The University of South Australia is looking
for volunteers to help with an important research project looking at how regional and
rural Australians prefer to communicate.
The study hopes to define more clearly how rural communities prefer to
receive and convey information to fill a gap in research into these issues.
UniSA researcher from the School of Accounting and Information Systems,
Samantha
Grant, says the study is aimed at determining appropriate technologies to enhance
communications in rural communities.
"Data from previous studies has only examined the processes urban
professionals use to gather and distribute information and why they choose these
methods," Ms Grant said.
"That research has focused on people who are surrounded by, and
familiar with many technological communication choices, within an organisational setting.
"Early research at UniSA has found the majority of
Australia’s rural communities prefer to communicate face-to-face. That has real
implications for what we might assume about the use of the Internet, e-mail and other
newer technologies in country Australia.
"The study hopes to identify which technologies regional
Australians feel comfortable with, or would prefer, rather than dumping existing or new
technology on them and expecting uptake," Ms Grant says.
"We also want to identify what factors may influence rural
people’s impression of different forms of communication."
Ms Grant said it would continue to be important for rural communities
to be able to use technologies to develop traditional and Indigenous knowledge to further
their own community development and sustainability.
She said she hoped results from the study would inform systems
development for industry and government so that the specific needs of rural communities
would be recognised.
"While interacting via e-mail and the Internet has become
second-nature for many urban Australians, the same technologies are not necessarily
preferred by rural communities," Ms Grant said.
"We may need to rethink how communications networks and systems
are designed for rural and remote communities and future progress will depend on research
that supports innovation in information system planning.
Samantha Grant will be visiting rural communities in SA in April and
May this year. Anyone wanting to contribute to the study can contact her on (08) 8302 0416
or 0412 555 485.
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302 0966, 041 8823673
direct to Samantha Grant on (08) 8302 0416 or 0412 555 485
