Faculty adoption of Internet technology in Saudi Arabian universities
Allehaibi, Mohammed Mubarak; PhD
THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY, 2001
INFORMATION SCIENCE (0723); EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY (0710)
The purpose of this study was to describe the adoption and use of Internet technologies
by faculty
members in Saudi Arabian universities. The study attempted to: (1) determine
the pattern of
Internet use by faculty members in Saudi Arabian universities, (2) answer
specific questions about
attributes that are associated with the Internet diffusion in Saudi Arabian
universities and
(3) identify faculty members, concerns about the Internet technology.
This study derived its
theoretical frameworks mainly from the Rogers's model of diffusion of innovation
(Rogers, 1995).
Additionally this study is guided by the theoretical framework of the Concerns-Based
Adoption Model
(CBAM) (Hall & Hord, 1987). Two central research questions guided the
study: (1) What are
the diffusion of innovation attributes that have exerted a role in the adoption
and use of Internet
technology by faculty members in Saudi Arabian universities? and (2) At
what stages are Saudi
Arabian faculty members in their concerns about using Internet technology (as
measured by the Stages
of Concern questionnaire)? To obtain the necessary information to answer these
questions, this study
utilized a survey questionnaire. After the questionnaire was designed, revised,
and pre-tested, it was
distributed to 500 faculty members randomly selected in two Saudi universities.
The researcher was able
to collect 299 usable questionnaires, representing a 60% response rate. The
collected data were coded
and analyzed using SPSS package. Descriptive statistics (frequency distributions,
percentages, and
means) were calculated. The statistical t-test was employed to test the research
hypotheses. The study
findings demonstrated that the five innovation attributes are significant factors
in explaining the rate of
Internet adoption by Saudi Arabian faculty. In conclusion this study provides
a research-based
assessment of faculty members adoption and use of Internet technology in Saudi
Arabian universities.
The overall findings indicate that the diffusion of Internet technology among
faculty members in Saudi
universities is at the early proliferation stages. The findings also indicate
that the majority of respondents
(74.6%) are using Internet technology. Later adopters, who reported using the
Internet within two years
or less from the data collection date (April, 2000), represent (68.6%) compared
to (31.4%) of
respondents reported using the Internet for more than two years. The research
also reveals that a
significant number of surveyed faculty members (25.4%) are reluctant to use
Internet technology.
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