Knowledge of green computing among university students and lecturers in a Malaysian public university

• Main Authors: Bello, Abdullahi, Tunku Ahmad, Tunku Badariah, Nordin, Mohamad Sahari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Global Science and Technology Forum (GSTF) 2013
• Subjects: L Education (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/46185/1/46185_Green_Computing_Knowledge_JoC_v3_n1_Paper_17.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/46185/; http://dl4.globalstf.org/?wpsc-product=knowledge-of-green-computing-among-university-students-and-lecturers-in-a-malaysian-public-university

This study examined the levels of green computing knowledge between students and lecturers, and between ICT and non-ICT respondents in a public university in Malaysia. Two types of green computing knowledge were assessed, perceived knowledge and objective knowledge. Perceived knowledge was assessed through respondents’ self-rating of how much they knew about green computing on eight Likert items, and objective knowledge through seventeen True-False items. The sample consisted of 240 respondents, comprising 180 students and 60 lecturers, drawn using a purposive, random sampling. Data were collected using a self-developed green computing questionnaire, which was administered by hand and via e-mail. Descriptive statistics and independent-samples t-tests were used to analyze the data. Results show that almost half of the sample reported having completely no knowledge of green computing (49.5%), while 14.6% reported having a low level of knowledge. Those reporting having high (2.6%) and quite high (9.7%) levels were few in number. Results of the t-tests point to a no-significance difference between students and lecturers, but a statistically significant difference between ICT and non-ICT respondents. The findings suggest the importance of conscious training in energy-efficient computing to raise students’ and lecturers’ levels of knowledge in this very important area.