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| Digital literacy development. SollsIntec 2011 | Norjef's Blog Posted: 11 May 2011 06:48 AM PDT A Technology Towards Bridging the Digital Divide for the Marginalized Community in Malaysia: Applications and Acceptance paper presented at wseas conference IWATE Japan 2010 prior to tsunami
NORIZAN ABDUL RAZAK, NOR FARIZA MOHD NOR, MOHD YUSOF ABDULLAH, JALALUDDIN ABDUL MALEK, ALI SALMAN, YOONG SIEW WAI E-Community Research Center, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 UKM, Bangi, Selangor MALAYSIA norjef@ukm.my, norfarizamn@yahoo.com, myusof@ukm.my, jbam@ukm.my, asalmanphd@gmail.com, ysiew.wai@mimos.my
Abstract: – The use of technology especially computers does instill fear and increase apprehension level among certain marginalize groups at the marginalize area, for example the senior citizen and women. The complexity of the computer and the operational procedures might lower their participation in utilizing Internet and accessing Broadband. Thus, a research was conducted to measure to what extent a device which has been simplified in its technologies features and user interface could assist the marginalize groups mentioned. This paper will discuss the application of a new device which acts as a bridge for the marginalize groups to access Internet. The objectives of this paper are to address usage and impact which is focusing on the application of the device and to find out users' acceptance towards the device in order to eliminate technophobia and complexity of the technology.
Key-Words: - digital divide, technophobia, marginalized group, technology acceptance, technology applications, JENii
1 Introduction The government's mission in striving to achieve Vision 2020 has prompted the Malaysian government to place importance on human resource development as a vehicle towards realizing the goals of the Vision. However, in the process, Malaysia is confronted with the challenge to narrow the divide between the urban "have" and the rural "have-nots". The challenges faced by Malaysia reflect those faced by many other developing and developed countries in the world where rapid and uneven economic growth has brought about this divide. Thus, at the 2003 world summit on the information society, governments and world leaders made a strong commitment towards building a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented information society for all, where everyone can access,utilize and share information and knowledge [18]. According to Albirini [2], access to computer resources has often been one of the most important barriers for the integration of technology in both developed and developing countries. It is a common knowledge that coverage of Internet is sometimes slow and not available in some marginalized areas in Malaysia. In addressing the digital divide between urban and rural communities, the Malaysian government together with the private sectors have undertaken a concerted effort to ensure that the rural segment of its population is provided with access to ICT services that have already become the norm among its urban population. In laying out the regulatory framework, the CMA (Communication and Multimedia Act) also details the Government's national policy objectives for the communications and multimedia industry, which includes the universal service objective "to ensure an equitable provision of affordable services over ubiquitous national infrastructure [3]." Remarkable progress is continuously made towards a developed nation through the informatization strategy. Informatization strategy is a process through which communication and information technologies (ICT) are used as a mean of furthering social economic development of the people [17]. The path to a developed nation requires the people to develop their minds with knowledge and skill. Empowering the people with knowledge and skill is vital especially in a digital world where the amount of information doubles every two years, individual needs to evaluate resources carefully and determine how to use relevant information to solve problems and make wise decisions [6]. The task of developing people's minds with positive knowledge and skill for self progress and national development fits well with the function of of ICT. ICT can be used as an effective tool to expose the people with information on current issues, make them aware about the leaders and socio economic opportunities, and educating them about the efforts of the government to develop the country [9]. Recognizing the numerous potential of ICT for development, most countries in the world including Malaysia has planned and developed a complete infrastructure of ICT. The challenge now is to ensure all levels of society must use ICT and benefit from it. At the core of national ICT agenda is the goal of ICT for all, that is all Malaysians should have access to affordable computer and Internet services. This agenda aims to address the issue of digital divide between groups defined by income, age, and geographic area. the invention of easy to use technological gadget with computer applications by MIMOS (Malaysia's applied research centre) is one of the initiatives in bridging the digital divide particularly among the ICT illiterates. This gadget called JENii or Jendela informasi anda or literally translated as your window of information aims to alienate the fear of using computer among ICT illiterate senior citizens and women. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to report a study which was undertaken to investigate the use of JENii. Some of the findings on the impact of JENii among its users in two locations in Malaysia will be reported in this paper. The effort taken in the setting up of broadband has answered many unexplainable issues related to unimaginable networks of 26 million Malaysian Citizen; furthermore its fruitful technology has opened new opportunity not only for social usage but for the strength of Malaysia's economy. Internet connection should be affordable by all communities in order to get benefit out of it; either in the suburb or rural area but there needs to be a balance in terms of infrastructure and mind set of the citizens. However, the statistics for the past 3 years published by Malaysia Commission of Multimedia and Communication (MCMC) showed that there is evidence of digital divide. Up to today only 18% of the marginal group from rural area is able to enjoy the benefit of Internet and this is clearly a big gap if compared to those at the suburb area where 82% of the community in these areas can access the Internet. The ratio of computer ownership in this country is 24 out of 100 household while Internet access is at 10.4 out of 100 household [11]. 2 Literature review A number of studies in developed and developing countries indicate that there are considerable gaps in computer use and access between sub groups of the society. For example, a study by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, reported that people who reside in rural areas and inner-city communities have less access to the Internet than households located in the more affluent metropolitan areas, senior rural citizens also recorded lowest rate in computer penetration compared to younger citizens [4]. A survey in Finland on 1555 elderly in 2007 cited three main reasons for computer non-usage among elderly which are motivation, access and skills. The respondents were afraid that they would not know how to use a computer and do not enough skills to get them started [5]. Another study on the use of computers among school principals in Iran found that the principals are not keen to develop and improve their computer background, to use computer-based technology because of the fear of technology, to save face and to avoid being humiliated by their younger teachers (10). A study by Rahmah and Becker [15] found that in Malaysia, the computer and Internet are known to be a metropolis phenomenon where many dwellers in the metropolis own computers and access to the Internet. Their study also shows that most early adopters of Internet are male, in their mid-twenties and mid-thirties and have higher or tertiary education qualification. Another study by Musa Abu Hassan and his team [12] among elderly agro-based entrepreneurs, also revealed that the respondents did not use ICT because they did not know the benefits, did not have skills in using ICT, difficulties in using ICT and were afraid to use it. Although the percentages of computer ownership and Internet users have increased over the years, there is still a gap among the younger and older people. A study carried out by Abdul Razaq et al [1] in examining achievement of adult learners towards Computer Literacy Program organized by the Ministry of Rural Development in Malaysia to increase quality of life among adults in rural communities, showed that having wider knowledge in using computer, helped the adult participants to use computer in a more useful manner. This means that they are aware that technology can empower them to search for and get information easily. In addition, the result revealed that they are motivated to use the computer more often because their knowledge about computer has increased. This view is akin to Jonassen (2000, cited in Abdul Razaq et al, 2009) who points out that individual who always search for information from the Internet are those with high motivation in using computer. Studies by Norizan et al [14] found favors related to time, low literacy and low needs on the application of ICT among women affect the patterns of use among Malaysian women aged 35 and above. Another study by Norizan et al (2010) concur with this. The low ICT literacy level and low needs in terms of use affected the frequency and patterns of technology use among women in two rural areas in Malaysia [15]. To sum up, there are several reasons for low use of computer and Internet particularly among the senior citizens and women. We can relate this issue to factors such as: (1) Low ICT literacy. (2) Users in the group seem to be less enthusiastic for new technology and their slow capacity to learn to use it quickly. (3) The fear of technology or technophobia. (4) Low needs and no demand of use. (5) Perceived difficulty-of-use. 3 The Research At the core of the national agenda is the goal of ICT for all, that is all Malaysians should have access to affordable computer and Internet services. This agenda aims to address the issue of digital divide between groups defined by income, age, and geographic area. The invention of easy to use technological gadget with computer applications by MIMOS (Malaysia's premier applied research centre), is one of the initiatives in bridging the digital divide particularly among the ICT illiterates. This study was conducted based on fundings from MIMOS (SK/09/2009/GLKK and SK/18/2009/GLKK) research grant. It was carried out to find out how a device, named JENii can help to empower the marginalized and ICT illiterate group. MIMOS developed this affordable technical gadget in its initiative to bridge the digital divide in the country. The goals of JENii are to increase awareness of ICT and to ease adoption of technological gadget for the users. This will ultimately empower the ICT illiterate group so that they can have equal access to ICT. Features of JENii which include community applications such as chat, e-mail, SMS, simple navigation controlled by icon user interface, touch screen function which eases complexity of usage, lightweight and built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, WiMax certainly makes it the right technological gadget in order to reach the citizens who are considered ICT illiterate. The introduction of JENii is a practical solution in terms of providing a simple device with easy to push button for computer application. It is a noble invention designed for the senior citizens who are mostly ICT illiterate and have the fear to use computer. Fig. 1 JENii device and WiWi In view of the divide in ICT between certain groups in the country, it is appropriate that an impact study be conducted to find out how JENii functions in bridging the digital divide. The goal of the study is to understand target market usage behavior and user interaction towards the device, i.e., JENii. The objectives of the study are (1) to address the impact gap (usefulness of content and community applications), (2) to find out users' acceptance towards the device (in order to eliminate technophobia and complexity of the device), and (3) to address the gap in accessing Internet coverage. 4 Methodology Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were carried out in order to collate the maximum input for the research. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of MIMOS initiatives (JENii) on bridging digital divide as compared to the other Malaysian government initiative, it is very important to conduct and observe the use of technology applications for 30 hours of usage. This is to avoid the novelty effect of the introduction of the technology. Thus, in order to cover all aspects of the impact study evaluation, data was collected for a period of six months. There were three visits in total, to the respondents' homes. There are three phases of data collection which will be explained in the next section. This paper reports the qualitative data gathered in the present study. The respondents involved in this study were from two localities: one in Peninsular Malaysia, in a state which takes about four hours drive from the capital city of Malaysia and the other one is in a state in the middle of West Malaysia. The respondents in both locations are housewives aged 35 and above and also senior citizens aged 55 and above. 4.1 Phase 1: Pre-exposure to JENii Face to face interviews were conducted with the selected samples of JENii recipients in the piloted areas. A set of questionnaire were distributed with the objective of gathering and collating the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of race, age, education background, household information (income, children) and geographical areas, the socio economic status-employment, economic activity, e-inclusion activities and finally, information and communication technologies literacy and penetration- infrastructure, dial up and broadband connectivity, Internet access points, e-community centers, handphone, and fixed telephone line. This pre-exposure also helped in designing and determining the questionnaire items (the set of questionnaire with interview question which was distributed in the final phase of this study), and in designing the observation check list, respondents' acceptance form for Cini Timur and Kota Kinabalu. 4.2 Phase 2: Exposure phase In this phase more focus was given to observation and face to face interview. For recipients who could write and willing to write, they were encouraged to record their reflection and experience in using the technology in a log book. The purpose of of observation was to collate information regarding the target group usage behavior and device user interactions. This phase involved recording and documenting users' perceived level and understanding of the gadget and ergonomic interaction between the device and users. Interviews were conducted to document the assistive and hindering factors of gadget on users. 4.3 Phase 3: Final phase An interview protocol was designed to be used during focus group interview for Cini Timur 1,2 and 3 and Kota Kinabalu to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology introduced to the community after 30 hours of usage. In order to evaluate the impact of technology, results and data obtained in the first and second phase and data obtained from phase three were correlated and crucial to answer the research questions pertaining to understanding the target market usage behaviour and device user interactions. 5 Discussion of Findings This section reports the findings based on face to face interviews and observations. The discussion begins with general report of the findings, before presenting the analysis of findings that answer the research objectives. The general findings include general usage and users' views of the technology and instrumentation. 5.1 General usage 5.1.1 Frequency of Usage There are three types of users among the respondents. They are those who use JENii frequently, those who hardly ever utilize the technology and those who never use JENii at all. From the interview session, majority of them hardly ever use JENii since some functions of the device failed to connect with WiWi even after it has been changed by the technical team to the new one. Besides, there were participants who had only few days using JENii after the installation of the gadget. It was due to no no coverage at the respondents' home and some technical problems. We found that once their motivation level went down they started to ignore the existence of JENii and WiWi in their house. Respondents gave many excuses for not using the JENii and one of the major reasons was JENii frequently hanged and took a long time to load.
5.1.2 Access Majority of the respondents were able to explore the content of JENii on their own and only a small number of them were assisted by their children since they need someone to help them. They stated that training at the telecenter, which was held at the beginning of the study, was really helpful since the training helped them to understand the technique to use the technology. They also took the opportunity to teach their children to use certain applications in JENii so their children could utilize JENii on their own and get much knowledge from it. 5.1.3 Pattern of Use Most of the respondents used JENii in the evening when they were freer. Some of them managed to access Internet at night and few of the respondents managed to do so in the morning. But, a small number of the respondents were able to explore JENii's content every day. There were those who were lucky because JENii and WiWi can function well. However, there was usually no signal on heavy rainy days. Many feared that JENii might explode if the they continued to use it on heavy rainy days. 5.1.4 Usage Of Log Book The log book was given to the respondents during the visit. The researchers also taught them the correct way to record the data in the log book, so that researchers would be able to know more about their interests towards JENii applications. Although the researchers repeatedly taught the respondents how to fill in the log book every home visit, we were not able to get full participation and cooperation from the respondents. Those who did not fill in the log book gave various reasons. Some of them said they did not have much time to fill it in, they do not know the right way to record data in the log book and some said they had forgotten to do so. 5.1.5 Information Accessed Every respondent seems to have different interests towards the information provided in JENii. We found that most of the respondents especially women are keen to access the news, recipes and health, compared to other information. Only four of the respondents are interested to get access to information on landscapes and tips. Other information such as retail prices, tourism are also important to the respondents, but they want more content to be uploaded. Several respondents also tried to use the SMS/MMS/E-mail applications, but at the time of the study it was not functional. Some respondents also took this opportunity to teach their young children to use JENii as the technology is easy enough to be used. 5.2 Technology and Instrumentation 5.2.1 WiWi From the interview that has been carried out, we found that the WiWi technology offered is effective and practical. This is because it can be accessed not only with JENii, but also with laptops and handphones. This was detected when the respondents' children brought their laptop home and tried to connect the laptops to the internet. Only three respondents had problems with the signal, while the rest did not. The problems occurred due to technical problems such as congestions and obstruction of signal. 5.2.2 JENii There are 11 respondents who had difficulties to use the gadget as it was not accessible after one week of installation by the training company. Those who were having problems accessing the Internet by using JENii, tried to make use of WIWi by using their childrens' laptops. Fortunately, it worked well. At least, the initiative taken showed that the respondents realized the benefits of having computer at home. In addition, quite a number of the respondents felt frustrated when they couldn't access Internet via JENii. This shows that they have interest in the technology and the digital culture is beginning to develop. 5.2.3 Coverage (internet connection and signal) There were times that the Internet coverage was unstable and no signal appeared on JENii for them to access Internet. The procedure to get better signal was to move the instrument to a better reception area not known to many respondents. They feared that by moving the gadget they might disrupt the flow of the study. 5.2.4 Buttons and Interface Most of the respondents are familiar with the buttons on JENii since all functions are stated on the screen. They managed to name every icon that appears on the main page of JENii without looking at the device. They claimed that it was easy for them to remember the name of the icons because there are labels under the icons. Only one respondent said that she had forgotten some of the icons because she did not have enough time to explore JENii. The device given to her did not function properly. 5.3 Usefulness of Content and Community Applications Although every respondent appears to have different interests in surfing the available websites in JENii, there are certain websites which are favourite. The women respondents were interested in accessing information on petua, recipe, landscape and family health. Some of them read the available online newspapers. Several respondents accessed information on retail prices, information about teenagers and government related information. In addition, the respondents felt that they have more confidence and are more aware of current issues, because they know what is happening around them and in the country. Despite the benefits gained by the respondents, they felt that the content of websites available in JENii should be updated. They felt bored reading the same information again and again. They claimed that the access to technology, and the Internet, has empowered them to get access to information, and hence, they are more aware of what is happening around them, for instance, they can get the latest information about current issues from newspapers, recipes, family related issues, tourism, education, product prices, job, e-government and finance. Based on the interview data, respondents mentioned that JENii offers several benefits, for example, they become more confident and knowledgeable as they can get current issues in JENii. In addition, some respondents reported that they can get many benefits from exposure to various information and they also become more open-minded and confident as well as are more sensitive towards the society and surrounding area. They also reported that they can use JENii anytime at their convenience. When the content is not updated, the respondents' motivation and interest level to use JENii would decrease or deteriorate. They would start to focus on their usual commitments, such as household chores, involvement with the community especially those who are leaders of the community, family matters and other matters which they felt deserve more attention. T he introduction of JENii has impacted the lives of the respondents. Those who were able to use JENii and who tried to access the available websites as many times as possible, expressed how they have become more confident due to the new knowledge that they acquire. This subsequently increase their confidence to interact with others in the community. Some respondents stated that their house has become a center for their children's friends to gather, as the children can use WiWi to access internet via their laptop. The gap in accessing information via ICT has been reduced to a certain extent as the respondents have been empowered to do so. In relation to content, many of the available websites are relevant to the respondents, but they want the content to be updated as regularly as possible. 5.2 5.4 User's Acceptance Towards Jenii It is important to state that the respondents in this study do not have adequate ICT knowledge or low ICT knowledge to begin with. In addition, they also have technofear or technophobia. Based on the findings, Participants generally gave encouraging and positive feedbacks in relation to their acceptance towards the device. All respondents showed high interests towards the device. A high level of enthusiasm was also shown during the training. The findings revealed that 6 respondents at Felda Chini Timur 1, 8 respondents at Felda Chini Timur 2 and 9 respondents at Felda Chini Timur 3 (more than half of the respondents) stated that they accessed websites on their own. Meanwhile 14 of the respondents in Kota Kinabalu (almost half of the respondents) said they accessed websites on their own. Those who did not access websites on their own were helped by their children or their spouses. Nevertheless, respondents who had technical problem with JENii WiWi, were deterred from using JENii. As a result, their interest towards JENIi began to deteriorate. However, despite the technical problem, some respondents reacted positively. They became more interested to learn about computer. It can be concluded that the introduction of JENii and WiWi has managed to reduce the respondents' fear of technology. Majority of them agreed that they have been empowered to use technology to access information. 5.5 Users' perception and Use of JENii Majority of the respondents, in particular, those who did not experience any technical problem with JENii reported that they are confident in handling JENii. As evidence, they can switched on and switched off the device as well as recognized when there is connection to the Internet or not. One of the respondents said that the screen was too small for her, and hence, she connected JENii to the television for better vision. Since these respondents do not have any technical problem with JENii, the usage of JENii has become a routine for them, and hence, they found that the steps in operating JENii can be easily understood. In fact, this is one of the main aims when JENii was invented. The device was meant for people with low ICT literacy level or with no ICT knowledge at all. Therefore, a device which is simple to operate should be designed for such group of people. It appears that this particular aim has been achieved. One of the comments which was raised by most respondents is that the screen is rather small for them. They are senior citizens and their eyesight is not very good. A bigger screen would certainly help. There are also comments concerning the size of JENii. Some respondents mentioned that they would like JENii to be resized to the size of a laptop. The other important comment is that JENii should be battery operated. This is important especially when electricity is not available or easily available. Furthermore, a wireless JENii provides users the opportunity to use it without using cables. This provides freedom of movement and ability to extend applications in different parts of a house, of a city, or almost anywhere in the world [7]. The casing is plastic and durable but a bit fragile as many of the respondents felt that it should feel stronger and more durable as they were worried it will be broken with just a single fall. 5.6 The Gap in Accessing Internet Coverage Basically JENii is a gadget for the users to get online and use some of the online facilities. The extra facilities such as sending and receiving e-mail and sms encouraged many of the users especially those in Kota Kinabalu to be attracted to the technology. This was observed during the first visit with the respondents. The questions that they asked such as who will pay for the sms sent via JENii and whether their phone bill will increase due the usage. However during the second visit to the respondents house their motivation and interest somewhat lower as many of them encountered technical problems. One of the reasons they put forth was JENii took a long time to access the internet. Upon checking we found it was due to several reasons: 1. The procedure to access internet via JENii was not clearly understood by the respondents. 2. The training done previously was too long. Many of the respondents have forgotten the steps. Better usage found for those who had individual coaching 3. Manual given should be simpler with steps and written in bigger font. 4. Technofear was still observed in few respondents and this was due to lack of understanding of how JENii works and what advantages respondent can get when they use the device. 5. Technical glitches –Malfunctioning of the gadget due to the incompatibility with WIWI and no signal on some houses due to the renovation of houses and location of the houses involved in the study. 6. Motivation was low due to the various failed attempt in accessing the internet via JENii. Some respondents actually used their college aged children's laptop to access internet 7. Motivation was low as majority of the respondents worked and surfed the internet alone on their own. When problem aroused they panicked and packed the gadget and left it without use. 8. Home service or advise on usage and technical needed during the application of JENii. Even though there was a service center for JENii and contact no given to the respondents, no one turned up or seek assistance. 9. Limited time to surf the internet via JENii as most of the respondents were housewives. They claim that they were very busy with household chores, thus JENii was abandoned. 10. Limited content as contents were "prescribed". This lead to boredom as the same internet content made available and movies/trailer preloaded were the same. News and recipes are favourite items but need to be uploaded regularly and with pictures to entice users to try. The content related to the pricing of products must also be relevant to the community and up to date. But, few respondents who did not face any technical glitches mentioned that JENii helped them to feel more comfortable. There is a case of zero literacy but after 2 months using the device she felt bored as JENii could not help her to surf the internet as freely as she wanted to. Thus, after 2 months she migrated and bought her own laptop so that she could communicate with her children via e-mails. She kept in touch with the research team regularly via e-mail. The technofear that she felt earlier somehow lessen and JENii with its simple interface has helped her to use the real computer. Finally, the introduction of JENii has helped to familiarize the respondents with computer related terms or terminology such as connectivity, computer icons and computer parts. 6 Challenges The respondents accepted the device well but felt frustrated due to the technical glitches and problems in accessing the internet. Majority of the respondents felt that JENii 's commercial value is low but as a bridging agent it is good to ensure that respondents are more comfortable with ICT and their technofear could be reduced. The respondents reported some technical problems, namely connection problem related to unstable signal and slow connectivity to Internet and this somehow affected their motivation. Connection is also slow on heavy rainy days and JENii relies on electricity. Therefore, this poses a challenge for those who are living at the remote areas without electricity. JENii can be plugged into the television for easier viewing but the limited knowledge of technology among the users hindered them from using such application. A technical one stop center is set up in one of the piloted areas but the users did not utilize the assistance and services offered. This was due to the fact that the center is located quite a distance and the housewives did not have time to visit the center. The technical problems and connectivity issue do affect the overall applications of the device. Users' interest and motivation to use the instrument become low and this impacted their frequency of usage. Motivation is crucial for ensuring that the introduction of a new technology device is successful. Their interest level was high in the beginning because the device was given free and the availability of WIWi helped them and their children to access internet for free using laptops. They were also excited because their houses were the focus and they get many guests who came to look at the device and try it. After two weeks, however, they get back to their normal daily routine and could not find time to explore JENii due to housework chores. The risks here has to do with low motivation and low needs in terms of use. There is a need for the promoter to create greater awareness program and activities in the use of the device in order to persuade the community to use the device. Other risk is related to competition where the availability of more sophiscated devices such as laptops, which could do more than what JENii could do. Furthermore, the limited content and capabilities of JENii, nonetheless, affected the motivation level of the respondents. It was observed that their motivation level dropped after the 30 days of trial. Those who still using JENii were those who had technical glitches during the first month and continue using in the 2nd month. Those who like JENii in the beginning of 30 days found that it was limited in its functions and in the second month left JENii without use. Only 1 migrated to a real laptop whereas many migrated and use their children's laptop. This is also a positive indicator that JENii is effective as a device to reduce technofear. This is also a positive indicator that JENii is effective as a device to reduce technofear. In addition, there are users who fear that the device will be damaged if they use it frequently, and hence, decided not to use it. In addition, the profiling report of respondents showed that respondents did not do any online task transactions, payments of bills or online purchases as JENii is not designed to be online interactive. It is designed with the aim of making users feel comfortable and confident to use ICT before migrating to the actual personal computer. Despite this, the limitation has created interest in some of the respondents to do more than just using JENii. They wanted a better and a more comprehensive device with higher applications, especially in online communication and transactions. Finally, it was observed that JENii could only retain the respondents' interests for 2-3 month. This was due to the limited content and lack of interactions and feedback. It is essential to point out here, that although respondents have low ICT literacy, they were exposed to the real personal computer and know what a computer can do. Therefore, the attachment period is safely rated as only two months where the majority of the respondents would then started to purchase their own pc and left JENii unattended. 7 The Way Forward in Bridging the Gap Although the introduction of JENii has managed to achieve its objective to a certain extent, there are several issues if addressed effectively will assist the bridging process. The study found users need continuous technical support team technology vendors. Training of device could be offered more regularly firstly prior to use, and secondly at individual's home and conducted in easy to follow steps. This will enable the trainers to detect any problems and address the individual needs of the respondents. In addition, the training should also included teaching manual in various languages and JENii should also be battery operated for mobility.
8 Conclusion The introduction of JENii is a right step by the government to encourage wider usage of ICT and to address the issue of digital divide among the society, especially the marginalized group. JENii is a simplified device in terms of its technological features and user interface, to cater especially for the ICT illiterate group and technophobia group. The results of the study revealed that respondents found the device easy to use, and hence, helped in reducing their fear of technology. Their knowledge of computer terms or terminology has also been developed. The device has also changed the respondents' perception towards technology as a tool to search for information, as they are now aware of its importance in their life. The adoption of ICT will help the development of information society, which is in line with the nation's ICT agenda. This is because scientific research, technological development and particularly innovation is, along with communication and information technologies one of the pillars of building the knowledge society [8]. The findings of this study, however, is confined to the sample and locality of the research sites. Despite this, the research has provided a good and useful baseline data for further initiatives in technology development, solely for bridging digital divide for the marginalized group. To conclude, Malaysia's efforts in bridging the digital divide have been laudable as reflected in the continuous work and pro-active role shown by the appointed Ministries and its agencies in achieving its goal to ensure ICT access to all Malaysian citizens. Besides providing connectivity, the government has also conducted many and various training programme to ensure that the rural community not only has connection to the Internet but also the capacity to benefit from that connection as ICT development is a vehicle for wider economic prosperity [13]. References: [1] Abdul Razaq Ahmad, Norhasni Zainal Abidin, Jamaludin Badusah and Pang Shiau Wai, Computer Usage and Achievement among Adults in Rural Areas in Malaysia, Journal of Social Science, Vol.5, No.1, 2009, pp. 1-8. [2] Albirini, A., Teachers' attitudes toward ICTs, Journal of Computers and Education, Vol.47, 2006, pp. 373-398. [3] Building Digital Bridges: The Case of Malaysia, Symposium on Building Digital Bridges, 2004. [4] Compaine, Benjamin M., The digital divide: Facing a crisis or creating a myth, Cambridge Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2001. [5] Elina Jokisuu et al., Computer usage among senior citizens in Central Finland, Agora Human Technology Centre: University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, 2007. [6] Farmer, Lesley S.J., Teaching digital citizenship., in Proceedings of 9th. International Conference on Education and Educational Technology, H. Fujita and J. Sasaki (eds.)' 2010. WSEAS Press, pp.387-392. [7] Luwinita Popa, Adrian Danila, Using E-learning in Romanian knowledge based society., in Proceedings of 7th.International Conference on Engineering Education, P. Dondon, O. Martin (eds.)., 2010, WSEAS Press, pp. 237-242. [8] Marius-Constantin O.S. Popescu and Nikos E. Mastorakis, in Proceedings of the 3rd. International Conference on Communication and Information Technology, Panos Pavdalos, Nikos Mastorakis, Valeri Mladenov and Zoran Bojkovic (eds.)., 2009, WSEAS Press, pp.139-145. [9] Mohd Yusof Abdullah and Noor Rahamah Abu Bakar, Expanding knowledge horizon of indigenous people through communication technologies: A case study in Malaysia, Paper presented at IV International conference on communication and reality, 25-26 May 2007, University Ramon Hull, Valdonzella, Barcelona, Spain, 2007. [10] Mojgan Afshavi, Kamariah Abu Bakar, Wong Su Luan and Marjan Afshavi, Principals and technology use, in Proceedings of 6th.International Conference on Educational Technologies, Ali Kallel, Abdel Hamid Hassairi, Cornelia Aida Bulucea, Nikos Mastorakis (eds.).,2010, WSEAS Press, pp. 13-18. [11] Musa Abu Hassan and Mohd Safar Hasim, My Malaysia, Retrieved 9th July 2010. [12] Musa Abu Hassan, Md.Salleh Hasan, Hayrol Azril Mohamed Shaffril and Jeffrey Lawrence D'Silva, Problems and obstacles in using ICT among Malaysian agro-based entrepreneurs, European Journal of Scientific Research, Vol.36, No.1, 2009, pp. 93-101. [13] Norizan Abdul Razak, Empowering the Rural Communities Via the Telecenters, European Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.9, No.3, 2009, pp. 425-432. [14] Norizan Abdul Razak, Ruzy Suliza Hashim, Faridah Ibrahim and Zaini Amir. Access Adoption and Value of ICT among Malaysian Women, Research report FRGS 2010. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. [15] Norizan Abdul Razak, Nor Fariza Mohd. Nor, Mohd. Yusof Abdullah, Jalaluddin Abdul Malek, Ali Salman, Yoong Siew Wai, A Technology Towards Bridging the Digital Divide: Applications and Acceptance, in Selected Topics in Education and Educational Technology, H. Fujita and J. Sasaki (eds), WSEAS Press, 2010, p.118-122. [16] Rahmah, H. and Becker G., (eds.), Internet Malaysia, Bangi: Department of Communication, UKM, 2001. [17] Singhal, A. and Rogers, E.M., India's communication revolution: From bullock carts to cyber marts, New Delhi: Sage Publications, 200. [19] United Nations, World Information Society Report, United Nations, Paris, 2006. This paper is based on a research and development project made possible by the research grant awarded by MIMOS (SK/09/2009/GLKK and SK/18/2009/GLKK), conducted by Assoc. Prof. Datin Dr. Norizan Razak, Dr. Nor Fariza Mohd. Nor, Dr. Mohd Yusof Abdullah, Dr. Jalaluddin Abdul Malek and Dr. Ali Salman.
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