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457200000CC0105 SOCIAL RESEARCHECATopc:Urban Living Sub-Topic:Technology and EducationResearch Question:How does UniSim’s utility of e-Books influence student’s choice of study material?T-Group:T07Full Name:Nithya Devi D/O Mutesamy Word Count: 2667 WordsPI Number:W1581141Date of Submission:7th November 2015TABLE OF CONTENTSS/NDESCRIPTIONPAGE NO.1.Introduction3 - 42. Literature Review5 - 63.Hypothesis6 - 74.Sociological TheoryStructural FunctionalismSymbolic Interactionism7 – 8 5.Variables & IndicatorsIndependent Variable & IndicatorsDependent Variable & Indicators8 – 96.MethodologySurvey QuestionnaireRespondentsDissemination of Survey9 - 107.Results & AnalysisAnalysis of Independent VariableAnalysis of Dependent Variable11 - 148.Conclusion159. References161. INTRODUCTIONThe advancement of technology has been taking the world by storm as it dominates various industries worldwide. Most importantly, it aids as an enhancement to organizations in saving time and money. Despite its exceptionally quick progression in the 20th and 21st century, individuals tend to appraise and criticize the positivity and negativity of its aspects. This is solely due to the part it plays in both their professional (education and work) and personal lives. This study focuses on how technology managed to shape the education sector in Singapore, and how this affects both the school and its students. Education is a compulsory act under the law of Singapore, and its importance is highly emphasized by the government. Singapore believes that with education, the country will be able to develop itself in terms of competitiveness and growth. [Ministry of Education, 2012] Due to its level of significance and necessity, the impact and changes in such a sector should not be taken lightly. With that said, it is evident that schools have imbedded technology into their education system and student’s curriculum, through innovative ways of teaching and learning. An example of such a phenomenon would be the usage of electronic books, better known as e-books, to substitute or minimize physical books provided by institutions.UniSim in particular, has been incorporating the use of e-books in most of its courses. As a student myself, I witness the domination of e-books over physical books in all full-time courses provided by the school. This is an immense conversion in study materials and methods for many of us, who came from schools with higher utilization of physical books and lecture notes as part of our manuals to aid us in our program. In support to this, I noticed that most students in UniSim tend to print physical copies of their e-books and articles to take notes, instead of making reference from their respective devices. To be certain, I enquired senior students from the various courses and detected that the main mechanism used by professors were similar to that of their juniors. Resources used by the schools are mainly for the beneficiary of its students, particularly those that contribute to their academic prospect. Hence, the observed trend in UniSim sparked my curiosity to uncover how the influence of e-books incorporated by the school, shapes student’s preferred study approach. This defines my research question to be: “How does UniSim’s utility of e-Books influence student’s choice of study material?”This finding hopes to fill the gaps of whether schools in Singapore are providing its students their preferred resources to aid them in their academic achievement. This research paper will be structured in the following manner: Readers will first be introduced to primary researches done for the study. This will be followed by the hypothesis, presentation of variables and methodology, and finally, analysis of obtained results. 2. LITERATURE REVIEWThis section is a presentation of some primary researches done prior to the study. This paper focuses on the education sector of the country because, as mentioned earlier, Singapore signifies education as one of its top priorities. In fact, its importance has been constantly emphasized by our very own, Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong during rallies and speeches. [Loong, 2014] He mentioned how it would greatly impact both the country and individuals positively, and how much effort the government has contributed to provide every Singaporean a progressive and pragmatic education. [Loong, 2014]Moreover, their efforts have shown a clear progression for the country as it was ranked top for global school rankings as of 2015. [BBC News, 2015] Singapore government also agreed to their heavy investment on education, as its only natural resources are people. [Loong, 2014] In addition to the significance of education in the eyes of the government and its people, many changes have been implemented to the system of the study as more schools are adopting the use of e-books. However, apart from the utility of these resources by schools, Singaporeans too have shown signs of adaptability to the advancement in technology as the number of readers borrowing e-books from libraries continues to increase. [Hio, 2015] Although these books are mainly fictional and different from e-books used in schools, it portrays how individuals exploit such benefits due to its convenient accessibility. An article released by PS Media shows how Learning Management Systems have been incorporated with textbook contents in many schools. [Schoppert, 2013] An example of such a system is UniSim’s canvas utilized by all students to aid in effective learning and communication. In contrast to such evidence of high utility among e-books, various other studies have discussed the detrimental effect it can have on an individual. Ergonomic researches have proven on-screen reading to be less productive as it takes more time for the individual. It also increases stress and exhaustion for someone who reads off a computer screen or device. [Marcum, 2012] Apart from this, studies conducted by Harvard Medical School also accentuates on the detrimental effect of light emitted from respective devices being harmful to people. [Peter, 2015]In summation to the researches and studies above, the pressure exerted by the government, enables its citizens in ensuring the improvement in the movement of the education sector. Despite the damaging effects that e-books have proven to have on its users, schools in Singapore continue to accept its use as means to cut costs and increase productivity. However, institutions fail to realize that students are the direct users and beneficiaries of these resources; thus, their preferability should be the determining factor in regulating the type of resources that schools should invest in, for its students. 3. HYPOTHESISThe vast development of technology has helped schools to implement e-books into their curriculum as a form of resource to aid students with their educational achievements. Institutions continue to welcome such resources, as they are believed to be beneficial and convenient for its students. However, my study aims to challenge this perception, by showing that despite UniSim’s high utility of such resources, students continue to adopt the traditional method of studying. Thus having no influence over the student’s choice of study material to change. 4. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY 4.1 Structural Functionalism This theory mainly explains the society’s expectation of its people, and why it functions the way it does. I will further discuss how structural functionalism relates to, and investigates how Singapore’s education system functions in a society. The structural functionalist presumes that if an institution exists, there had to be an underlying reason that serves some social needs. In Singapore, its ministers have stressed the importance of education to its citizens. This is because institutions that offer education are significant in building the society and the country as a whole, as people are the only form of natural resource Singapore can rely on, and the expertise developed through such an education system, can benefit the country in terms of global competitiveness and stance. Hence, it would be seen as a positive function serving the overall society. 4.2 Symbolic Interactionism Symbolic interactionism analyses the society by addressing the behavioral meanings of one’s life. This is due to the believe that, as people interact with the world, their behavior changes and is influenced by what they believe rather than merely on something that is naturally true. These are the people who interpret rules, as they are more interested in the mechanism than the function of it. Similarly, despite knowing the detrimental effect that e-books can have on students as mentioned above, schools continue to impose and welcome them as a form of resource for students to utilize in replacement of physical books. This is mainly because; schools perceive that it would be more convenient for students due to its accessibility. It is also viewed as a means to save cost. 5. VARIABLES AND INDICATORSThere are many different types of e-books available in schools and even libraries. However, for the purpose of this paper, e-books are defined as online textbooks and study guides offered by UniSim. The main objective of this study is to observe the type of study material selected by students, so as to be able to aid the school in utilizing their resources more efficiently and effectively, while accommodating to the preferability of its students. 5.1 Independent Variable and IndicatorsThe independent variable is the level (high or low) of UniSim’s utility of e-books. This variable varies quantitatively, and will be measured with the following indicators: Number of modules taken by students Number of modules utilizing e-booksFrequency of references made by teachers to these resourcesRelevance of contents with respect to student’s assignments and tests 5.2 Dependent Variable and Indicators The dependent variable for this study is the type of study materials selected by students. This is inclusive of e-books or physical books that contributes to their educational achievement. The variable varies qualitatively, and will be measured with the following indicators: Student’s ability to understand contents when using e-booksStudents ability to concentrate when using e-booksStudent’s choice to print e-booksMethod of studyUsage of other academic books 6. METHODOLOGY This section will feature the methods and criteria undertaken to gather data for the analysis of this study. 6.1 Survey QuestionnaireThe primary data collection method used was survey questionnaire. With the use of the indicators stated above, I was able to construct the survey questionnaire to aid with the analysis of this research. (Refer to URL below) This method is chosen due to the various benefits it offers. First, it allows for a larger number of respondents despite the time constraint. Next, with proper structuring of questions, it ensures standardization of answers, allowing for greater precision to measure the information gathered. URL Respondents To gather data from an extensive pool of respondents and due to time constraint, random sampling of 40 respondents from year 1 and 2 with equal proportion were selected and the criteria are as follows:Respondents have to be an existing student of UniSim Respondents have to be in the full-time programme 6.3 Dissemination of SurveyDue to time constraint, the survey was created online and distributed personally through online mediums such as mobile applications, and social networks like Facebook and Twitter. To ensure precision of respondents, they were personally notified to complete the survey. The questions are structured to address the independent variable, followed by the dependent variable. 7. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS -80010013627100025146001362710007.1 Analysis of Independent Variable The following questions were asked to analyze the level of utility of e-books by the institution. From the survey, I noticed that every student in UniSim take a minimum of 3 modules to a maximum of 6 modules per semester. Figure 1 above shows the number of modules students take per semester while Figure 2 shows the number of modules, which utilize e-books in their curriculum. As you can see, both graphs are similar; proving that all modules used by both students from year 1 and 2 encompasses the usage of e-books as a mechanism in their studies. This clearly shows a high utility of e-books by the school. These four questions were calculated on a scale of 1 to 4, 1 being strongly agree and 4 being strongly disagree. The questions asked are summarized in the legend of Figure 3. Reference of e-books here refers to professor’s tendency to make use of the e-books during their lessons to educate their students, while relevance of contents is based on how much of the e-book is applicable in terms of their assignments and examinations. As you can see, in terms of reference and relevance of its contents, majority of the students strongly agreed. Proving once again, that the school does indeed display a high level in the usage of e-books.From these answers provided, we can infer that the level of utility of e-books by the school is high. This means that UniSim depends on such resources to teach the students and they too, have to depend on these resources in terms of their education. 7.2 Analysis of Dependent VariableThe following figures are obtained from questions asked to analyse the type of study material chosen by students, and the possible reasons for their preferability. 2628900000-685800000Student’s choice of printing out the e-books was also asked. We can infer that those who chose to print a copy of their online material have a clear preferability of physical study materials. In this case, a majority of 77% of students chose to print their e-books to study. When asked why, most of them acknowledged that referring to the online academic books tires them easily. The second most popular reason is that it instills productivity, and lastly, its tendency to be distractive. As mentioned earlier, e-books have proven to have a detrimental effect on its users, and from these results we can concur that UniSim students are victims of these effects. 297180015748000-80010034290000 Lastly, their preferability in terms of note taking and type of study material was asked. As you can see from Figure 6 and 7, most students prefer writing physical notes and books as compared to e-books and online note-taking. Although more students expressed interest in online note taking, as compared to e-books, the majority’s preferability still stands. There is a clear indication that students still favor the traditional way of studying, despite high usage of e-books by the school. Overall, we can see a clear segregation between what the students want and what the school offers. Although UniSim’s high utility of e-books does not affect student’s choice of study material, due to their favourability to the traditional method, it affects them in other ways. As you can see from Figure 5, it affects them mainly in terms of productivity and distraction. This means that student’s performance and progression may be adversely affected due to the school’s system. 8. CONCLUSIONUniSim’s utility of e-books does not influence a change in student’s choice of study material. As mentioned earlier, UniSim are amongst the many schools that have been incorporating e-resources into its curriculum, but a material such as academic books should be shaped to provide effectiveness for its students. If schools continue to provide e-resources due to its accessibility and convenience, students may continue to suffer the detrimental effect that these resources are exposed to. Moreover, the results of my analysis prove compatibility to my hypothesis that despite the school’s high utility of e-books, students still lean towards the traditional method. However, throughout the research study, I have discovered several limitations. For instance, due to the time constraint, the sample size of my survey respondents may subject to vulnerability from the number of respondents and their answers, as they may choose to answer questions arbitrarily, not knowing the importance of its function. In conclusion, to the best of my ability, this study may help UniSim to determine the preferred mode of study by students so that it can shape its resources to suit them. Despite the school’s perception of such resources, it is significant as the results of these findings may help to distinguish the gaps and challenges students face, and possibly have a positive effect on their performance and results.(2667 words)9. REFERENCESCoughlan, S. (2015, May 13). Asia tops biggest global school rankings. Retrieved from BBC News at , L. (2015, July 13). E-books click with more library users in Singapore. Retrieved from The Straits Times at , H. (2014). Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally 2014. Retrieved from Prime Minister’s Office at , H. (2014, September 6). Speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Yale-NUS College groundbreaking ceremony. Retrieved from Prime Minister’s Office at , E. (2012, November). The cognitive disadvantages of e-books. Retrieved from AALL Spectrum at of Education. (2012, February 8). Prepared Remarks for Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Education, on “Education for Competitiveness and Growth” at the Singapore Conference in Washington D.C., USA. Retrieved from Ministry of Education Singapore at , E. (2015, January 5). E-Readers Foil Good Night’s Sleep. Retrieved from Harvard Medical School at , P. (2013, September 23). Digital Publishing in Singapore: The Markets. 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