Volume 3, Issue 10 , February 2012, , Pages 137-186
Abstract
The present paper examines the relationship between access to information and communication technology and satisfaction with these services in two newly built towns of Parand and Pardis. The study is conducted through a survey and aims at examining the effect of modern communication on the organization ...
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The present paper examines the relationship between access to information and communication technology and satisfaction with these services in two newly built towns of Parand and Pardis. The study is conducted through a survey and aims at examining the effect of modern communication on the organization of newly built towns based on Manuel Castells' theory of network society, Jurgen Habermas' public sphere theory as well as the theories of communication development. The main question addressed is how much access the people living in these newly built towns have to modern communication and information technology and the role of such technology in solving their problems. To this end, 382 people living in these towns were selected (102 individuals from Parand and 280 from Pardis). They completed a questionnaire including 26 questions; then Chi Square and frequency tables were drawn using SPSS. The obtained results indicated that a huge percentage of participants (83%) had a computer at home and around half of the participants (52%) had access to internet at home; however, a tiny percentage of the subjects (17%) had access to broadband internet. A small percentage (21%) reported the use of internet on a daily basis. Cell phones, however, were more popular (98%); they were used mostly for sending and receiving messages, sending and receiving pictures and music files as well as games and entertainment. Finally, the assessment of satisfaction from these services revealed that a large number of people in both towns (52%) were not satisfied with these services.
