Internet applications and beliefs of state agency personnel. (Internet Use).

Access to and use of the Internet continues to expand. Cole et al., (2000) indicated that the number of Americans using the Internet increased from 19 million people in 1997 to more than 100 million in 1999. "In the first quarter of 2000, more than five million Americans joined the online world - roughly 55,000 new users each day, 2,2889 new users each hour, or 39 new users each minute" (p. 4). Deputy Secretary of Commerce Mallett (2000) stated, "We live in a world in which every one hundred days, the number of people logging onto the Internet for the first time doubles. We've never had an invention take over quite this fast. It took radio 38 years before 50 million people tuned in. It took TV 13 years. It took the Internet only four" (p. 3).

With this kind of growth, numerous applications of the Interact have been proposed for human services, e.g., psychology (Barak, 1999), career counseling (Harris-Bowlsbey, Dikel, & Sampson, 1998), and rehabilitation counseling (Patterson, 1999, 2000). The interest and importance of the Internet to the field of rehabilitation are evidenced by its selection as one of the topics for the 2000 Institute on Rehabilitation Issues (Dew, McGuire-Kuletz, & Alan, 2000).

Although the number of articles regarding Internet applications in the field of rehabilitation is increasing (e.g., Bitter, 2000; Gilbride, Breithaupt, & Hoehle, 1996; Gilbride & Stensrud, 1999; Hampton & Houser, 2000; Patterson, 2000; Riemer-Reiss, 2000), the articles are primarily theoretical and only anecdotal use was reported by Patterson, Knauss, Lawton, Raybound and Oehlers (2000). Therefore, the purpose of this preliminary study was to identify similarities and differences among state directors, district directors, and rehabilitation counselors employed in the state-federal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Program related to their (a) access to the Internet, (b) beliefs about the Internet and the agency's Intranet system, and (c) perceptions of the ways in which rehabilitation counselors use the Internet.

Method

Instrumentation

The Internet Survey, based on the theoretical article by Patterson (2000) that described Internet applications in rehabilitation, was constructed to gather data on personal access to the Internet, beliefs about the Internet and Intranet, and Internet applications that are used by counselors (e.g., looking up medical terms, identifying state and local resources). The survey was pilot tested with 18 employed rehabilitation counselors who were enrolled in a graduate course in Rehabilitation Counseling. After completing the survey, the pilot test group was asked to provide information regarding the clarity of the items and any general comments. Based on their feedback, minor revisions were made in the wording of the items.

The final version of the Internet Survey consisted of fill-in-the blank items to procure demographic information on state, age, gender, years in the VR system, and years in current position. Individuals were asked to respond using a yes/no format for items related to personal access, agree/disagree for Internet and Intranet beliefs, and yes/no for Internet applications.

Three parallel versions of the survey instrument were developed: Counselor Questionnaire, District Director Questionnaire, and State Director Questionnaire. District directors and state directors were asked to respond based on their own access and beliefs, but to indicate how they perceived counselors using the Internet in the "Applications" section. Counselors were asked to indicate how they were actually using the Internet.

Participants and Procedures

The Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) reviewed and approved the survey for distribution to all state rehabilitation agencies in the United States. A cover letter, copy of each of the questionnaires, and disk containing each of the questionnaires was sent to the 76 directors of state VR agencies in the United States (both general agencies [n = 51] and agencies serving individuals who are blind [n = 25]). The cover letter indicated that state directors could (a) disseminate the questionnaires on the agency's Intranet system, (b) copy the questionnaires for dissemination, or (c) request print copies for dissemination by the agency. Individuals were given the option of returning the surveys via e-mail, fax, or U.S. Postal Service. Individuals from 34 states, which included representation from all Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) regions, participated in the study.

Results

Respondents included 1034 rehabilitation counselors, 233 district directors, and 27 directors of state VR agencies from 34 states. The total number of responses from a state ranged from 1 to 246. As noted in the demographic profile of respondents (see Table 1), a majority of the counselors were women (59.3%) who had been counselors for 10 years. Given the changing demographics of the state VR program (Emener, Tannenbaum, & Cady, 1990), it is not surprising that age was significantly correlated with gender for each of the three groups, with more older males and more younger females responding to the survey (see Table 1).

Access

All of the state directors and over 75% of the district directors and counselors who responded to the survey had Internet access at their desks. (See Table 2 for a summary of Internet access and Internet/Intranet beliefs by agency position.) Most of the individuals who did not have access at their desks had shared access within their offices. Only 1.5% of the district directors and 5% of the counselors did not have access to the Internet at their offices. A majority of the respondents reported Internet access at home; 60% of the individuals who did not have access at their desks had home access to the Internet. Only 15 counselors (1%) and 6 district directors (2.6%) did not have access to the Internet at their desk, office, or at home.

Internet Beliefs

Respondents were in strong agreement that the Internet facilitated the work of the counselor, facilitated choice with the consumer, and could be used while meeting with consumers. Slightly over 50% of the district directors and counselors indicated that they were proficient in using the Internet, and slightly less than 50% indicated that they were not proficient but would like to learn more. Age was significantly correlated with reported proficiency for both counselors (r = .158, p = .000) and district directors (r = .137, p = .041), with older individuals indicating they were more proficient than younger individuals. A majority of the respondents believed that using the Internet should be an agency in-service training activity and taught in graduate rehabilitation counseling programs. They were in less agreement about real and potential misuses of the Internet and whether the benefits outweighed real or potential misuses. Position (i.e., counselor, district director, state director) was significantly correlated with the belief that counselors "might/do" misuse the Internet (r = -.086, p = .002), with more state directors indicating agreement with this statement. However, the correlation between position and misuses offsetting benefits gained from access to the Internet was not significant. Also, neither age nor gender was significantly correlated with beliefs regarding misuse or misuse offsetting benefits.

Intranet Beliefs

The Intranet, defined as the VR agency's e-mail communication system, was positively viewed by all respondents. Although the district directors and state directors rated the Intranet as having a more positive impact than was actually reported by rehabilitation counselors, almost 75% of the counselors indicated that the Intranet increased their job satisfaction and made them feel more a part of the organization.

Increased Job Satisfaction.

Age was significantly positively correlated with Intranet contributions to increased job satisfaction by both counselors (r =. 130, p = .000) and state directors (r = -.514, p = .014), with older counselors reporting that Intranet use increased their job satisfaction and younger state directors perceiving that Intranet use increased the job satisfaction of agency employees. Correlations between job satisfaction and gender were only significant for counselors (r = .083, p = .015), with men indicating that Intranet access increased job satisfaction more than female counselors.

Increased feeling part of the Organization.

Although correlations between age and Intranet use contributing to agency employees feeling more a part of the organization were not significant for district and state directors, age was significantly correlated with feelings of belongingness reported by counselors (r = .120, p = .001). Correlations between gender and the Intranet contributing to feeling more a part of the organization were not significant for any of the respondent groups.

Internet Applications

Counselors were asked which, if any, of 13 Internet applications they used. District directors and state directors were asked to indicate which Internet applications they believed counselors were using. The mean number of applications reported by counselors was 7 (SD = 4.3), which is slightly over half of the 13 applications listed. Both district directors (M = 8.9, SD = 4) and state directors (M = 9.9, SD = 3.9) perceived that counselors were using more applications than were actually reported by counselors. (See Table 3 for a list of the applications, reported use by counselors, and use by counselors as perceived by district directors and state directors.) Areas for which counselors indicated the highest Internet use included (a) identifying potential jobs for consumers, (b) looking up medical terms or conditions, and (c) identifying state and local resources. The two areas least used by counselors were (a) teaching job seeking skills to consumers and (b) personal continuing education.

Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients were used to determine whether there were relationships between Internet applications and age and gender. The age of counselors was significantly negatively correlated with number of applications, with younger counselors using more Internet applications, r = -.142 (p = .000). Significant correlations between age and nine of the 13 applications were obtained. (See Table 4 for demographic correlations.)

Similar correlations between the gender of counselors and number of applications were not significant. Gender was not significantly correlated with any of the specific applications, with one exception: more women counselors use the Internet to identify new technologies, including assistive technologies, than do men. Similarly, none of the correlations between gender and other positions (i.e., district directors or state directors) were significant, with two exceptions: male district directors perceived that counselors were using more Internet applications than female district directors (r = .218, p < .001). None of the correlations with state directors were significant.

Discussion

The ways in which counselors use the Internet are similar to both the general population and other helping professions. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau (Newburger, 2000) found that adults (individuals over the age of 18) use the Internet for e-mail (87.7%), information searches (64.2%), and job-related tasks (33.7%). Similarly, a survey of social workers found that respondents believed that the Internet enhanced their professional capabilities (94%) and that they used the Internet to communicate (97%) and secure information (77%) (Marlowe-Carr, 1997).

Informal communication with two state directors, one of whom participated in the study, but did not distribute it to his staff, indicated that financial reasons and concerns with misuse were two reasons that Internet access was not available to counselors in their respective states. Misuse, a term that was not defined in this study, most commonly refers to use of the Internet for non-work-related activities while one is at work. The results of this study may lessen fears of misuse, since a majority of rehabilitation counselors indicated that they had home access to the Internet. Farrell (2000) reported that although individuals spend almost twice as much time on the Internet at the office than at home, viewing "adult sites" at the office occurs half as much as it does at home. Of course, there are other misuses, such as playing games, sending personal e-mail, or simply "surfing the net." Some misuses, though not viewed positively by management, can contribute to an individual's proficiency at using the Internet and locating information if policies are not violated. Brooks, Barrett, and Oehlers (2000) recommended that agencies "create a learning environment that includes experimentation with the Internet.... [because] competencies learned in low-risk situations will be applied in work situations" (p. 39).

Two important findings of this study relate to beliefs regarding the Internet and Intranet. First, as VR agencies strive to offer quality services, the nearly unanimous belief of state directors, district directors, and counselors that the Internet facilitates the work of counselors and facilitates choice on the part of consumers, validates what has previously been theorized (e.g., Dew et al., 2000; Patterson, 1999, 2000). Secondly, almost 75% of the counselors who responded to the survey indicated that the agency Intranet system contributed to increased job satisfaction and feelings of belonging to the organization. With the emphasis in state VR agencies on hiring and retaining qualified counselors (University of Arkansas, 2000), agencies may want to explore how they can continue to capitalize on the benefits of their Intranet systems.

The survey results have implications for pre-service, in-service, and continuing education in the field of rehabilitation. Slightly over half of the counselors and district directors, and over 80% of the state directors indicated that they were proficient in using the Internet; however, almost half of the district directors and counselors indicated that they were not proficient and would like to learn more about the Internet. Almost all respondents believed that learning to use the Internet more effectively should be an agency in-service training activity and there was strong general agreement (88-93%) that Internet use should be incorporated into graduate Rehabilitation Counseling Programs. Therefore, conducting training programs on Internet use and applications related to the rehabilitation process may be another way in which state agencies and rehabilitation counseling programs can collaborate.

There were a number of limitations in this study that have implications for interpreting the results and for future research related to the Internet. One limitation was that the respondents consisted of a convenience sample largely comprised of individuals who had access to the Internet (no sample was selected, since all of the state agencies were invited to participate). Another limitation is that none of the survey terms were defined except Intranet. Therefore, information about misuse and "effective use" is subject to a variety of interpretations. Also, to facilitate data collection, few demographic items were included and this limited data analysis. Moreover, no attempts were made to (a) determine the percentage of respondents from each state, (b) follow-up with states that did not respond, and (c) distinguish between respondents who worked with general agencies and those who worked for agencies serving individuals with visual impairments.

Although this survey does provide an initial profile of Internet access, beliefs, and applications, much more extensive research in this area is warranted. Some areas of additional research are as follows:

1. Future research might investigate the barriers perceived by rehabilitation counselors to using the Internet, as well as the frequency of use of identified applications (daily, weekly, or monthly). Also, additional applications could be investigated, e.g., map programs to locate the homes of consumers, e-mail with other agencies.

2. Although professionals believe that the Internet enhanced choice with consumers, the views of consumers who have used the Internet in their rehabilitation process could be an important area of investigation. For example, do consumers believe that the Internet facilitated choice and enhanced the rehabilitation process? Also, information on the extent of consumer access to computer banks or in-office kiosks at VR offices (Sarno & O'Brien, 2000) could provide useful information on the extent to which consumers are provided Internet access at VR offices.

3. Additional demographic items, such as education, might provide a better profile on the extent to which educational programs have enhanced the skills of counselors in using the Internet. Few individuals indicated that they were using the Internet for continuing education; however, no questions were asked about using the Internet to pursue current degrees. Additional investigation into knowledge of on-line continuing education opportunities and reasons that this area is less used may assist organizations in determining whether there is a need for more on-line continuing education opportunities.

4. Since the revised Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors (Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, 2001) specifically addresses electronic communication and emerging applications (Section I) and computer technology (Section A.10), another area for investigation relates to ethical issues associated with Internet use (Patterson, 1999, 2000). For example, are counselors using encrypted e-mail and do they have confidentiality statements on their e-mail that are similar to those used on agency faxes?

5. Still another area that needs additional investigation relates to misuse and whether benefits do offset misuse. The wording in the present survey did not separate potential misuse from actual misuse. This is an important distinction that could be investigated.

6. The focus of the present study was on counselor applications of the Internet in the rehabilitation process; however, there are many other agency uses for the Internet, e.g., recruiting personnel, providing virtual tours of the agency; assessing consumer satisfaction on-line (Patterson, Knauss, Lawton, Raybould, & Oehlers, 2000; Sarno & O'Brien, 2000). Future research could expand the focus to investigate the extent to which agencies are using other Internet applications.

7. Since there are states in which counselors do not yet have Internet access, there is an opportunity to compare the perceived benefits prior to agency access with the perceived benefits after the agency provides access and individuals have had opportunities to use it in their daily activities.

The Internet offers both opportunities and challenges. It is one of many tools available to rehabilitation professionals, and as Leiner et al., (2000) noted, not only is the Internet still changing, but new applications will come with its evolution. Therefore, it is important to continue to investigate a tool whose impact appears to range from enhancing consumer choice to increasing job satisfaction and feelings of belonging to an organization.

Table 1
Demographic Information on Participants

Variable           State Directors   District Directors   Counselors

Mean Age                 51.2                49.2              44.5

Gender
  # Men                   7                  99               386
  # Women                18                 132               613
  Not Reported            2                   2                35

Mean Years in VR         20.9                19.2              11.0

Mean Years in             6.7                 8.1              10.1
Current Position

Age-Gender            r = .251,          r = .299,         r = .525,
Correlation          p = .000 **        p = .000 **       p = .007 **

** Significant at the .01 level
Table 2
Access, Internet, and Intranet Beliefs: Percent of Respondents Who
Answered Yes

Variable                             State       District    Counselors
                                     Directors   Directors   [n = 1034]
                                     [n = 27]    [n = 233]

Access
  Desk                               100%        76.8%       82%
  Shared                               0.0%      21.7%       13%
  Home                                92.6%      75.9%       66.5%

Internet Beliefs
  Facilitates work of counselors     100%        97.0%       96.3%
  Facilitates choice with             85.2%      96.1%       93.1%
    consumers
  Use with consumers present          96.3%      96.1%       92.2%
  Counselor resource - should not      3.7%       4.8%        8.3%
    be used with consumers
  Proficient in Use                   81.5%      51.6%       57.2%
  Not Proficient, would like to       25.9%      48.1%       48.7%
    learn more
  Not interested in using the          0.0%       1.7%        3.3%
    Internet
  Misuse of Internet might/does       61.5%      50.0%       41.4%
    occur
  Benefits of Internet offset         48.1%      37.7%       42.3%
    any misuse
  Internet use should be agency      100%        96.1%       94.6%
    in-service
  Internet use should be in           88.9%      93.1%       87.9%
    graduate programs

Intranet Beliefs
  Increased Job Satisfaction          91.7%      79.2%       73.8%
  No effect on agency personnel        8.3%      13.2%       17.6%
  Over-used in our agency             13.0%      40.4%       13.1%
  Under-used in our agency            36.4%      15.3%       46.7%
  Makes employees feel more a part    91.3%      81.3%       72.6%
    of the organization
Table 3
Counselor Internet Applications

Variable                             State       District    Counselors
                                     Directors   Directors   [n = 1034]
                                     [n = 27]    [n = 233]

Look up medical terms or             88.0%       74.9%       70.3%
conditions

Look up medications and side         76.0%       69.0%       55.9%
effects

Look up occupational requirements    88.5%       82.1%       68.8%
or projections

Identify state and local resources   92.3%       83.5%       69.4%

Identify local community resources   76.9%       74.8%       60.4%

Identify new technologies,           80.8%       71.8%       52.7%
including assistive technology

Identify consumer organizations      80.8%       66.8%       54.6%
for information or support groups

Teach job seeking skills to          53.8%       43.2%       39.6%
consumers

Identify training programs for       80.8%       72.6%       60.0%
consumers

Identify potential jobs for          92.3%       84.7%       75.6%
consumers

Identify employers to target for     69.2%       59.6%       49.2%
job development

Facilitate personal continuing       72.0%       52.4%       39.7%
education

Communicate with consumers           80.8%       73.5%       65.1%
using e-mail

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Jeanne Boland Patterson, Department of Public Health, University of North Florida, 4567 St. Johns Bluff Rd. S., Jacksonville, FL 32224. Email: [e-mail]