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

Abstract

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