Social Computing Values: As Perceived by Students of Agricultural Sciences

Abstract

Social computing is an information and communication technology tool with a new direction in computing and a field for researchers both in information and social sciences. The history of social computing or social software is deeply entangled with the evolution of the computer and Internet. The actual term ‘social software’ had surfaced in the 1980s but took off after 2002 when it is used to describe the new kind of social networking tools that seem to drive a new generation of web communities. Social computing has exhibited a prolific growth since its genesis in 2003 and, since 2005, has achieved unprecedented levels of global usage. Over the past two decades, social software, from email to blog, has fundamentally changed our ways of living, working and interacting with each other. This research study explores the core human values of students towards using the Internet sources of information in their academic as well as social life. To answer the question ‘What are the values the students associate with social computing?’, a study was conducted with the specific objective to study the values associated with social computing among the students of agricultural sciences. The study was conducted in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. One university, two colleges and 210 agricultural students, pursuing UG, PG and PhD, doing social computing formed the sample of the study. According to the responses, sharing (9.51%), selfsupport (8.97%) and openness (8.35%) were the major core values, whereas dedication (2.94%), acceptation (3.02%) and empathy (3.02%) were the minor values associated with social computing among the students of agricultural sciences.