Information systems IS cannot be effective unless they are used. However, people sometimes do not use systems that could potentially increase their performance. This study compares two models that predict an individual's intention to use an IS: the technology acceptance model TAM and the theory of planned behavior TPB. The comparison was designed to be as fair as possible, not favoring one model over the other. Both TAM and TPB predicted intention to use an IS quite well, with TAM having a slight empirical advantage. TAM is easier to apply, but only supplies very general information on users' opinions about a system. TPB provides more specific information that can better guide development.

Predicting User Intentions: Comparing the Technology Acceptance Model with the Theory of Planned Behavior

This study began with three expectations: (a) students' religious convictions will decline over time, (b) their profile will follow that of earlier studies, and (c) greater involvement in diversity-related experiences would be associated with weaker religious beliefs Using a longitudinal database for a national cohort of 1994 freshmen and a hierarchical regression analysis, this study found some unexpected results, particularly that diversity-related experiences were not associated with weaker religious beliefs

Religion and College Attendance: Change among Students

This study examined how institutional and environmental attributes of the undergraduate institution facilitate or impede African American, Asian American, Caucasian, and Mexican American students' baccalaureate degree attainment four and six years after college entry. The primary data source for this study was generated from a national survey of 63,640 first-time full-time freshman undergraduates at 303 colleges and universities. Variables that predict uniformly for all four groups include school grades (positive), on campus residence (positive), private control (positive), institutional size (negative), institutional selectivity (positive), and peer socioeconomic level (positive). Once these variables are controlled, standardized test scores add very little to the prediction of degree completion. Consistent with stated hypotheses, all five structural dimensions of the institution—mission, size, quality/selectivity, complexity/diversity, and wealth—affect degree completion.

Four and Six-Year Baccalaureate Degree Completion by Institutional Characteristics and Racial/Ethnic Groups

The findings from recent empirical studies question decades of prior research showing a negative effect of attending college on students' religious practices and beliefs. This study employs a narrative, synthetic review of empirical research conducted over the past 15 years. Results are discussed along with limitations of the findings. Implications for the practice of student affairs professionals, grounded in theory and research, are offered, and recommendations for further research are presented. A recent ethnographic study of campus religious life (Cherry, DeBerg, & Porterfielcl, 2001) reached this provocative conclusion: "It is possible that young people in American culture have never been more enthusiastically engaged in religious practice or with religious ideas" (pp. 294-5). The study's findings question decades of research showing a negative effect of attending college on students' religious beliefs and practice (Bowen, 1997; Peldman & Newcome, 1969; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991), and suggest that the trend toward the "secularization of the academy" lamented by some scholars (Burtchaell, 1998; Butler, 1989; Marsden, 1994; Sloan, 1994) may be in check. Other recent empirical evidence (Foster & LaForce, 1999; Lee, 2000, 2002a, 2002b; Ohme, 2002) supports the contention that students' religious development may in fact be strengthened by certain collegiate experiences. This renewed religious engagement among collegians is reflective of a broader social trend in American culture. According to sociologist Robert Wuthnow (1998), the resurgence of religious involvement is in part a reaction to the social and cultural shifts since the 1960s, which include the breakdown of the nuclear family, the loss of confidence in basic social institutions, and a rampant consumer-oriented marketplace. Nash (2001) contends that the revival of student interest in religion and spirituality represents the most vibrant aspect of pluralism on campus today. This renewed spiritual engagement among college students has not gone unnoticed by student affairs professionals, as evidenced by this special issue of 7%e College Student Affairs Journal. A recent New Directions series addressed The Implications of Student Sprituality for Student Affairs Practice (Jablonski, 2001), extending earlier observations by Collins, Hurst, and Jacobson (1987) and Butler (1989). The latest edition of the Student Services Handbook (Komives, Woodard, & Associates, 2003) includes a new section on spiritual development. Recent studies have examined the relationship between student affairs professionals and campus ministries (Fidler, Poster, & Strickland, 1999; Pearson & Collins, 2001; Temkin & Evans, 1998). Professional conferences sponsored by NASPA and other student affairs associations have focused on the place of spirituality in the academy. What do we know from empirical research about the effect of college attendance on students' religious faith and practice? How can the work of student affais professionals be better grounded in this research? Where are there gaps in the scholarship? This study will address these questions utilizing a synthetic review of empirical research. Given the general interest among colleges and universities in the formation of the attitudes, beliefs, and values of their students (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991) it is perplexing that more research has not examined the impact of attending college on the religious faith and practice of students, a deficit noted by a number of scholars (Anderson, 1994; Collins et al., 1987; Lee, 2000, 2002a, 2002b; Love & Talbot, 1999; McKinney & McKinney, 1999), and perhaps related to the increased secularization of American higher education throughout the 20"' century (Burtchaell, 1998; Laurence, 1999; Marsclen, 1994; Sloan, 1994; Strange, 2000). This study will first provide a context by reviewing the religious roots of American higher education, tracing the gradual secularization of the academy. …

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How College Affects Students' Religious Faith and Practice: A Review of Research.

This study considers student development, focusing on religious change, from social psychological perspectives. The interplay between views of the college environment and the religious self was examined as a way to understand the internal processes of four undergraduate students who underwent a religious change from the Catholic faith. The methodological approach was qualitative. Narrative inquiry uncovered the individuals' inner processes and perceptions of their environment and themselves. Interview analysis showed that students' social and academic communities largely affected their religious identities. Both aspects of the college environment contributed to a more independent self that sometimes incorporated prior Catholic beliefs. (Contains 53 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

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Changing worlds, changing selves: The experience of the religious self among catholic collegians

(1989). The Influence of Peer Culture on College Student Values. NASPA Journal: Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 180-186.

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The Influence of Peer Culture on College Student Values

(1984). Using Values Education Activities to Confront Student Conduct Issues. NASPA Journal: Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 19-25.

Jon C. Dalton

Papers

The Influence of Peer Culture on College Student Values

Using Values Education Activities to Confront Student Conduct Issues

Educational Approaches to Values Development in College Students: A Survey of NASPA Chief Student Personnel Administrators

Ethical Issues and Values in Student Development: A Survey of NASPA Chief Student Personnel Officers

Student Evangelicals: Campus Activism from the Right.