No abstract

No abstract

This paper raises four research questions about the relationships between expectations about the faculty use of e‐mail and the level of e‐mail usage among faculty. The study uses a survey design to test expectations about technology on several attitude measures. We report that positive expectations about the functionality of technology are related to higher incidence of e‐mail use. Furthermore, the results suggest higher existing levels of computer use in general, and that positive anticipation of future use is also related to higher levels of e‐mail use in particular. These findings are then used to develop profiles of users and non‐users. The results indicate that younger faculty with greater exposure to computers tend to be more frequent users of e‐mail than older faculty whose customary communication styles do not include the use of e‐mail. Finally it is suggested that expectations about the “promise of technology” are related to the actual use of technology.

Using the principles of innovation of diffusions, this longitudinal study examines the gender differences in attitudes toward computerization at a liberal arts university. The data shows that women are more cautious in their interpretations of technological innovations. Indeed, women's and men's perceptions of compatibility and trialability differed the most over the longest time period. Specifically, men more than women perceived that the computerization effort, as an innovation, was more compatible and was able to be experimented with on a limited basis. Such findings elucidate the differences in attitudes found between men and women with respect to computer usage in general.In the age of computer technology, educational institutions are beginning to recognize the pedagogical utility of computers (Oblinger & Rush, 1997). As this revelation dawns, an increasing number of colleges and universities are beginning to sponsor studies and fund research to determine how attitudes affect usage of computers (