| The purpose of this exploratory study was an examination of the personal attributes and other factors that may contribute to computer anxiety, thoughts about computers, and the expression of communication preferences of the personnel of North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Specifically, this study investigated the relationship of personal attributes, such as gender, age, level of formal education, work experience (tenure), ethnic background, and personality type; other factors, such as job responsibility; degree of computer experience, amount of time spent using the computer to computer anxiety, computer thoughts and communication preferences by county-based personnel of North Carolina Cooperative Extension.; The specific questions guiding this study were derived from a study of computer anxiety and communications. The following questions guided this investigation: Does a relationship exist between computer anxiety and communication preferences? Does a relationship exist between computer anxiety and personality type, gender, age, level of formal education, work experience, ethnic background, degree of computer experience, amount of time spent using a computer, job responsibility? Can an instrument developed by the author accurately reflect the level of a person's anxiety related to recent changes in technology, compared to instruments developed in the late 1980s?; Data for this study consisted of surveying all the county-based field faculty and staff of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Eleven hundred and twenty-six (1126) surveys were distributed. Nine hundred thirty-nine (939) instruments were returned, representing a response rate of eighty-three point four (83.4%) percent; six participants returned incomplete instruments which could not be used in this study.; Conclusions of this study are: computer anxiety does exist; gender, age, level of education, computer experience, and job responsibility all influence computer anxiety. One's psychological type does influence communication preference; gender, age, level of education, tenure, ethnic background, and job responsibility influence communication preference. Communication preference does not influence computer anxiety or computer experience. The technology anxiety rating scale is influenced by the computer anxiety rating scale and the computer thoughts survey. |
