Examines the structure of undergraduate computing at a large private university, including patterns of use, impact of computer ownership and gender, and the bureaucratic structure in which usage is embedded. The profile of computer use uncovered in a survey is compared with reports offered by the institution and the trade press. (10 references)…

Assesses the microcomputer's effects on the process and quality of business writing, focusing on writing anxiety, computer anxiety, time spent in writing, writing quality, and the relationship of gender to these variables. Concludes that the most significant predictor of quality is initial writing ability. (MM)

Describes study that was conducted at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to examine variables that determine which undergraduates use microcomputers and how often they use them. Computer access, expected future computer use, and prior computer experience are discussed, and the influences of gender and class rank are examined. (17…

Differences in computer use, attitude, and efficacy between female and male college freshmen were studied. It was found that when computer training was integrated into classroom work, sex differences in attitude and use declined. Unstructured, voluntary exposure to computers, however, elicited responses suggesting opposing mechanisms for females…

This study sought to examine the group dynamics of children working and learning collaboratively on a computer-based instructional writing task. Standard 3 and 4 children at two urban primary schools in the Dunedin area of New Zealand were assigned the task of producing illustrated interactive stories using the "Twist-a-plot" program.…

There is a burgeoning body of research on gender differences in computing attitudes and behaviors. After a decade of experience, researchers from both inside and outside the field of educational computing research are raising methodological and conceptual issues which suggest that perhaps researchers have shortchanged girls and women in…

Describes a study in which 46 high socioeconomic status elementary and secondary children were exposed to Logo and Bank Street Writer at a computer camp. After exposure, children 12 and under minimally shifted toward an internal locus of control as measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children. (Author/MBR)

This paper describes the results of a study of the microcomputer use patterns reflected by more than 13,000 users' records from the microcomputer laboratory at Western Kentucky University for 1983 to 1986. The data analyzed focused on: (1) numbers of users; (2) frequent user groups; (3) sex differences; (4) prime time usage; (5) the use of…

Describes project at Bradley University that equipped freshman residence hall rooms with microcomputers. Highlights include student characteristics; academic performance; surveys of use of microcomputers; networking versus stand-alone uses; duration of computer use times and times of day of use; and sex differences in computer use. (Three…

Reviews technological developments centered around microcomputers that have led to the design of integrated workstations. Topics discussed include methods of information storage, information retrieval, telecommunications networks, word processing, data management, graphics, interactive video, sound, interfaces, artificial intelligence, hypermedia,…