Understanding human values in adopting new technology—A case study and methodological discussion

This paper proposes a method for understanding and modelling human values in the evaluation of new technology in social settings, and analyses the validity of the proposed method in a specific use case. The method, which is based on the Schwartz universal model of human values adopted from social psychology research, is used in the context of value analysis of the adoption of a technology-supported attendance control system in a primary school. The results are based on an evaluation of a 14-week trial where two classes of elementary school children used an attendance control system that was implemented using networked technology components, including smart cards, NFC-enabled mobile phones and card readers, a web portal, and SMS messaging. The findings from the trial are analysed from the viewpoint of three end-user groups, namely children, parents, and teachers.

Research highlights► Model for understanding human values in the evaluation of new technology in social settings. ► The model has been used in a case study for analysing human values. ► The case study concerns the adoption of attendance control system in primary school. ► The results show that the experienced values for users differed from what was expected. ► The proposed model helped in identifying, modelling and communicating experienced values.