Influence of Computer Information Technology

Question: Discuss about the Influence of Computer for Information Technology. Answer: Introduction Self-efficacy plays a significant role in one's life. It is imperative to judge ones capabilities. However, efficacy and self-efficacy differ from each other and must not be confused. The term efficacy is used in the field of medicine and pharmacology. Efficacy refers to the maximum response achieved from a dosed agent. On the other hand, self-efficacy is the belief in oneself to achieve ones goals. Efficacy is medical term while self-efficacy is a term in the field of psychology or sociology. Efficacy is a therapeutic effect of a medical device, drug, or surgical procedure. But both efficacy and self-efficacy may have positive as well as negative impact on an individuals health. The rise in self-efficacy levels would help the students in the long run. Mostly, the accurate measurement of self-efficacy provides a basis upon which one can evaluate calibration accurately. This calibration is very crucial for IT students. The rise in self-efficacy levels would enhance performance, and ev eryone would benefit from this endeavor. The report aims to give an in-depth analysis of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is defined as the extent to which a person can stick to his/her decisions. It is a belief, which a person has his/her own ability to complete assigned tasks and reach goals. There has been extensive research on self-efficacy by psychologists. Self-efficacy affects the psychology, motivation and behavioral pattern of a person largely. There are some theories derived by psychologists on self-efficacy. Apparently, people think that they can achieve all goals that they set. However, most of them fail to put their plans into action. With time, people realize that it is hard to accomplish those tasks practically. Self-efficacy plays a pivotal role in a persons life for it greatly affects a persons thought process and motivation. Self-efficacy helps a person in facing the challenges and see them as tasks that they must master. Individuals with self-efficacy try to resolve the problems they face rather than avoiding them. They focus on the activities of their life and possess a strong sense of commitment. On the other hand, people with low self-efficacy fear about the challenges in life and see them as potential threats. They remain uncommitted to their goals and often fail to attain them. They lose faith and confidence very quickly and always think negatively about the difficult situations of life. They suffer from low self-esteem and suffer from stress and depression. They learn and achieve much less compared to people with high self-efficacy. Thus, a heightened sense of self-efficacy allows a person to recover quickly from disappointments and setbacks. They are more successful than people wi th low self-efficacy. Four factors primarily affect the self-efficacy. They are enactive attainment or experience, vicarious experience or modeling, social persuasion, and physiology. Environment and genes also affect self-efficacy. The self-efficacy of a person is badly hampered by stress and demonstrates his/her inability. There are numerous theoretical approaches of self-efficacy like the social cognitive theory, self-concept theory, social learning theory, and the attribution theory. The social cognitive theory emphasizes the role that social experience and observational learning plays for developing the personality. Postulated by Albert Bandura, social cognitive theory shows how observing actions of others influences an individuals cognitive processes, social behaviors, and personal actions or reactions (John 2013). External experiences play a significant part in determining self-efficacy of a person. Social learning theory elucidates acquiring skills developed primarily from a social group. Social learning develops personal skills and individual emotions and thereby helps an individual to accept others. It contributes to perceive the self in a better way as people learn by imitating others, or through observation. Self-efficacy illustrates a persons understanding and contribution in a group. Self-concept theory strives to explain self-concept as something that is organized, learned, and ever changing. The existence of an individual is interpreted through external sources and focuses on how the impressions remain alive throughout the life. The focus of attribution theory is on the attribution of events. Internal locus enhances or diminishes self-efficacy with success or failure respectively. Locus, stability, and controllability form the three broad elements of attribution theory. According to the attribution theory, the absence to cope up leads to a relapse and decreased self-efficacy. Inability to make a decision is a result of low self-esteem and must be addressed and resolved. Literature review Self-efficacy in IT This study examined the influence of self-efficacy in the Information technology sector and in awareness of goals. The investigation was done based on goal-setting theory, motivation sequence model, and the social cognitive theory. The study investigated such relationships using the ERP, that is, the Enterprise Resource Planning system. The study gave a deeper insight to the ERP system researchers into the importance of self-efficacy. As both IT self-efficacy and goal awareness have a positive influence on job satisfaction. Self-efficacy is related to and essential in using e-mail. People with high self-efficacy are bound to use computers more than individuals with less self-efficacy. Self-efficacy plays a positive role in establishing association between an employee and telecommuter. Moreover, people with more self-efficacy in using information technology have more work outcome. Also, the level self-efficacy have different preferences for using different technologies. Individuals wi th high self-efficacy are more efficient in using modern technology (Al-Haderi 2013). The dissertation aimed at examining the level of self-efficacy of teachers who use Interactive technology in language teaching. The name of the project is Interactive Technologies in Language Teaching. The aim of the project was to produce resources and training materials for teachers so that they can use interactive whiteboard technology in foreign language teaching. The project involves participation of seven European countries- France, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Wales, Germany, and Turkey. There was not much variation in the responses that the research team got from different countries. It was seen that teachers had high information and communication technologies but low self-efficacy with some tools and features of IWB. Self-efficacy thus plays a vital role in utilizing such technological tools. According to the author, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are the determining factors of technological use. A persons high level of self-efficacy positively influences the acceptance of technology. A teachers perception of technology and heightened self-efficacy helps in a contextualized and deeper understanding of technology. It helps in better acceptance of technology (Greenhow and Askari 2015). This article is based on a study that was conducted in adopting of social networking sites. It measured the effect self-efficacy in accepting the use of technology. 255 people from Thailand and Bangkok were selected for the purpose. The data was analyzed through structural equation modeling techniques. The research revealed that computer experience and knowledge had a positive influence on an individuals self-efficacy. The reverse is also true. Social factors do not effect much in the improvement of self-efficacy in case of computer technology. In fact, self-efficacy directly influences usefulness and indirectly influences the intention of an individual to use information technology. Social networking sites like facebook, twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn influences a persons self-efficacy level in performing a computer related task (Sheng et al. 2012). In this article, a study was conducted by Park and his colleagues to detect the importance of self-efficacy and the effect that it may have on the belief of individuals. Self-efficacy defines and judges a users ability to perform work related to information technology. It was found that technological readiness, self-efficacy, and innovativeness of a person are more important determining factors than demographic ones like gender, age, or education. It was also revealed that old users with high self-efficacy accept technology more than new users with low self-efficacy. Studies also reveal that self-efficacy has a strong influence on use of a system as they have a perceived sense of ease in effectively using the system. High self-efficacy have a positive impact on the use of technological systems (John 2013). The literature review of four research work shows the importance of self-efficacy in the field of information technology. Every study indicates that variation in self-efficacy levels affects the performance and output of people largely. The method to measure self-efficacy levels is different in each case. The conducted research measures and compares the performance of different people in different country from various fields. The studies show how self-efficacy levels may influence individual performance and productivity. There is always a positive relationship between high self-efficacy, utilization of computers, and usage of modern technological tools. It is further seen that employees with low self-efficacy levels integrate and seek technology more effectively. Conclusion As self-efficacy and self-confidence play a vital role in the field of information technology, it is of utmost importance that faculty gives students a proper education. The rise in self-efficacy levels would enhance their performance, and everyone would benefit from this endeavor. The scores of the study would direct the attention of the faculty towards the students. The rise in self-efficacy levels would help the students in the long run. Mostly, the accurate measurement would provide a basis to the faculty upon which they can do their evaluation accurately. This is very crucial for people using information technology in their work place. Self-efficacy is something that must be taught to students in school. Watching their peers succeed would boost the confidence level of students. Teachers must strive to instill in students positive beliefs. Balance in emotional level would energize the students and lead to better performance. Boosting self-efficacy in students right from the very beginning would help the students to cope up with difficult situations in a better way. Teachers can, in an effective way help students to reduce stressful situations and lower anxiety levels. Self-efficacy is the level of confidence and the belief in oneself that a person possesses. There are many occasions in ones life where a person feels that he/she is not able to cope up. In my life, I faced a situation of low-efficacy when I was asked to take a class on computer applications and give a presentation. Since I had never addressed such a large audience, my self-efficacy was underdeveloped. But after a few minutes, I found that I was able to speak confidently. My self-efficacy level increased once I undertook the task. After conducting the class, I saw that there were others like me who were giving a lecture for the first time. They were in the learning process and were beginners like me. Seeing them, I found my self-efficacy level soaring for I had a feeling that if they can do it, I can also do so. As I got encouragement from my instructor and professor, I felt more confident. I again found my self-efficacy growing. My sense of low-efficacy, nausea, and high heart rate, all vanished within a few minutes. Nevertheless, low self-efficacy has never stopped me completely from achieving my goals. Whenever I faced a situation of low self-esteem, I tried to overcome it. However, once you gain a high level of self-efficacy, it is very unlikely that you would again face difficulty in your performance. Mostly, for a given task, a student's sense of self-efficacy depends on upon the way a student learns the task. Experiences in ones life further help a person to overcome low self-efficacy. References Al-Haderi, S.M.S., 2013. The effect of self-efficacy in the acceptance of information technology in the public sector.International Journal of Business and Social Science,4(9). Greenhow, C. and Askari, E., 2015. Learning and teaching with social network sites: A decade of research in K-12 related education.Education and Information Technologies, pp.1-23. John, S.P., 2013. Influence of Computer Self-Efficacy On Information Technology Adoption.International Journal of Information Technology,19(1), pp.1-13. Sheng-Yi, W.U., Shih-Ting, W.A.N.G., Liu, E.Z.F., Da-Chain, H.U. and Hwang, W.Y., 2012. The influences of social self-efficacy on social trust and social capital-A case study of Facebook.TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology,11(2).