ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS OF SOUTH AFRICAN MILITARY ACADEMY STUDENTS TOWARDS INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTERS

• Main Authors: Ariane Neethling, Jaco Renken, William Moswetsi
• Format: Article
• Language: Afrikaans
• Published: Stellenbosch University 2011-08-01
• Series: Scientia Militaria
• Online Access: http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/16

The proliferation of computer technology in both our personal and<br />professional lives, and particularly during the last decade, has created an<br />environment in which there are varying perceptions of, and ideas about, the value of<br />Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and computers. In order to<br />benefit from this, especially in a defence environment, a realistic perception about<br />the worth of computers needs to be established. This paper presents the findings of<br />a survey that was conducted to determine attitudes towards ICT/computers among<br />students of the SA Military Academy. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) There are<br />significant differences in attitude towards computers between students of different<br />Arms of the Service; gender; academic year groups; ranks; those having previous<br />experience with computers; and those owning a personal computer (PC); (2) There<br />are significant differences in perception towards the value of ICT/computers<br />between students within these groupings. In brief, the study concluded that there<br />was a significant difference between experienced and less experienced students in<br />the perceived value of ICT/computers in the work place and their personal lives.