An investigation on individual empowerment of telecentres users : A case study of three Pusat Internet Desa (PIDS) in Northern States of Malaysia
Community informatics is an area that focuses on the implementation and application of information technology in communities. Empowerment as an important concept used in assessing the impact of technology within organizations and communities. The potential of empowering the communities is through th...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng eng |
| Published: |
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://etd.uum.edu.my/4475/1/s91117.pdf https://etd.uum.edu.my/4475/2/s91117_abstract.pdf |
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| Summary: | Community informatics is an area that focuses on the implementation and application of information technology in communities. Empowerment as an important concept used in assessing the impact of technology within organizations and communities. The potential of empowering the communities is through the
development of telecentres that provide a platform for acquiring various skills and
knowledge. Nevertheless, previous studies indicated various problems in engaging community when using the telecentre. In addition, most of these studies were concentrating on the operational aspects of the telecentre rather than the users. Thus, the objectives of this study are to describe how psychological empowerment constructs such as intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioural reflect empowerment of Pusat Internet Desa (PID) users and propose a telecentre users empowerment model. This study had applied the psychological empowerment (PE) theory introduced by Zimmerman in 1998 to examine the empowerment outcome of the telecentres implementation. The study was conducted using qualitative investigation of the multiple-case study of PIDs. Data was obtained from the users through openended questionnaires and face-to-face interview. Observation was also carried out on the users’ behaviours and PID activities, while documentation reviews were
performed based on the PID annual reports and bulletins. Data analysis was done using interpretation technique. The findings reveal that all factors; perceived control, self-efficacy, competence, motivation, critical awareness, decision making skill, problem solving skill, and coping and participation; show positive feedback except for leadership skill. This indicates that telecentre establishments can help in empowering the rural community in Malaysia. In addition, it is confirmed that the Zimmerman empowerment theory can be applied in the information systems environment. This study contributes to the development of a telecentre user psychological empowerment model. Moreover, it also contributes to the information systems body of knowledge particularly in the area of community informatics as well as to the telecentre establishment policies. |
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