Children computer mouse use and anthropometry

Studies have shown that increased computer use among adults in occupational settings is associated with the development of cumulative trauma disorders; however, the need to address how adult-sized mice and keyboards are affecting children is becoming increasingly important as both access to and use of computers is increasing among today's youth. To address the potential mismatch that exists between child stature and computer input device size and activation force, we have applied existing, age-specific, anthropometric data to elements of device design, including mouse size (length, width, height, switch location), and mouse-button activation forces. Trends supported the development of smaller computer input devices with lower activation forces for smaller statured individuals including children. Distinct and consistent trends in size delineations were seen across gender and age groups-trends that correlate well with grades and schooling in the United States education system . Three to four mouse sizes would be recommended: a mouse sized for adult and high school males; one for adult and high school females and junior high males; one for elementary school children, aged 6 to 10 years; and possibly a mouse for the smallest users who are less than six years old.     

A proposed model representing the relationships between user characteristics, computer exposure and musculoskeletal symptoms in children

Children's computer exposure is rapidly growing. Several studies have suggested children using computers may be at risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms. General models and theories relating to the causality of negative musculoskeletal outcomes in adult workers demonstrated relationships between workplace factors and musculoskeletal outcomes. When examining children's computer exposure it is evident that their use is different. Even though risk factors may be similar, due to the nature of children and their computer environments, the potential risk factors and thus a proposed model of causal relationships between exposure and outcomes may differ. Objective: To develop a model of factors influencing computer exposure and musculoskeletal symptoms in children. Methods: 1351 children (or their parents for Year 1 children) in school Years 1, 6, 9 and 11 (ages ~ 6,11,14,16 years) from 10 schools in Western Australia were surveyed on a range of user characteristics, computer exposure and musculoskeletal symptoms. Results: Potential risk factors for childrens' computer exposure and musculoskeletal outcomes were multivariable. Factors such as age, gender, somatic complaints, flow, computer anxiety, computer, TV and physical activity exposure, and SES were related to computer exposure and children's reports of musculoskeletal symptoms. Significance: Developing a child-related computer exposure model to understand relationships between potential risk factors and musculoskeletal symptoms will assist academics, teachers and parents to develop a better understanding of the risk factors for children's computer exposure.     

HOME COMPUTERS AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES: EVIDENCE FROM THE NLSY97 and CPS*

Although computers are universal in the classroom, nearly 20 million children in the United States do not have computers in their homes. Surprisingly, only a few previous studies explore the role of home computers in the educational process. Home computers might be very useful for completing school assignments, but they might also represent a distraction for teenagers. We use several identification strategies and panel data from the two main U.S. data sets that include recent information on computer ownership among children—the 2000–2003 Current Population Survey (CPS) Computer and Internet Use Supplements matched to the CPS basic monthly files and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97)—to explore the causal relationship between computer ownership and high school graduation and other educational outcomes. Teenagers who have access to home computers are 6–8 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school than teenagers who do not have home computers after controlling for individual, parental, and family characteristics. We generally find evidence of positive relationships between home computers and educational outcomes using several identification strategies, including controlling for typically unobservable home environment and extracurricular activities in the NLSY97, fixed effects models, instrumental variables, and including future computer ownership and falsification tests. Home computers may increase high school graduation by reducing nonproductive activities, such as truancy and crime, among children in addition to making it easier to complete school assignments (JEL I2).     

Children's computer usage: are they at risk of developing repetitive strain injury?

The purpose of this study was to determine the average time school children spend on computers and electronic games, the positions they assume, and any associated discomfort related to their use. A twenty three-point questionnaire was distributed to 476 children in first to eighth grade from three parochial schools in one of the New York City boroughs. The findings of this study suggest that children use the computer and electronic games differently than adults and that more boys than girls engage in electronic game playing. Results clearly indicated that children are experiencing discomfort from the use of computers or electronic games, and that the discomfort is largely concentrated in the neck region. Occupational therapy could be instrumental in terms of educating the children, their parents/guardians, and their teachers on proper body mechanics, applications of ergonomically suited workstations, and the use of rest/stretch breaks while engaged in computing and electronic game playing.     

The effect of individually adjusted workstations on upper quadrant posture and muscle activity in school children

Evidence suggests there is increasing use of computers by children and poor workstation designs for children. This laboratory study investigated the effect of adjusting computer display height and desk height on upper quadrant posture and muscle activity. Thirty three children aged 4-17 years worked on a desktop computer at a standard school workstation and at a workstation adjusted to the individual, typically consisting of a lower display and desk height. The adjustments resulted in increased head tilt, neck flexion, gaze angle, cervical erector spinae activity and a trend for lower right upper trapezius activity. The recent evidence that suggests more head and neck flexion is not necessarily worse is discussed and normative values for children's head tilt and neck flexion presented. The role of forearm support in decreasing trapezius activity is also discussed.     

Being there

This paper examines the use of the Internet as experienced by people with significant mobility/physical impairments who are accustomed to using computers. The study is based on interviews and focuses on computer usage in everyday action and interaction. In many cases, the possibilities that the computer and Internet offer have meant not only important improvements in quality of life, but first-time occurrences of great personal significance. The analysis is phenomenographic, resulting in main categories and subcategories, illustrated primarily through direct quotations. The three main categories are independence, communication, and learning.     

El Silencio: a rural community of learners and media creators

A one-to-one learning environment, where each participating student and the teacher use a laptop computer, provides an invaluable opportunity for rethinking learning and studying the ways in which children can program computers and learn to think about their own thinking styles and become epistemologists. This article presents a study done in a rural school in Costa Rica in which students used computers to create media. Three important components of the work are described: (1) student-owned technology that can accompany students as they interact at home and in the broader community, (2) activities that are designed with sufficient scope to encourage the appropriation of powerful ideas, and (3) teacher engagement in activity design with simultaneous support from a knowledge network of local and international colleagues and mentors.     

Computer acceptance of older adults

Even though computers play a massive role in everyday life of modern societies, older adults, and especially older women, are less likely to use a computer, and they perform fewer activities on it than younger adults. To get a better understanding of the factors affecting older adults' intention towards and usage of computers, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology (UTAUT) was applied as part of a more extensive study with 52 users and non-users of computers, ranging in age from 50 to 90 years. The model covers various aspects of computer usage in old age via four key constructs, namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences, and facilitating conditions, as well as the variables gender, age, experience, and voluntariness it. Interestingly, next to performance expectancy, facilitating conditions showed the strongest correlation with use as well as with intention. Effort expectancy showed no significant correlation with the intention of older adults to use a computer.     

Preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders in VDT users: a comprehensive health promotion program

As we enter the 21st century, technology has revolutionized the workplace, as nearly half of the working population in the United States currently uses a computer at work. Although computers continue to effectively improve productivity in the workplace, the adverse effects of prolonged computer use on the musculoskeletal system cannot go unnoticed. The astounding rise in computer use in the last decade has been paralleled by a rise in work-related musculoskeletal disorders due to repetitive typing or key entry. Because national ergonomic standards aimed at reducing these injuries have not yet been enforced, the prevention of this national health problem lies in the hands of health care professionals. The following will outline a comprehensive health promotion program, based on Green and Kreuter's PRECEDE-PROCEED model, to serve as an example of how health professionals across the nation can begin to effectively prevent this astronomical problem.     

Computer usage, destination language proficiency and the earnings of natives and immigrants

This paper uses the concept of a computer as a public good within the household to model the demand for computers at home. It also investigates the determinants, and consequences for earnings, of computer use. The equations are estimated using data on the native born and immigrants from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing in Australia. The multivariate analyses show that recent arrivals are more likely to use computers than the Australian born. The data suggests a high degree of favorable selection in migration as the level of computer use in Australia is much higher than in most of the countries that Australia’s immigrants come from. Those with a higher permanent income (education, household assets) are more likely to have a computer at home, but there is no effect of transitory income (unemployment). Immigrants who are more proficient in English are also more likely to use a computer. The relation between age and computer use is strongly influenced by cohort effects. Using a computer at home is associated with about 7% and 13% higher earnings for native-born and foreign-born men, respectively. For the immigrants, the effects of schooling and English language proficiency on earnings are greater among those who use a computer at home. This suggests complementarity in the labor market. The use of a computer is shown to be a way the foreign born can increase the international transferability of their pre-immigration skills, a finding that has implications for immigrant assimilation policies.

Technology,Computerization, and the Conceptualization of Service Delivery

Mostly computers are considered to be tools by practitioners. Contrary to this view, computerization is not a value-free activity, but a conceptual process. Accordingly, computers may shape of socialize their users, thereby altering significantly the delivery of social services. The purpose of this paper is to outline the conceptual or cognitive side of computer use, in order to illustrate how knowledge, reason, and problem solving are defined as a consequence of computerization. Following this theoretical maneuver, the odds improve that computers will be used in a socially responsible manner.     

Visual ergonomics and computer work--is it all about computer glasses?

The Swedish Provisions on Work with Display Screen Equipment and the EU Directive on the minimum safety and health requirements for work with display screen equipment cover several important visual ergonomics aspects. But a review of cases and questions to the Swedish Work Environment Authority clearly shows that most attention is given to the demands for eyesight tests and special computer glasses. Other important visual ergonomics factors are at risk of being neglected. Today computers are used everywhere, both at work and at home. Computers can be laptops, PDA's, tablet computers, smart phones, etc. The demands on eyesight tests and computer glasses still apply but the visual demands and the visual ergonomics conditions are quite different compared to the use of a stationary computer. Based on this review, we raise the question if the demand on the employer to provide the employees with computer glasses is outdated.     

Factors influencing teachers' attitudes toward personal use and school use of computers: new evidence from a developing nation

This study reports on the Arabization and empirical evaluation of two standard scales to assess Egyptian teachers' attitudes toward personal use and school use of computers. To date, no similar instruments have been translated and empirically evaluated in an Arabic-speaking community. Data provided by a sample of 443 teachers support the reliability and validity of the two Arabic versions and the body of the research evidence, which suggests that computer attitude is multidimensional. The relationship between gender, years of teaching experience, computer use, computer experience, and computer attitudes is also examined. Implications for preservice and in-service teacher preparation in Egypt are provided.     

Information technology (IT) accessibility: implications for employment of people with disabilities

Online technology has made significant inroads into human resource (HR) processes such as recruitment, benefits, and training, yet many web sites are inaccessible to people with disabilities. Cornell University surveyed 433 HR representatives regarding their organizations' use of information and Web technology in HR processes. Survey results report that nine of the ten organizations use Web processes for job postings, eight of ten for online benefits information dissemination, and about six out of ten for online benefits self service and online employee training. Employee use of computers was extensive, with the majority using computers more than half the workday. Knowledge of assistive technologies for computer users with disabilities and of Web accessibility considerations was low, but nearly half the respondents reported having made some type of adaptation to make a computer accessible to an employee with a disability. Very few organizations had trained any of their staff in Web accessibility topics or in making computers accessible, and the majority desired more information on those topics. These findings have implications not only for people with disabilities, but for the general workforce, which is aging.     

Beyond computer literacy: supporting youth's positive development through technology

In a digital era in which technology plays a role in most aspects of a child's life, having the competence and confidence to use computers might be a necessary step, but not a goal in itself. Developing character traits that will serve children to use technology in a safe way to communicate and connect with others, and providing opportunities for children to make a better world through the use of their computational skills, is just as important. The Positive Technological Development framework (PTD), a natural extension of the computer literacy and the technological fluency movements that have influenced the world of educational technology, adds psychosocial, civic, and ethical components to the cognitive ones. PTD examines the developmental tasks of a child growing up in our digital era and provides a model for developing and evaluating technology-rich youth programs. The explicit goal of PTD programs is to support children in the positive uses of technology to lead more fulfilling lives and make the world a better place. This article introduces the concept of PTD and presents examples of the Zora virtual world program for young people that the author developed following this framework.     

SCALING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: HOME COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Does differential access to computer technology at home compound the educational disparities between rich and poor? Would a program of government provision of computers to early secondary school students reduce these disparities? We use administrative data on North Carolina public school students to corroborate earlier surveys that document broad racial and socioeconomic gaps in home computer access and use. Using within‐student variation in home computer access, and across‐ZIP code variation in the timing of the introduction of high‐speed Internet service, we also demonstrate that the introduction of home computer technology is associated with modest, but statistically significant and persistent negative impacts on student math and reading test scores. Further evidence suggests that providing universal access to home computers and high‐speed Internet access would broaden, rather than narrow, math and reading achievement gaps. (JEL I2, J24)     

Information Technology Availability in Schools of Social Work

Abstract

The introduction of information technology into social work education is essential and inevitable. Little, however, is known about the current use of computers in schools of social work. This study is the first to focus on the variety and availability of hardware and software; the extent to which computer-related courses are integrated into the curriculum; and the types of computers, uses, and users in schools of social work. The sample consists of non-US schools drawn from the membership of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and US schools drawn from the membership of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The study tested three hypotheses: A. Schools in the United States use computers significantly more and for more advanced purposes than do schools in other countries; B. Schools that offer graduate degrees will be better equipped with computers and use them more extensively; and C. The larger the school, the greater the number of computers and the higher the sophistication of computer use. The findings supported these hypotheses and portend a trend for standardization of hardware and software in schools of social work. Based on the findings, the article recommends curriculum and policy modifications that should be considered by schools of social work.     

The Relationship Between Technology Content in a Masters of Social Work Curriculum and Technology Use in Social Work Practice: A Qualitative Research Study

Summary

This paper argues that human services educators involved with computer literacy should consider societal patterns of gender inequality in computer use. These patterns are examined in four institutions: the leisure industry, the media, education, and the family. This examination indicates that males receive greater support and encouragement to be computer users in these institutions. Far from revolutionizing society, the computer has conformed to society, becoming another element of the status quo. It is suggested that human services programs make a concerted effort to encourage females to train for and seek positions which involve the use of computers.