Information Systems professor presents research at international conferences

Dr. Lionel Mew, assistant professor of information systems and coordinator of professional studies in the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, recently presented research at two international conferences.

“Social Networks and Computer Self-Efficacy: Academic Performance”

Mew presented his paper titled “Social Networks and Computer Self-Efficacy: Academic Performance” at the 5th Annual International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN13) held July 1-3, 2013, in Barcelona. The paper discusses whether social networking, moderated by computer self-efficacy, is a valid predictor of academic performance at the university level. The paper abstract reads as follows:

Can Facebook use help students achieve good grades? This work-in-progress paper reports on discussion of a proposed model linking use of online social networking (OSN) and academic performance at the university level, as moderated by computer self-efficacy (CSE). Since college students have widely adopted use of OSN, there is significant interest in the relationship between OSN use and scholastic performance. Several previous studies have demonstrated that Facebook use is strongly negatively related to academic performance. It has also been shown that time on Facebook detracts from time spent preparing for class. In studies that control for time spent preparing for class, there is still a negative relationship between Facebook use and academic performance. However, the literature suggests that academic self-efficacy beliefs account to some extent for the positive variance in university level academic performance beyond standardized test scores. It has been further demonstrated that there is a strong positive relationship between OSN use and CSE. It can therefore be argued that there may be a positive relationship between OSN use and academic performance when moderated by CSE. When controlled for time spent preparing for class, this would suggest that for the population of students combining OSN use with high CSE, academic performance is enhanced. It is therefore submitted that use of online social networking, moderated by CSE, may be a valid positive predictor of academic performance. This paper describes a model and proposed research to validate the relationship.

“Online Social Networking: Qualitative Analysis Suggests Epidemic Model”

Mew presented his research project titled “Online Social Networking: Qualitative Analysis Suggests Epidemic Model” at the 2013 International Conference on Advancements in Management and Social Intelligence (ICAM) held July 17-20, 2013, in London.

Mew co-authored the research with Dr. William H. Money, Associate Professor of Information Systems at The George Washington University School of Business. The abstract of the paper reads as follows:

Online Social Networking (OSN) systems such as Ning, MySpace, Facebook and Friendster have achieved tremendous popularity. The speed with which users have adopted and switched applications has been exponential. In a study of 262 college students, the authors found significant relationships between computer self-efficacy (CSE), performance and use. Users with high CSE engage in complex tasks with sophisticated systems and higher use levels. However, the results do not fully explain why users adopt OSN in great numbers then switch between applications. The authors considered behavioral models including structural holes, Activity theory; and viral epidemiological approaches. Qualitative analysis, combined with quantitative results and literature, suggests a combined viral and structural holes model for adoption of OSN systems. This new model postulates that a small number of users with high CSE and a high degree of influence, combined with an environment conducive to viral transmission conditions, results in mass adoption and shift.