Initial effects of word processing on writing quality and writing anxiety of freshman writers

Eight English instructors at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York, conducted a one-semester controlled experiment with freshman in eight randomly selected classes of College Writing to learn about the initial effects of word processing on essay-writing performance and on writing apprehension. Four classes wrote essays using terminals linked to a mainframe computer (Experimental Group), and four classes wrote essays in the traditional mode using pens, pencils or typewriters (Control Group). The eight instructors agreed upon a common syllabus and common teaching approaches for the freshman writing course. To measure writing performance, they devised an analytic scale. To measure writing apprehension, they used a writing apprehension test developed by Daly and Miller. The Experimental Group showed greater progress than the Control Group from the pre to post Essay Test but could not demonstrate superior performance on the six required essays of the course. For writing apprehension, there was no significant difference between the two groups.Marilyn Poris (Ph.D., Research Methodology, Hofstra University) is currently serving as Director of Institutional Research a Marist College, where she also teaches courses in statistics.Milton Teichman (Ph.D., English, University of Chicago) is professor of English at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York. He has directed writing programs in freshman writing and has supervised research in the field of technology and writing. He has written on innovative approaches to the teaching of writing, as well as on a range of literary subjects from the poetry of Wordsworth to the literature of the Holocaust.     

The concept and correlates of computer anxiety

The introduction of computers into the lives and workplaces of many individuals represents a dramatic change. Zuboff has used the term 'computer-mediated' work to describe how the increasingly intellectual nature of work and the availability of computers is creating a revolution in the workplace. There is a real concern about how individuals react both cognitively and emotionally to the introduction of computer technology. The growth of the end-user computing phenomenon has made this concern more acute. Although many individuals have little difficulty using computers, there remains a far larger population of users who experience considerable difficulty learning how to use computer systems. Computer anxiety is a widely occurring phenomenon for this group of users, whose job performance and success may depend on their interaction with computers. Reviewing the literature, this paper describes the nature and correlates of computer anxiety and assesses training as a mechanism for reducing the impact of this anxiety. Limitations in current knowledge are noted and suggestions for further research are described.     

The structure of computer anxiety: a six-factor model

A six-factor model of computer anxiety was tested in two samples of university students. The dimensions involved were: computer literacy, self-efficacy, physical arousal caused by computers, affective feelings about them, beliefs about the beneficial effects of computers, and beliefs about their dehumanizing aspects. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that, compared to a number of alternative models proposed in the literature, the data fitted this six-factor model relatively well. In addition, it was demonstrated that computer literacy has a strong directional influence on both physical arousal and affects. Beliefs about computers, in turn, were shown to be dependent on affects and physical arousal. Self-efficacy mainly contributed to increased computer literacy. These findings suggest that training programs that enhance self-efficacy and computer literacy may in principle reduce computer anxiety.     

The impact of computer anxiety and self-efficacy upon performance

The relationship between computer anxiety and computer performance is examined using a self-efficacy framework. A novel database searching task was demonstrated to 50 participants using two procedures (namely, accessing the data tables directly and constructing look-up tables). Levels of computer anxiety, prior experience and perceptions of self-efficacy were recorded. The results indicate that computer anxiety directly influences the number of correct responses obtained whilst self-efficacy determines how the task is attempted. Less anxious subjects obtained more correct responses and subjects with higher perceptions of self-efficacy used more look-up tables. The results indicate that self-efficacy theory can account for around half the variance in computer performance and that how a task is attempted should be assessed in addition to accuracy and speed of performance.     

The role of the computer in developing childrens' classificatory abilities

Can the microcomputer, with appropriate software, be an effective stimulus to childrens' acquisition of classificatory skills? An experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of exposure to two standard forms of data organisation; a binary tree classificatory system and a matrix data base; on childrens' classificatory skills. Primary school children, aged between nine and eleven years, conducted a work project using either a binary tree or matrix data base. Half of the children sorted their information using a microcomputer and the other half simulated the computer software by hand. All the children were tested on a simple catagorisation task before their data handling project. They were then re-tested at the end of the project. There was no difference in the pre- and post-test scores for children using the two methods of classification. Those children who used the computer, however, performed significantly better than the non-computer users in the post-test situation.     

The influence of computer anxiety on experienced computer users while performing complex computer tasks

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis whether computer anxiety has a hindering effect on experienced computer users while performing complex computer tasks. Participants were 75 third-year psychology students taking a Delphi programming course. Prior to the course, a computer anxiety scale was filled in. Computer performance was measured in four different ways: through final course grade, predicted final grade, self-perceived programming skills, and through observed behavior while programming a computer application. The results showed that computer anxiety was found to correlate with the students’ prediction of their final grade and with the perception of their own computer skills, but had no effect on actual performance as measured by the final course grade. Furthermore, there was no significant effect of computer anxiety on behavioral measures while students were programming a computer application. The findings point into the direction of a “threshold effect”, where anxiety only hinders performance when this anxiety is sufficiently severe or when the context in which the task to be executed on a computer is ambiguous.     

Formation of e-satisfaction and repurchase intention: Moderating roles of computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety

The exploration of online customer satisfaction (called e-satisfaction hereafter) and repurchase becomes increasingly important in e-commerce. Yet, the process of e-satisfaction and repurchase formation and the context under which this process may vary have not been investigated rigorously. In order to fill this knowledge gap, this paper attempts to develop a conceptual model to decipher how e-satisfaction is formed. Furthermore, it investigates how computer-related individual differences such as computer self-efficacy and computer anxiety moderate this formation. The analysis results from a survey of 274 online buyers confirm that our antecedents play key roles in forming e-satisfaction and repurchase and the proposed moderators are important.     

Computer anxiety: relationship with computer experience and prevalence

The study investigated: (1) the form of the relationship between scores on computer anxiety and scores on computer experience; and (2) differences in computer anxiety scores and prevalence rates between groups of individuals with presumably differential early exposure to computer-based technology. Questionnaire data from three British samples, which included 228 managers and professionals, 67 graduate students and 220 undergraduate students, were analyzed. Logarithmic values of scores on computer experience were compared with raw computer experience scores in predicting scores on computer anxiety. Logarithmic values consistently entered the regression equations at the expense of raw values. Substantial computer anxiety prevalence rates were identified in all samples. The youngest sample with the presumably earliest exposure to computerization reported the highest computer anxiety scores and demonstrated the highest prevalence rates. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for data analysis tactics and for the trend regarding the presence and prevalence of computer anxiety.     

The acquisition, representation and reconstruction of printed music by computer: A review

Material published on the subject of Acquisition, Representation and Reconstruction of printed music by computer is reviewed.The paper is divided into three sections. 1. Acquisition covers music data entry by automatic pattern recognition, directly-connected keyboard, soundtrack analysis, purpose-built hardware and other, compromise, methods. 2. Representation deals with Music Representational Languages (with particular reference to DARMS, MUSTRAN and ALMA), their background, structure, software support, and associated problems concerning score reconstruction. 3. Reconstruction discusses briefly the hardware available for computerized printing of sheet music.An Appendix is included which lists a representative selection of the most significant computer systems for printing music. The Bibliography contains nearly 200 references from diverse publications.N. P. Carter and T. Messenger are in the Music Department, and R. A. Bacon in the Physics Department, all at the University of Surrey, Guildford, England.     

The changing construct of computer anxiety for younger and older adults

A revalidation of a previously developed computer anxiety scale (Marcoulides, 1989) indicated changes in the factor structure for both younger and older adults. Two factors emerged — Direct and Indirect Involvement with computers — as compared with the previous two factors of General Computer Anxiety and Equipment Anxiety. This suggests that the construct of computer anxiety may have changed, perhaps because of the rapid changes in computers and the technological environment. Additional results showed that, while the factor structure was similar for younger and older adults, two items differentially loaded on the two factors. These results suggest the need for further examination of computer anxiety with older adults, with the possibility of developing computer anxiety scales specifically for older adults.     

Computer anxiety and anger: the impact of computer use, computer experience, and self-efficacy beliefs

Past research has demonstrated that the level of computer experience users have is the most valuable predictor in whether or not they will suffer computer anxiety symptoms, but this was not the case in the present study. No research was found which examined the correlates of computer anger symptoms. In the current study, the relationship between the computer use (frequency and duration), computer experience, and self-efficacy beliefs of users were analyzed as predictors for computer anxiety and anger symptoms. Questionnaire data from a sample of 242 university students were analyzed. The results indicated that computer self-efficacy beliefs, not computer experience or use, had the largest significant relationship with both computer anxiety, and anger. It is suggested that self-efficacy beliefs be increased so that users may experience lower levels of anxiety and anger. These findings are contrary to the trend of training computer users in specific computer domains. As computer anxiety and anger are negative psychological “states”, an immediate method to deal with these negative emotions should be developed. One possibility that is explored is the application of computer-based therapy that can be used while a user is experiencing negative emotional symptoms.     

The effects of multimodal feedback on older adults' task performance given varying levels of computer experience

This experiment examines the effect that computer experience and various combinations of feedback (auditory, haptic, and/or visual) have on the performance of older adults completing a drag-and-drop task on a computer. Participants were divided into three computer experience groups, based on their frequency of use and breadth of computer knowledge. Each participant completed a series of drag-and-drop tasks under each of seven feedback conditions (three unimodal, three bimodal, one trimodal). Performance was assessed using measures of efficiency and accuracy. Experienced users responded well to all multimodal feedback while users without experience responded well to auditory-haptic bimodal, but poorly to haptic-visual bimodal feedback. Based on performance benefits for older adults seen in this experiment, future research should extend investigations to effectively integrate multimodal feedback into GUI interfaces in order to improve usability for this growing and diverse user group.     

The effect of violent and non-violent computer games on cognitive performance

Two studies were conducted in order to determine the impact computer games had on the cognitive performance. Study 1 evaluated a measure of cognition, which incorporates aspects of short-term working memory, visual attention, mathematical decision making, and auditory perception. Study 2 measured the cognitive performance between those who did not play video games versus those who played either a violent or non-violent video game. Results from Study 1 indicate participants needed approximately four trials to reach asymptotic performance on the cognitive measure. Results of Study 2 showed that participants who did not play any video game did not have a change in their cognitive performance, while those who played either a violent or non-violent video game had an increase in their cognitive performance.     

Modeling computer interest in older adults: the role of age, education, computer knowledge, and computer anxiety

We proposed a mediation model to examine the effects of age, education, computer knowledge, and computer anxiety on computer interest in older adults. We hypothesized that computer knowledge and computer anxiety would fully mediate the effects of age and education on computer interest. A sample of 330 older adults from local senior-citizen apartment buildings completed a survey that included an assessment of the constructs included in the model. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the results supported the hypothesized mediation model. In particular, the effect of computer knowledge operated on computer interest through computer anxiety. The effect of age was not fully mitigated by the other model variables, indicating the need for future research that identifies and models other correlates of age and computer interest. The most immediate application of this research is the finding that a simple 3-item instrument can be used to assess computer interest in older populations. This will help professionals plan and implement computer services in public-access settings for older adults. An additional application of this research is the information it provides for training program designers.     

The calculation of Easter day, and the origin and use of the word computer

Like so many English words, computer derives from Latin and therefore traces its origins back many centuries. A link exists between it and Christianity's greatest feast - Easter. In fact, the word computer, or at least its Latin equivalent, has long been connected to astronomy, time, and the calendar. We give a short history of the word, beginning from its use in early Roman times up to the introduction of the digital computer.     

The effect of visual complexity when playing a slot-machine simulation: the role of computer experience, computer anxiety, and optimism

The increasing computerization of slot machines, as well as the growth of Internet gambling, has been a recent cause for concern. To investigate whether visual complexity promoted gambling behavior, we staked participants with money and had them play a computer-simulated slot machine that, for different groups, had a different number of symbols that appeared on the screen as the “reels” spun. We also measured participants’ experience with computers, their level of anxiety when dealing with computers, and their optimism for winning while playing the simulation. Although participants could quit immediately, not play the simulation, and keep the money, none did so. Analysis of their behavior while playing the simulation indicated no significant differences as a function of number of symbols appearing on the simulation. Furthermore, although computer experience was inversely related to computer-related anxiety, these measures (as well as optimism of winning) were not significantly related to participants’ behavior while playing the simulation. The present results appear to negate the idea that educating people about computers and how computerized games of chance are programmed could potentially inoculate individuals from becoming problem gamblers. Rather, they seem to demonstrate the strong allure of games of chance.     

The role of spatial abilities and age in performance in an auditory computer navigation task

Age-related differences in spatial ability have been suggested as a mediator of age-related differences in computer-based task performance. However, the vast majority of tasks studied have primarily used a visual display (e.g., graphical user interfaces). In the current study, the relationship between spatial ability and performance in a non-visual computer-based navigation task was examined in a sample of 196 participants ranging in age from 18 to 91. Participants called into a simulated interactive voice response system and carried out a variety of transactions. They also completed measures of attention, working memory, and spatial abilities. The results showed that age-related differences in spatial ability predicted a significant amount of variance in performance in the non-visual computer task, even after controlling for other abilities. Understanding the abilities that influence performance with technology may provide insight into the source of age-related performance differences in the successful use of technology.     

The role of spatial abilities and age in performance in an auditory computer navigation task

Age-related differences in spatial ability have been suggested as a mediator of age-related differences in computer-based task performance. However, the vast majority of tasks studied have primarily used a visual display (e.g., graphical user interfaces). In the current study, the relationship between spatial ability and performance in a non-visual computer-based navigation task was examined in a sample of 196 participants ranging in age from 18 to 91. Participants called into a simulated interactive voice response system and carried out a variety of transactions. They also completed measures of attention, working memory, and spatial abilities. The results showed that age-related differences in spatial ability predicted a significant amount of variance in performance in the non-visual computer task, even after controlling for other abilities. Understanding the abilities that influence performance with technology may provide insight into the source of age-related performance differences in the successful use of technology.