Sue Hilary Nielsen

Conceptualising the influence of cultural and gender factors on students' perceptions of IT studies and careers

1. ABSTRACT The nature of IT is changing providing no single career path for information systems professionals, hut a range of different occupations, for which the required skiiis range from non-technical skills, to general and specific IT ski&. However, this diversity is neither reflected in IT degree curricuhun nor made clear to the IT industry and potential students. This paper explores the effect of gender and national culture on students’ perceptions of IT careers. It aims at an improved understanding of IT as an area of employment and study, and of the reasons for the declining number of students male and female choosing to study IT. Three categories of students are suggested, according to the reasons why computing and IT skiUs were valued: for escapism for leisure and study; to secure employment and status; and for flexible work arrangements. In addition to these categories we suggest that the students’ perceptions and aspirations of an IT career are influenced and shaped by their attitude towards group work, especialiy the extent to which coiiaboratory study practices are preferred, although these are moderated by

Now I know what ICT can do for me

The under‐representation of women entering into information and communication technology (ICT) programmes is a long‐standing problem. While ICT continues to be increasingly accepted and integrated into everyday life, gender stereotypes prevail in ICT turning female students away from ICT as an occupation. Based on existing literature on factors influencing girls career choices and on an empirical qualitative study in three schools in Australia, a conceptualisation of the influence of middle‐school experiences on girls ICT study and career choices is presented. This conceptualisation is used as a guide to evaluate a recent intervention programme aimed at promoting ICT study and work opportunities to middle‐school girls. A number of recommendations for future programmes are provided, highlighting the need to study how subcultures that support ICT career choices develop and are supported in Australian schools.

Gender stereotypes prevail in ICT: a research review

This paper surveys the research literature on stereotyping of gender and ICT and how it affects girls participation in ICT education and work. Gender stereotypes can influence girls choices over time, reducing their confidence and interest in ICT and turning them away from ICT as an occupation. The stereotypes can give negative messages about girls aptitude for ICT work and the types of activities, which should interest them. ICT stereotypes are predominantly negative, provide misleading ideas about ICT as a career discouraging both girls and boys, and make the field particularly unattractive to girls. Stereotypes introduced in the family and social environment are often reinforced by images in the mass media as well as widespread education practices. Very few mitigating influences (such as same sex schools) have any impact on these stereotypes.

Collectivism and connectivity: culture and gender in information technology education

Although the percentage of women entering IT education is declining, Asian women continue to outnumber other ethnic groups in IT education in Australia. This paper presents some of the findings from a study of the cultural factors that influence high school students of Asian extraction to choose IT studies. These findings as well as the results of an earlier study among first year students in the School of Computing and Information Technology at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia (Greenhill, et al, 1996a. 19966) indicate that ‘hygiene factors’ such as security and status are important influences on Asian female students, and these derive from collectivism, a philosophy favoured by some Asian cultures. Such influences are less important for Non-Asian female students who are deterred from entering IT education by other factors such as low female participation, These findings have .significance for new organisational forms such as networked organisations which require cooperation and collaboration, and we suggest that collectivism rather than individualism may be better suited to these new IT environments. A preliminary conceptual model of the interrelationships of these factors is presented.

Underground online music communities: exploring rules for membership

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the rules and rituals for joining and operating within underground music file sharing communities as well as the members motivations for joining.Design/methodology/approach – Actor‐network theory is combined with an ethnographic methodology to explore the structure, technology and rules of these communities from an actor‐oriented, member perspective. Empirical data include in‐depth interviews with three file sharers, and participant‐observations for 120 days within an online community.Findings – The paper provides an increased understanding of the structured and orderly nature of underground music file sharing communities and the perceived importance of strong rules and rituals for membership. Many communities use the same open‐source software.Research limitations/implications – Only a small number of file sharers (three) were interviewed. However they provide rich insights into this under‐researched topic.Practical implications – An understanding of these sophist...

Enterprise Architecture Cybernetics and the Edge of Chaos: Sustaining Enterprises as Complex Systems in Complex Business Environments

The purpose of this paper is primarily theoretical -- to propose and detail a model of system evolution, and show its derivation from the fields of Enterprise Architecture, cybernetics and systems theory. Cybernetic thinking is used to develop a Co-evolution Path Model to explain how enterprises co-evolve with their environments. The model is re-interpreting Stafford Beers Viable System Model, and also uses Conant and Ashbys theorem of the good regulator, exemplifying how various complexity management theories could be synthesised into a cybernetic theory of Enterprise Architecture -- informing management of mechanisms to maintain harmony between the evolution of the enterprise as a system and the evolution of its environment.

Design with the deaf: do deaf children need their own approach when designing technology?

In this paper, we focus on the question of design of technology for Deaf children, and whether the needs of these children are different from their hearing counterparts in a technology design setting. We present findings from literature together with our own observations to determine if there are distinguishing characteristics for Deaf children that may influence design sessions with them. We found that Deaf children generally have reduced literacy and slower academic progress, reduced social and emotional development, reduced empathy and a level of nervousness in novel situations, delayed language development, and limited or delayed spoken language. We also found that Deaf children are active and innovative in approaching communication, have sensitive visual attention in their peripheral vision, enhanced attention to small visual changes, and a capacity for visual learning. Finally, cultural issues within the Deaf community mean that Deaf children should be free to interact on their own terms in a design situation. We suggest that these differences merit the development of a design approach specific to the needs of Deaf children.

Seek and Sign: an early experience of the joys and challenges of software design with young deaf children

This paper describes the initial stages of a research project aimed at teaching preliterate Deaf children Australian sign language (Auslan) using a software application deployed on a mobile technology device. We discuss the user centred design techniques to be used in this project, specifically Gestural Think Aloud Protocol and the Problem Identification Picture Cards method. An initial design session exploring the feasibility of the design approach suggests that the approach is suitable and desirable. Our design questions for future development are listed.

Perceptions of ICT Careers in German Schools: An Exploratory Study.

This paper reports on an exploratory investigation of the perceptions of information and communication technology (ICT) as a field of study and work in German secondary schools. A total of 160 students from five secondary schools in Lower Saxony participated in the study in February 2007, and four teachers of the students were interviewed. The investigation is part of the research carried out by the authors within the Griffith University Women in Information Technology (WinIT) project, which has been studying the problem of low female participation since 1995. In this paper we discuss German school students (male and female) and their teachers views of ICT, its use at school and home, their influences in using technology, and their ideas about working with technology in the future. We drew on the challenges faced and opportunities available to teachers in the study to put this in context. We found that many senior secondary students have not decided what they want to do when they finish school, suggesting that the environment is ripe for them to receive relevant and useful information that may help them to choose to study tertiary ICT courses. By dispelling negative ICT perceptions and allowing students to make an informed choice as to whether to take up a career in ICT, we can hopefully encourage more students into this ever-growing and exciting industry.

IT degree studies and skills development for learning organisations

This paper is not an exploration of learning organisations as such. It considers the industry’s information technoloy and systems (IT/IS) skill requirements in relation to the notion of organisational learning as double loop learning in order to understand the manifold nature of IT careers. The paper reviews the data from an ongoing empirical study among university IT students, which aimed at exploring the reasons for low female participation in IT studies, and also examined female students’ strategies for coping with IT studies. Of particular interest is how students’ views of IT as an area of study and as a career are being affected by the IT study environment, and the implications of this for learning organisations. Examples have been drawn upon to highlight the complexities involved for particularly female students in negotiating the learning environment of an Australian based IT degree.