Term of Award

Winter 2003

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Administration

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Department

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

Committee Chair

Michael D. Richardson

Committee Member 1

Bryan W. Griffin

Committee Member 2

W. Bede Mitchell

Committee Member 3

Robert Fernekes

Abstract

The struggle to adjust to rapid technological change has increased for the majority of the population, especially those in higher education. Change is an inevitable part of society and each individual handles change differently. Furthermore, technology's effect on society, and in particular on higher education, has been positive and negative. There has been resistance to the increased development and use of technology and this resistance may be dependent upon certain factors such as age, sex, and computer experience.

The intent of this study was to determine if computer skills relate to the levels of technostress among faculty in the Colleges of Business and Education, and academic librarians. Participants in this study were selected from four University System of Georgia institutions. Participants were given a choice of completing the survey traditionally or on-line. Three hundred twenty seven surveys were completed resulting in a return rate of 32.8%.

Major conclusions from the study included (1) negative weak relationships existing between computer skills and technostress levels among the three participant groups, (2) business faculty reporting the highest computer skills rating even though the results were not statistically significant, (3) although academic librarians reported the most severe levels of technostress, their level of severity did not differ significantly from the severity levels of technostress among the business and education faculty, (4) no statistical differences based on sex, rank, or tenure existed in computer skills levels or the technostress levels between the three participant groups, (5) although not statistically significant, females reported lower technostress levels contrary to the literature reviewed, and (6) causes of and solutions for coping with technostress varied depending on the task and the person completing the task.

Copyright

This work is archived and distributed under the repository’s standard copyright and reuse license for Theses and Dissertations authored 2005 and prior, available here. Under this license, end-users may copy, store, and distribute this work without restriction. For questions related to additional reuse of this work, please contact the copyright owner. Copyright owners who wish to review or revise the terms of this license, please contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu.

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