TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-admitted pretensions of Mac users on a predominantly PC university campus
AU - Firmin, Michael W.
AU - Wood, Whitney L.Muhlenkamp
AU - Firmin, Ruth L.
AU - Wood, Jordan C.
PY - 2010/3
Y1 - 2010/3
N2 - The present qualitative research study addressed the overall research question of college students' pretention dynamics in the context of a university setting. Thirty-five Mac users were interviewed on a university campus that exclusively supports PC machines. Mac users shared four self-admitted pretensions related to using Macintosh computers. First, participants asserted that Apple brand computers set social trends and that owning a Mac was perceived to make one to stand out positively. Second, Mac users shared their personal views that Macs are superior in technology and that PC technology is simply attempting to mimic Apple's strides forward. Third, Mac users described various perceived social stigmas associated with owning Macs, such as the "artsy" label, the "cool" factor, and common socio-economic assumptions associated with Mac ownership. The fourth dynamic of participants' self-admitted pretensions concerned their tendency to vocalize personal opinions of Mac's superiority, with the aim of "converting" PC users.
AB - The present qualitative research study addressed the overall research question of college students' pretention dynamics in the context of a university setting. Thirty-five Mac users were interviewed on a university campus that exclusively supports PC machines. Mac users shared four self-admitted pretensions related to using Macintosh computers. First, participants asserted that Apple brand computers set social trends and that owning a Mac was perceived to make one to stand out positively. Second, Mac users shared their personal views that Macs are superior in technology and that PC technology is simply attempting to mimic Apple's strides forward. Third, Mac users described various perceived social stigmas associated with owning Macs, such as the "artsy" label, the "cool" factor, and common socio-economic assumptions associated with Mac ownership. The fourth dynamic of participants' self-admitted pretensions concerned their tendency to vocalize personal opinions of Mac's superiority, with the aim of "converting" PC users.
KW - Apple
KW - Computers
KW - Mac
KW - Macintosh
KW - PCs
KW - Qualitative research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79959733645&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79959733645&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09523981003654944
DO - 10.1080/09523981003654944
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79959733645
SN - 0952-3987
VL - 47
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Educational Media International
JF - Educational Media International
IS - 1
ER -