ICT Work Research Articles

Age Biased Technical and Organisational Change, Training and Employment Prospects of Older Workers

We analyse the role of training in mitigating the negative impact of technical and organizational changes on the employment prospects of older workers. Using a panel of French firms in the late 1990s, we first estimate wage bill share equations for different age groups. Consistently with what is found in the literature, we find that adopting new technologies and innovative work practices negatively affects the wage bill share of older workers. In contrast, training older workers more than average increases their share in the wage bill in the next period. So, training contributes to offset the negative impact of ICT and innovative work practices. However, it does not reduce the age bias associated with these innovative devices: the interaction terms between training and ICT/innovative work practices are either insignificant or negative. As a second step, we estimate the impact of ICT, innovative work practices and training on employment flows by age group in the next period. We get similar results to those obtained with wage bill shares. Overall, training appears to have a positive impact on the employability of older workers, but it offers limited prospects to dampen the age bias associated with new technologies and innovative work practices.

Understanding the Human Capital Dimension of ICT and Economic Growth in Transition Economies

Human capital is one of the key factors affecting the expansion of ICT and the realization of macroeconomic outcomes in transition economies (TE). Research on ICT investments and their impact on the economic bottom-line have pointed to the shortage of technologically skilled ICT workers who can adopt, implement, innovate and maintain new information technologies in TEs. While ICT regulatory policies have shifted to encourage increased ICT investments, the ability to formulate and implement complementary practices to investments in ICT human capital development strategies remains a continuing problem. In this investigation we inquire into the relationship between investments in Telecoms (a subset of investments in ICT), and a full-time Telecom staff, and propose a two-phase approach allowing for formulating policy and strategies for complementary investments in the development of the ICT workforce. The proposed two-phase approach for formulating empirically-justifiable and theoretically sound HR strategies is then tested in the context of eight TEs. The framework of neoclassical growth accounting and the theory of complementarity provide the theoretical foundation for this inquiry, while multivariate regression and data envelopment analysis are utilized to conduct the data analysis.

Employability and the ICT worker: a study of employees in Scottish small businesses

This article reports on the changing nature of employment and employability for high-tech workers in Scotland over the last decade. A somewhat stagnated industry has led to extrinsic rewards such as a good work–life balance, being prioritised over creative work and skills development. The sector is now dominated by small, specialist organisations providing limited training for the few remaining graduates.

Will Chinese ICT workers unite? new signs of change in the aftermath of the global economic crisis

This paper contextualises and assesses the escalation and evolution of labour activism during the 2008 global economic crisis in China. It argues that both new incentives and new impediments to labour activism have arisen in the midst of broader changes in the labour market, the official trade union, and regional production networks. The recent trend of spatial and technical restructuring of China's ICT sector, as induced simultaneously by capital's self-initiated transformation of the modes of accumulation and by the governmental need to sustain China's economic growth, is likely to generate a sizeable reshuffling of labour markets and to reconstitute working-class experiences across regional, industrial, and educational segmentations.

The Work Readiness of Master of Information Systems International Students at an Australian University: A Pilot Study

Introduction A review of the literature from government, industry, and academic sources identifies that the Australian and communication technology (ICT) industry suffers from spiralling low numbers of suitably skilled employees. Increasing ICT skills shortages in Australia has led to the immigration of overseas workers with the relevant skill sets to augment the supply. As well, the off-shoring and outsourcing of ICT work to other countries has exacerbated the problem for domestic students who perceive poor recruitment opportunities and ill-defined career paths, thus leading to a continuing decline of interest in IS education. To maintain enrolment levels in the wake of decreasing government funding, Australian universities are encouraging an increasing number of overseas students to enrol in postgraduate ICT programs such as the Masters of Information Systems (MIS). There is often confusion between the terms technology (IT) and systems (IS) both of which constitute ICT. According to Rose and Scheepers (2001, p.10), information technologies may be understood as a material resource that supports practice which in turn supports a wider set of social practices. Shanks, Hodgson and Darke (1996, p. 1) define IS as being concerned with the interaction between technology, individuals, and organisations ... research in systems has increasingly focussed on the social and organisational processes surrounding the introduction and use of technology. The IS fie ld is dynamic. Inevitably, changes in IS impact the education sector since graduates need to be employable. This paper reports on a qualitative pilot case study which explores the views of Masters of Information Systems (MIS) students in the business school of an Australian university. The study seeks to determine whether the courses in the MIS program prepare students for the workforce, and in which areas the MIS program can be improved to produce more work-ready students. The study also endeavours to appreciate the perceptions of MIS students on the balance of technical skills and business processes in the courses of the MIS program and whether participation in the MIS program has changed the career and life aspirations of the students. This study is expected to be the preliminary stage of more extensive research which consults with industry practitioners, academia, and a larger cohort of students. The project has the potential for several significant outcomes. There are benefits for the university as it aspires to lift both the enrolment in IS/IT education and the employment rate of IS/IT university graduates through assisting educators with more relevant curriculum design. There is the potential to increase the satisfaction and confidence of ICT graduates entering the workforce. Finally, there is a contribution to industry through the improved alignment between technical skills and business processes thus lessening the skills gap. The structure of the paper is as follows. A review is provided of the relevant literature from government, industry, and academia. This is followed by an outline of the research strategy used and the conduct of the study. The findings section of the paper contains a discussion of the results of the study. In the conclusion section, the project is summarised, the findings are reflected upon and related back to the literature and the strategic plan of the university. Finally, topics for future research are proposed. Review of the Literature Recent studies from government, industry, and academia forebode a crisis in the ICT sector. In 2004-2005, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, ICT income was $87 billion (DCI-TA, 2006). In a recent article in ComputerWorld (Bushell-Embling, 2007), Gary Nairn, the Special Minister of State for the Australian Government, acknowledges the importance of addressing the skills shortage at the tertiary education level by issuing a challenge to government, industry, and educational institutions to work together to promote careers in ICT. …

Skills, technology and organisational innovation in Spanish firms

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to provide empirical evidence on the relationships among new technologies, innovative work practices and upskilling in the Spanish case. Design/methodology/approach – Using detailed plant‐level data from a survey of Spanish manufacturing firms, we apply estimation methods, such as tobit and ordered probit models, to test the hypothesis that the use of ICT, AMT, and innovative work practices is positively related to upskilling. Findings – As available empirical evidence shows for other countries, we have found that AMT, ICT and innovative work practices are positively related to skills, although they have different effects on workforce composition and training. We have also found several significant effects of the interactive terms of the three technologies and work practices considered on the selected variables of upskilling. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation is the lack of time series data. Cross‐sectional data do not allow the use of lagged variables and make it impossible to analyse the evolution of the adoption of new technologies and work practices by firms and their dynamic effects on skills, or to study causalities among variables. In addition, the study relates only to manufacturing industries. Further research should consider expanding the analysis to the service sector and studying possible complementarities between technology and work practices, in terms of labor cost savings. Originality/value – This paper offers empirical evidence for Spain on the relationship between new technologies, innovative work practices and upskilling considered jointly. It analyses two different technologies: ICT and AMT. The paper also focuses on different dimensions of upskilling.

Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on 'Gold Farming': Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games

From the start of the 21st century, a new form of employment has emerged in developing countries. It employs hundreds of thousands of people and earns hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Yet it has been almost invisible to both the academic and development communities. It is the phenomenon of farming: the production of virtual goods and services for players of online games. China is the employment epicentre but the sub-sector has spread to other Asian nations and will spread further as online games-playing grows. It is the first example of a likely future development trend in online employment. It is also one of a few emerging examples in developing countries of liminal ICT work; jobs associated with digital technologies that are around or just below the threshold of what is deemed socially-acceptable and/or formally-legal.This paper reviews what we know so far about gold farming, seeking to provide the first systematic analysis of the sub-sector. It assembles available data at the sectoral, enterprise and worker level. Five main analytical lenses are then applied. Economic analysis shows how exchange rate variations and scale economies do and do not impact gold farming; and the strong influence of information failure in the purchase of virtual items: known as real-money trading. Analysis from the perspective of industrial sociology charts the commoditisation and globalisation of the sub-sector, while value chain models identify resource dependencies and power inequities. Enterprise analysis investigates enterprise entry, existence and progression, and outlines the competitive forces shaping the sub-sector's development; particularly threats. Developmental analysis investigates the impact of this sub-sector in macro and micro terms. Finally, there is a sociological analysis of the role played by perceptions and other social forces.In using a broad base of analytical perspectives, the paper aims to encourage, and provide a stepping stone for, further research on this growing phenomenon. It concludes by outlining and justifying a future research agenda.

CELEBRATING HETEROGENEITY?: A survey of female ICT professionals in England

This paper introduces key findings from a large-scale, online survey of women in the ICT industry across England undertaken between October 2004 and October 2005. Placed in a theoretical framework which draws on critical perspectives from within information systems (IS), and the sociology of gender and of technology, the authors examine some of the issues faced by female ICT professionals. The context for this paper is the ongoing under-representation of women in the ICT industry in England, and the difficulties that the industry is having retaining women, particularly at senior levels. Data are presented on the demographic composition of women in the ICT industry in England. In addition the authors focus on their management of domestic and caring responsibilities, including changes in working practices they have experienced as a result of these responsibilities. These data are particularly pertinent given current government and industry debates regarding the ‘work–life balance’ and ‘flexible working’ in the ICT industry, partially as a response to the need for a more diverse ICT workforce. Alongside information on the career histories of female ICT professionals, the authors review their perceptions of pay and reward packages, working environments, the skills they hold, and the recognition they may or may not receive in their current posts. They present reports of a ‘long-hours’ and ‘presenteeism’ culture in the ICT industry, and the existence of gendered informal networks in ICT. They also examine female ICT professionals' perceptions of the current and future-possible image of the industry. The findings highlight the continued masculinization of ICT work, and some of the difficulties faced by women working in what remain statistically and symbolically male-dominated environments.

Making ICT work for SEN

Making ICT work for SEN

Children’s informal learning in the context of schools of the knowledge society

This paper builds on a key finding of a 5-year Danish research project con-cerning children in the 7 to 15 age group: children's principal use of computers and the internet takes place in their spare time, and it is during their spare time that the majority of children really learn how to use interactive media. The project shows that in children's spare-time use of ICT they employ informal forms of learning based to a large extent on their social interaction both in physical and virtual spaces. These informal learning forms can be identified as learning hierarchies, learning communities and learning networks; they are important contributions to the school of the knowledge society. The ICT in New Learning Environments project based on anthropologically inspired methods and social learning theories shows that students bring their informal forms of learning into the school context. This happens particularly when the school has undergone physical alterations and when its organisation of learning and teaching are also restructured, with project-based learning becoming an important part of the school work and with the media available in the learning environment. Using organisation theory, the school working with ICT and project-based learning is shown to simultaneously constitute a mixed mode between the school of the industrial and the knowledge society. The research shows that it is possible to tip the balance in the direction of the school of the knowledge society, and thus of the future, by comprehensively using ICT and project work in the day-to-day activities of the school, alongside and integrated with the traditional forms of learning, and not least by employing the informal learning processes children develop outside school. For teachers this will mean an extension of their function: no longer merely communicators of knowledge, they will have to become knowledge managers and overall leaders of projects, and this entails much more dialogue with the pupils.

ICT and older workers: no unwrinkled relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to find out to what extent older workers make use of ICT and to what extent this influences their job performance.Design/methodology/approachWorkers of various age groups are surveyed in two sectors: printing industry and wholesale trade. The use of (various types of) ICT is compared for a number of age groups, controlling the influence of other explanatory variables and correcting the fact that older users are a selective group. In the next step, the use of ICT is one of the factors explaining performance.FindingsThe results show that, compared with younger workers, older workers make less use of ICT in their job, use less complicated applications and have more difficulties in using ICT. This is to their disadvantage as the use of ICT and particularly the level of use appear to affect performance positively.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is concentrated on two specific sectors which are forerunners in the field of ICT. A generalization of the results is therefore most applicable to industries and jobs in which ICT plays an important role.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that company policies can be of help in dealing with the problem. However, the provision of formal training in ICT has no significant effect.Originality/valueContrary to what is often done in this type of study, the level on which ICT is used is taken into account. Moreover, direct indicators for performance are used instead of wages. Particularly for older workers wages may not reflect productivity.

What Drives the Vacancy Rate for Information Technology Workers?

This paper provides empirical evidence on both the magnitude and determinants of unfilled positions for information technology workers using cross-sectional data on 4150 German firms. Vacancies are defined as unfilled positions excluding those created by replacement needs during the first half of the year 2000. The share of unfilled positions created by replacement needs is only about 20 percent, indicating that high turnover rates are not the main reason for high vacancy rates. The adjusted job vacancy rate for ICT workers varies between 5.7 percent in the ICT sector and 6.7 percent in the non-ICT sector. The results of a generalized tobit model show that the adjusted vacancy rate mainly depends on the firm size, the share of ICT workers and actions taken in the past to solve the ICT worker shortage but not on the diffusion of ICT. In the ICT sector, the decision made in the past to train apprentices in the new ICT occupations seems to have reduced the current vacancy rate. In the non-ICT sector, a successful strategy to solve the ICT worker shortage appears to be increased internal training. Finally, in the non-ICT sector, the common practice of completely outsourcing software programming significantly reduces the probability of unfilled positions.

What Drives the Vacancy Rate for Information Technology Workers? / Was bestimmt den Mangel an IKT-Fachkräften?

Summary This paper provides empirical evidence on both the magnitude and determinants of unfilled positions for information technology workers using cross-sectional data on 4150 German firms. Vacancies are defined as unfilled positions excluding those created by replacement needs during the first half of the year 2000. The share of vacancies created by replacement needs is only about 20 percent, indicating that high turnover rates are not the main reason for high vacancy rates. The adjusted job vacancy rate for ICT workers varies between 5.7 percent in the ICT sector and 6.7 percent in the non-ICT sector. The results of a generalized tobit model show that the adjusted vacancy rate mainly depends on the firm size, the share of ICT workers and actions taken in the past to solve the ICT worker shortage, but not on the diffusion of ICT. In the ICT sector, the decision made in the past to train apprentices in the new ICT occupations seems to have reduced the current vacancy rate. In the non-ICT sector, a successful strategy to solve the ICT worker shortage appears to be increased internal training. Finally, in the non-ICT sector, the common practice of completely outsourcing software programming significantly reduces the probability of vacancies.

Making Women Visible: Gender Spaces and ICT Work in the Philippines

Studies of technology in developing countries have addressed the conundrum of 'invisible women' by focusing either on women-dominated assembly work or on women as users. This article looks at the social shaping of technology and tries to render the women in certain arenas of information technology (IT) visible. Underlying the emergence of this group of women IT workers are 'user-friendly technologies,' horizontal learning structures, and the hybridity of some arenas of IT. After an examination of some of these issues, the article goes on to examine the creation of 'female spaces' in IT through an analysis of the gendered social distribution of knowledge, and the compensation structures and social constructs that accompany and affect the changes in the gender division of labor. The article shows that within the international division of labor and the gender-based division of labor, IT in the Philippines still offers scope for and supports the creation of 'female spaces'.

Making Women Visible: Gender Spaces and ICT Work in the Philippines

Studies of technology in developing countries have addressed the conundrum of ’invisible women’ by focusing either on women-dominated assembly work or on women as users. This article looks at the social shaping of technology and tries to render the women in certain arenas of information technology (IT) visible. Underlying the emergence of this group of women IT workers are ’user-friendly technologies,’ horizontal learning structures, and the hybridity of some arenas of IT. After an examination of some of these issues, the article goes on to examine the creation of ’female spaces’ in IT through an analysis of the gendered social distribution of knowledge, and the compensation structures and social constructs that accompany and affect the changes in the gender division of labor. The article shows that within the international division of labor and the gender-based division of labor, IT in the Philippines still offers scope for and supports the creation of ’female spaces’.