What Motivates First-generation College Students to Consider an IT Career? An Integrative Perspective

2023 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Deng, Xuefei (Nancy); Zaza, Sam; Armstrong, Deborah

Abstract: A career in information technology (IT) presents a viable source of economic ad ... Expand

Abstract: A career in information technology (IT) presents a viable source of economic advancement for college graduates, yet ethnic minority students remain underrepresented in the IT workforce. Such underrepresentation is often exacerbated by their first-generation student (FGS) status. It, however, remains unclear what causes the discrepancy between FGSs and their counterparts in terms of their choice to enter into an IT career. To address this gap, this study aims to reveal the factors motivating FGSs to consider an IT career and examines the association of influencing factors with personal and demographic factors (gender, race, ethnicity). This qualitative research overlays capital theory and social cognitive career theory to develop an integrated sensitizing framework and draws on individual difference theory in interpreting the findings. Our analysis of the open-ended narrative responses of 193 surveys collected from a minority-serving university revealed 10 key factors influencing IT career choice. A theoretical model incorporating individual differences, generational status, and environmental influences is proposed to advance the discussion of influencing factors in IT career choice toward further theory building and empirical testing. The paper concludes with implications for motivating the IT career choice of the ethnic minority, first-generation student population. established career theory, premises various forms of capital as enablers of career decisions (Bourdieu, 1986), and has been previously applied in the information systems (IS) literature (e.g., Joshi et al., 2016). This qualitative positivist case study research develops an analytical generalization (Galli, 2011) regarding the IT career choices of ethnic minority college students. This approach is appropriate for identifying the applicability of key constructs for this population as we investigate their IT career choices. This paper proceeds as follows: We describe the context of our investigation in Section 2 and then review research on IT careers, social cognitive career theory, and capital theory, and their use in the IT context in Section 3. In Section 4, we present our research method and illustrate the data analysis procedures, and in Section 5, we detail the results regarding the motivating factors. In Section 6, we discuss the themes that emerge in ethnic minority college students' IT career choice motivations and propose a variance model based on prior research and our empirical findings. We discuss the study's contributions to theory and practice in Section 7, followed by the study's limitations and future research directions in Section 8. Collapse

Topics: IT career self efficacy IT workforce social capital individual characteristic

Methods: case study survey qualitative interview qualitative coding theory development

Theories: individual differences theory of gender difference theory

What Motivates First-generation College Students to Consider an IT Career? An Integrative Perspective

2022 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Deng, Xuefei (Nancy); Zaza, Sam; Armstrong, Deborah

Abstract: A career in information technology (IT) presents a viable source of economic ad ... Expand

Abstract: A career in information technology (IT) presents a viable source of economic advancement for college graduates, but ethnic minority students remain underrepresented in the IT workforce. Such underrepresentation is often exacerbated by their first-generation student (FGS) status. Yet, it remains unclear what leads to FGSs' IT career choice compared to their counterparts. To address this gap, this study aims to reveal the factors motivating FGSs to consider an IT career and examines the association of influencing factors with personal and demographic factors (gender, race, ethnicity). This qualitative research overlays capital theory and social cognitive career theory to develop an integrated sensitizing framework and draws on individual difference theory in interpreting the findings. Our analysis of the openended narrative responses of 193 surveys collected from a minority-serving university revealed 10 key factors influencing IT career choice. A theoretical model incorporating individual differences, generational status, and environmental influences is proposed to advance the discussion of influencing factors in IT career choice toward further theory building and empirical testing. The paper concludes with implications for motivating the IT career choice of the ethnic minority, first-generation student population. Collapse

Topics: IT career IT workforce self efficacy social capital IT skill

Methods: case study survey qualitative interview qualitative coding theory development

Theories: individual differences theory of gender difference theory

Toward a Joint Theory on Social Identity and Individual Differences of Gender and IT: The Case of 'Women in Blockchain'

2020 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Ostern, Nadine

Abstract: Given the persistent prevalence of gender imbalances in the IT profession, IS r ... Expand

Abstract: Given the persistent prevalence of gender imbalances in the IT profession, IS researchers developed numerous theories that attempt to explain women's decisions to pursue or to refrain from pursuing a career in IT. Those theories were recently criticized for still not being able to solve the problem of gender imbalances through interventions that are effective in the long-run. This criticism seems all the more important considering that gender inequality is even more serious in some sub-sections of IT than in others, for which one example is blockchain. We use an appreciative interview approach, focussing on the lived experiences of women working on blockchain, to explore factors that foster or constrain women's decisions to work in the field of blockchain, thereby extending existing IS gender theories. Based on the analysis of thirty-eight appreciative interviews, we successively develop a combined model of social identity and individual difference theory of gender and IT (IDT), which is expected to capture more factors influencing women's decisions than IDT alone. Particularly to be emphasized is the ability of the combined model to explain within-and out-group dynamics and the salience of social and role identity that are currently under-researched in gender-related IS research. Collapse

Topics: blockchain social identity IT career IT workforce LinkedIn

Methods: qualitative interview qualitative content analysis qualitative coding theoretical contribution theory development

Theories: social identity theory gender theory theory of social shaping of technology difference theory

Information as a difference: toward a subjective theory of information

2019 | European Journal of Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Jr, Earl H. McKinney; II, Charles J. Yoos

Abstract: We propose a difference theory of information that extends Gregory Bateson’s def ... Expand

Abstract: We propose a difference theory of information that extends Gregory Bateson’s definition that information is any difference that makes a difference. Information arises from conception of difference, criteria, and meta criteria. Individuals perceive differences and conceive information from those differences. A first difference is a perceived difference that leads to a second difference – a changing mind. The difference theory provides a theoretical foundation for distinguishing the terms data and information. Additionally, it describes how individuals inform in uncertainty by applying and sometimes recursively applying criteria levels. We apply the difference theory to IS practice and research contexts. Collapse

Topics: misinformation information system use big data

Theories: difference theory theory of information information theory

Exploring software developers’ work practices: Task differences, participation, engagement, and speed of task resolution

2017 | Information & Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Licorish, Sherlock A.; MacDonell, Stephen G.

Abstract: In seeking to understand the processes enacted during software development, an i ... Expand

Abstract: In seeking to understand the processes enacted during software development, an increasing number of studies have mined software repositories. In particular, studies have endeavored to show how teams resolve software defects. Although much of this work has been useful, we contend that large-scale examinations across the range of activities that are commonly performed, beyond defect-related issues alone, would help us to more fully understand the reasons why defects occur as well as their consequences. More generally, these explorations would reveal how team processes occur during all software development efforts. We thus extend such studies by investigating how software practitioners work while undertaking the range of software tasks that are typically performed. Multiple forms of analyses of a longitudinal case study reveal that software practitioners were mostly involved in fixing defects, and that their engagement covaried depending on the nature of the work they were performing. Furthermore, multiple external factors affected speed of task resolution. Our outcomes suggest that behavioral and intrinsic issues may interact with extrinsic factors becoming significant predictors of the speed of software task resolution. Collapse

Topics: systems development software developer knowledge sharing requirements elicitation information exchange

Methods: multiple regression descriptive statistic triangulation survey regression analysis method

Theories: difference theory organizational behavior theory

Informing Students About Information: Seven Semantic Exercises

2016 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: McKinney Jr., Earl; Yoos II, Charles J.

Abstract: Information is a term widely but carelessly used in our day-to-day language Whil ... Expand

Abstract: Information is a term widely but carelessly used in our day-to-day language While used poorly as a common expression, a growing number of recent publications on information have identified the importance of the term for both IS research and practice. Most of these publications, seeking to anchor the term more specifically, attribute meaning to information to distinguish it from data. In this paper, we present several in-class exercises we have developed to help students understand the implications of this semantic distinction. While one can use these exercises to teach and explain any semantic theory of information, they were originally designed to reinforce a particular semantic theory of information—the difference theory of information (McKinney & Yoos, n.d.). We discuss the lessons we learned and the paper’s limitations and implications. Collapse

Topics: marketing management

Methods: experiment

Theories: semantic theory difference theory

Informing About Semantic Information: A Set of Exercises and Lessons Learned

2015 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: McKinney, Earl; Ii, Charles Yoos

Abstract: Information is a ubiquitous term that in both academic and practical settings is ... Expand

Abstract: Information is a ubiquitous term that in both academic and practical settings is taken seriously while used carelessly (Lee 2010; McKinney and Yoos 2015). While used poorly, a growing number of recent publications on information identify the importance of the term for both IS research and practice (Boell and Cecez-Kecmanovic 2011; Floridi 2011; Kettinger and Li 2010; Mingers 2013). While the academic community is now engaging the topic, most students are unaware of how they become informed. We believe informing is related to meaning, that information changes a mind. To help students understand the implications of this semantic aspect of information we have developed a number of classroom exercises. We’ve used these exercises with freshmen, EMBA students, and in management, statistics and MIS courses at three institutions and in small and large lecture formats. This paper introduces these exercises. It is organized from shortest and simplest exercises to longest and most complex. In turn we briefly describe semantic theories of information, criteria we use in designing the exercises, the exercises themselves and lessons learned. Collapse

Topics: marketing management

Theories: difference theory semantic theory theory of information

A Preliminary Information Theory of Difference

2012 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: McKinney, Earl; Ii, Charles Yoos; Kroenke, David

Abstract: We propose a difference theory of information. The difference theory of informat ... Expand

Abstract: We propose a difference theory of information. The difference theory of information defines information as adaptation, as any difference that makes a difference (Bateson 1973). The theory posits that information workers such as symbolic analysts, end users and systems analysts perceive differences and conceive information. This theory of information is applied to several IS scenarios to demonstrate its utility. One primary use from this theory is to enforce a difference between data and information. Collapse

Topics: IT manager information system use user resistance

Theories: theory of information difference theory information theory