Ease of use and usefulness are believed to be fundamental in determining the acceptance and use of various, corporate ITs. These beliefs, however, may not explain the user’s behavior toward newly emerging ITs, such as the World-Wide-Web (WWW). In this study, we introduce playfulness as a new factor that reflects the user’s intrinsic belief in WWW acceptance. Using it as an intrinsic motivation factor, we extend and empirically validate the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) for the WWW context. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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Beyond the Usefulness and Ease of Use : Extending the TAM for a World - Wide - Web Context

Purpose – To develop a testable model for girls' career choices in technology fields based on past research and hypotheses about the future of the information technology (IT) workforce.Design/methodology/approach – Review and assimilation of literature from education, psychology, sociology, computer science, IT, and business in a model that identifies factors that can potentially influence a girl's choice towards or against IT careers. The factors are categorized into social factors (family, peers, and media), structural factors (computer use, teacher/counselor influence, same sex versus coeducational schools), and individual differences. The impact of culture on these various factors is also explored.Findings – The model indicates that parents, particularly fathers, are the key influencers of girls' choice of IT careers. Teachers and counselors provide little or no career direction. Hypotheses propose that early access to computers may reduce intimidation with technology and that same‐sex education may s...

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Early Determinants of Women in the IT Workforce: A Model of Girls' Career Choices

This study reviewed methodological choices (sampling frames, constructs investigated and measures used) in 245 empirical work-life balance papers published in a range of discipline-based peer-reviewed journals between 1987 and 2006. Results show that work-life balance studies need to establish greater consistency between the conceptualization of constructs and the operationalization of measures. There is also scope for well-designed field experiments to establish clear causal relationships between variables. Sampling choice in previous literature is somewhat constrained and may be enhanced by targeting single and same-sex parent families, manual and lower-skilled service workers, and employees providing eldercare. Researchers should also be more transparent in providing rationales for their choices of organizations or group lists used to target respondents. The findings have significant implications for understanding, interpreting, and utilizing the contemporary work and family literature.

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Methodological choices in work-life balance research 1987 to 2006: a critical review

The challenge of meeting the demand for information technology (IT) workers is addressed by examining three important organizational factors that affect women's retention in the IT field. Much of t...

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fejis.2009.31.pdf

Retaining women in the U.S. IT workforce: theorizing the influence of organizational factors

Among the research challenges in studying the under representation of women in the IT field is that of developing appropriate theory to provide a basis for understanding and explanation about this gender imbalance. At present, there are two dominant theories in the gender literature that are used to explain the participation of women in the IT profession. The essentialist perspective dichotomizes gender based upon the presumption of significant inherent differences between women and men. This view finds the causes of gender under representation in biology. The social construction perspective focuses on the social construction of IT as a male domain, which is interpreted as incompatible with the social construction of female identity. This view finds the causes of gender under representation in the IT sector. The research discussed in this paper is directed at the development of a new theory that focuses on individual differences among women as they relate to the needs and characteristics of IT work and the IT workplace. This view finds the causes of gender under representation in the socio-cultural environment that shapes each woman's gender identity and her professional development, and her individual responses to these influences.

Understanding the under representation of women in IT: toward a theory of individual differences

Despite the recent growth in the number of women in the American labor force, women are still under-represented in the IT workforce. Key among the factors that account for this under-representation is balancing work-family issues. This article presents a framework for analyzing work-family balance from a field study of women employed in the American IT workforce. The findings are examined through the lens of the Individual Differences Theory of Gender and IT to show the range of ways in which work-family considerations influence women's IT career decisions. The framework is used to support the theoretical argument that women exhibit a range of decisions regarding career and parenthood: the non-parent, the working parent, the back-on-track parent, and the off-the-track parent. These findings illustrate an identifiable theme that crosses geographical regions and timeframes; societal messages are complex and difficult to digest and are processed in different ways by different women, yet they contribute to the decisions women make about their professional and personal lives.

Understanding the Mommy Tracks: A Framework for Analyzing Work-Family Balance in the IT Workforce

Currently, the information technology (IT) workforce is composed largely of males, while women remain an under represented minority. Not unlike other sectors, informal social networks exist which are often termed the “Old Boy’s Network.” In these networks, men are able to share information in a less formal setting, learn to trust each other, and establish personal relationships. However, these networks can be potentially problematic for women working in the field if they are excluded from important information and resources. This paper explores how women are affected by and relate to these networks. A conceptual framework is presented that explains the reactions and strategies with respect to the network that women employ for continued participation in the information technology workforce. The framework illustrates the experiences of proactive and reactive “insiders” and “outsiders” to the network.

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Exploring the Importance of Social Networks in the IT Workforce: Experiences with the "Boy's Club".

In this chapter, we consider the educational needs of the globally diverse IT sector and a curriculum that has been developed in order to respond to them. We begin by discussing two human resource gaps that are affecting the preparation of tomorrow’s IT workforce. The first gap is a participation gap which is related, in part, to the under representation in recruitment and retention of students with particular demographic profiles in information systems and technology education. The second gap is a knowledge gap, which is related to the globalization of the IT field and the challenges of developing compatible curriculum and pedagogical practices that will prepare students for careers in such a field. We argue that diversity is a lens that can be used to both understand these human resource gaps and to develop curricular responses to them. We do this by considering, as a case study, a course developed and taught in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at The Pennsylvania State University that is intended to address these gaps. This course -“Human Diversity in the Global Information Economy” – is offered to exemplify a way of addressing the diversity dimension of the IT skill set. INTRODUCTION The gap between the supply of information system professionals produced by the educational system and the demands of industry has long been the focus of attention for concerned stakeholders: employers, policy makers and educators. This issue has been exacerbated on a global scale, in recent years, for three reasons. First, the role of the information economy as a function of the overall economy of a country has grown in both size and importance. This includes activities associated with the development of the primary IT sector (i.e. those involved in the creation of hardware, software and systems) and facilitating the diffusion of IT into other sectors. As a result, an increasing number of countries has taken on the challenge of developing a pool of talented IT workers, which can enable it to enter the global IT market and to engage in globally collaborative IT work. Second, networking technologies have made both asynchronous and real-time communications between different regions and countries feasible, and have created new forms of work and collaboration. For example, global IT outsourcing work can be seen as the practice of seeking diverse knowledge resources globally. Third, in contrast to the cultural diversity evident in the makeup of the global IT workforce, national statistics show that the domestic workforces of many countries (in terms of race, gender, age, social class, etc.) are not as diverse. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to consider the ramifications of including in the IT skill set, preparation for work in the globally diverse IT sector. We do this by discussing a curriculum that has been developed in order to respond to these needs. In this book chapter we begin by discussing two human resource gaps related to diversity that are affecting the preparation of tomorrow’s IT workforce. The first gap is a participation gap, which is related, in part, to the under representation in recruitment and retention in information systems and technology education of students with particular demographic profiles. The second gap is a knowledge gap, which is related to the globalization of the IT field and the challenges of developing compatible curriculum and pedagogical practices that will prepare students for careers in such a field. We then consider as a case study a course developed and taught in the Chapter No. 2 21 July 2006 Information Systems and Technology Education: From the University to the Workplace -3College of Information Sciences and Technology at The Pennsylvania State University that is intended to address these gaps. This course -“Human Diversity in the Global Information Economy” – – is offered to exemplify a way of addressing the diversity dimension of the IT workforce shortage. BACKGROUND The gap between the supply of information system (IS) professionals produced by the educational system and the demands of industry has long been the focus of attention for concerned stakeholders (Trauth et al, 1993; Lee et al, 1995; Miller & Donna, 2002; Swanson et al, 2003). Such a gap can be attributed to the interdisciplinary nature of the information systems field (Checkland & Holwell, 1998; Lyytinen & King, 2004) and the fast changing environment of the information technology industry. While the interdisciplinary nature of the information systems field requires the boundaries of IS educational curriculum to be inclusive and flexible, the fast changing IT industrial environment demands that educators actively change the IS curriculum design to address the emerging challenges. Globalization One of the major changes in today’s IT market is globalization, which has been facilitated by advancements in various information and communication technologies. Globalization, in turn, is having a significant influence on the IT industry (Walsham, 2000). The globalization of the IT industry is manifested in the prevalence and diversification of global IT work such as IT offshore outsourcing (Carmel & Agarwal, 2002), global software development (Sahay et al, 2003), and global information systems management (Niederman et al, 2002). Such diverse forms of global IT work and global IT collaborative relationships demand a set of new knowledge and skills from the future IS workforce. This would consist of: understanding different contexts of IT development, management, and service; understanding policy, infrastructure, regulation, and cultures of different regions; understanding the diverse needs and work behaviors of various global IT partners and clients; and communication and team work skills in either face-to-face or virtual work environments. In the current global IT market, U.S., western European and Asian countries including UK, Germany, Japan and Korea are actively pursuing outsourcing and global IT collaborative opportunities (Sahay et al, 2003). In addition to current dominant service providers such as India, Ireland, and Israel, China and Russia are beginning to enter the global outsourcing market (Gopal et al, 2002). At the same time, global outsourcing participants are no longer limited to large corporations as more and more small suppliers are entering the market by focusing on their own specialties (Lacity and Willcocks, 2001). Other evidence of diversification is activity diversification, which refers to the wide variety of outsourcing interests including application packages, systems operation and management, systems integration, and business processing (Lee et al, 2003; Sahay et al, 2003). These new demands together with conventional challenges of IS curriculum call for proactive approaches and creative ways of reforming the undergraduate programs of information systems disciplines. Several IS undergraduate programs have begun to specifically target the global IT environment by either adding a global business perspective to existing curricula or by developing Chapter No. 2 21 July 2006 Information Systems and Technology Education: From the University to the Workplace -4new specialized courses focusing on global information management in particular (Beise et al, 2005). Some examples are reported by Carmel and Mann (2003), Beise et al (2005), and Van Genuchten et al (2005). The development of a new global IS undergraduate program is facing two major issues. First, how do we conceptualize the intellectual space of the program to address both the current and future needs of the global IT workforce? Second, how do we implement the program to challenge the existing mindsets of the student participants and at the same time give them a realistic sense of what it will be like to engage in global IT work in the future? Domestic Diversity As opportunities for global expansion and outsourcing increase, so does the trend to more diversity in the workplace. Domestic diversity generally refers to diversity of a workforce within the context of a given country. Yet, Adya and Kaiser (2005) argue that the decline of the dot.com era coupled with an increase in global outsourcing of IT jobs has negatively affected the appeal of IT careers and filtered out inflated demand. As a result, universities report lower enrollment in post-secondary IT-related degree programs, particularly from women and minorities. These programs of study are important gateways for students interested in pursuing careers in the IT workforce. Yet, unfortunately, researchers have found that women and minorities are alarmingly under enrolled in these technical programs (e.g. Camp, 1997; Freeman and Aspray, 1999; Margolis and Fisher, 2002; Teague, 2002; von Hellens et al., 1997). Data from the U.S., from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2003), reports that from 2001 to 2002 women accounted for 28% of degrees in computer science and information science. The Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) (2003) adds that in 2002 women accounted for 30.5% of degrees in library and information science (Saye and Wisser, 2003). The NCES (2003) also highlight the under representation of racial minorities in computer science and information science degrees during the same time period. African Americans accounted for only 11% of total degrees awarded, Hispanics for 5%, and Native Americans for .5%. The under representation of women and minorities in post-secondary IT-related degree programs also contributes to their under representation in the IT workforce. An Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) Blue Ribbon Diversity Panel study (2005; 2003) found that American representation in the IT workforce fell from 41% in 1996 to 32.4% in 2004. This number is significantly low considering that in 2004 the percentage of women in all occupations in the U.S. was 59% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005). Also al

Leveraging Diversity in Information Systems and Technology Education in the Global Workplace

The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of human variation on people’s perspectives about, and approaches to, the activity of information searching, on the topic of health. This research employed an interpretive epistemological approach which consisted of a three-part mixed method study. The study was comprised of a user search task, an individual differences questionnaire, and in-depth interviews with 15 Black and 15 White participants in central Pennsylvania and southern Maryland. It was found that differences such as race, gender, age, socio economic class, and geographic location all influence searching behavior. However, it was also found that these factors work together, to influence behavior, rather than independently. Therefore, it is suggested that researchers of health information searching behavior look at the intersection of characteristics rather than single attributes of individuals. Also, the Internet was found to augment traditional information resources instead of acting as the central information resource. This finding is supported by factors which were found to be mediators of health information searching such as personal social networks, trust, and frustration. Lastly, stereotypes were challenged as participants in the study exhibited behaviors which were contradictory to research about Internet experience and searching. This research has made a contribution to theory, to the literature, to methodology, and to practice. The contribution to theory has been developed through the support for and extension of the explanatory power of the Individual Differences Theory of Gender and IT. The findings in this study showed evidence that users of technology have rich and unique experiences, backgrounds and beliefs, which impacted their usage of technology. In addition, the findings in this research project enhance knowledge about health information sources and their importance in the lives of individuals with chronic illnesses. This research contributed to the knowledge base on methodology as a mixed-methodology study which utilized an interpretive epistemology. Lastly, this research contributed to practice through the development of a research process which can be used as a technique to inform personas.

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Allison J. Morgan

Papers

Understanding the under representation of women in IT: toward a theory of individual differences

Understanding the Mommy Tracks: A Framework for Analyzing Work-Family Balance in the IT Workforce

Exploring the Importance of Social Networks in the IT Workforce: Experiences with the "Boy's Club".

Leveraging Diversity in Information Systems and Technology Education in the Global Workplace

An analysis of the influence of human individual differences on web searching behavior among blacks and whites: a case of health information searching