list of organizations. Still the most recognized and used organization is MOM, the Ministry of Manpower, which provides all FDWs with a work permit to work legally in Singapore.
A formal research survey methodology using a seven-page paper and pencil in- person survey was chosen to identify, organize, and evaluate data gathered from FDWs. The survey provided in Appendix C, was divided into three sections: 1) an information gathering section, 2) a resource/technology section and, 3) a demographic section. In the first section, respondents were asked to answer closed and open-ended questions
regarding the types of information they seek and additional questions regarding where they usually gather data in a day-to-day basis.
This section provides the benchmark for the type of information that is most requested by this population and resulted in a ranked list of the most used Information Systems by FDWs. The second section gathered data regarding respondents’ use and access to technology. Ranking scaling questions were written to formulate which
technologies including computer, cell phone, or help-lines were more frequently used to access information. This section also provided feedback regarding accessibility to technology. The third section focused on demographic questions such as age, highest completed school grade level, and self-assessed levels of spoken, written, and reading English proficiency.
The intended population for the requirements phase of the research were FDWs working in Singapore. As there is no available database, adequate information, or listing of FDWs’ contact information, a random sampling study of this time is not possible but a 118 participant sample of the population was used to gather data through non-
probability convenience sampling. The research took place at three different locations within Singapore, at different times of day and during different days of the week, to maximize the pool of participants. Additionally, there is no known data to support that the sample used within the 253 square mile city state would have different behaviors and need different information than would members from a random sample from the same population.
The mall intercept method pioneered in the early 1980s and used extensively today, was used to gather participants’ data. A mall intercept is a face-to-face
interviewing method akin to the door–to-door research method in that the researcher may pinpoint a location or population whom to research. By using the mall intercept method, participants were approached in public places and asked to voluntarily participate in this research.
Based on the data collected, 61% of surveyed FDWs have access to the Internet. This percentage is much higher than expected after reviewing previously published materials about this segment of population. An interesting finding is that when FDWs do go on-line they do not normally visit government organizations nor any other non- government organizations that have been set up to support them in Singapore or their home country. The results show that FDWs who do access websites tend to visit social media sites such as Facebook, Google, and Yahoo, for communication and
entertainment purposes with friends and family.
Social media in this context can be defined as any communication tool that allows the user to have a two-way exchange of information. Regular media on the other hand, only allows one-way communication to its users. Regular media allows the user
to read or listen to information but does not provide a way to immediately respond to the material, such as reading newspapers or listening to the news. Social media however, allows the user to provide feedback on a given topic in multiple ways, from voting on it, asking questions in a safe and often anonymous manner, to sharing content such as opinions, photos, videos, or more (Maurer & Lutz, 2012).
Lack of free time seems to be the major impediment to accessing the Internet for FDWs. From the number of participants who stated that they did not access the Internet, 23% of FDWs stated that they had “no access” to computers and another 21% stated that they did “not know how” to use computers, the majority of the responses, 30%, stated that FDWs simply had “no time” or were “too busy with work” to take time out to access the Internet. From this feedback, it can be seen that although more time could be spent on providing access and education to these workers their main obstacle to accessing Information Systems is obtaining free time to do so.
When FDWs were surveyed on how they usually gathered information, the majority with 49%, stated that gathering information face-to-face was the preferred option. The second option with 21% of the responses was asking a friend. Going to a website to gather information was the third preferred option with 14% of responses. This feedback could be interpreted to demonstrate that the FDWs’ interaction with technology is still not integrated in their culture or everyday activities.
When the main four issues (Availability, Design, Quality, and User Acceptance) with accessing Information Systems by the manual labor segment of the population stated in Chapter 1 are revisited; it can be concluded that FDWs do have availability of technology as shown in the study results. Yet, these women are not visiting websites
designed for their use, such as government portals providing information and services. The study shows that the current Information Systems developed for this segment of the population may not be providing the Design, Quality of information, nor the User Acceptance needed to make these tools successful as compared to social media sites which are being visited by FDWs. It could be said that social media is making an impact on how and when FDWs spend their time with technology. FDWs are looking for two- way communications, which will be more relevant to their individual situations.
In conclusion, why are the indigent not leveraging technology to a higher degree? It could be argued with the data from this research that the answer is because culturally and socially FDWs as part of the indigent population need the perception of human touch in their interactions with technology and are not willing to spend time or effort with technology that cannot be customized for their needs. The future of
Information Systems might be better geared to provide less general content and more customized services to their users.