The Dark Side of Information Technology
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ItemInvestigating Malware Epidemiology and Child Exploitation Using Algorithmic Ethnography( 2018-01-03)A number of recent studies have investigated the role that advertising plays in funding and sustaining piracy sites. In this study, the composition of advertising on piracy websites hosting Child Exploitation Material (CEM) in Brazil was analysed, measuring both mainstream and "high-risk" ads1 using samples generated from the most-complained about sites, as well as the most popular sites, using algorithmic ethnography. The results indicated that high-risk ads pose significant problems for Brazilian users, especially children, who may be harmed by exposure to ads promoting the sex industry, gambling, scams and malware. Links between Brazil-focused piracy websites and CEM are documented. Policy options for dealing with this issue are discussed. CEM poses a threat not only to the children depicted in it but also to children who might be exposed to it. Indeed, any viewer who is exposed to CEM may experience adverse psychological and behavioral consequences.
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ItemPersonality Predictors of IT Addiction( 2018-01-03)Prior research on addiction has extensively looked at the personality traits of individuals and their interactions in explaining various types of substance and non-substance addictions. Recent studies have also shown the importance of neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness on IT addiction. Nevertheless, little is known in IS research regarding the moderated effects of personality traits on the development of IT addiction. Given the increasing attention to the dark side of IT, in this study, we build on Five-Factor personality model to propose a theoretical model that shows the direct and moderated effects of neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness on addiction to social networking sites (SNS). We empirically test our research model using data collected from 275 SNS users and covariance-based structural equation modeling technique. Furthermore, we shed light on the moderation effects of these factors on SNS addiction via two post-hoc analyses. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.
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Item"Do You Plead Connected?" - Understanding How Lawyers Deal With Constant Connectivity( 2018-01-03)Being available and responsive has become an imperative to accomplish the complex work of knowledge workers and to adequately satisfy today’s business needs. As a consequence, individuals are required to adopt strategies to cope with increasing connectivity levels. We conducted a Q methodological study among 34 lawyers from Switzerland and Austria to examine the adoption of different strategies for dealing with constant connectivity. Our findings reveal four ICT user types, whereof three types successfully deploy a coping strategy while one type fails. We observe that specific determinants such as the work environment, the hierarchical position, the perceived autonomy as well as personality traits have substantial influence on the adoption of a coping strategy.
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ItemHow Do You Handle It? An Investigation of Facebook Affordances and Envy( 2018-01-03)Facebook and other social network sites (SNSs) provide over one billion users with affordances not realized in traditional interpersonal interactions. With a single online post (a comment, a picture, a "like," a tag, a status update, etc.), SNS users across the planet can instantly share personal information with their entire network of friends. Some of these posts stimulate feelings of envy on the part of the reader, though the envious feelings (and the reactions to envy) may be different than those felt by individuals who learn of enviable news through traditional ("real world") interactions. Under certain conditions, envious feelings experienced while visiting a SNS have been shown to be linked to depression and a lower sense of wellbeing. Our research reviews relevant literature on envy and social media affordances and builds a theory which relates the impact of SNS affordances to envious feelings. We present propositions to guide future research efforts that may seek to investigate the direct causes, moderators, and dispositional and situational factors that lead to feelings of SNS envy and its outcomes.
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ItemConsequences of Discontinuing Knowledge Work Automation - Surfacing of Deskilling Effects and Methods of Recovery( 2018-01-03)IS automation pervades business processes today. Thus, concerns have been raised about automation’s potential deskilling effects on knowledge workers. We conduct a revelatory case study about an IT service firm where a managerial decision was taken to discontinue a fixed assets management (FAM) software that provided seemingly effective automation of fixed assets accounting and reporting. We study how automation can result in latent deskilling that later becomes apparent when the system gets discontinued, causing disruptions in employees’ daily work and organizational processes. We also investigate how the employees and the company recover from this disruption by leveraging various coping strategies. We suggest that automation of an accounting function/process played a key role in the deskilling of accountants. Although the effect on worker skills may not be obvious when the system is operational, discontinuing the system brings the effect to the apparent level.
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