The Study of Students Perceptions of On-campus ... - Research Bank

The availability of the on-campus WLANs did not influence participant E. E
came to school almost every day. Sometimes she came after work and
sometimes she came at any time she felt like. Since E had permission to
access the graduate centre, she did not feel there were any restrictions or
influence on her. E had a swipe card so that she could get into the graduate
centre at any time. The graduate centre was available 24 hours 7 days for
swipe card holders. E could continue using the WLANs at the graduate
centre even when classrooms were locked and the library was closed. E said
“I know there are some students who could not use the WLANs when it is too
late. But for me, there is no problem. It is OK for me even if it is midnight.”
The swipe card required a charge, but E did not care about it much. She felt
safe inside the graduate centre because the doors were locked. She mentioned
safety was very important when students study till very late.
Participant L
Participant L was an international student living in a home-stay. L had a
roommate and both of them shared one broadband wire for getting on the
Internet at night. Their home-stay mother was afraid spending too much
time on the Internet would affect their learning but L disagreed. L decided to
spend up to one hour at the library and use his laptop to get on the Internet
by connecting with on-campus WLANs. Although it would make him an hour
late home, he thought it was necessary.
Participant A
As another international student, participant A was a little bit different. A
had a friend who came to New Zealand with her. They spent most of the time
together both in class and after class. A said she did not think they had any
interests in sports or other social activities. All they did was spend hours in
the library.
Because they had come to New Zealand not long before, they tried to enter
into their new life. At the same time, they liked their family and friends know
80