COST269 WORKING GROUP

Capabilities Research input
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Research framework

.In general the concept of 'capabilities' refers to the acquisition, development and accumulation of skills and capacities by (non) users in order to appropriate ICT's within the private and professional sphere. For this one can make subdivision of enabling and constraining factors on different levels. To assess the degree to which users are capable to appropriate ICT these factors can be divided over three levels: context level, user level and technology level (Jo - Configuring capabilities for electronic business by micro enterprises).

These levels agreed on by the participants in our group coincide largely with the levels distinguished in the following scheme (Jeroen & Enid - Stimulating adoption of mobile telephony: a proposed framework).

Another element of the research framework is the utility view. Here the idea of "utility" is seen as a determinant of the users' behaviour and their decision principles. Investigating users' behaviour regarding ICT use in distance learning Tomaž proposed the conceptual model of user's decisions. User adopts a specific ICT as a tool, when utility gained from the usage of a new tool is higher than utility emerging from the usage of the existing (old) tool. Enid presented a "cost/benefit" view on utility: users compare functionality, experiences (emotional evaluation) and process (the help and aid the prospective buyer gets) to the price and troubles vs. pain you have to acquire it, to learn to use it or to get it working, of adopting ICTs. The "utility" concept can explain some categories (and relationships among them) in Jeroen's framework.

Finally Yves Punie's conceptual scheme for the study of ICT domestication helps to explain the adoption, use and domestication of ICT's in everyday live.

All these views need to be integrated in order to get a common framework for the workgroup. This framework could then possibly serve as research tool for further analysis.

B - Knowledge and research mapping At the last COST-meeting in London (9-10-11 November 2000) new members have joined the workgroup. Here we give a brief overview of current research activities for all workgroup members:

• Lajla is presently doing a research work about a field test in 50 families "Kitchen gate", a new organising and communication tool for the whole family, and participating in EURESCOM P903: "Cross-cultural attitude to ICT in everyday life", as task leader for the qualitative part;
• Peter is interested in the problem of evaluation of distance learning systems in Global knowledge;
• Jeroen is currently preparing a proposition about theoretical framework to analyse a problem of stimulation of ICT adoption (especially of mobile telephony); also a member of the EURESCOM P903 project, doing a lot on the quantitative part;
• Kari-Hans ; working with future media home at a university in Helsinki, see http://fmh.uiah.fi;
• Enid is advising on a doctorate dissertation on Computer anxiety and is very much involved in the EURESCOM project Cross-Cultural attitudes to ICT, of which the data will come forward for analyses in the course of next year;
• Carina is doing a research about "competences at home", comparing households with and without PCs at home. After finishing a theoretical survey, she has sent questionnaires to households and is expecting response within next months;
• Jo is doing a research about capabilities for electronic business by micro enterprises, based on qualitative research (interviews & focus groups) and quantitative research (survey);
• Kristin is doing research work on ICT in the domestic sphere: use, management, pastime and entertainment;
• Tomaz recently studied the users' sensitivity to price changes regarding a price-controlled best effort pricing mechanism for IP traffic.

C - Other user research