Factors influencing the adoption and use of computers by the faculty of the university of illinois at urbana-champaign

Technological change has profoundly impacted professionals in the 1990's. The computer has become the defining technology of our age. The competitive pressure that has forced effective computer use in industry is not as intense within universities. This research investigates facilitating and limiting factors that influence faculty members' work-related use of computers. This exploratory research was conducted in two phases. The qualitative phase, using elite and specialized interviewing, was followed by a quantitative phase that collected data from a stratified, randomly distributed sample of faculty members with a survey form. Aspects of the subjects' learning/working styles discovered in the qualitative phase were used in developing the questionnaire employed in the quantitative phase. The quantitative analysis used a weighted database to avoid the distortions caused by disproportionally represented classes of the population. Conceptual clustering was used for open-ended responses and index measurements were developed. A visual archetype of the questionnaire was used to provide an "in context" presentation of the descriptive statistical results. A learning/working style used by the subjects (termed collaborative cogniship) was observed. The use of collaborative cogniship was age and gender biased. The relative fraction of each subject's time used in collaborative activities is an indicator of work style. The research findings are summarized and general implications for selected audiences (faculty, support staff members, consultants, and continuing educators) are provided. Recommendations for further research are made. The questionnaire, interview guide document, qualitative analysis tables, and quantitative analysis figures are included in the appendices.