GLOBAL MEDIA JOURNAL
Year:2014 | Volume:8 | Issue:2 (16)|Papers Count:8

This paper will examine the role of academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination of selected student samples on predicting levels of dependency on internet use. In order to do this research, we first considered students at the faculty of behavioral psychology as well as students at the faculty of engineering to be the unit of our analysis. Then we ran a random cluster sampling technique to determine the sample size. In the end, 408 samples (219 male and 189 female) were selected. In order to collect data, we used dependency scale (IDS, Davis, 2001), college academic self-efficacy questionnaire, (CASEA, Owen & Fronman, 1988), and procrastination assessment scale-students (PASS; Soloman & Rothblum, 1984). Some of the findings indicate that students’ main reasons to visit internet include: checking email messages, using social networks and gathering information, surfing through media sites, chatting, listening to music, playing internet games, wandering aimlessly, and viewing pornography. Some other findings indicate that procrastination in preparing assignments and procrastination in preparing term papers had a positive and meaningful correlation with dependency on internet. In turn, it had a negative and meaningful relationship with academic self-efficacy. This is while procrastination in preparing for exams had no significant relationship with internet dependency and academic self-efficacy. Also, the results indicate that there is a negative and significant relationship between internet dependency and academic self-efficacy. The stepwise regression analysis also indicates that academic self-efficacy has a main role in predicting internet dependency. Also, procrastination in preparing assignments has a significant role in predicting internet dependency. The results also show that the mean scores of male students in internet dependency are higher than that of the female students. As a result, it can be argued that internet dependency is an epidemic phenomenon among students causing low levels of academic self-efficacy and procrastination in preparing assignments.

It is now a known fact that media users prefer electronic news sites over traditional mass media, mainly because they provide wider range of capabilities and yet they do not perform the same limitations that time and location enforce on mass media users. As the number of electronic news sites increases so does their users, however, there has not been any development in designing a model that can be used to evaluate the efficiency of such sites. It seems therefore plausible to set the purpose of this study on designing a model that can be used to evaluate the service quality of such electronic news sites. We claim this model can contribute to improvement of such sites through evaluating their strengths and weaknesses by such model. The paper will also seek grounds of applying this model to evaluation of electronic news sites in Iran, with a focus on what the main priorities of Iranian users are. For this purpose, we first launched a literature review on web-qual and also interviewed selected experts to see what their opinions are. This led to identifying 51 dimensions and indicators as tools of measuring quality of such sites. We then used such dimensions and indicators in the form of questions that were inserted in a questionnaire. We then selected a number of users of electronic news sites to find out whether they also consider such dimensions and indicators as proper tools for evaluating strengths and weaknesses of electronic news sites. The data were then collected and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. The results helped us to design a model in which modes of improving sites were identified. Such model functions based on considering two elements: 1-the first element focuses on common aspects of all electronic sites such as attraction and accessibility; and, 2-the second element focuses on specific aspects of the site such as how news is delivered.

Regarding the media literacy, this article examines the question of how aware the university and high school students in Tehran are. Using the theories of James Potter, political economy, social responsibility and education information, this study seeks to answer the above question regarding the media literacy of Tehrani students. We will also explain the degree of media literacy using variables such as age, sex, and level of education and the use of television. Methodologically, it is a survey research based on 440 samples from university students as well as 400 samples from high school students. Some of the findings indicate that university and school students in Tehran demonstrate some weak levels of cognition of the media literacy. Because of such weak dimension, the students are not able to make conscious choices between various media and they can not take independent action. Such phenomenon causes them to be in need of retraining measures that can help them take critical approach towards media choices and media consumption. We believe the retraining will equip them with the tools to analyze and evaluate media products. Some other findings indicate that the perception of sample group towards media literacy can be identified. For example, the school students considered the definition of media literacy as equivalent to traditional literacy, while university students found it as the training that makes an individual to be able to understand the media interaction process. The students also considered it as a process that can improve their ability to make sense of the media. Also, the perception of school students about media literacy relied on what they considered to be an understanding of the current situation of the media, rather than considering it as tool that improved their critical and independent thinking. This is while the university students stated that the main purposes of media literacy include critical and independent thinking, ability to choose and ambition to achieve a leading position. It should also be mentioned that the findings indicate that there has been a meaningful correlation between the age and media literacy of school and university students. The relation between age and gender of the university students with media literacy revealed that the boys have more media literacy compared to the girls. The relation between age and gender among school students were indifferent for the both genders. There was also a meaningful correlation between education level of university students and level of media literacy while such a correlation did not exist among school students.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of mobile phone on the socio-educational performance of the students in the city of Yazd. In order to do that, we used the theory of uses and gratification which provided a useful theoretical and explanatory tool. One of the axioms on which we can proceed to evaluate these impacts is that the mobile phone usage is one of the modern phenomena of the electronic century and digital world that has positive, negative, social and moral effects on its users. Surprisingly, most families who are aware of such impacts do not pay much attention to the negative aspects of this technology and provide their children with mobile phones. To examine such claims we used a cross sectional study that was done among 579 sample students who lived in city of Yazd as university students in 2012. The data were collected by a validated questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed in such a way to gather two sets of information as follows; 1-the demographic section provided general information about the targeted population; and, 2-the impact-evaluating section included questions aiming at gathering information about the impact of mobile phone on the students. The data were collected and then analyzed by SPSS. Some of the results indicate that 99 percent of students owned mobile phones. We considered the total score of socio-educational performance to be 24. The results indicated that the mean scores for the students’ performance were about 16/41. The mean performance score of the female and married students was more positive than that of the male and single students (P< 0/001 and P< 0/004, respectively). Also, there was a significant correlation between performance and GPA (Grade Points Average), on one hand and age and GPA (P< 0/001 and P< 0/002, respectively) of the students, on the other. Based on the research results, it can be argued that although mobile phone may have negative impact on the lives of the youth, especially the students, it also has benefits including it helps them to meet their communication needs and educational needs.

Satellite is one of the most important means of communication in today's world. There are two basic standpoints regarding the use of satellite. One looks at the positive aspects of its application and the other concentrates on its negative effects. This paper intends to study the influence rate of the satellite TV in Tehran and tries to apply a sociological approach to explain it. The purpose of this study is a critical analysis of the performance of the national media, and that of the satellite. The method used is survey. The statistical population is the Tehrani citizens aged over 18, the sampling method is cluster and simple random, and the sample size is 400. Among the findings of this study is that approximately 60 percent of the residents have satellite. They have considered the satellite programs to be attractive, and expressed a low reliability for the internally broadcasted TV networks. The respondents, on the other hand, have stated that the national media programs are noble and propagate religious and national values. They believed that satellite programs play a role in the promotion of violence and immorality. Citizens are considered to possess an appropriate media literacy and well aware of the negative impact of satellite, but having no internal alternative to substitute it.

This paper is the result of a content analysis of textbooks. The objective of this analysis is to identify the advantages of content analysis in designing textbooks. We used this method by collecting information and library research method and note-taking technique. This was in fact a critical content analysis which included text-book analysis, defining the concepts, their application and dimensions, and principals and theories that are usually used to design text-books. We critically reviewed how textbook texts, pictures and modes of referencing are organized. To indicate the importance of content analysis of textbooks, it is worth mentioning that text-books are indeed the most important and valuable educational tools that have important role in educational systems. Researchers consider text-books to be one of the most efficient and effective educational tools that can provide a highly appropriate condition for learners. Content analysis helped us to analyze and evaluate concepts, principles, attitudes, believes, and all textbook components scientifically and we were able to compare the results to the curriculum goals. We believe information we have provided here can give the administrators, designers and authors an opportunity to make any possible modification of the content of the textbooks in accordance with the predetermined goals and scientific principles. Some of the findings indicate that not only content analysis plays a role in streamlining the process of designing textbooks but also it helped us to realize that picture in textbooks continue to play an important role in learning process.

This paper will examine the question of how widespread the use and the tendency to use computer games are across world. Also it will review the phobia and pathological effects these games have had in various societies including Iran. This is an important scientific issue that we thought needs to be addressed, as many countries are experiencing it. In the meantime, we realize such an issue can not be addressed in one paper only, which is why we here focus on evaluating the factors that are involved in creating a tendency and motivation towards using these games. Methodologically speaking, the unit of analysis for such study includes those users who visited game clubs and coffee nets in Yazd city during the year 2012. We chose units of observation from among these game users through cluster sampling technique which in the end we managed to select 195 samples. Also we used a researcher-made questionnaire to launch our survey research for collection of the required data. Some of the findings of the data analysis indicate that variables such as the game’ s level of violence, illusory world of the game, level of competence and encouraging user to quarrel, had a significant correlation with variables such as the tendency to use the game. The regression equation test also indicated that the variable of level of illusory and being imaginative, on one hand and level of games’ competing mood were correlated with a correlation coefficient of 0. 538 indicating it can predict %29 of the tendency towards using such games. As the concluding remark we can also refer to factors creating tendency to computer games, of which users’ needs are the most important factor, especially those needs that the medium tries to provide and encourage the users to come back for the game.