Daniel Burton Shank

Does technology empower urban youth? The relationship of technology use to self-efficacy

Many propose technology as a tool for empowerment of lower SES urban students, but little research has investigated the relationship between technology and empowerment for this population. We investigate how different aspects of technology use and ownership could empower urban youth through increasing their self-efficacy. Instead of simply a general measure of self-efficacy, we focus on several important domains related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects including technological, mathematics/science, academic, and general self-efficacy. Our investigation incorporates many aspects of technology use by considering first level digital divide characteristics, such as ownership and total amount of use, and second level digital divide characteristics, such as specific communication, multimedia, content creation, and social networking activities. We use a unique survey of fourth and fifth grade students who were given a laptop, thereby controlling for the typical disparity in computer ownership and access among lower SES students. We found that technology use influences each domain of efficacy in specific ways, indicating the importance of considering multiple domains of self-efficacy. Most notably, frequency of communication and especially frequency of email use related to all four domains of efficacy and frequency of playing games related to general, mathematics/science, and academic efficacy. However, social networking activities had a negative association with academic and general efficacy. We conclude by considering the importance of multiple domains in self-efficacy research and policy implications for students and their schools.

Gender, Technology Use and Ownership, and Media-Based Multitasking among Middle School Students

Abstract We propose and test a new explanation for why more girls than boys multitask with media. We argue that gender differences in technology use and ownership function as the proximal cause for these gender differences in media multitasking. Prior literature suggests different patterns of technology ownership, such as more girls owning MP3 players and cell phones and more boys owning gaming systems. Further, on average, girls spend more time listening to music and communicating over media, while boys spend more time playing games. Those with the highest levels of ownership and use of a specific type of media may be the most likely to multitask with that media. We test our argument with a sample of middle school students, a group underrepresented in multitasking studies. The data support our arguments with ownership and use partially explaining the greater percentage of girls that multitask with music and communication media. Contrary to our predictions, the percentage of boys and girls who multitask while gaming did not significantly differ. We discuss potential explanations and conclude with implications for future research on gender differences in multitasking, youth and multitasking, and technology and media multitasking.

Products as Affective Modifiers of Identities

Are salesclerks seen as better, more powerful, or more active when they drive Mustangs? What about entrepreneurs? What about driving a mid-sized car? Intuitively, we have ideas about these, but much of the research on the affective nature of products is on purchasing, desires, and self-fulfillment. Drawing on symbolic interactionism, we argue that people’s association with products has some basis in the impression management of their identity. For this to occur, there must be some cultural consensus about the way that products modify identities. Drawing on affect control theory’s (ACT) methodology and equations, we measure the goodness, powerfulness, and activeness of several products, identities, and the associated product-modified identities to explore how products function as affective modifiers of identities. We find consistent effects across several types of technology products, whereby products pull the modified identity in the direction of the products’ affective qualities. Support is established for the ACT equations that predict how traits modify identities as also having utility for predicting how products modify identities. This suggests that the opening questions can be answered empirically by measuring cultural-specific sentiments of the identity and the product and by developing equations to predict the identity modification process.

Technology and Emotions

Technology alters how people feel, creates outlets for people to express their emotions, and provides social scientists with new tools and data on emotions. This chapter takes a sociological perspective toward research and theories of affect and technology. The chapter is organized into four distinct areas: (1) the relationship between the use of technology and emotions, (2) emotions through technologically mediated interaction and communication, (3) emotions from direct interaction with computer agents and robots, and (4) technological innovations that have altered methodologies for emotions research. Each section suggests how technology, especially modern digital technology, interacts with affective processes to affect individuals, interaction, culture, and society. This leads to a final section where I discuss ideas for future research and for applying theories of emotion to technology.

Gradations of Disappearing Digital Divides Among Racially Diverse Middle School Students

Abstract Purpose In the first decades of ICT adoption, Whites traditionally had higher levels of Internet access and usage. We examine whether race remains a factor in Internet usage, among a group presumed to be digital natives – middle school students. Methodology A survey was administered to a racially/ethnically diverse sample of students in a mid-Atlantic school district including White, Hispanic, African American, and Asian/Pacific Islander. The survey sought to measure time spent engaged in varying Internet activities and related sociodemographic factors. Findings The analyses indicate that Whites do not have higher levels of Internet usage, and in many cases racial minority youth are more engaged in Internet activities than Whites. This holds true when accounting for a number of sociodemographic and background factors that are known to affect Internet usage. Research implications This chapter adds to the evidence that within the United States the digital divide has become more about the “other dimensions” such as how the Internet is used, rather than merely access or ownership (e.g., first level digital divide issues) at the middle school level. Originality This chapter will be beneficial to researchers who study the digital divide and those who seek to understand the myriad uses of computers among youth. It will also be beneficial for those who seek to integrate computer interventions in schools. This study includes one of the most diverse samples of middle school students in the United States. The results suggest that there are multiple dimensions to the digital divide and that patterns of use are changing among middle school youth.

Dilemma of Dilemmas: How Collective and Individual Perspectives Can Clarify the Size Dilemma in Voluntary Linear Public Goods Dilemmas

Empirical findings on public goods dilemmas indicate an unresolved dilemma: that increasing size—the number of people in the dilemma—sometimes increases, decreases, or does not influence cooperation. We clarify this dilemma by first classifying public goods dilemma properties that specify individual outcomes as individual properties (e.g., Marginal Per Capita Return) and group outcomes as group properties (e.g., public good multiplier), mathematically showing how only one set of properties can remain constant as the dilemma size increases. Underpinning decision-making regarding individual and group properties, we propose that individuals are motivated by both individual and group preferences based on a theory of collective rationality. We use Van Langes integrated model of social value orientations to operationalize these preferences as an amalgamation of outcomes for self, outcomes for others, and equality of outcomes. Based on this model, we then predict how the public goods benefit and size, combined with controlling individual versus group properties, produce different levels of cooperation in public goods dilemmas. A two (low vs. high benefit) by three (2-person baseline vs. 5-person holding constant individual properties vs. 5-person holding constant group properties) factorial experiment (group n = 99; participant n = 390) confirms our hypotheses. The results indicate that when holding constant group properties, size decreases cooperation. Yet when holding constant individual properties, size increases cooperation when benefit is low and does not affect cooperation when benefit is high. Using agent-based simulations of individual and group preferences vis-à-vis the integrative model, we fit a weighted simulation model to the empirical data. This fitted model is sufficient to reproduce the empirical results, but only when both individual (self-interest) and group (other-interest and equality) preference are included. Our research contributes to understanding how peoples motivations and behaviors within public goods dilemmas interact with the properties of the dilemma to lead to collective outcomes.

Causal Knowledge Promotes Behavioral Self-Regulation: An Example Using Climate Change Dynamics

Adopting successful climate change mitigation policies requires the public to choose how to balance the sometimes competing goals of managing CO2 emissions and achieving economic growth. It follows that collective action on climate change depends on members of the public to be knowledgeable of the causes and economic ramifications of climate change. The existing literature, however, shows that people often struggle to correctly reason about the fundamental accumulation dynamics that drive climate change. Previous research has focused on using analogy to improve people’s reasoning about accumulation, which has been met with some success. However, these existing studies have neglected the role economic factors might play in shaping people’s decisions in relation to climate change. Here, we introduce a novel iterated decision task in which people attempt to achieve a specific economic goal by interacting with a causal dynamic system in which human economic activities, CO2 emissions, and warming are all causally interrelated. We show that when the causal links between these factors are highlighted, people’s ability to achieve the economic goal of the task is enhanced in a way that approaches optimal responding, and avoids dangerous levels of warming.