Empowerment of Underprivileged Youth in Developing
Countries through Information Technology
Journal: International Conference on Information Systems 2013 Manuscript ID: ICIS-1265-2013 Track: 02. Breakthrough Ideas in IS Keywords: User empowerment, Social cognitive theory, Digital divide, Developing countries, Developing nations, Cognition/cognitive science, Cognitive psychology, Empirical analysis, Social issues, ICT in developing countries Abstract: Urban migration in developing countries is expected to increase the number of slum inhabitants from 940 million in 2003 to over two billion by 2030. As socio-economic status at birth is a strong predictor of future socio-economic status, slum children seem destined to a life of poverty. However, emerging examples of empowerment appear to demonstrate possibilities of information technology to benefit the lives of slum children. In this paper, we use social cognitive theory to study why and how children participate in IT learning in the absence of formal training courses, using the constructs of symbolizing, forethought, visceral learning, self- regulating and self-reflecting human capabilities. In doing this, we attempt to validate a theoretical basis for human capabilities of slum children to overcome the forces of environmental determinism working against them.
Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 1 Empowerment of Underprivileged Youth in Developing Countries through Information Technology Completed Research Paper Introduction Over 940 million people currently live in slums (UN-Habitat, 2003) and consequently suffer from extremely poor living conditions, endemic poverty, and lack of security. By the year 2030 the number of people living in slums is expected to increase to over two billion (UN-Habitat, 2003). Several studies show that the living conditions of a childs parents before and during childbirth has strong effects on the childs mental and physical health, as well as the childs future socio-economic status (Margolis et al 1992; McLoyd, 1998; Mullick & Goodman, 2005). These studies indicate that the substandard conditions that these children are born into affect more than just their physical health. High exposure to toxic substances and lack of access to resources during childbirth and during formative years diminish their cognitive functions, scholastic achievements, Intelligence Quotient (IQ), and ultimately affect employability and income levels. These forces of environmental determinism acting against a child born in a slum are debilitating, and very likely to cause a life of poverty without intervention. Models of intervention to empower impoverished children in gaining self-efficacy sometimes include access to technology. Although empowerment is a strong concern in several fields, there are some who dismiss the idea of using Information Technology (IT) to empower slum dwellers and believe it should be a low priority because of the urgent needs for basic health and sanitation (Neuwirth 2005). However, emerging reports indicate that IT training has made a difference in the lives of some slum dwellers (Mair and Verges, 2003; Onyango, 2001). Empowerment of slum children through their gaining self-efficacy of IT is highly relevant to the field of Information Systems (IS) due to our cumulative research on IT adoption and use. However, little research in the area of slum childrens adaptation of technology currently exists. If technology has the ability to overcome the forces of environmental determinism, then research-based models need to be created in order to justify the IT expenses. This paper specifically focuses on an emerging model of empowerment through IT without any formal training or computer courses. Our research question explores why and how some slum children learn IT skills within their debilitating environment even though they have no formal instruction in IT. Despite the importance of the topic and the relevance to the field, research in IS has been slow to respond. While several theoretical models addressing IT adoption exist in IS, they are inadequate for answering our research question. First, Davis (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) addresses use, not self- learning, and also assumes that the users have been trained. Following this, empirical work done using the Technology Acceptance Model measure user perceptions and behavior after a period of formalized training (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis,, 2003). Second, constructs used in many IS theoretical models like perceived self-efficacy may not be sufficient as slum dwellers do not believe that they will be able to learn these IT skills, especially since they have a history of poor academic performance, with most dropping out of school. Third, the social and subjective norms in Fishbein and Ajzens (1975) Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Ajzens (1985) Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) work against technology adoption here. The parents of these slum children may be strongly against the children spending time on IT, as they consider this not only a fruitless and pointless endeavor, but it also takes time away from the work they could be doing to support their familys immediate needs. Subjective norms are particularly strong in the case of female children in some developing countries. For example, the conservative views of minority settlements in South Asia are strongly against girls leaving the house, and independence and skill in girls are perceived as highly undesirable qualities. Furthermore, none of these models explain how slum children learn about complex, unfamiliar subjects like IT in the absence of formal training and courses. Page 1 of 12 Track Title 2 Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 This study makes a valuable contribution to research by extending Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986) to the research question. Banduras (1986) abstraction of human capabilities is utilized here to explain how slum children learn about IT without formal instruction. The construct of symbolizing capability considers the ability of slum children to imagine possibilities of this new technology that they have no idea about. The construct of forethought capability explains how slum children envision desirable futures of better lives, and work toward those possibilities instead of focusing on immediate needs. The construct of visceral capability explains how slum children learn through observing others in the absence of formal training. The construct of self-regulating capability explains why these children disregard social norms and conventions, and instead hold their actions up to an internal set of values, standards, and beliefs. Finally, the construct of self-reflecting capability explains how and why these slum children persevere in their efforts in the face of repeated failures. This paper attempts to validate the theory through an empirical study of a sample at a few slums in and around New Delhi, India. In these informal settlements, several slum children have taught themselves IT skills, including basic computer use, internet browsing, basic webpage creation, blogging, maintaining audio and video archives, and short animation clips (Times of India, 2004). This has garnered these slum children worldwide attention, including an invitation to demonstrate their creative skills in Hamburg, Germany (Sarai, 2004), increased their employment opportunities (Times of India, 2004) and has even helped stay the Government of India from displacing their illegal squatter settlement (Nangla Lab, 2006). These are relatively high achievements for slum children in the developing world. This paper makes a valuable contribution to the practice of empowerment as well. Empowerment of slum children through IT is still nascent, and the numbers of those empowered still lag far behind the growth of slums. Merely setting up labs where children may come and teach themselves IT skills may not be enough. Practitioners also need to focus on addressing the capabilities of these children to overcome their debilitating environments and empower themselves through learning. The constructs used in this paper-- symbolizing, forethought, visceral, self-regulating and self-reflecting capabilities--provide a valuable guide to practitioners on where best to direct their efforts to increase empowerment. Slums in Developing Countries In developing countries, slum dwellers account for 43% of the population, in contrast to about 6% in developed countries (UN-Habitat, 2003). The 2003 United Nations study found 940 million people, close to one in every six people, living in slums, with Asia alone having 550 million slum dwellers due to urban migration (Guardian, 2003). While some of the urban migrants are able to avail of employment opportunities, accommodation for the migrants is a problematic issue for the already overburdened and underdeveloped infrastructure of cities in developing countries. Urban population in these countries grew by about 36% in the 1990s (Guardian, 2003). Urban migration has therefore resulted in the development of informal settlements of the migrants, including slums, shantytowns, and squatter colonies. These settlements are usually overcrowded, with little infrastructure. Some of the housing may be temporary structures built of corrugated metal sheets, plastic, plywood and cardboard. Others may be permanent but low-quality structures built of brick and concrete block. Several of these settlements may be illegal, as the migrants may squat on government or private property that is either undeveloped or abandoned. In these cases, the inhabitants live in constant fear of eviction by the government, and consequently make little or no effort to improve their living conditions. Informal settlements usually do not have running water inside the structures, and have to rely on a communal water source. Makeshift electrical connections are frequently appropriated by stealing power off public electricity lines. In 2003, 32% of the worlds urban population lived in slums (UN-Habitat, 2003). This number is projected to rise to in the next 30 years to two billion people (Guardian, 2003), close to one-third of the current population of the world. Environmental Determinism and Slum Children Environmental determinism posits that environmental factors play a strong role in several life outcomes of individuals. Socioeconomic status at birth, and even before birth, has strong correlations on long-term mental and physical health, and on future socio-economic status. Empirical results of earlier studies demonstrate that being born in a slum to parents of low socio-economic status probably means a destiny Page 2 of 12 Empowerment of Underprivileged through IT
Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 3 to suffer from poor physical and mental health, poor cognitive development, poor academic achievement, low IQ, few employment opportunities, and a low future socioeconomic status. In a comparison of the mental health of children in a rural area, a moderately prosperous urban area, and an urban slum, Mullick and Goodman (2005) find that not only are the slum children more likely to have serious behavioral problems than other urban children, they are also disadvantaged compared to the rural life that their parents had left behind. McLoyd (1998) demonstrated that persistent poverty has detrimental effects on IQ, school achievement, and socio-economic functioning. She showed that the diminished cognitive capacity among poor children was caused by higher rates of prenatal complications, high exposures to lead, and lower home-based cognitive stimulation. Poor academic achievement was caused by lower teacher expectancies and lower academic-readiness skills among poor children. Bernard (1939) reported that as middle and higher income group children grow older, they tend to mix with others outside their neighborhood. However, lower income group children do not exhibit such behavior and associate only with other low-income group peers as they grow into adulthood. Children of lower socioeconomic status are also more prone to persistent illness due to environmental factors (Margolis et al, 1992). These studies indicate that environmental determinism is a major factor in predicting the physical, mental and economic outcomes of slum children. Slum dwellers are acutely aware of this and tend to resign themselves to their fate. In the words of a slum dweller, "I was born in a slum, I live in a slum, I will probably die in a slum, and if there is a slum in heaven, then I will most likely end up there too" (Warah, 2004). Empowerment through IT In the face of environmental determinism, it appears that slum children have little hope of improving their life without intervention. Research on empowerment has been slow in addressing the issues of slum children. A new model of empowerment by giving voice to slum dwellers by explicitly stressing information and communication as strategic resources (Madon and Sahay, 2002). While critics of this approach believe that IT should be low on the list of priorities in empowerment, some Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in developing countries are attempting to empower slum children through IT training. NGOs have set up schools to teach IT skills to children in the Brazilian slums or favelas (Mair and Verges, 2003) and in African slums (Onyango, 2001). However, developing countries suffer from several constraints, including financial and human resources. Due to low rates of education in the middle class of developing countries, most governments focus their resources on the larger sections of the middle class, leaving few resources for urban slum dwellers. Therefore, new models of empowerment are needed which are less dependent on outside resources. In this study, we focus on a model of empowerment through IT where the slum children are not trained by others, but are mostly self-taught. This leads to our first research question: what enables slum children to learn these skills on their own? According to the findings of the studies on the detrimental effects of the slum environment, slum children have low academic achievements and IQ, in addition to suffering from poor physical and mental health. These children have not been exposed to IT earlier, as their schools, workplaces, and homes consist of rudimentary facilities at best with little modern technology. Slum dwellers are generally aware that possibilities of a future outside the slum, particularly as a skilled worker, are remote. Therefore, most slum inhabitants may consider it impossible to develop their computer skills, and, even if they do develop these skills, they may not consider it likely that these would improve their employment opportunity or any other aspect of their lives. Developing computer skills with this disadvantaged background may be daunting, and doing so in the absence of a formal course and trainers appears even more formidable. Female children may face even greater pressures in cases where there are strong cultural, religious and social norms that oppose female children from working outside their homes. For these slum children and their disadvantaged background, learning without any formal training may be very difficult. Therefore, for the children to engage in an activity that most other slum inhabitants would consider fruitless, and disregard social convention in doing so, seems highly unlikely. In this study, we make a valuable contribution to research by analyzing the process of learning in slum children. Page 3 of 12 Track Title 4 Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 Social Cognitive Theory We approach our research question through the perspective of Banduras (1986) formulation of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). SCT posits that people are neither driven by inner forces, nor are they automatically shaped and controlled by external stimuli. Instead, human functioning is explained through an interactional model of triadic reciprocity in which environmental events, personal factors and behavior all operate as interacting determinants of each other (Bandura 1986). This allows individuals some opportunities to change their destinies within limits of self-direction. We choose this theory for its holistic view of human action (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Triadic Reciprocity between the Environment, Behavior, and Personal factors
This takes into consideration the results of earlier studies that show evidence that the environment has an effect on personal/cognitive factors as well as on behavior (paths 1 and 2 in the model). It also takes into consideration the view espoused by several theories in the IS literature such as Davis (1989) TAM, Fishbein and Ajzens (1975) TRA, and Ajzens (1985) TPB, which predict that attitude affects behavior (path 3 in the model). Results of social experiments that demonstrate that behavior influences attitude as shown in path 4 are contained within this model as well (Festinger and Carlsmith, 1959). In addition, individuals may be able to affect their environment (paths 5 and 6) indicating the possibility of slum dwellers, in this case, changing or enacting their environment. SCT posits that humans have several capabilities including symbolizing capability, forethought capability, vicarious learning capability, self-regulatory capability, and self-reflective capability (Bandura 1986). Symbolic capability means that humans do not attempt to test different alternatives by putting them into practice by trial and error. They test these symbolically and determine the best alternative before actually choosing a course of action. Forethought capability theorizes that humans do not simply respond to immediate stimuli, nor are they driven by the past. Forethought is the product of generative and reflective ideation (Bandura 1986). Human capacity for foresight lessens the impact of present and past experiences in lieu of a desirable future. The concept of vicarious learning capability rejects the notion that humans learn primarily from their actions, and suggests that humans learn from other peoples experiences instead. With self-regulatory capability, individuals do not change their behavior depending on social preferences, but instead, have internal standards that they use to evaluate their own actions. Self-reflective capability posits that people reflect on their experiences and their thought processes, to derive knowledge about the world around them. This lets them evaluate and alter their own thinking. Hypotheses Development SCT provides us with an appropriate framework to study our research questions: what enables slum children to learn these skills on their own? Why do some slum children engage in an activity that most other slum inhabitants consider fruitless, and disregard social convention in doing so? Among the various Environment Personal / Cognitive Factors Behavior 1 2 3 4 6 5 Page 4 of 12 Empowerment of Underprivileged through IT
Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 5 participants in self-learning about IT, what factors predict the amount of knowledge gained? The answer may lie in the human capabilities that SCT defines. First, if slum children use their symbolizing capability to generate innovative courses of action., then, using symbols, they may be able to use imagine possibilities about the use of IT that they have not seen or heard about. This may lead them to see IT like those of us that are familiar with it do, or, more probably, they may imagine unlikely and fanciful possibilities of the technology beyond our expectations. They may then act on these conceptions (or misconceptions) that to others may seem irrational. Therefore, we arrive at our first hypothesis: H1: Symbolizing capability is positively related to participation in IT learning Second, slum children may use their power of forethought to imagine a desirable future. This desirable future may include more skills, expertise, higher socio-economic status, and voice. The child may imagine that some of these are possible through the new technology and unknown possibilities. These images of a desirable future may guide and motivate their present behavior to participate in the learning activities. Therefore, we arrive at hypothesis 2: H2: Forethought capability is positively related to participation in IT learning. Third, the reason that some slum children do not follow the social order of the community may be due to their self-regulatory capability. Subjective or social norms (Ajzen 1985; Fishbein. and Ajzen 1975) of the friends and family of the slum children would pressure the children to avoid IT. The community at large may believe that it is not possible to learn about IT, and that even if some IT skills are learned, it may not have any positive benefits. In the case of male children, families may believe that they are wasting their time with IT instead of helping out with housework and sharing the family burden. In the case of female children, the family may feel that they are violating social and religious customs and norms. These social norms may prevent them from engaging in the activities to learn about IT, as the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior may predict. However, self-regulating capacity may be the reason that some young slum children defy social norms to participate in the IT learning activities. Slum children have personal standards to which they hold their actions. This exercise of self-influence determines the course of the children's participation in IT learning. H3: Self-regulatory capability is positively associated with participation in IT learning. H4: Negative social influence is negatively associated with participation in selflearning about IT. H5: Self-regulatory capability moderates the relationship between social influence and participation in self-learning. The higher the self-regulatory capability, the less the effect of negative social influence on participation in self-learning. The next set of research questions deals with the knowledge gained from such participation. Obviously, to gain knowledge from IT self-learning, one has to participate in IT self-learning. There is always the possibility that some children participate in IT self-learning activities but do not learn anything from it. However, we can expect that the more the disadvantaged youth participate in self-learning activities, the higher their chances of learning something from it. Therefore, we arrive at our next hypothesis: H6: Participation in IT self-learning is positively associated with knowledge gained from IT self-learning. While participation in IT self-learning is necessary, it is not sufficient to be the sole predictor of knowledge gained from IT self-learning. Two youth may participate to the same extent in IT self-learning activities, but one may learn more while the other learns less. We turn to SCTs other factors to try to predict this. Environmental determinism would predict that slum children have low IQs and low academic achievement due to the poor health of their parents, the high levels of environmental toxins that they are exposed to during and after birth, and the sub-optimal resources and facilities that they have had access to in their formative years. Their challenge to learn IT would then become an uphill battle, with high probabilities of failure to comprehend the complexities of the new technology. Conditioning and associative learning would predict that these children would give up after the first few failed attempts, as they have invested a lot of time and effort, defied social norms, received no reward for their actions, and in fact, may have been punished by the frustration of failure. Self-reflective capability may indicate why Page 5 of 12 Track Title 6 Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 some children persist even in the face of failure. This capability allows the children to reflect on their actions, on the causes of their success or failure, and then decide what needs to be changed on the next attempt, and whether it is worth investing more time and effort after a series of failed attempts. This brings us to hypothesis 7: H7: Self-reflective capability moderates the relationship between participation in IT self-learning and knowledge gained from IT self-learning. The higher the self-reflective capability the more the knowledge gained from participation in IT self-learning. Next, slum children may observe a few other slum children learning IT skills and using them to express their creativity. They may also notice that these children gain respect in the community as a result. The slum children may use their vicarious capability to draw from these exemplars. Through social interaction they may learn about uses of IT by observing other slum children working on the computers and other media. This enables them to learn about complex subjects like IT when they have no chance of acquiring this knowledge spontaneously. This brings us to our next hypothesis: H8: Vicarious capability moderates the relationship between participation in IT self-learning and knowledge gained from IT self-learning. However, for IT self-learners to use their vicarious capabilities to learn from others, there must be other leading peer-learners present for the vicarious learner to observe. Therefore, we can reasonably expect that the more the peer learners, the more vicarious capability can affect knowledge gained. This brings us to our next hypothesis: H9: There is a three-way interaction between peer learners, vicarious capability, and participation in self- learning on knowledge gained from self-learning. The greater the peer learners, the more the positive the effect that vicarious capability has on the effect of participation on knowledge gained from IT self- learning. These hypotheses are represented in Figure 2.
Figure 2: The Effects of Human Capabilities on IT self-learning Participation in IT Self- Learning Self-reflective capability Self- regulatory capability Vicarious capability Forethought capability Symbolizing capability Knowledge gained from IT Self- Learning Social Influence Peer Learner s H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H9 H6 H7 H8 Page 6 of 12 Empowerment of Underprivileged through IT
Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 7 Methodology This paper studies the research model through an empirical survey of a sample consisting of slum children and youth in settlements in and around New Delhi, India. To increase the generalizability of the study, we collected data through two separate samples. One sample includes youth who accessed IT through the efforts of a non-governmental organization that is interested in creative and artistic endeavors. The second sample includes slum children who accessed IT through the efforts of a different non-governmental organization focused on educational development. The first sample was collected at informal settlements that are the site of as a joint project between Sarai, a new media initiative of Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, and Ankur Society for Alternatives in Education, a Delhi-based NGO (Times of India, 2004). The project is called CyberMohalla, an Urdu term which translates into cyber-neighborhood. These are located in an illegal squatter settlement named Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Basti, a resettlement colony named Dakshinpuri, and in another illegal squatter settlement named Nangla Maachhi (Nayar, 2008). In 2006, the Government of India began displacing the Nangla Maachhi settlement. The Dakshinpuri settlement is legal; however, it is plagued by endemic poverty and violence, like the other two informal settlements (Sarai, 2006). The project consists of five CompuGhars (computer houses) or locality labs. Each locality lab consists of three computers, portable audio recorders, cameras, and scanners. Around sixty children from these slums with no previous computer experience have used these labs to teach themselves IT skills to express their creativity, including basic webpage creation, blogging, maintaining audio and video archives, and creating short animation clips (Times of India, 2004). These children now report benefits of increased visibility in the community and internationally, increase in the respect of their peers and their elders, greater confidence about their skills, and improved employment opportunities (Times of India, 2004). Their self-taught skills have garnered these slum children worldwide attention, including an invitation to demonstrate their creativity in Hamburg, Germany (Sarai, 2004). The increased visibility has even helped stay the Government of India from displacing their illegal squatter settlement (Nangla Lab, 2006). These are high achievements for slum children in the developing world. Therefore, they may have important benefits through their participation in the Cybermohalla. At the community level, it may enable them to have voice that national policy makers and international organizations may hear. At the individual level it helps them develop skills, self-efficacy, confidence, and increases their status inside the community. It also may provide them with a social support network consisting of other slum children who participate in the Cybermohalla as well as others in their virtual network outside their geographic region. This social support is critical as it provides vision and connects slum members to opportunities and resources. These slum children now have improved employment opportunities, and some have moved to better environments (Sarai 2006). The second sample is taken from slums surrounding project sites of a separate project named Hole-In- The-Wall(Mitra 2003). This project is largely the brainchild of Dr. Sugata Mitra, a professor in the United Kingdom, and a director at The National Institute for Information Technology (NIIT), a computer education institute in India. NIITs head office in New Delhi shared a wall with a slum. Dr. Mitra conducted an experiment by building a computer into this shared wall, with the monitor, keyboard and mouse on the side of the slum, and the CPU on the NIIT side. He also installed a camera to observe what happened. Several slum children approached the computer, and after some trial and error, eventually learned to use the computer, surf the internet, use word processing, listen to music, and even make some computer graphics. A paper on the experiment inspired the author to write the bestseller Q & A which inspired the movie Slumdog Millionaire, an international blockbuster in 2008 (Roy, 2009). Following the experiment, now titled the Hole-In-The-Wall project, Dr. Mitra conducted similar experiments in other slums, and obtained similar results. Now several clients, including numerous governmental bodies, have approached him to replicate his results, resulting in the opening of several similar installations, now called learning stations. The organization HiWEL (Hole In the Wall Education Limited) was set up for this purpose, with a philosophy of minimally invasive education (Mitra, 2003). In New Delhi, the local public school system asked HiWEL to put two learning stations into the exterior wall of several public schools next to slums. The second sample from this study is drawn from the slums near these learning stations in New Delhi. An instrument was developed in Hindustani, a language spoken by the majority of the sample, to measure the constructs in the study. The instrument was tested on a small sample of slum children. It underwent Page 7 of 12 Track Title 8 Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 several modifications to make it easier to understand, and then a few questions were dropped following validity and reliability analysis. An English translation of the instrument can be provided on request. Results The survey resulted in 84 usable responses. The ages of the respondents varied from 12 to 21, with an average age of 15 years. The respondents had an almost equal number of males and females. All hypothesis were testing using Partial Least Squares (PLS) using SmartPLS 2.0 Beta (Ringle, Wende & Will, 2005 To test Hypotheses 1-5, we ran Models 1 and 2 in Table 1.
Table 1: Tests for Hypotheses 1 to 5 Model 1: DV= Participation in self- learning Model 2: DV= Participation in self- learning Age -0.06 -0.05 Gender 0.02 0.02 Symbolizing capability 0.14 0.15 Forethought capability 0.71** 0.69** Self-regulatory Capability 0.55* 0.21* Social influence 0.49* 0.18 Self-regulatory capability x social influence -0.61**
As we can see from Table 1, we do not find support for Hypothesis 1: symbolizing capability does not have a significant effect on participation in IT self-learning. However, we do find evidence for hypotheses 2 to 5. Forethought capability has a significant and positive relationship with participation in IT self-learning (b=0.71, p<0.01), supporting Hypothesis 2: forethought capability is positively related to participation in IT learning. In accordance with Hypotheses 3 (self-regulatory capability is positively associated with participation in IT learning) and 4 (negative social influence is negatively associated with participation in selflearning about IT), we find that self-regulatory capability and social influence both have a significant and positive influence on participation in IT self-learning. To test the moderating effect, we introduce the interaction term, self-regulatory capability x social influence into the model. As we can see from Model 2 in Table 1, the interaction term is significant and negative, lending support for Hypothesis 5: self- regulatory capability moderates the relationship between social influence and participation in self- learning. In addition, the presence of the interaction term reduces the significance and the strength of both self-regulatory capability as well as social influence, lending further support for Hypothesis 5. The higher self-regulatory capacity is, the less the effect of social influence on participation in IT self-learning. To test Hypotheses 6-9, we ran Models 3 and 4 in Table 2.
Table 2: Tests for Hypotheses 6 to 9 Model 3: DV= Amount of IT self- learning Model 4: DV= Amount of self- learning Model 5: DV= Amount of self- learning Age -0.08 -0.07 -0.07 Page 8 of 12 Empowerment of Underprivileged through IT
Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 9 Gender 0.05 0.03 0.04 Participation 0.91*** 0.31** 0.24* Self-Reflective capability x Participation 0.40** 0.32** Vicarious capability x Participation 0.25** 0.11 Peer-learning x Participation 0.21** 0.10 Vicarious capability x Peer-learning x Participation 0.43**
To test Hypothesis 6 (participation in IT self-learning is positively associated with knowledge gained from IT self-learning), we ran Model 3 in Table 2. From this, we can see that IT self-learning participation has a positive effect on IT self-learning knowledge (b=0.91, p<.001), lending support for Hypothesis 6. To test hypotheses 7 and 8 on the moderating effects of self-reflective capability and vicarious capability on this relationship, we enter the interaction terms self-reflective capability x IT self-learning participation and vicarious capability x IT self-learning participation into the model. We see that both the interaction terms are significant and positive, lending support for hypotheses 7 and 8 (b=0.40, p<0.01, and b=0.25, p<0.01, respectively). Finally, we test hypothesis 9 (the greater the peer learners, the more the positive the effect that vicarious capability has on the effect of participation on knowledge gained from IT self- learning) by entering the three-way interaction term vicarious capability x peer-learning x IT self- learning participation into the model. We see that this has a significant and positive effect on IT self- learning knowledge as well (b=0.43, p<0.01). Discussion The results reveal how these underprivileged youth learn to use a computer on their own and in the absence of any formal training. The first set of research questions examined motivation of these youths to partake in an activity that many in their social circle view not only as a pointless waste of time but also as a distraction from the real work of manual labor. According to the survey results, the main factor that affected these underprivileged youths participation in self-learning is their forethought capability, followed by their curiosity. Social influence can affect this participation, but the more self-regulatory the children and youth are, the less the effect of social influence. The second set of research questions dealt with the question of the knowledge gained from self-learning about IT. Without the moderating factors, it appears that participation has a large effect on knowledge gained from self-learning about IT. However, once the moderating factors are added, we see that the main effects of participation is greatly reduced and that the factors making the most impact on knowledge are the interaction factors participation x self-reflective capability and the three-way interaction vicarious capability x peer-learners x participation. We find that there are two styles of learning among the participants. One style suggests that participants learn on their own, with their self-reflective capabilities guiding them through trial and error. Another style indicates that participants learn in groups of peer learners, with their vicarious capabilities guiding them to learn from their peer learners successes and failures. The hypothesis that was unsupported was H1, the effect of symbolizing capabilities on participation in self-learning about IT. Upon reflection, it appears that symbolizing capability may help more with knowledge gained from self-learning on IT. Symbolizing capability deals with the ability to use symbols such as language and imagery. Youth with a high capability to use such symbols may have an advantage in learning the language and images used on a computer's graphical user interface, and therefore, may be better able to gain knowledge through participating in self-learning about IT. Therefore, we posit a new hypothesis: Page 9 of 12 Track Title 10 Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 H10: Symbolizing capability moderates the relationship between participation in IT self-learning and knowledge gained from IT self-learning. The higher the symbolizing capability, the more participation in IT self-learning affects knowledge gained from IT self-learning. We then test this hypothesis by adding this interacting variable to Model 5.
Table 2: Tests for Hypothesis 10 Model 6: DV= Amount of self- learning Age -0.07 Gender 0.04 Participation 0.23* Self-Reflective capability x Participation 0.30** Vicarious capability x Participation 0.11 Peer-learning x Participation 0.10 Vicarious capability x Peer-learning x Participation 0.42** Symbolizing capability x Participation 0.13*
Here, we see that symbolizing capability has a significant and positive effect on knowledge gained from self-learning on IT. However, the effect is not as strong as the effects of the other two interacting variables. Contributions To Practice We make a valuable contribution to the practice of empowerment through self-learning in IT. As the forces of environmental determinism are strong, it may not be enough to simply set up these labs and expect large numbers of slum children to benefit. Practitioners, therefore, also need to focus on addressing the capabilities of these children to overcome their debilitating environments and empower themselves through learning. The constructs used in this paper--symbolizing, forethought, visceral, self- regulating and self-reflecting capabilities provide a valuable guide to practitioners on where best to direct their efforts to increase empowerment. The results of the empirical analysis gives some insight into the factors that distinguish between the slum children who have been able to empower themselves through IT and those that have not. This may be valuable in future initiatives for empowerment of slum children. First, forethought capability appears to be one of the primary differentiators between the participants and non-participants of self-learning in IT. Hence, it is possible that practitioners can try various methods to increase the forethought of the targeted youth to try and increase participation. One way this could be affected is to get youth to start thinking about possible futures through self-empowerment through IT. This might be affected by highlighting successes of others from the same socio-economic background, along with other similar opportunities. In addition, the moderating factors give greater insights into how knowledge is gained through participation. We find existence of two distinct styles of self-learning. One from reflecting on trial and error, and the second from vicariously learning from peers learning together. Practitioners can use this to investigate if the computer learning stations can be designed to emphasize and accentuate the two different styles of learning. If not some sort of timesharing could be worked out to accommodate the two styles of learners. Page 10 of 12 Empowerment of Underprivileged through IT
Thirty Fourth International Conference on Information Systems, Milan 2013 11 Contributions to research In this paper, we use SCT to study what makes children and youth from lower socio-economic backgrounds participate in self-learning about IT. In addition, we study which factors predict to what extent knowledge is gained through self-learning. We thus provide an explanation for how disadvantaged children and youth learn about IT in the absence of formal training, education or courses. In doing so, we make the following contributions to the body of knowledge Research on information technologies for underserved communities is growing, but so far there very little is done in terms of theory-building addressing the empowerment of slum children in developing countries through IT. This is a highly relevant topic, as the magnitude of the problem of slum dwellers is enormous, and is projected to grow rapidly over the next quarter century. In using SCT to study this issue, we bring in a broad framework to address the complexity of the issues involved. In studying this issue, we see that the constructs used in IS literature focus more on user acceptance, not self-learning, have limited utility in addressing the empowerment of slum children. For example, the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) constructs of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use assume some level of basic familiarity with the technology in question. Studies done using TAM are done post- training (for example, see Venkatesh et al, 2003). These assumptions do not hold when dealing with slum children, as these constructs make little sense to a slum child who has never touched or even seen a computer before, let alone received specialized training. It would be irrational to assume that a child will have perceptions of ease of use of a completely alien technology. Here, we see that it is not perceptions of ease of use, but of imaginations of possibilities that actually play a part in whether these slum children participate in learning or not. We make a valuable contribution here by extending SCT to understand the dynamics of slum children learning about IT. Symbolizing capability enables slum children to imagine various possibilities of a technology that they have little to no comprehension of. Forethought capability allows them to envision a desirable future and work towards it, reflecting human aspirations to pursue dreams. Vicarious capability enables these children to learn about IT without formal training, and instead, learn about IT by observing others who use it. Self-regulatory capability allows these slum children to reject subjective and social norms and conventions and forge a new course for their lives, in spite of all the beliefs and evidence to the contrary all around them. Self-reflective capabilities allow the children to persist in the face of failure, changing their actions with the feedback they receive, to keep trying until they succeed. In doing this, we attempt to validate a theoretical basis for the human capabilities in slum children to overcome the forces of environmental determinism working against them. This study makes another valuable contribution by developing a model that theorizes how these constructs affect participation in self-learning about IT as well as knowledge gained from such participation. In addition, by developing an instrument to measure these constructs, and empirically testing the model, we further the body of knowledge in this area. Participation in IT self-learning is affected primarily by forethought, and negative social influences on self-participation are moderated by self-regulation. The higher self-regulation is, the less negative social influence will affect participation in self-learning about IT. Future research can focus on studying the factors that affect forethought and self- regulation. This can help aid practitioner efforts on increasing participation. In addition, participation is necessary, but not sufficient to predict knowledge gained from self-learning on IT. References Ajzen, I. (1985) From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior, in J. Kuhl and J. Beckmenn (Eds.) Action Control: From Cognition to Behavior, Springer-Verlag, New York. Bandura, (1986) A. Social foundations of thought and action, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Bernard, J. (1939) The neighborhood behavior of school children in relation to age and socioeconomic status, American Sociological Review, 4, 5, 652-662. Bradley, R.H. and Corwyn, R.F. (2002) Socioeconomic status and child development, Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 1, 371-399. Davis, F.D. (1989) Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology, MIS Quarterly, 13, 3, 319-340. 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