Self-reported use of ICT (Information and communication technology) uptake in 2002 and discomfort amongst Finns aged 45–66

In recent years the use of new technical equipment and the Internet by middle-aged people has increased. This paper presents middle-aged people’s (45 years old or older) usage of new technical equipment and analyses how their (2704 persons) symptoms are associated with the equipment. Over 70% of Finland’s middle-aged population use mobile phones daily and less than 30% use desktop computers at leisure. For example, over 80% of middle-aged people had sometimes or often experienced pain, numbness or aches in the neck and about 70% had aches in the hip and lower back. The use of new technical equipment among the group of people who are outside working life was smaller than the people’s usage in general. In the future, when new technical equipment is developed, it is important to take into account, that people (outside working life) do not use, e.g., the Internet as much as people in general. The working environment will be much more ergonomic also at home and the Internet services will be easy to use for almost everyone, even those who have little experience or knowledge of computers and the Internet.     

A typology of young people’s Internet use: Implications for education

Using data from a nationally representative survey of over a 1000 young people in the UK this paper proposes a typology of the ways young people are using the Internet outside formal educational settings; and examines the individual and contextual factors that help to explain why young people are using the Internet in this way. Specifically, this paper addresses two research questions. First, can we distinguish coherent profiles of young people’s Internet use? Second, how do these usage profiles relate to individual and contextual factors associated with the Internet user? From the results of latent profile analysis and multinomial regression four types of Internet usage profiles are identified: the peripherals, normatives, all-rounders and active participators, which were differentiated by individual characteristics and contextual features. Such research enables practitioners, researchers and policy makers to better understand how young people are using the Internet in order to think in a more informed way about how new technologies could be used to enhance education and learning; and to develop initiatives that more specifically target and support different segments of the population.     

Academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination as predictors of problematic internet use in university students

Although computers and the internet, indispensable tools in people’s lives today, facilitate life on the one hand, they have brought new risks with them on the other. Internet dependency, or problematic internet use, has emerged as a new concept of addiction. Parallel to this increasing in society in general, it is also on the rise among university students and is widely believed to have a negative impact on their lives. The aim of this study was to investigate whether academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination can act as predictors of problematic internet use among university students. The study group consisted of 398 students attending education, medicine, architecture and economics programs at the Karadeniz Technical University in Turkey. The Problematic Internet Use Scale, Academic Self-efficacy Scale, Academic Procrastination Scale and a Personal Data Form were used as scaling instruments. Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis, independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data collected. The results show a significant negative correlation between academic self-efficacy and problematic internet use, while the relation between problematic internet use and academic procrastination was not statistically significant. Furthermore, academic self-efficacy was determined to be a significant predictor of problematic internet use. The results also show a significant difference in problematic internet use in terms of students’ programs, though levels of problematic internet use did not differ in terms of sex or ownership of a computer. These findings are discussed in the light of the relevant literature and some new directions for further studies are suggested.     

Efficacy of a planned behavior model: Beliefs that contribute to computer usage intentions of student teachers and experienced teachers

The primary purpose of this study was to examine beliefs contributing to student teachers’ and experienced teachers’ intentions to use computer applications in their curricula. The secondary purpose was to investigate the efficacy of the decomposed theory of planned behavior for predicting such intentions. A purposeful sample of 19 teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Results showed that both student and experienced teachers were motivated to use computers to prepare students for real world experiences. Although both groups reported high computer confidence, they expressed limitations in their usage. Student teachers focused on use of the Internet and not on using a variety of computer applications as tools for teaching and learning. Experienced teachers depended on both equipment resources and personal support from school administrators to successfully integrate technology into their classroom. Both teacher groups expressed the need for more computer-integrated training. This research provided support for using the decomposed theory of planned behavior to predict computer intentions and usage for teachers. Assessment of computer usage within any profession should be based upon a behavior model that complements the profession’s cultural environment.     

Are there cultural differences in how we play? Examining cultural effects on playing social network games

Digital games embedded in social network sites are one of the driving forces behind the expansion of digital gamer populations. Previous studies have observed different usage patterns between users in different ethnic groups and countries, suggesting that culture orientations may affect how people play and interact through social network games. This study examined how people’s culture orientations affect usage patterns with measures of vertical and horizontal individualism–collectivism. The findings indicate that culture does not directly affect usage patterns. Instead, the effects on usage patterns are mediated by people’s expected outcomes of playing social network games. Vertical culture orientations predicted social expected outcomes. Individualism predicted status expected outcomes, but in different directions on the dimensions of vertical or horizontalness. Vertical collectivism was the only culture orientation that indirectly predicted buying in-game products with real money. Implications for game designers and markers are discussed.     

Internet use and non-use: views of older users

This paper reports the results of two connected surveys of computer and Internet use among the older population in the UK. One hundred and twenty questionnaires and interviews were completed with participants aged over 55 in Derbyshire and 353 questionnaires and interviews with over 50s in Scotland. Rates of use, computer and Internet activities, and reasons for use and non-use were investigated. These were backed up by four semi-structured interviews with IT trainers, describing experiences and issues of training this age group. The results indicate a “grey” digital divide, with many older people missing out on the benefits that computers and the Internet can provide. They also indicate some of the reasons why older people do not use computers and the Internet more. These suggest some practical ways forward, highlighting the importance of changing older people’s misconceptions about computers, better informing them about what they are, what they can do and how they can be of real practical use.

The Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale: An empirical investigation

Current approaches to measuring people’s everyday usage of technology-based media and other computer-related activities have proved to be problematic as they use varied outcome measures, fail to measure behavior in a broad range of technology-related domains and do not take into account recently developed types of technology including smartphones. In the present study, a wide variety of items, covering a range of up-to-date technology and media usage behaviors. Sixty-six items concerning technology and media usage, along with 18 additional items assessing attitudes toward technology, were administered to two independent samples of individuals, comprising 942 participants. Factor analyses were used to create 11 usage subscales representing smartphone usage, general social media usage, Internet searching, e-mailing, media sharing, text messaging, video gaming, online friendships, Facebook friendships, phone calling, and watching television in addition to four attitude-based subscales: positive attitudes, negative attitudes, technological anxiety/dependence, and attitudes toward task-switching. All subscales showed strong reliabilities and relationships between the subscales and pre-existing measures of daily media usage and Internet addiction were as predicted. Given the reliability and validity results, the new Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale was suggested as a method of measuring media and technology involvement across a variety of types of research studies either as a single 60-item scale or any subset of the 15 subscales.     

Gender and cultural differences in Internet use: A study of China and the UK

This study investigates differences in use of, and attitudes toward the Internet and computers generally for Chinese and British students, and gender differences in this cross-cultural context. Two hundred and twenty Chinese and 245 British students’ responses to a self-report survey questionnaire are discussed. Significant differences were found in Internet experience, attitudes, usage, and self-confidence between Chinese and British students. British students were more likely to use computers for study purposes than Chinese students, but Chinese students were more self-confident about their advanced computer skills. Significant gender differences were also found in both national groups. Men in both countries were more likely than women to use email or ‘chat’ rooms. Men played more computer games than women; Chinese men being the most active games players. Men in both countries were more self-confident about their computer skills than women, and were more likely to express the opinion that using computers was a male activity and skill than were women. Gender differences were higher in the British group than the Chinese group. The present study illustrates the continued significance of gender in students’ attitudes towards, and use of computers, within different cultural contexts.     

Self-reported ache,pain, or numbness in hip and lower back and use of computers and cell phones amongst Finns aged 18–65

The aim of our work is to study persons who self-reported aches, pain, or numbness in the hip and lower back very often and their use of computers and cell phones via a questionnaire. The study was carried out as a cross-sectional study by posting a questionnaire to 15,000 working-age persons, and among all respondents (6121), 8.2% of them reported that they very often experienced pain, numbness, and aches in the hip/lower back. Thirty-eight percent of them used a desktop computer at work daily, and 79.0% used cell phones at leisure. As a group, they had more physical and mental symptoms than others. We found also significant differences in the use of different computers at work. In the future, it is important to take into account that persons' physical symptoms in the hip and lower back very often can be associated with other physical or mental symptoms and computer usage.Relevance to industryHip and lower back symptoms are quite common discomforts that affect the productivity and well-being of industrial workers. A large-scale questionnaire offers a good reference for evaluating the prevalence of the hip and lower back symptoms associated with other symptoms and usage of computers and cell phones.     

The effect of Internet use on adolescents’ lifestyles: A national survey

Computer and Internet technology continues to influence people’s lives, especially those of adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore the association between Internet use and adolescents’ lifestyles. With data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in China in 2009, a model revealing the effects of Internet use on adolescents’ lifestyles was established from a series of hierarchical regression analyses. The model shows that certain Internet habits, such as excessive online time, accessing the Internet in an Internet bar, and using the Internet for catharsis, are related to poor lifestyle habits in adolescents; however, using the Internet for purposes such as gaining knowledge and finding information positively predicts healthy lifestyles in adolescents. Implications regarding the relationship between Internet use and the lifestyles of adolescents are discussed.     

家庭共享组网解决方案

随着计算机深入到家庭,一个家庭多台计算机占70％,用ADSL上网就存在网络接口数量和IP地址数的问题,简述了用现有的设备或者低成本的设备来实现多台计算机同时互联上网。     

Co-creation and user-generated content–elderly people’s user requirements

There is an increasing demand on citizens to participate in social network websites and to create and share their own user-generated content (UGC), such as photographs, videos, and blogs. So far, little is known about how elderly people respond to these new trends and master the techniques required. This paper reports on three studies that investigated elderly people’s user requirements related to consumption, sharing and co-creation of UGC in new media. The first study, conducted in Norway, identifies patterns of Internet usage, age differences, and participation in online communities and the consumption, sharing and co-creation of UGC on a macro level. The second study, conducted in Belgium, investigated the social requirements of elderly people on a group level. The third study, also conducted in Belgium, investigated user and context requirements on an individual level. The results of the first study show that the elderly rarely participate in online communities and share audio-visual UGC. However, they embrace some aspects of the new media and more often express themselves politically. The results of the second study show that the elderly are very motivated to contribute with UGC, given the right circumstances. The results of the third study show that it is important for elderly people that they be able to use the new technologies easily and identifies their worries about using them.     

Measuring Internet usage: The Israeli case

The article describes two instruments for measuring Internet Usage and the changes in subjects’ Internet usage following a controlled intervention. It focuses on the use of usage and lack of usage for measuring the digital gap. The “digital gap” is defined as the gap between individuals with and without access to technology (telephones, computers, Internet access) and related services. Since its emergence, the Internet has become the most important form of information and communication technology (ICT).The goal of the present research was to develop ways of measuring Internet usage for different segments of the Israeli population (it can also be used to measure Internet usage outside Israel). For the past few years, the Israeli government has sponsored programs designed to increase Internet usage in specific segments of the Israeli population. Some of these programs have been “controlled programs”. Controlled Internet Usage Programs are planned and monitored programs, which use research methods to discover whether they have increased Internet usage and changed Internet habits.The population of Internet users in Israel is presently 45.8% (compared with 68.2% in the US population). The past 5 years has witnessed a significant rise in the number of Internet users in the West in general and in Israel specifically: an increase of 152% in the number of Israeli households connected to the Internet during the period 2000–2005.However, large differences are apparent between the stronger and weaker sections of the Israeli population where the Internet is concerned, and controlled intervention is therefore a very important means of reducing these discrepancies.The present article describes two measurement instruments: the first instrument examines on-line proficiency, while the second determines patterns of Internet use and the status of respondents’ “Internet awareness”.The instruments were built to determine the reduction in the digital divide associated with Internet usage following controlled intervention, and the population's Internet usage status before and after intervention. The difference between the two measurements represents the increase or decrease in Internet usage.These two instruments may be used by agencies making decisions about resource disbursement to reduce the digital divide in a variety of populations.     

Visualizing disaster attitudes resulting from terrorist activities

The purpose of this study was to analyze people’s attitudes to disasters by investigating how people feel, behave and think during disasters. We focused on disasters induced by humans, such as terrorist attacks. Two types of textual information were collected – from Internet blogs and from research papers. The analysis enabled forecasting of attitudes for the design of proactive disaster advisory scheme. Text was analyzed using a text mining tool, Leximancer. The outcome of this analysis revealed core themes and concepts in the text concerning people’s attitudes. The themes and concepts were sorted into three broad categories: Affect, Behaviour, and Cognition (ABC), and the data was visualized in semantic maps. The maps reveal several knowledge pathways of ABC for developing attitudinal ontologies, which describe the relations between affect, behaviour and cognition, and the sequence in which they develop. Clearly, terrorist attacks induced trauma and people became highly vulnerable.     

Technology and young children: How 4–7 year olds perceive their own use of computers

This study examined young children’s access, perceptions and use of technology within and outside of school settings. One hundred sixty seven children from varied ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds participated in the study. Regardless of gender, socio-economic status or ethnic group, most children had access to computers in and outside of schools. In both settings, pre-K through grade 2 children report that they primarily use computers to play games. Children’s attitudes toward computers are positive. Older children tend to use the computer more often, are better able to operate the computer and their attitudes towards computers are more positive. Boys’ attitudes towards computers are more positive than the attitudes of girls, but no gender differences were found for computer use nor ability level. While no significant differences were found between the attitudes of Dutch and immigrant children, the latter group indicated more frequent use. Also, children from a lower socio-economic neighborhood had more positive attitudes towards computers and used computers slightly more often than middle class children. The findings of this study inform the debate on the desirability of young children’s exposure to computers at home as well as in educational settings. Further, these findings may help educators and parents to both critically assess their current practices (e.g. the relative value of the most frequently used applications – games), and strive to integrate developmentally appropriate uses of technology at home and in classrooms.     

Computers and the Internet as a job assisted tool: based on the three-tier use model approach

Personal attitudes are a major factor to affect individual information technology usage. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of individual attitudes toward computers and the Internet usage for assisting job performance. This research applies the 3-TUM approach to understand individual attitudes toward computers and the Internet usage. After statistical analysis, the results provide a support that the 3-TUM is appropriate model for investigating faculty and staff perceptions toward computers and Internet. In addition, the results also support that using computers and the Internet may assist individual job performance. Furthermore; this study offer evidence that when individuals have more self-efficacy and feel computers and the Internet are more useful, then they have more behavioral intention to use and learn computers and the Internet for assisting their job performance.     

Electronic Security is a Continuous Process

The use of email and the Internet has added a new conduit to market for business, and some organizations have gained significant commercial advantage from using the Internet. Before computers were connected to the Internet, it was relatively easy to have effective security measures in place to protect the electronic files on individual computers or systems. However, now computers have become communication systems as well as working tools, the risks attendant upon this new breed of ‘communications working platform’ have increased substantially.     

Understanding social network site users’ privacy tool use

Every day hundreds of millions of people log into social network sites and deposit terabytes of data as they share status updates, photographs, and more. This article explores how background factors, motivations, and social network site experiences relate to people’s use of social network site technology to protect their privacy. The findings indicate that during technology-mediated communication on social network sites, not only do traditional privacy factors relate to the technological boundaries people enact, but people’s experiences with the mediating technology itself do, too. The results also identify privacy inequalities, in which certain groups are more likely to take advantage of the technology to protect their privacy—suggesting that some individuals’ information and reputations may be more at risk than others’.     

Keeping in constant touch: The predictors of young Australians’ mobile phone involvement

Little is known about the psychological underpinnings of young people’s mobile phone behaviour. In the present research, 292 young Australians, aged 16-24 years, completed an online survey assessing the effects of self-identity, in-group norm, the need to belong, and self-esteem on their frequency of mobile phone use and mobile phone involvement, conceptualised as people’s degree of cognitive and behavioural association with their mobile phone. Structural equation modelling revealed that age (younger) and self-identity significantly predicted the frequency of mobile phone use. In contrast, age (younger), gender (female), self-identity and in-group norm predicted young people’s mobile phone involvement. Neither self-esteem nor the need to belong significantly predicted mobile phone behaviour. The present study contributes to our understanding of this phenomenon and provides an indication of the characteristics of young people who may become highly involved with their mobile phone.     

Floppy diskette security measures

Information security — a broader term than computer security — encompasses the safeguarding of information wherever it resides and whatever form it takes. Information security accordingly includes consideration of information residing in file cabinets, voice communications networks, and other places outside computers. It additionally includes consideration of information typewritten on paper, in diagrams, and in other forms that may not be computer controlled. Floppy diskettes are, in many people's eyes, outside the computer security area, and accordingly frequently ignored. Nonetheless, these diskettes often contain sensitive and/or critical information. This paper discusses practical policies, procedures, and technical controls that can be used to appropriately safeguard information resident on floppy diskettes.