USES AND GRATIFICATIONS: PERCEPTIONS, PERSPECTIVES ANDPATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR OF STUDENTS IN SELECTED SECONDARYSCHOOLS IN URBAN KUCHING WITH REGARD TO THE USE OF THE

COMPUTER

ABANG SARDON BIN ABANG HAJI HASHIM

A thesis submittedin fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of

Master of Social Science

Faculty of Social SciencesUNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK

2000

Acknowledgements

I would l ike to thank Associate Professor Dr Gabriel Tonga Noweg for his guidanceand direction in the preparation of this thesis, Professor Dr Rashid Abdullah and Associate ProfessorDr Dimbab Ngidang for their support , Dr Spencer Empading for the confidence he inst i l led in mewhen analyzing data on the SPSS, Dr Harindranath Ramaswani for his continuous encouragementand Dr Daniel Chew for his friendly advice.

A word of thanks also to the staff of the UNJMAS library, teachers and staff of SMHSt. Joseph’s, SMH St. Teresa’s, SMK Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Gapur, Stampin, SMK GreenRoad, all of Kuching, management and staff of the Malaysian Information Department, governmentagencies, private inst i tut ions and individuals who have contr ibuted towards the real izat ion of thisproject.

Special dedicat ion to my lovely wife, Nor-aim and my four beloved children; Nadiy,lka, Hayyan and Nabil who have shown their patience and endured trying t imes in the process offinishing this project. To my parents, brother and sister and their families who have been sosupport ive and understanding in ways that only they knew how. And to my fr iends who havesupported my efforts.

ii

Table of Contents

Lists of Tables

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7 Table 8 Table 9 Table 10 Table 1 1 Table 12 Table 13 Table 14 Table 15

Table 16 Table 17

Table 18 Table 19

Table 20 Table 2 1 Table 22 Table 23 Table 24 Table 25 Table 26 Table 27 Table 28

Table 29

Table 29(i)

Table 29(ii)

Table 29(iii)

Table 30

Average monthly sales of Acer computers in Sarawak in 1995 and 1996 Distribution of registered computer retailers in Sarawak in 1995 Percentage of samples from each school Percentage of users and non-users Gender of users Percentage of users of sane gender Age group of users of computer Percentage of users of same age group Level of educatioll of users of the computer Percentage of users with same level of education Racial composition of users of the computer Percentage of computer users of same race Father's occupation of users Percentage of users with fathers of same occupation Pearson correlation results of parents' socio- econolnic status and whether or not a user of computer Mother's occupation of users Percentage of users with mothers of same occupation Monthly incomes of parents/guardians of users Percentage of users with parentslguardians of sane income group Family size of users Percentage of users with sane family size Place of stay among users Percentage of users from same place of stay Type of house where users live in Percentage of users living in same house type Respondents' psychographics Accessibility to computer Daily hourly use of PC, CD-ROM player and Internet 1.Jser-s responses towards statements on gratification perceived to be obtainable from the computer Users' agreementldisagreement whether gratification from computer satisfy cognitive needs Users' agreementldisagree~nent whether gratification from computer satisfy affective1 tension-release needs IJsers' agreementldisagreement whether gratification from computer satisfy personall social integrative needs Mean score, standard deviation and standard error of users' responses towards the various computer gratification

Page

Table 3 1

Table 3 1 (i)

Table 3 1 (ii)

Table 32

Table 32(i)

Table 32(ii)

Table 33

Table 33(i)

Table 33(ii)

Table 34

Table 34(i)

Table 34(ii)

Pearson correlation results between respondents' Level of education and perception of computer gratification Pearson correlation results between respoudents' Level of education and perceptio~i of computer gratification that satisfy personallsocial integrative needs Pearson correlation results between respondents' level of education and perception of computer gratification that satisfy personallsocial integrative needs Pearson correlation results between number of hours of daily usage of the CD-ROM and perception of computer gratification Pearson correlation results between number of hours of daily usage of the CD-ROM and perception of computer gratification that satisfy cog~litive needs Pearson correlation results between nmnber of hours of daily usage of the CD-ROM and perception of computer gratification that satisfy affective1 tension-release needs Pearson correlation results between number of hours of daily usage of the Internet and perception of computer gratification Pearson correlatiou results between number of hours of daily usage of the Internet and perception of computer gratification that satisfy affectiveltension- release needs Pearson correlation results between number of hours of daily usage of the Internet usage and perception of computer gratification that satisfy personaVsocia1 integrative needs Pearson correlation results between lmmber of hours of daily usage of the PC and perception of computer gratification Pearsou correlation results betwee11 uumber of hours of daily usage of the PC and perception of computer gratification that satisfy affectiveltension-release needs Pearson correlation results between ~imnber of hours of daily usage of the PC and perception of computer gratification that satisfy personal/social integrative

Page

147

needs

List of figures

Figure 1

Figure 2

Mass media uses and gratification model developed by Katz, Gurevitch and Haas, 1973 Conceptual model of uses and gratification obtained from the computer based on findings of the study

Page

15

109

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions, perspectives and patterns of behavior of students in four selected secondary schools in urban Kuching with regard to the use of the computer and the gratification they derived from it. The study was based on the theory of uses and gratification which was developed by Katz, Gurevitch and Haas (1 973). The study involved the distribution of survey questionnaires to secondary school students from the four secondary schools. This was followed by -in-depth interviews on several students and observations on some of their computer-related behaviors.

Findings of the study suggested that the computer was mainly used for gratification consistent with those derived from the more conventional media and computer-mediated communication (CMC) such as for entertainment and diversion, information surveillance, building and maintaining social relationships and the enhancement of personal identity. Two categories of users; the keen users and the average majority were identified. Overall findings suggested that there was still a lower number of secondary school students who were users of the computer compared to non-users, usage of the computer was high among the male students, computer usage was also high among the Chinese students and most users accessed computers in their homes. Students' usage of computers was dependent on their parents socio-economic status such as parents'lguardians' monthly incomes and parents' occupation. There were low correlation between whether a respondent was a user of the computer and hisher parents' occupation. Psychographically it was found that most users were team workers, academically motivated, active, open-minded, sociable and abreast of the latest development both domestically and internationally. There was no significant correlation between respondents' demographic characteristics, the nulnber of hours they used the computer daily and their perception of computer gratification.

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan persepsi, pandangan dun tirrgkahlaku pelajar di empat buah sekolah menmgah yarrg terpilih di kawasan bandar Kuching berkenaan penggunaan komputer dan kepuasan yang mereka perolehi daripadanya. Kajian ini adalah berdasarkan teori kegunaan dun kepuasan yang diperkenalkan oleh Katz, Ciurevitch and Haas (1 973). la melibatkan pengagihan borang soalselidik kepada pelajar dari empat buah sekolah menengah tersebut. Ini diikuti temubual secara mendalam ke atas beberapa orang responden dan juga pemerhatian ke atas prilaku beberapa orangpenuntut terhadap aktiviti komputer m~reka.

Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa komputer digunakan untuk kcpasan yang lazim diperolehi daripada media konvensyenal dun juga media berkaitan komputer sqerti mendapatkan hiburan, mendapatkan maklumat, tujuan kemasyarakatan dun pemberitukan identiti. Kajian juga merigenalpasti dua kategori pengguna komputer; golongan pengguna yang giat (keerr users) dan golongan majoriti peringkat pertengahan (average majority). Keselunthannya, kajian merrdapati masih terdapat ramai pelajar sekolah menengah yarig masih tidak merrggurrakart komputer, penggunaan komputer yang tinggi di kalangan pelajar lelaki, penggunaan yang tinggi di kalangan pelajar ketunman Cina dan kebanyakan daripada pelajar yang merrggunakan komputer di rumah mereka sendiri. Penggunaan komputer oleh pelajar-pelajar ini banyak bergantung kepada status sosio ekonomi seperti pendapatan bulanan ibu bapa/penjaga darr juga pc?kerjaan ibu bapa. Terdapat hubungkait yang rendah di antara samada responden seorang perrgguna komputer dengan pekerjaan ibu bapa. Dari segi ciri-ciri psikograjik, ramai di awtara golongari pengguna komputer didapati terdiri dan'pada mereka yang mudah bekerja dalam berpasukan,mempunyai motivasi untuk belajar, aktif; berfikiran terbuka, mudah bergaul dan sentiasa peka terhadap perkembarrgan terkini di dalam dun di luar negeri. Kajian juga mendapati bahawa tiada huburrgkait yarrg signifikan di antara latarbelakang demografi, masa yang diluarrgkan untuk penggunaan komputer dalam sehari dengan persepsi responden terhadap kepuasan yang mereka perolehi daripada komputer.

Chapters

Page CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Brief review Growth of the computer industry The computer scenario in Malaysia Distribution of computers in Sarawak Status of computer use in schools in Sarawak Statement of the problem Theoretical framework Conceptual definitions Research questions Purpose of the study Justification of the study Significance of the study Methods used Limitations of the study Outcomes of the study Summary

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Uses of computer and gratification Summary

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Survey Sampling Data analysis Pre-test and post-test Mean score, standard deviation and standard error In-depth interviews Observations

-' Summary

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS Analysis of findings Summary

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION Uses and gratifications model and the conventional media Conceptual model of uses and gratification of the computer Comparison with findings of earlier studies Swnmary

CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Summary Statement of the problem Literature review Methodology Implications of the findings Recommendations Conclusion

References Tables of findings Appendix 1 Sample of Survey Questionnaire

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Brief review

We live in the age of "infomedia" where there is a convergence of information technology' (IT) of computers, information storage devices and media technology of audio-visuals in the form of the television, radio 'and telephone. This teclmology combines the computer and fiber optics telecommunications. Information is easily stored, manipulated, processed and delivered to the user on demand in a fast, accurate 'and responsive manner.

Since the beginning of the IT Revolution when the world saw the rising importance of accumulating information and knowledge among members of the society two decades ago, the computer has certainly come a long way in its transformation from being expensive and bulky' mainframe computers to today's more affordable personal computers and laptops widely owned and used.

The "infomedia" age has seen the computer technology particularly the personal compute12 (PC) develop by leaps and bounds. The earlier 386 and 486 ~nicroprocessors are already considered obsolete with the emergence of the more powerful 586 microprocessor (also known as Pentium). Indeed the PC has developed at a very fast pace.

While some users are still grappling with the personal computer as a means of processing information, the compact disc - read only memory (CD-ROM)~, a system for

1 The era of information technology is characterized by the rising importance of accessibility of information and knowledge anlong members of the society and the ability to use them well for the for the enhiancement of cognitive, mental, and intellectual ability (M. Alwi Dahlan, 1995).

2 The personal computer was initially used for word processing and database management. Improvements in its processing power and storage facilities allow for various utilities such as electronic mail, CD-ROM, playing MPEG video disc 'and the Internet, among others.

3 The compact disc - read only memory (CD-ROM) machine, running on a PC allows the interaction of video, TV, data files, graphics and sound. Looking quite similar to the audio compact disc, it not only plays music but presents graphics, motion video and high quality sound.

acquiring information and entertainment has been introduced. With powerfbl PCs to runCD-ROMs and good selections of software available in the market, it is quickly replacingthe role of the familiar floppy disk, just as audio compact disks have replaced vinylphonograph albums. Tremendous development in IT has brought about the Internet4, theglobal network of computers, giving everyone a chance to be “on-line” with the globalnetwork of information through the information superhighway5. So popular is the Internetthat using the conventional facsimile or the telephone has been described by some writers“like having a dusty, old wireless when everybody else on the block has colour TV’(Reyes, 1996: 38).

Receiving information and entertainment direct to the home has alreadybecome a reality. In fact if the latest technological development where the supposedly“slow modems” using telephone technology are replaced by cable modems, Internet userscan be linked to “data flowing freely down cable networks designed to carry televisionprogmms in the not too distant future” (Winton, 1997: 1). The cable technology thenpromised almost instant access to information across the Internet.

Today the ability for information to reach not only the smallest of groups butindividuals at any given time and anywhere in the world has created a situation of beingdigital where information and events have no demographic or statistical meaning.

Growth of the computer industry

The phenomenal growth of the computer st‘arted just over three decades ago inthe United States of America when IBM developed the mainframe computer in the 1960s.Koelsch (1995) wrote on how the mainframe S/360 or System 360 as it was known, was somassive that it needed 20 to 30 workers to keep it running. Used only by corporateorganizations and costing several millions of dolkars, each mainframe computer wasequipped with 20 to 50 ME% of disk storage. The 1970s saw increased growth incomputing with innovations towards communication (on-line) and miniaturization (minicomputer). Terminals were developed and communication on-line was made possible.“Off-the-shelf’ peripherals and software enabled word-processing, spreadsheets and

4 The Internet is a complex group of computer facilities around the world that interacts with each other linkedby telephone lines and operated by modems. It is a system of highways that connect “communication” oflinked computers called networks. Most of these networks have one thing in common: at le‘ast one machineworks as a server, storing mos2, if not all, ofthe files that members share (Tesoro, 1996).

5 Information superhighway is an upgraded version of “information highway” to describe “an interconnectedcommunication system using broadcast, telephone, cable, and computer technologies to connect everyone inthe world.

2

INTRODUCTION

graphics to be more affordable. In 1975, “Altair,” a small kit computer developed forelectronic hobbyists with 256 bytes was developed and it was from the Altair that Intel,Apple and Microsoft owed much of their present day success in computer developments.In the 1980s personal computing came into the limelight when chip manufacturer Intel,made the first commercially available microprocessor, the 8008 (8 bit) microprocessor.In 1981, there was a turning point for the PC industry when IBM launched the PC, a microcomputer product. This was later “cloned” by other producers which was easilyaccomplished with off-the-shelf parts. The PC was initially operated on a 8088 processor,standard Random Access Memory (RAM) and the Disk Operating System (DOS). Todaythe Pentium which runs at 132 million cycles per second has made the computer aprivilege in the quest for IT skills.

A vital communications tool, the Internet has also seen tremendousdevelopments. It has transformed itself from being a no-nonsense tool for the milit,ary andacademic elite into an on-line computer service for businesses, community groups andhobbyists to interact either by means of the electronic-mail, bulletin boards, chat channels,ICQs or video conferencing facilities,

The chronology of events leading to the formation of the network called theInternet saw control of the Internet changing h,ands from the military to the averagecitizens and commercial enterprises in the United States (Clark, 1995). A precursor to theInternet, ARPANET was designed by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research ProjectsAgency in 1969. This network initially connected four US universities and enabledscientists to share information and resources across long distances. It expanded further inthe 1970s and 198Os, connecting more sites. The 1970s also saw several universitiesbeginning to add portions to the network which included Users’ Network or USENET. I n1972, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) developed the telnetapplication for remote log-in making it easier to connect a remote computer. In 1973 thefile transfer protocol (FTP) was introduced, standardizing the transfer of files betweennetworked computers. It was in 1983 that the term “Internet” was used to describe thesystem of networks. It was formed when the Defense Communications Agencyreorganized the Pentagon’s network and began requiring Transmission Control Protocol(TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP) on all military networks. In 1982 and 1983, the first desktopcomputers which began to appe<ar were equipped with <an operating system called BerkeleyUNIX complete with a networking software and allowed for easy connection to theInternet using telnet. The period 198586 saw the National Science Foundation (NSF)connecting six US supercomputing centers together using a network called the NSFNET.The NSFNET supported institutions such as universities to connect regional networks.

3

INTRODUCTION

The Internet picked momentum as the Pentagon gave up control of the Internet and theNational Science service called Because It’s Time Network (BITNET) and ComputerScience Network (CSNET) was created. In 1987 the NSF commissioned Merit NetworkINC. to collaborate with International Business Machines (IBM) and MCITelecommunications Corporation to research and develop faster networking technologies.By 1989, the network was able to transmit data at speeds of 1.5 million bits of data persecond, or about 50 pages of text per second. In the 1990s the widespread use of modemsand networked computing enabled the ordinary people to use the Internet. In 1990 theARPANET was dissolved. A year later, the Gopher was developed at the University ofMinnesota. The Gopher, a menu-based method for providing and locating information onthe Internet made using the Internet much easier. In 1992 the Internet Society wasestablished. Further headway was achieved when in 1993, the European Laboratory forParticle Physics in Switzerland (CERN) released the World Wide Web (WWW) whichused hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and hypertext links, which meant that informationcould be better organized, presented and accessed on the Internet. In 1993 the NSFNETnetwork was upgraded from “Tl” to “T3” and data was able to be transmitted at speeds of45 million bits per second or about 1400 pages of text per second. It was between 1993-1994 that the graphical web browsers Mosaic and Netscape Navigator were introduced andspread through the Internet community. Their intuitive and graphical nature appealed tothe general public. In 1995 NSF handed over control of the Internet to the private sector,That same year the NSFNET backbone was replaced by vBNS (very high speed backbonenetwork system) that utilized Network Service Providers, regional networks and NetworkAccess Points (NAPS).

The Internet has advanced rapidly since 1969 when ARPANET provided atest-bed for networking research and development. The TCP/IP protocols providedstandard rules for networked computers to communicate with each other. Since thedevelopment of networking tools like the WWW and Gopher, other tools such as thesearch engines (Yahoo, Infoseek, Lycos, etc) have made surfing for information on theInternet a much easier and faster endeavor (Network Solutions Inc., 1996).

The computer scenario in Malaysia

In Malaysia, the first computer system, the IBM 1440, was set up in the mid1960s by the then National Electricity Board or the Lembaga Letrik Negara. In fact, thiscountry prided itself in being one of the first nations in the region to use computers inpublic agencies, This was helped by the establishment of IBM Malaysia in 1961 whosesole agent, MESINIAGA Bhd. is one of the largest local IT companies (IBM, 1997).

4

INTRODUCTION

The present mlaysian government administration realized the rapid development of IT 'and the need for Malaysians to be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to exploit the vast potentials that the new "infomedia" revolution had to offer, where information could be obtained using multimedia in a fast and interactive manner. Mahathir bin Mohamad (1 99 1: 12) in his speech entitled "Malaysia: The Way ~ o n v a r d " ~ called on Malaysians to be computer literate to tap the vast potentials made available by IT. He stressed that:

In the information age that we are living in, the Malaysian society must be information rich ..... knowledge will not only be the basis of power but also prosperity. Again we must keep up. Already Malaysians are among the biggest users of computers in the region. Computer literacy is a must if we want to progress and develop. No effort must be spared in the creation of an information rich Malaysian society

(Mahathir bin Mohamad, 1991: 12)

The vehicle for Malaysia's journey into the IT world is the National Information Technology Agenda (NITA)~ drawn up by the National Information Technology Council (NITC). NITA's aim is to leapfrog Malaysia's current status as a developing nation to a post-industtialladvanced industrial society and a civil society or "masyarakat madani". To achieve this, NITA has devised a national IT framework comprising three key elements namely people development, infostrncture and application development.

An important feature of the people development strategy is in education where by the year 2005 various people-development programs are implemented such as smart learning, Internet connections for schools, setting up of a multimedia university, basic computer literacy for all and electronic distance education.

Already the country is harping on the vast potential of IT especially the Internet where a wealth of information can be acquired 'and applied for more efficient information-gathering, education, research, communication, commerce and various other services.

6 This paper was presented by YAB Data' Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia, at the Inaugural Meeting of the Malaysian Business Council on February 228, 1991 in Kuala Lumpur. The contents of this working paper was to be known later as ''Visioa 2020" or "Wawa.~an 2020" (Mahathir bin Mohamad, 199 1).

7 In 1997, NITA was accepted by the Malaysian government as a strategy for national development and the development of a civil society. (NITC, 1998: 1)

INTRODIJCTION

As a first step towards accelerating Malaysia’s entry into the Information Age,Malaysia has created the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), a 15 km by 50 km corridorthat starts from the Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC) down south to the Kuala LumpurInternational Airport (KLIA), which will bring together, for the first time ever, anintegrated environment with all the unique elements and attributes necessary to create theperfect global multimedia climate.

Hence, the Malaysian government, in its effort to ensure MSC’s growth andaccelerate the country’s progress towards the Information Age, has targeted seven“Flagship Applications”*, where seven multimedia industries are to be developed by theyear 2000.school”‘,

Among the seven multimedia industries is the setting up of the “smrarta project where model “smart schools” would be developed within the MSC and

equipped with Internet access as a way of enh~ancing literacy in IT. This concept of “smartschools” would then be rolled out to the rest of Malaysian schools with MSC statuscompanies developing software applications, curricula courseware, teacher and stafftraining and infrastructure (IMA, 1996).

The eventual setting up of “smart schools” would prepare Malaysians with aconducive climate to enter the Information Age where individuals <are familiar with the useof multimedia especially the younger generation who take to computers aud multimedialike ducks to water.

Clearly the young Malaysian generation is poised for greater heights ahead inline with the Malaysian government’s vision of nurturing IT habits among its populace.

Distribution of computers in Sarawak

In Sarawak, computer usage can be inferred by imports of computers and theirrelated accessories (including multimedia). In 1994, 19,121 units were imported intoSarawak and 18,551 units were imported for the first nine months of 1995’“.

8 “Flagship Applications” are seven multimedia industries targeted for development by the year 2000 tocatalyst MSC’s growth. They are the electronic o&e, smart schools, tele-medicine, R&D clusters, nationalmultipurpose card, borderless marketing centers and world-wide manufacturing webs.

9 When a school in Malaysia adopts the “sm‘art school” or s&&h bisturi concept, teachers and students alikeare equipped with skills to use information technology, effective teaching and learning skills, able to thinkin a critical and creative way, and able to interpret and evaluate.

10 The figures on imports of computers and their related accessories were obtained from the StatisticsDepartment of Sarawak, of Jalan Simpang Tiga in Kuching early in 1996. Hence , the complete statisticson computer imports into the state for 1995 was not yet available.

6

INTRODIJCTION

An indication of how much the computer teclmology has penetrated Sarawakis shown by the sales figures of PCs in the state. According to a leading PC supplier inSarawak, Acer Sales and Services Sdn. Bhd.“, since 1995, the company had been selling amonthly average of 280 sets of Acer PCs for its Kuching, Sri Aman and Sibu m<arket, and180 sets in the Miri, Bintulu and Limbang sector. A monthly average sales of SO sets wasestimated once its Sibu regional office started operations in July 1996. The averagemonthly sales of Acer computers is illustrated in Table 1.

Table 1

Average monthly sales of Acer computers in Sarawak in 1995 and 1996.

Market Average monthly sales (units)Kuching, Sri Aman, Sibu 360

Miri, Bintulu, Limbang 1 8 0

Total 540

Source: Acer Sales and Services Sdn. Bhd.

If the sales of other computer vendors in the state were taken into accountthen the number of computers sold would be quite sizeable.

Further, there were already 35 computer retailers in Sarawak registered withthe Federal Financial Office of the Ministry of Finance. Distribution of these computerretailers can be seen in Table 2.12

1 1 Information regarding sales of Acer computers was obtained from the rese‘archer’s interview with theRegional Manager of Acer Sales and services Sdn. Bhd., Kuching on July 5, 1996.

12 Statistics on the number of computer retailers registered with the Finance Ministry was obtained from theFederal Financial Oflice at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar, Jahan Simpnng Tiga, Kuching, on July 10, 1996.

7

INTRODUCTION

Table 2Distribution of registered computer retailers in Sarawak in 199

TownNumber of computer

retailers*

Kuching 22Miri 6Sibu 4Bintulu 1Sarikei 1Lundu 1Total 35

*actual numbersSource: Sarawak Federal Financial Office

i.

As for the Internet, the number of Internet servers as of February 1996 was1,087 which means there were 6 Internet servers for every 100,000 of Malaysia’spopulation (Reyes, 1996: 40). At the end of 1997 there were already more than 300,000users utilizing services provided by Jaring, the pioneer Internet service provider inMalaysia.

The Internet was introduced to Sarawaki,ans in July 1994 (Seman Endawie,1996). By early 1996 there were about 700 users in Kuching alone and Internet users inSarawak was expected to rise to 2,500 by the end of 1996 covering people of all agesincluding prim

T3school students (Wira Abadi, 1996). In the same year there were six

registered Jaring service providers in Kuching, two in Sibu, two in Miri and one in SriAman.

With the call by the Prime Minister for Malaysians to keep abreast with ITdevelopment in their quest to becoming an information-rich society and the creation of the“knowledge worker”‘4 the number of computer users in the country and Sarawakspecifically was expected to increase.

Status of computer use in schools in Sarawak

Amidst the global euphoria the IT development had created, how are schoolchildren being affected by this “boom” in the computer technologies? Much has been saidabout how the IT revolution promises to enhance the field of education where the IT

13 The Malaysian Institute of Microelectronics System (MIMOS) runs “Jaring”, the first Malaysian networkswhich links to the Internet overseas.

1 4 A knowledge worker relies on his/her own competencies and is actively genernting knowledge. The basisfor production, power ‘and wealth is knowledge itself.

8

INTRODUCTION

revolution is creating a new form of electronic interacti~e'~ education that should blossom into a lifelong learning system that allows almost everyone to learn almost anything from anywhere at anytime.

Interviews with officials from the Education Dep'artment, teachers-in-charge of school computer clubs, vendors and operators in the computer industry revealed various efforts to equip students with IT skills and knowledge particularly through curriculum development.

The Ministry of Education has initiated campaigns to develop IT literacy in schools in the country as early as 1986 when 20 secondary schools were chosen as pioneers in the computer literacy programme'6. In 1992 the Education Ministry approved a second program of computer literacy in 60 selected secondary schools for students in Forms 1 and 2. The same year the computer in education progratn (komputer dalam pembelajaran or KDP) was officially launched. Although these figures were comparatively a small fraction of the number of schools in the country, it pointed to a concerted effort on the part of the Ministry of Education to improve computer literacy among the student population.

In Sarawak the State Education Department has embarked on a vigorous progr'un in training "master trainers" to implement computer-aided instruction. Between 1996 and 1997 there were already 256 master trainers for prim'ary schools and 29 master trainers for secondary schools.

A project called the electronic resource center or pusat sumber elektronik (PSE)'~ was undertaken by Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan of the Education Department and Telekom Malaysia in 1996. Under this project, Sekolah Menengah Kerajaan (SMK) Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Gafur Stampin Kuching was one of the pioneer schools in Malaysia to implement the project. The PSE was set up to create 'an electronic information center capable of making available resources in print and electronic form for the purpose of teaching and learning in order to produce computer literate students. Fifteen PCs were linked to the World Wide Web (www)'~ running on Windows software. An added incentive was the free use of the computer for students in Form 1 to 6 (eight PCs), teachers (three PCs) and the school library (one PC).

15 Interactivity allows the user to "navigate" through information in various ways 'and aids learning by discovery. An example of interactivity is well illustrated by the development of "hypertext" where the user clicks on "hot words" in the text with the mouse, and then related information such as an article or picture is shown on the screen (Staley, 1995).

16 Information on efforts to develop computer literacy in schools in Sarawak was obtained from the officer of the Co-Curriculum Section, Education Department, Sarawak, Encik Lau Shin Chai and a report Garis Panduan Perlaksanaan Kursus Pengajaran dun Pembelajaran Berpandukan Kornputer, Negeri Sarawak 1997-1 998.

17 Information on the PSE was obtained from an interview with one of the teachers in-charge of PSE SMK Stampin, Puan Hajijah.

18 The WWW takes advantage of a global computer network connecting thousands of computers worldwide which makes information sharing easy and attractive by combining texts, graphics, sound, and film clips into a single multimedia document.

INTRODUCTION

Some schools in the urban areas were quick to respond to the government's call for computer literacy among students. One of the pioneer scl~ools to promote its Computer Literacy Program is Sekolah Menengall Bantuan (SMB) St. Joseph's of ~ u c h i n ~ ' ~ . Set up in 1988, this program aimed primarily at providing computer skills and knowledge to students of both the primary and secondary classes. Functioning under the banner of the school's Computer Club, classes were opened to Primary 4 to G students and Forms 1 to 6. To date over 400 students l i ve enrolled in the classes and they attend a one hour class every week for a monthly fee of RM20.00 for primary school students and RM25.00 for secondary school students. Students in Forms 3 to 5 are also prepared for their first Pitman Examination which qualifies them for a diploma. The school management added a multimedia laboratory to the existing laboratory of old 386 PCs, with an additional 20 Pentium-powered computers. The school's computer club represented the state in the national level school software writing competition in multimedia.

Students who registered as club members were also encouraged to use the Internet link for one hour free of charge while non-members were charged RM3.00 per hour. Usage was strictly supervised limiting students surfing the WWW for information related to their studies. The school was one of the first schools in the state to launch its own homepageZ0 on the WWW in 1995.

Similarly the computer club at SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg at Petra Jaya Kuching was formed in 1990 also at the school's own initiative2'. To encourage students and teachers alike to be well versed in IT, this club, supervised by one of the school teachers and equipped with four PCs is opened to students studying from Form 1 to Form 6. At the time of the study, the club lad attracted 150 students who paid an annual fee of RM5.00 each. Its activities included a weekly meeting for all members who were taught the basics of computer applications using operating systems such as Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 1.

Students in Fonn Upper Six also took a computer course, "Kursus Pengkomputeran STPM" which required them to complete a project designing the school's homepage to be uploaded to the WWW. With the only Internet link funded by the school, students were given the opportunity to surf the WWW for information related to their studies. The school also obtained the services of a computer training institute, the CyberNet to teach students and teachers the various IT applications.

Private computer firms have also taken the initiative to expand their business by going to the schools to offer computer lessons at nominal fees. One such company was

19 Information on the Computer Literacy Progfizmme at St. Joseph's was obtained from an interview with the private teacher in-charge of the progmm, Mr. Lee Wei Khun.

20 On the Web, "Home Pages" contzzin information via texts and graphics of what the owner of a p,uticular homepage wants to tell or advertise on the Web.

21 This information was obtained from 'an interview with the teachel. in-charged of SMK Tun Abmg Haji Openg Computer Club, Encik Ngu See Koh.

CyberNet ~ e n t r e . ' ~ The center had come up with ten modules to help students to acquire basic word-processing skills to surfing the Internet. Having already recruited students from a few schools in Kuching, this company, with the co-operation of the Education Department and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) or persatuan ibu bapa dan guru (PIBG), opened branches in all divisions in the state.

CyberNet charged a monthly fee of RM20.00 per student. Upon registration, students were given automatic membership to its club where IT related activities such as talks and demonstrations were organized. A member was also eligible for a 5% to 8% &scount with every purchase of a PC from the company.

Although numerous efforts have been made by the relevant authorities at ministry and school levels to get students to acquire IT knowledge, there was still a question of whether students learn and enjoy more from the formal school computer syllabuses compared to using their own computers at home where there are no stringent rules and watchful eyes of teachers and more freedom to experiment new software, surf the web-sites and chat with their cyber-friends.

It is therefore appropriate that this study sought to investigate the use of computer technologies specifically the PC, CD-ROM and the Internet among urban secondary scliool students in Sarawak where the probability of computer use was greater. They were 721 students in Forms 1 to 6 with ages ranging from 13 to 19 years. When the study was conducted there were 135 secondary scl~ools in Sarawak with a total student population of 146,964.'~

Statement of the problem

In Malaysia, there seems to be a dearth of information on the use of computers among secondary school students. This is evident when inquiries for relevant studies in institutions of higher learning and major libraries failed to identify such studies. In Sarawak, no studies have been done on the subject. The important question then was; how much does the Ministry of Education realize what students were getting out of these computer technologies? This study was intended to provide answers with regard to the use of the computer among students particularly those studying in the urban areas. By discovering new findings on what respondents obtained from the computer technologies, this stndy can contribute to our underst'anding of audience use of the computer.

22 CyberNet Centre owned by NAK System (M) Sdn Bhd, is a Bumiputera-owned company based in Semen,mjung Malaysia which produces computers with the brand name Phoenix. At present CyberNet is conducting classes at Kolej Abang Haji Abdillah (400 students), SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg (200 students), and a primary school, Wirajaya, (100 students).

23 The statistics on secondary schools and the number of students was derived from a complete list of schools in Sarawak with student population given by the Head Ofice of the Education Department of Sarawak at Jalan Simpang Tiga in Kuching. The information on the schools was obtained in early 1996.

In uses and gratifications research, studies on the use of the computer bysecondary and college students have shown several interesting findings. The interactivenature of the computer has been found to be used as a brainstorming tool (Dennis andValacich, 1993) in helping students improve their performance thus enhancing their self-esteem (Larson, 1991) enhance learning skills, analytical problem solving and reasoning(Kate, 1993), learn better by being actively involved (Koay, 1995), play games, improvecognitive aptitudes and understand better (Robertson etal. 1995) and had positive impacton learning, level of achievement and motivation among students (Toh and Abdul Rahim,1995).

The computer was also used by students for word-processing, spreadsheets,databases and information retrieval (Mofatt and Greemnan, 1995). Yoo (1996) discoveredthe Internet was used by students for entertainment, information, sociability andtransactions, whereas a survey by CommerceNet <and Nielsen Media Research (Hammond1996) discovered computer users tended to be males, upscale, professionals who possessedcollege education <and the Internet as being popular among 16 year olds where purchasingon the Internet was popular. Makrakis and Sawada (1996) discovered male studentsshowing more positive attitudes towards the computer in terms of usefulness, aptitude andliking. The World Wide Web was used for research purposes (Brauch et.al., 1996) whileHunter (1996) discovered that the WWW was used for browsing, information seeking andentertainment. Chandler (1996) wrote that making “1iomepages”on the WWW waspopular for identity portrayal. The computer was also found to be used for posting anti-social behaviors or “cues filtered out” (Walther et.al. 1994) and the computer had alsobeen found to be used just “to get someone to do something for me” (Perse and Courtright,1993). Jo (1996) investigated the availability, policy and factors hindering its use insc11001s.

Koelsch (1995) wrote that interactive CD-ROMs were capable of takingstudents into a new world of learning because of the wealth of information that could bestored in CD-ROMs. In addition, children who played interactive computer games wouldgrow up playing virtual reality games. These interactive groups who stayed in differentplaces developed a sense of belonging thereby forming friendships called “cyberrelationship”. Parents were also aware of the vast potential of these new computertechnologies as valuable educational tools where new software utilizing CD-ROM couldprovide videos and speech which children tind interesting. Multimedia computers enablestudents to access online services where they can visit virtual museums, art galleries andlibraries and other information sources.

More elaborate discussions on studies related to the uses and gratificationstheory will be done in the second chapter.

1 2

INTRODUCTION

The above-mentioned findings are on some of the uses and impact ofcomputer technologies among users. Today’s computer innovations which have beenadded to the uses of the computer must have produced certain habits among students.They must have obtained certain gratification from the computer. This study was designedto find out more.

Theoretical framework

The theoretical framework of this study was based on the “uses andgratifications model” developed by Katz, Gurevitch and Haas (I 973).

The uses and gratification model shown in Figure 1 (p. 15) comprises thesocial environment where users of the media are characterized by their demographics,group affiliations, and psychological dispositions. These social influences and make-up inturn determine their individual needs for information and knowledge with regard to theirenvironment (cognitive needs), entertaimnent and diversion (affective needs), developmentof their personal identity and enhancement of self-esteem (personal integrative needs),building and maintaining their social relationships (social integrative needs), tension-release and ameliorating loneliness (escapist needs). These needs can be satisfied throughnon-media sources (family, friends, interpersonal communication, hobbies, sleep anddrugs) as well as media sources (exposure to media, type of media used, media contentsand social context of media exposure). Satisfying these needs would result in theattainment of gratification such as surveillance, entertaimnent and diversion, personalidentity and social relationships. It is important to note that the model is only concernedwith media-related sources of need satisfaction. Gratification sought and obtained by theaudience formed the central concept in the model (Wimmer & Dominick, 199 1: 347).

Based on this theory, the study looked at the demographic characteristics ofcomputer users and their psychographic dispositions. The theoretical framework was usedto determine the needs of users, whether they were cognitive, affective, personalintegrative, social integrative or tension-release needs which in turn would lead them toderive gratification such as surveillance, diversions/entertainment, personal identity orsocial relationship. The theory was also used in obtaining information on how theyaccessed the computer, the contents they were likely to prefer and the number of hoursspent daily by users on the computer.

Conceptual definitions

Uses and gratification

In the study, uses of the computer refer to the use and exposure to thepersonal computer (PC), CD-ROM and the Internet. Gratification refer to the types of

13

INTRODUCTION

computer functions that satisfy respondents’ needs such as surveillance functions whichsatisfy cognitive needs (such as the attainment of information and knowledge),diversion/entertainment functions which satisfy affective/tension-release or escape needs(such as the search for entertaining materials and ameliorating loneliness), personalidentity/social relationship functions which satisfy personal/social integrative needs (suchas the development of personal identity and self-esteem and building and maintaining ofsocial relationships).

Demographics

Demographic characteristics of respondents in this study includes factors suchas gender, age, level of education, race, father’s occupation, mother’s occupation,parents’/guardians’ monthly income, number of family members, place of stay and thetype of houses they live in.

Psychographics

In this study the psychographic factors of respondents sought to determinetheir attitudes towards and feelings about certain products, services <and issues. These arefactors such as their buying habits, their sharing of new knowledge, their desire to becompetitive, associations they were involved in, the way the respondents projectedthemselves in groups, the strategy they used in order to get something, what they did afterschool, favorite hobby, type of social activities they were involved in, how they spent theirholidays, what their favorite entertainment were, what school clubs they joined, favoriteplaces where they did their shopping, favorite sports and games, what they thought mustbe existing in the ideal family, impression of the home as the foundation for good familyties, favorite fashion when dressing, what kind of products they kept track of in the market,the food they liked to eat, where they obtained the latest news, type of achievement theytreasured most and which social, political, economic, educational, cultural and futureissues they were most concerned about.

Perceptions

In this study, respondents’ perceptions were obtained from surveyquestionnaires and refer to the extent on how far they agreed or disagreed with the type ofgratification they perceived to be obtained from the computer. The gratification arederived from functions such as surveillance, diversion/entertainment, personal identity andsocial relationships. The degree of agreement or disagreement is measured by means ofLikert Scale such as strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree.

1 4

INTROD lJCTIONFigure 1

Mass media uses and gratifications model developed by Katz, Gurevitch and Haas, 1973

Social Environment1. Demographic

characteristics2. Group affiliations3. Personality

characteristics(psychologicaldispositions)

Non-media Sources ofNeed Satisfaction1. Family, friends2. Interpersonal communication3. Hobbies4. Sleep5. Drugs etc. d

/y

Individual Needs1. Cognitive needs2. Affective needs3. Personal

integrative needs4. Social integrative

needs5. Tension-release

or escape needs

Mass Media Use

1 .Media type -newspaper, radio,TV, movies

2.Media contents3 .Exposure to mediaper se

4. Social context ofmedia exposure

MediaGratification(Functions)

1 .Surveillance2.Diversiom

entertainment3 .Personal

identity4. Social

relationship

Source: Tan, 1984: 234

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