, many categories and subcategories were created to classify the tweets according to different aspects. A total of 17 academic library accounts were examined. Findings – The findings show that academic libraries used Twitter as a multifaceted tool. “News and announcements” received the highest score as the type of information most often posted on Twitter by libraries, followed by “library collections” and “library services”. The subcategories that received the highest scores were “library marketing and news”, “answers and referrals” and “books”. Academic libraries showed a penchant for posting links more often than other content. Other results show different patterns of communication and interac...
International Information & Library Review, 2015
This study investigates the current state of continuing professional development activities for i... more This study investigates the current state of continuing professional development activities for information professionals in academic libraries, as well as their perceptions of the value of different continuing professional development activities. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 63 librarians and information professionals working at five Kuwaiti academic libraries, located in two public and three private universities. The findings of the study revealed that, generally, information professionals in academic libraries are of the opinion that they possess personal and professional skills that enable them to serve library users. Moreover, continuing professional development activities and programs are perceived as important for developing a professional workforce and maintaining professional competence.
2015 48th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2015
Social media and online networks have received a lot of attention in the last decade. Platforms s... more Social media and online networks have received a lot of attention in the last decade. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and Linked In provide tools for individuals to come together based on a variety of factors such as existing friendships, common interests, or work. People have discovered how social media can be used to facilitate communication, promote an exchange of ideas, and help mobilize fellow citizens around civic and political issues.
E-government initiatives are in their infancy in many developing countries. The success of these ... more E-government initiatives are in their infancy in many developing countries. The success of these initiatives is dependent on government support as well as citizens’ adoption of e-government services. This chapter explains in detail a study that aimed to explore the attitudes and perceptions of citizens regarding the adoption of e-government services in Kuwait, as a developing country. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods, including a questionnaire survey incorporating the amended version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), as well as usability testing and focus groups. The findings identified factors that determine and influence the adoption of e-government; these were then modeled taking a systemic approach. Based on the results and conclusions of the study, recommendations were made to Kuwaiti officials responsible for the e-government services.
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2021
This minitrack focuses on how digital transformation happens in government, fundamentally changin... more This minitrack focuses on how digital transformation happens in government, fundamentally changing how government information and services operate and deliver value to citizens and organizations. It sets out to explore the complexities of effectively governing, organizing, and managing the transformational potential of digital and smart government. Increasingly, this process involves interorganizational collaboration and the co-creation of value, multi-sectoral and crossjurisdictional networks, and the management of a large variety of sometimes conflicting relationships with internal and external stakeholders. To define future research directions and practice and identify the implications for governments, communities, and society at large, it is important to develop an improved understanding of the barriers to and enablers of digital transformation and innovation.
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2019
This study aims to explore trust factors affecting the use and adoption of e-government services ... more This study aims to explore trust factors affecting the use and adoption of e-government services and its impact on civic engagement. The constructs identified in this study are related to theories of technology adoption in addition to trust constructs: trust in government, trust in technology, and trust in egovernment. The study attempts to propose a model and validate it in the context of a developing country. As this study is exploratory in nature, a questionnaire survey is undertaken using a small sample of 137 participants. The findings show the validity and the reliability of the constructs which are positively correlated with each other. The findings of general Linear model analysis propose a model of trust factors that have significant relationships with the adoption of e-government services and leading to civic engagement.
Kuwait University Library has invested in electronic information resources (EIR) to facilitate us... more Kuwait University Library has invested in electronic information resources (EIR) to facilitate users’ access to library materials. However, this has been insufficiently investigated to identify the factors that influence the use of EIR. Therefore, this study aims to explore the factors influencing the use of EIR by faculty members at Kuwait University, as the study further aims to enhance library services. Specifically, the study uses a modified technology acceptance model (TAM) to investigate whether the perceived ease-of-use, the perceived usefulness, and prior experience of using EIR affect their adoption. The EIR adoption, consequently, impacts the faculty’s academic performance. A mixed-method approach was adopted using the questionnaire and interview tools sequentially to collect primary data from faculty members at the College of Social Science, Kuwait University. Out of 116 questionnaires sent to participants, 48 were returned, yielding a 41 % response rate, which was supple...
This study explored the use and acceptance by sixth-grade Kuwaiti English language teachers of th... more This study explored the use and acceptance by sixth-grade Kuwaiti English language teachers of the Telegram application as an information source and a knowledge-sharing tool that enables users to easily find, store and share useful learning information and enhances their teaching–learning practices. A mixed method approach was employed that included data triangulation: observation, a survey and a focus group to empirically reveal the results. The findings revealed that Telegram application was an effective source of textual and non-textual information as well as an information-sharing tool that saved time, effort and costs and overcame time and place limitations. Telegram’s various information sets allowed for the generation of innovative ideas, which improved the effectiveness of the teaching methods and accelerated language learning. The results of this study can assist information specialists to work collaboratively with teachers to plan and design information content for Telegra...
This course has been in place for the last two years. This study was designed to assess the relev... more This course has been in place for the last two years. This study was designed to assess the relevance, usefulness and effect of this course on developing the needed capabilities among students. The study had two purposes; first, studying if the course had made any significant difference in the information literacy and research capabilities of students. Secondly, it assessed whether certain personal and social variables of students were associated with significance differences in student capabilities. A research instrument was designed around the constructs that had been defined in the course description and syllabi of 1380-131. This instrument was administered in the first week of the Semester 1 classes of the year 2009-10 in five sections of the same class. The same instrument, with changed facts and multiple choice statements, was administered in the last week of the same semester in the same five sections. Students also provided information about personal and social variables. Data were analyzed and it was found that the students performed significantly better for the overall information literacy and for the three segments of information, computing and research. Majors of students, types of schools they had attended and mother's academic qualifications were found to be associated with significant differences in students' performance on information literacy measures.
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2019
The use of social media by citizens, businesses, and public agencies at local, regional, or natio... more The use of social media by citizens, businesses, and public agencies at local, regional, or national levels is a critical area in online communications and social interaction that has become mainstream. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and WeChat offer global tools that facilitate the interaction between all actors in society. Social media is not only a channel of information exchange between government agencies and users but also a powerful tool for service delivery and citizen participation and an arena of public deliberation. For researchers as well as practitioners, many questions remain unanswered and are worth exploring.
The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and perceptions of citizens towards the adopti... more The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and perceptions of citizens towards the adoption of e-government services in developing countries. This is deemed of value at a time when e-government initiatives are still emerging in many developing countries and many government departments and units have put a wide range of materials from publications and information about government services online for use by citizens. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was adopted in this study to identify factors that determine the adoption of e-government services. The use of a theoretical model allowed for formulating hypotheses governing the relationship between the different variables. Mixed research methods were utilised to fulfil the aims and objectives of this study. The quantitative and qualitative methods used included a questionnaire survey, which incorporated the amended version of the UTAUT model and which was completed by more than 800 students at...
Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 2013
The College of Social Sciences at Kuwait University introduced a 3-credit hour formal course of i... more The College of Social Sciences at Kuwait University introduced a 3-credit hour formal course of information and computing literacy as a required course for the undergraduate students. Four years back, the course structure and content were revised and the component of inquiry was added to the same course. This course has been in place for more than a decade. This study was designed to assess the relevance and usefulness of this course for developing the needed computing, information and inquiry capabilities among students. The study was thus designed to investigate; firstly, whether the course had made any significant difference in the computing, information and research capabilities of students. Secondly, it assessed whether certain personal and social variables of students were associated with significance differences in student capabilities. A research instrument was designed around the constructs that had been defined in the course description and syllabi of 1380-131. This instru...
World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Electrical, Computer, Energetic, Electronic and Communication Engineering, 2017
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social media in the marketing of academ... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social media in the marketing of academic library resources and services in Kuwait and identifies the factors related to the use of social media applications in marketing academic libraries.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative data-collection approach using a paper and online questionnaire has been employed to elicit the opinions of librarians working in academic libraries in Kuwait in both private and public institutions. In total, 89 valid questionnaires have been analyzed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (factor analysis, correlations, experimental analysis and regression).FindingsThe study shows that the academic librarians have a positive perception toward the use of social media. The identified factors relating to the use of social media for marketing library information resources and services are the usefulness of social media tools in raising a...
Quite a number of smart-city initiatives from around the world have been analyzed and documented,... more Quite a number of smart-city initiatives from around the world have been analyzed and documented, and a growing body of academic knowledge is evolving around the phenomenon of the smart city. Smart-city government is seen as an important driver for developing a smart urban environment. The eCityGov Alliance in the Pacific Northwest of the USA represents a special case of a successful smart-city collaboration between nine neighboring municipalities, which combined forces to provide smart services to citizens and businesses that no single municipality could have provided alone. Developing and maintaining a collaborative governance model appears as the most important key success factor in such multi-jurisdictional smart-city undertakings. This study investigates the governance model of the eCityGov Alliance and its opportunities, and potential pitfalls. It concludes that the eCityGov Alliance can serve as a role model for such multi-jurisdictional smart-city initiatives.
2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), 2016
City governments around the world have embarked on smart-city initiatives and projects with the a... more City governments around the world have embarked on smart-city initiatives and projects with the aim of creating a future-ready urban environment, in which critical infrastructure components and online services are intelligent, efficient, and highly interconnected. Reshaping administrative structures and processes across multiple local government agencies and departments appears as an important prerequisite to success in these initiatives. Moreover, the model of governance in such multi-agency initiatives is key to achieving desired outcomes and sustainability. Such "smart" governance is viewed as foundational to creating smart cities. This study investigates and documents the governance models that emerged in four recent smart city initiatives (Seattle/USA, eCityGov Alliance/USA, Munich/Germany, and Turin/Italy). The findings indicate that governance models vary from one case to another depending on a number of factors. Furthermore, despite notable similarities decision-making processes differed across the cases, and each case exhibits specific methods of conflict resolution. However, stakeholder involvement in governance was found fundamental across all cases.
Around the end of the first decade in the 21 st century, quite a few city governments in municipa... more Around the end of the first decade in the 21 st century, quite a few city governments in municipalities of various sizes began conducting so-called smart-city initiatives. While many of these initiatives have successfully reached for lowhanging fruits and easy wins when responding to the growing demand of smart online services, others have identified the need for fundamental change and overhaul with regard to organizational integration and alignment as well as interorganizational information system interoperability as a pre-requisite for creating smart operations and providing smart services. Sweepingly changing the governance over citywide information and communication technologies (ICTs) turned out to be at the core of creating an environment conducive to smart operations and smart services, and ultimately, smart city government. The City of Munich in Germany embarked on a fundamental overhaul of its ICT structures. The article describes the case and the challenges, insights, and workarounds in this multiyear change program, which ultimately led to the successful overhaul of the ICT governance model. In principle, Munich's approach might be transferable to other cases. At the very least, the case holds valuable lessons learned when engaging in smart government initiatives in practice.
Purpose – This research aims to analyze academic libraries’ Twitter content and present a categor... more Purpose – This research aims to analyze academic libraries’ Twitter content and present a categorization framework for the study of their tweets. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted a statistical descriptive analysis in addition to a content analysis of the tweets. Consequently, many categories and subcategories were created to classify the tweets according to different aspects. A total of 17 academic library accounts were examined. Findings – The findings show that academic libraries used Twitter as a multifaceted tool. “News and announcements” received the highest score as the type of information most often posted on Twitter by libraries, followed by “library collections” and “library services”. The subcategories that received the highest scores were “library marketing and news”, “answers and referrals” and “books”. Academic libraries showed a penchant for posting links more often than other content. Other results show different patterns of communication and interac...
International Information & Library Review, 2015
This study investigates the current state of continuing professional development activities for i... more This study investigates the current state of continuing professional development activities for information professionals in academic libraries, as well as their perceptions of the value of different continuing professional development activities. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 63 librarians and information professionals working at five Kuwaiti academic libraries, located in two public and three private universities. The findings of the study revealed that, generally, information professionals in academic libraries are of the opinion that they possess personal and professional skills that enable them to serve library users. Moreover, continuing professional development activities and programs are perceived as important for developing a professional workforce and maintaining professional competence.
2015 48th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2015
Social media and online networks have received a lot of attention in the last decade. Platforms s... more Social media and online networks have received a lot of attention in the last decade. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and Linked In provide tools for individuals to come together based on a variety of factors such as existing friendships, common interests, or work. People have discovered how social media can be used to facilitate communication, promote an exchange of ideas, and help mobilize fellow citizens around civic and political issues.
E-government initiatives are in their infancy in many developing countries. The success of these ... more E-government initiatives are in their infancy in many developing countries. The success of these initiatives is dependent on government support as well as citizens’ adoption of e-government services. This chapter explains in detail a study that aimed to explore the attitudes and perceptions of citizens regarding the adoption of e-government services in Kuwait, as a developing country. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods, including a questionnaire survey incorporating the amended version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), as well as usability testing and focus groups. The findings identified factors that determine and influence the adoption of e-government; these were then modeled taking a systemic approach. Based on the results and conclusions of the study, recommendations were made to Kuwaiti officials responsible for the e-government services.
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2021
This minitrack focuses on how digital transformation happens in government, fundamentally changin... more This minitrack focuses on how digital transformation happens in government, fundamentally changing how government information and services operate and deliver value to citizens and organizations. It sets out to explore the complexities of effectively governing, organizing, and managing the transformational potential of digital and smart government. Increasingly, this process involves interorganizational collaboration and the co-creation of value, multi-sectoral and crossjurisdictional networks, and the management of a large variety of sometimes conflicting relationships with internal and external stakeholders. To define future research directions and practice and identify the implications for governments, communities, and society at large, it is important to develop an improved understanding of the barriers to and enablers of digital transformation and innovation.
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2019
This study aims to explore trust factors affecting the use and adoption of e-government services ... more This study aims to explore trust factors affecting the use and adoption of e-government services and its impact on civic engagement. The constructs identified in this study are related to theories of technology adoption in addition to trust constructs: trust in government, trust in technology, and trust in egovernment. The study attempts to propose a model and validate it in the context of a developing country. As this study is exploratory in nature, a questionnaire survey is undertaken using a small sample of 137 participants. The findings show the validity and the reliability of the constructs which are positively correlated with each other. The findings of general Linear model analysis propose a model of trust factors that have significant relationships with the adoption of e-government services and leading to civic engagement.
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Papers by Suha Alawadhi