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.     

Gender,Internet and computer attitudes and experiences

It is widely assumed that participation by females on the Internet is hampered by their attitudes towards computers, which in turn is reflective of their attitudes towards new technology. Research generally supports that females have less overall experience with computers and are more likely than males to have negative attitudes towards computers. Although limited, research on Internet experiences and attitudes has found parallel gender differences, with females reporting lower levels of experience and more negative attitudes. This paper explores whether Internet and computer experiences, skills and attitudes are related, using evidence from two studies of incoming college students, in 1989/90 and 1997. There were significant gender differences in many computer experiences and attitudes of incoming students in 1989/90. Males were more experienced with computers, more likely to have taken high school courses requiring computer use, and reported higher skill levels in applications such as programming, games and graphics than females. By 1997, incoming students were more experienced with using a computer than the earlier students. However, gender differences in computer experience and skill levels had diminished in some areas. The 1997 survey also assessed Internet experiences, skills, competence and comfort. Students had more exposure to computers than to the Internet. Males were more experienced and reported higher skill levels with the Internet than females, with the exception of e-mail. The overall competency and comfort level for students in 1997 was significantly higher for computers than for the Internet; 19% of the students did not feel competent and/or comfortable with the computer compared to 36% with the Internet, with females reporting higher levels of incompetence and discomfort for both. Competence and comfort levels with the Internet and computers were highly intercorrelated, and both predicted Internet skills and experiences.     

A survey of attitudes to,knowledge about and experience of computers

There is some concern that relatively few students in the U.K. elect to study computing and that this number is declining despite the high pay levels of computer staff and emphasis on computing in education. Variables known to be associated with the extent to which an individual is likely to make use of computers are background discipline, attitude to computers and IT, attitude to technology in general, experience of computers and gender. The present study investigates the relationships between these variables for 928 students at an institution of higher education. Subjects had been selected to fall into four discipline areas: COMP (computer/electronic studies), SCIENCE (science courses), HI-IT (non-science courses making heavy use of IT) and LOW-IT (non-science courses making relatively low use of IT). Results indicated that on entry to college, students in the COMP category had more experience with computers than students in other categories and that across all categories, except HI-IT, males had more experience with computers on entry than females. Students in the COMP category also had significantly more knowledge about computers than other students and across all categories males had more knowledge than females on entry. There were relatively minor differences in attitudes to computers and IT with COMP students being slightly more positive than students in the other categories, and there were no differences in attitudes to technology in general across the four categories. There were no consistent gender differences on the attitude variables. Results were discussed with relation to vocational choice and it was concluded that females on computer courses may, in general, be rather less interested in computers per se than their male peers.     

Internet use, videogame playing and cell phone use as predictors of children’s body mass index (BMI), body weight, academic performance, and social and overall self-esteem

In this research we examined the prediction of children’s body mass index (BMI), body weight, academic performance, social self-esteem and overall self-esteem from their IT (information technology) use, specifically, their Internet use, cell phone use and videogame playing, after controlling for the effects of gender, race, age and household income on these measures. Participants were 482 children whose average age was 12 years old. One-third was African American and two-thirds were Caucasian American. Results indicated that IT use did not predict BMI or body weight, contrary to one previous survey and the widespread belief that screen time is responsible for the obesity epidemic among our nation’s children. Instead, BMI and body weight were higher for African Americans, older children and children from lower income households. The sole and strong positive predictor of visual-spatial skills was videogame playing, which also predicted lower grade point averages (GPAs). Gender and Internet use predicted standardized test scores in reading skills. Females and children who used the Internet more had better reading skills than did males and children who used the Internet less, respectively. Implications of these findings for future research on the benefits and liabilities of IT use are discussed.     

Upper quadrant postural changes of school children in response to interaction with different information technologies

The objective of this study was to quantitatively analyse the sitting posture of school children interacting with both old (book) and new (laptop and desktop computers) information technologies to test the hypothesis that posture is effected by the type of information technology (IT) used. A mixed model design was used to test the effect of IT type (within subjects) and age and gender (between subjects). The sitting posture of 32 children aged 4?–?17 years was measured whilst they read from a book, laptop, and desktop computer at a standard school chair and desk. Video images were captured and then digitized to calculate mean angles for head tilt, neck flexion, trunk flexion, and gaze angle. Posture was found to be influenced by IT type (p?<?0.001), age (p?<?0.001) and gender (p?=?0.024) and significantly correlated to the stature of the participants. Measurement of resting posture and the maximal range of motion of the upper and lower cervical spines in the sagittal plane was also undertaken. The biophysical impact and the suitability of the three different information technologies are discussed.     

Are we ready? The state of wireless e-business in the USA

Recent evidence shows that in the United States, electronics and information technology (IT) businesses generate nearly one-third of their revenues from e-business, yet spend less than 5% on IT. While there have been many published studies on the adoption of e-business using wired Internet technologies, the adoption of wireless e-business by US firms remains relatively unexplored. The purpose of this study is to report on the current state of adoption of wireless e-business technologies in the US Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector and the factors likely to affect the utilization of these technologies in the future Survey results show that the US ICT sector is not very far along in its use and application of wireless e-business technologies.The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from TBRC, Lappeenranta University of Technology and the College of Business at San Francisco State University for this study. The helpful comments of Dr. Richard Beer, Assistant Professor, Department of Information Systems at the University of San Francisco and former Executive Director, Fisher Center for Information Technology at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley are greatly appreciated.     

Upper quadrant postural changes of school children in response to interaction with different information technologies

The objective of this study was to quantitatively analyse the sitting posture of school children interacting with both old (book) and new (laptop and desktop computers) information technologies to test the hypothesis that posture is effected by the type of information technology (IT) used. A mixed model design was used to test the effect of IT type (within subjects) and age and gender (between subjects). The sitting posture of 32 children aged 4-17 years was measured whilst they read from a book, laptop, and desktop computer at a standard school chair and desk. Video images were captured and then digitized to calculate mean angles for head tilt, neck flexion, trunk flexion, and gaze angle. Posture was found to be influenced by IT type (p < 0.001), age (p < 0.001) and gender (p = 0.024) and significantly correlated to the stature of the participants. Measurement of resting posture and the maximal range of motion of the upper and lower cervical spines in the sagittal plane was also undertaken. The biophysical impact and the suitability of the three different information technologies are discussed.     

Self-concept,self-esteem,gender, race and information technology use

This research addressed two fundamental questions regarding self-concept, self-esteem, gender, race and information technology use. First, is technology use related to dimensions of self-concept and/or to self-esteem? Second, are there gender and/or race differences in self-concept, self-esteem and technology use? Approximately 500 youth, average age 12 years old, one-third of whom were African American and the remaining two-thirds were Caucasian American, completed multidimensional measures of self-concept, the Rosenberg (1965) self-esteem scale and measures of frequency of Internet use, Internet use for communication (email and instant messaging), videogame playing and cell phone use. Findings indicated that technology use predicted dimensions of selfconcept and self-esteem, with videogame playing having a negative influence, and Internet use having a positive influence on self-concept dimensions. Gender differences were observed on several self-concept dimensions but contrary to expectations not on the social self-concept dimension. Only one race difference was observed and this was in behavioral self-concept. Implications of the benefits and liabilities of youth’s current and future technology use are discussed.     

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.     

Gender differences in children's reactions to success and failure with computers

This study examined an attributional style explanation for gender differences in computer use and attitudes. A total of 127 Grade 5 subjects filled out questionnaires assessing computer experience. Surprisingly, there were no gender differences in liking for computers. However, consistent with previous research, boys thought that they had more ability with computers, boys used computers more frequently, and more boys had computers at home. Subjects were then randomly assigned to use either a “failure” computer program, a “success” program, or no program. Results showed that boys provided unstable attributions for failure with the computer (e.g., bad disk, lack of effort) more often than girls did, whereas girls provided unstable attributions for success (e.g., easy program, effort) with the computer more often than boys did. Both boys and girls who made stable attributions for success or unstable attributions for failure were more enthusiastic about using computers in the future, indicating that gender differences in attitudes toward computer use can be explained by gender differences in attributions for performance. The data also suggest that gender differences in relaxation and expectations for improvement were due to gender differences in stability of attributions, frequency of previous computer use, and perceived competence with computers.     

Gender differences and similarities in attitudes toward computers

Gender differences among university students in attitudes toward and involvement with computers were examined. Males were found to have taken more computer science courses, to be more knowledgeable about computer languages, to be more likely to want to major in computer science, and to have played video games more than females. There were no gender differences in reported nonvideo-game computer use or in exposure to computers in noncomputer science courses. Males and females did not differ on their reported personal interest in and enjoyment of computers. Consistent with previous research, however, males reported more comfort and confidence with computers and more positive attitudes toward mathematics than did females. Women believed more strongly than men that females should learn and are as capable of learning about computers and science as are males. It appears that these university women were as intrigued by computers as the men were. However, they were apparently somewhat inhibited from the pursuit of specialized training and careers in computer science. This inhibition may be linked to their anxiety about their own skills and to the communication, by male peers, of the attitude that women are less capable than men of learning about computers.     

Junior high school students’ Internet usage and self-efficacy: A re-examination of the gender gap

This paper investigated the gender differences in junior high school students’ Internet self-efficacy and their use of the Internet. A total of 1080 eighth graders were randomly selected from all junior high school students in Taiwan. The Internet Self-Efficacy Scale (ISES) was developed and used to examine students’ Internet self-efficacy in two dimensions: online exploration (explorative ISE) and online communication (communicative ISE). A survey including the ISES instrument was administered to all the subjects and finally 936 valid questionnaires (from 466 males and 470 females) were returned for data analyses. No significant gender difference was found in students’ total ISE and explorative ISE; however, a significant gender difference was found in students’ communicative ISE. Surprisingly, the girls had significant higher communicative ISE than had the boys. In addition, there was no significant gender difference in students’ Internet using experience and computer ownerships; however, there were significant gender differences in their Internet using purpose and intensity. In spite of the boys showed a significantly higher Internet use intensity than did the girls, the boys were more exploration-oriented Internet users and the girls were more communication-oriented Internet users. And this orientation played a significant role in their Internet self-efficacy. These results suggested that the gender gap may no longer exist in young students’ confidence in using the Internet. However, boys and girls used the Internet for significantly different purposes suggesting that the Internet played different roles for boys and girls in Taiwan. With a large scale examination by using a valid and reliable instrument, this study provided representative results for further related studies.     

Seniors and Information Technology in China

Technology, particularly information technology (IT), is changing rapidly and offers many advantages for users. IT has the potential to improve one’s quality of life, but only if used. Research has shown that, in most developed and developing nations, senior use of IT lags behind that of other segments of society. This “gray divide” is a concern for government, business, and others. Concern about senior adoption and use of IT has been the motivation for numerous studies and is the motivation for this study of Chinese seniors. This exploratory study examines urban Chinese seniors’ IT use, computers and mobile phones in particular, but also their attitudes and behaviors as they relate to the use of those devices. More specifically it examines several potential factors that motivate or hinder senior’s use of information technology, including self-efficacy, satisfaction, comfort with technology, and both positive and negative attitudes. This study provides some insight into the quantity and diversity of Chinese senior technology use in urban China. Particularly noteworthy, the study found that technology ownership was quite high, and in general the Chinese seniors studied had positive attitudes and beliefs concerning information technology. This is generally good news for the Chinese government, which must efficiently provide services for the growing population of Chinese seniors, as well as for businesses that wish to capitalize on one of the largest senior populations in the world.     

Enterprise architecture,IT effectiveness and the mediating role of IT alignment in US hospitals

Despite the possible benefits of implementing healthcare information technologies, successful implementation of effective healthcare information technology is constrained by cultural and regulatory concerns and technical obstacles encountered when establishing or upgrading an organisation's enterprise infrastructure. In this paper, we advance Ross' four‐stage model of enterprise architecture maturity as a valuable IT resource for helping healthcare organisations sustain a competitive advantage. We use partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling to analyse survey data from 164 US hospitals at different stages of EA maturity. Our results provide evidence that enterprise architecture maturity directly influences the effectiveness of hospitals' IT resources for achieving strategic goals. Further, enterprise architecture maturity indirectly influences the effectiveness of IT resources when IT alignment is incorporated as a mediating variable. We discuss the implications of our findings for research and practice and suggest opportunities for future research.     

Collaborative learning activities at a distance via interactive videoconferencing in elementary schools: Parents’ attitudes

As schools are increasingly encouraging students to use the Internet and web-based technology at home and in the classroom, concerns among some parents have increased. Today’s parents have learned about computers as adults and did not receive guided participation as children either from their parents or from their teachers.     

Gender differences in computer-related attitudes and behavior: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of studies of gender differences in computer-related attitudes and behavior using US and Canadian participants found that men and boys exhibited greater sex-role stereotyping of computers, higher computer self-efficacy, and more positive affect about computers than did women and girls. These effect sizes varied as a function of study population — adult, college, high school, and grammar school — with the largest differences generally found for high school students. Gender differences in beliefs about computers approached zero and did not vary by study population. Gender differences in computer-related behaviors were small and did not differ as a function of study population. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The effect of using a home computer on students' educational use of IT

With many students' access to computers at home out-weighing their use of Information Technology (IT) in school, the importance of home computing has grown immensely over the last decade. This paper therefore seeks to examine the nature and extent of students' domestic use of computers and the subsequent relationship with their use of IT in schools and colleges. Using a sample of 16–19-year-old students, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered to explore students' experiences of home computing. The results suggest that students using computers at home have significantly more positive attitudes toward using computers yet do not necessarily make more use of school or college-based IT; compensating for the inadequacies of educational IT with their use of computers at home. Nevertheless access to, and benefits gained from, home computers were found to differ significantly according to students' gender.     

Drivers and export performance impacts of IT capability in ‘born‐global’ firms: a cross‐national study

Past research focusing on large firms has argued that information technology (IT) capability enhances firm performance. However, these studies have seldom explored why firms develop IT capability, and have also left a void the understanding of the role of IT capability in Small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). This study attempts to fill that void by examining the effect of relevant environmental and firm‐level factors on IT capability, and the effect of IT capability on the export performance of Chinese and US born‐global firms, a special breed of export‐focused SMEs. Results indicate that environmental factors such as information intensity, and firm‐level factors such as international entrepreneurial orientation, prompt born‐global firms to develop IT capability. Further, our results also strongly emphasise the positive role that IT capability plays on the performance of born‐global firms. Finally, a comparative analysis of the Chinese and US born‐global firms revealed a lack of a cross‐cultural difference in the factors leading these firms to develop IT capability, therefore supporting the ‘convergence’ perspective in cross‐cultural research.     

Towards a computerized Arabic Braille environment

People with visual disabilities face many difficulties and barriers when using computers and the Internet. Such people need the help of IT developers to create adaptive technologies that facilitate their interaction with the computers and Internet. This paper presents the design and implementation of an Arabic Braille environment (ABE). The paper also exposes to the reader the ABE's functionality and unique features. The ABE is designed to facilitate Arabic‐speaking visually impaired people interaction with computers, as well as helping sighted users to communicate with the visually impaired. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A cross-cultural comparison of gender differences in computer attitudes and anxieties: the United Kingdom and Hong Kong

This study examined the computer attitudes and anxieties of 207 United Kingdom nationals and 286 Hong Kong nationals to determine the factorial structure for each sample and any gender differences. Both samples share a comparable educational environment and level of technological sophistication. The United Kingdom sample, however, reported more computer-related experience, less anxiety and more positive attitudes. There was a large degree of overlap between the factorial structure for computer anxiety and attitudes between the two samples which is consistent with previous research. For the United Kingdom sample, there were no gender differences in computer anxiety but males held more positive attitudes than females. For the Hong Kong sample, there were no gender differences in computer attitudes but males reported greater computer anxiety than females. This is the first sample in which males have been found to be more computer anxious than females, despite Hong Kong males reporting more computer experience than females. An item-by-item analysis identifies Hong Kong males are more anxious when anticipating using computers (rather than when actually using computers).