Trends and patterns in computer usage: A survey study of business and industry for the purpose of determining content for the computer science program in the community college

The study. The purpose of the study was to determine characteristics of the data-processing business community and to determine what patterns and central themes are emerging concerning computer usage. This information was to be used to develop curriculum content for data-processing education.;The data consisted of (1) reporting on languages, hardware, operating systems, and software utilized by the data-processing business community; (2) information from the data processing business community related to where and at what level the data processing graduate is being employed; and (3) projections of future computer-related skills which will be needed for student employment. Data from a search of the literature for the trends and patterns of computer usage was included.;Design. The study design consisted of developing a questionnaire instrument for obtaining information from the data-processing business community; gathering data by submitting the questionnaire to the business community; searching current periodicals for the future themes and patterns applicable to the computer science area; and analyzing the data from both the questionnaire and the periodical search.;Findings. The findings indicated emerging computer usage areas; current trends involving the integration and usage of applications software, systems software and language packages; and changes taking place regarding the nature of data processing hardware.