IT degree studies and skills development for learning organisations

Lack of gender balance within STEM fields is caused by many complex factors, some of which are related to the fact that women do not perceive certain occupations as congruent with their career and personal goals. Although there is a large body of research regarding women in STEM, there is a gap concerning perception of occupations within different STEM industries. IT is a domain where skilled employees are constantly in demand. Even though the overall female representation in STEM fields is rising and that the IT industry is undertaking numerous interventions to attract women to careers in IT, the representation of women in this domain is still disappointingly low. Therefore, the goal of our study was to examine the possible differences among male and female IT and non-IT students and employees in terms of their perception of IT and other key factors influencing the feeling of aptness of IT as a potential sector one's career: goal congruence, sense of belonging and self-efficacy. In this paper we present the results of a study conducted in Poland among working IT professionals (N = 205) and IT students (N = 127) that we compare with individuals from non-IT sectors (N = 222 employees, 107 students). Our results showed significant gender differences between IT students and IT professionals. We found that communal goals are more important for IT employees than for IT students (both male and female) and that a sense of social belonging is stronger among female IT employees than among male IT employees and IT students. Women employed in IT also had the same level of sense of social belonging as women in non-IT group. These findings suggest that after entering IT positions, women's perception of the domain might become potentially more favorable and attuned with their needs. We also found that female IT students value agentic goals more than communal goals which was not the case for female IT employees. The results highlight the importance of investigating women's perception of the IT sector at different levels of career in terms of their goals and other work-related variables. Such lines of research will help develop more effective interventions in attracting women to enter the IT field.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia has forced college students to undergo online learning. Various problems that arise due to this pandemic, especially those related to academic achievement, can disrupt the students' psychological well-being. This study investigated coping strategies' role in predicting college students' psychological well-being during the pandemic's first wave. Two hundred eleven students participated online in this quantitative study and completed the shortened version of the Psychological Well-Being Scale and the Brief Cope Inventory. The regression analysis results show that problem-focused coping strategies, such as planning and the use of instrumental support, significantly predict the increase in female students' psychological well-being. In contrast, only active coping positively predicts psychological well-being in male students. Dysfunctional coping strategies, such as behavioral disengagement and denial, significantly predict the decline in female students' psychological well-being. On the other hand, venting showed a significant role in predicting the increased psychological well-being of female students. Emotion-focused coping strategies do not significantly predict psychological well-being in female and male students. Therefore, regarding the psychological well-being of college students during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, coping strategies, especially problem-focused and dysfunctional strategies, contribute differently to female and male students.

Introduction An innovative teaching and learning environment was established in 2000 in the School of Information Management and Systems at Monash University, Australia. Taking inspiration from the Bauhaus School of Design, a studio model was incorporated into a core subject in all year levels of the Bachelor of Information Management and Systems (BIMS). The studio model is a radical shift from the lecture/tutorial teaching environment typically found in a tertiary institution. It has meant the construction of a new teaching space, provision of a supporting IT infrastructure and the development of a curriculum integrated within and across all year levels. The initial cost of building, furnishing and equipping the studio was funded by a grant (Carbone et al., 1999). The ongoing cost in terms of maintenance and technical support is equivalent to a traditional teaching environment. However, the high staff-student ratio, particularly at the lecturer level, has meant that the cost of running a studio subject is approximately three times more than teaching with the traditional approach. This paper compares first year students' reactions, at mid-year and at the end of the year, in respect to four aspects of the studio model: the layout of the physical teaching space, the integrated curriculum, the IT infrastructure, and use of portfolio assessment. It also reports on students' reactions to the studio in comparison to the traditional teaching environments they experience in their other subjects. Data was obtained through survey questionnaires. Results are used to inform a discussion of the issue of appropriate teaching and learning environments for first year IT students. This paper extends the research that examined the students' reactions to the studio in semester 1 of 2001, (Carbone and Sheard 2002). Other research has compared students' reactions across the three year levels of the undergraduate BIMS degree (Carbone et al., 2002a; Carbone et al., 2002b). Background The studio model has been described in (Arnott & Atchison, 1997; Carbone et al., 2000). Excerpts from the Carbone et al. paper, (2000), that describe the four aspects of the SIMS studio and its foundational influences are included below to enable the reader to gain a full understanding of the context of the research. The BIMS Undergraduate Degree Program The Bachelor of Information Management and Systems (BIMS), at Monash University, Australia, is a three-year IT degree with a strong practical focus. It aims to prepare students for careers in information systems and information management. Central to the BIMS program is a compulsory (core) year long studio subject in each year of the course. Other core subjects include information systems, information management, systems analysis and design, project management, the Internet, and multimedia. In addition to the core subjects, students can select elective subjects from a wide range of disciplines that are usually taught in a traditional setting. The Bauhaus Influence The studio-based teaching and learning approach adopted for use in the BIMS program is based on the Bauhaus School of Design's model for teaching and learning. The Bauhaus, developed in Germany in the early 1900s, was an innovative art school whose basic ideologies started a move towards the better integration of art and technology for the mutual benefit of both (Flores, 2000). The Bauhaus set out to create a consulting art center for industry and the trades (Bayer, 1975). The influences of the Bauhaus are widespread and varied, and the educational concepts upon which the Bauhaus philosophy was based appealed to the BIMS teaching and learning development team. The Bauhaus school had three aims: the first was to rescue all of the arts from the isolation in which each then found itself (Whitford, 1992) in order to encourage the individual artisans and craftsmen to work cooperatively and combine all of their skills. …

The study attempts to investigate the reason of why girls with an interest in IT in high-school do not choose career in IT. Here we present qualitative results from the focus group interview. The focus group consisted of eight young women, who were actively involved in extra curriculum education in IT area during their final years at school, but have chosen different profession after. As a result of the interview we have identified the following factors influencing respondents' decision for not choosing career in IT: self-perceived lack of aptitude to succeed in IT, unwillingness to deal with numbers, self-perceived insufficient knowledge for admission for IT degree, parental influence, stereotypes of IT profession, unattractive image of IT specialist, uninteresting subjects of the IT program. Finally we have suggested actions in order to make IT profession more attractive for young women.

The suicide mortality rate per 100 000 population (SMRP) consistently decreased before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Japan and then unexpectedly increased during the pandemic. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. To identify trends in and factors associated with suicidal mortality and motives among students in Japan from 2007 to 2022. In this cross-sectional study, data on SMRPs among Japanese middle-school, high-school, and university students were obtained from the government suicide database Suicide Statistics of the National Police Agency. Age-dependent and temporal fluctuations in annual SMRPs, disaggregated by suicidal motive (7 categories and 52 subcategories), sex, and school, were analyzed using linear mixed-effect and joinpoint regression models, respectively. Total suicide numbers from 2007 to 2022 were as follows: 760 male middle-school students, 635 female middle-school students, 2376 male high-school students, 1566 female high-school students, 5179 male university students, and 1880 female university students. The mean (SD) student populations from 2007 to 2022 were as follows: 1 752 737 (81 334) male middle-school students, 1 675 572 (78 824) female middle-school students, 1 648 274 (67 520) male high-school students, 1 614 828 (60 032) female high-school students, 1 652 689 (32 724) male university students, and 1 229 142 (57 484) female university students. Among male students, the leading motives were school-related factors (underachievement and worrying about the future), followed by family-related and health-related motives. Among female students, school-related and family-related motives decreased, but health-related motives showed an age-dependent increase. The SMRPs of middle-school male students and female students were almost equal (mean [SD], 2.7 [1.0] vs 2.4 [1.4]), but the age-dependent increase in SMRPs among male students was pronounced (mean [SD], high-school vs university male students, 9.1 [2.4] vs 19.6 [3.0]; high-school vs university female students, 6.1 [2.4] vs 9.6 [1.8]). However, the incidence of suicide among high-school students associated with health-related motives was greater in female students. The majority of suicides associated with major impactable suicidal motives (school-related, health-related, and family-related motives) began increasing before the pandemic. Changes in SMRP associated with interpersonal relationships, such as conflict with classmates or parents, were not significant, but the rates increased greatly during the pandemic. School-related, health-related, and family-related problems were major motives, whereas the impacts of health-related and family-related motives increased and decreased with age, respectively. Notably, most SMRPs associated with major impactable motives (underachievement, conflict with a parent or classmate, and mental illnesses) had already begun increasing in the late 2010s, indicating that recent increasing SMRPs among school-aged individuals were associated with pandemic-related factors and other factors affecting this generation before the pandemic. It may be inappropriate to uniformly apply research findings based on school-aged individuals to school-based suicide prevention programs for students in middle school, high school, and university.

The purpose of this research was to assess first year students’ social competency and coping strategies against their overall first semester academic achievement (GPA) at Arsi University. A sample (N = 360) of first year students was selected for the study. Slightly adapted versions of Social Competency Scale (Silvera, Martinussen, & Dahl, 2001) and Coping Strategy Scales (Carver, 1999) were used to assess these aspects. The results revealed that the majority students were good and some of them were identified as average on social competency dimensions. On the other hand, it was noted that majority of the students use avoidance coping strategies. Social competency has strong positive connection with student’s GPA but coping strategy has nonsignificant negative correlation with GPA. Both social competency and coping strategy slightly contributed to the variations in first semester GPA among first year students. Only college had a mediating role with partial mediation effect between social competency total and GPA. A significant difference was observed between male and female students in their GPA and social competency. Gender and religion had no mediation role between social competency, coping strategy, and first semester GPA of the students. In conclusion, it was implied that university students’ personnel should work on first year students’ adaptive coping strategies and social competencies.

Technological advancements, particularly those associated with artificial intelligence (AI), have significantly transformed the educational landscape. The ChatGPT tool, developed by OpenAI and launched in 2022, has garnered considerable interest from users globally. This study aims to characterize the perceptions of IT students regarding ChatGPT, exploring variations based on gender and employment status, while also examining the relationships between these perceptions, age, completed semesters, and usage intensity. A comprehensive literature review on AI, with a focus on the ChatGPT tool, was conducted. A questionnaire was distributed to 72 undergraduate IT students to assess their perceptions of ChatGPT usage. The questionnaire encompasses three key areas: confidence, intention to use, and current utilization of the tool. Findings indicate a weak to moderate correlation between the intensity of ChatGPT usage and the statement, “I am willing to make decisions based on ChatGPT recommendations.” Additionally, a weak relationship was observed between usage intensity and the perception that “ChatGPT is trustworthy in terms of reliability and credibility,” as well as between usage intensity and the willingness to use ChatGPT in the future.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between organisational learning and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) performance. The PRISMA protocol was followed by full-text reading 57 peer-reviewed academic journal articles published in different international journals from 2001 to 2021. After investigating and synthesising the empirical papers, the author found that organisational learning is instrumental to derive the fundamental factors and mechanisms to drive ESG performance. The findings of this research provide the first comprehensive assessment of the relationship between organisational learning and ESG, as well as highlight that organisational learning related to ESG is significantly important to ESG performance, which lies in the overlooked and hidden extant studies. The major contribution of this study is to connect organisational learning with ESG performance from a holistic perspective through different learning loops and put stress on the importance of two learning loops to better facilitate ESG strategy through ‘2P’ (people and process). Specifically, the conceptual framework of two learning loops was developed, which could lay the foundation for scholars’ future research on organisational learning related to ESG performance, such as single-loop learning about the process (i.e., control system, decision-making, ethics, gender balance, human resource management, knowledge management, risk management, and training), and double-loop learning about the roles of people (i.e., practitioners, professionals, managers, and the top management team). The ‘PPT’ (people, process, and technology) approach is also designed for future testing and validation to transform single-loop learning into double-loop learning.

Background. Examination stress is observed in the majority of students, which emphasizes the relevance of searching for psychological resources facilitating successful examination. Objective. The study had its purpose to reveal the stress level of IT students as well as their universal and special regulatory resources for exam success. Study Participants. The study involved 322 second-year students of a Moscow technical university specializing in information security (Mage = 19.22; SD = 4.64; 29% were female students). Methods. The students completed 4 questionnaires on the “Testograph” platform (https://www.testograf.ru) shortly before the exam session: Self-Regulation Profile (SRP-2020), Brief Acute and Chronic Stress (BACS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Subjective and Objective Uncertainty Stress (SOUS) scale. The data processing also included the results of the examination session. Results. The majority of IT students demonstrated an average level of all the studied types of stress when compared to the data from the all-Russian sample. Differences in student performance are mostly related to the level of acute stress experienced during exam preparation period and to the type of academic discipline. Conscious self-regulation makes a significant positive contribution to examination success in the profile disciplines — mathematics and programming: the higher the level of its development is, the higher the examination grades are. Significant predictors of examination success are regulatory competencies of evaluating results and programming educational activities, as well as regulatory properties of reliability and persistence. Conclusions. Conscious self-regulation is a universal regulatory resource for examination success for students in technical specialties. Acute stress experiences can influence exam performance both positively and negatively. The study has identified the regulatory competencies acting as special resources for examination success.

Aims: It was planned that the organizational decision makers would have an increased ability to make an informed decision by having an additional source of information by the introduction of the KPI’s. A secondary aim was that by implementing a new idea and amending the knowledge to the organizational context that organizational learning will occur for participates involved in the implementation process. Rationale: This paper details the implementation of a set of Key performance indicators (KPI) at two mental health day hospitals. A set of KPI’s is a tool used to provide core measurements of service functioning and well-being. These measures provide indications that a service may not be operating within the norms or the strategic aims of an organization and that further analysis is required. KPI’s are complimentary to other organizational mechanisms of service monitoring such as clinical audit, service user feedback, staff wellbeing questionnaires and incident reporting systems. Change process: Using the HSE change model a group of staff amended the KPI to mental health context. Evaluation: To evaluate the KPI usefulness to mental health context, the degree of belief in the KPIs was assessed using an adapted questionnaire. To capture organizational learning relating to the implementation process, a focus group was used. Result: The questionnaire demonstrated a high degree of belief in the use of KPIs by key stakeholders within the organizations. The focus group identified three themes that validated learning from the implementation process. Conclusion: The implementation of the KPIs at two mental health day hospitals was confirmed as useful to a group of key stakeholder within the management structure. The high degree of belief in the KPIs and its application to the mental health day hospital context was proven. Also, organizational learning was found to occur in the form of single loop learning. Single loop learning is the learning of new knowledge or amending of new knowledge to the context that had no impact on the organizational systems in place. The understanding gained from the single loop learning will help the implementation group to use the organizational systems such as the HSE change model more efficiently in the future without changing the organizational system itself. An anecdotal finding suggests that double loop learning may have occurred. Double-loop learning occurs when new knowledge or knowledge amended to context occurs that has changed the organizational systems in place. In the evaluation of key stakeholder’s belief in KPIs, it was found that the stakeholder will use the KPIs in decision making. Using the information provided by the KPIs in organizational decision making along with changes to data collection and aggregation of reporting practices one could say that the amended notion of KPI has had an organizational impact and therefore could be classed as double looping learning though more longitudinal evaluation would be required to add strength to these findings.

This study investigates the impact of gender bias on female students’ aspirations toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in Pakistani universities, with a particular focus on the mediating role of self-efficacy and the moderating influence of coping strategies and support systems. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 250 female undergraduate students representing different age groups and faculties. The analysis employed descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression in SPSS to examine relationships among five major variables: gender bias and STEM aspirations, factors influencing gender bias, coping strategies and support systems, self-efficacy, and confidence. Results revealed strong correlations between gender bias and reduced STEM aspirations, with factors such as curriculum design, teacher attitudes, societal expectations, and lack of female role models playing critical roles. Self-efficacy was significantly associated with aspirations but demonstrated diminished predictive power when structural variables were included, underscoring that individual confidence alone cannot counteract systemic barriers. Coping strategies; including family encouragement, mentorship, and peer support were found to buffer the negative impacts of bias, though their effectiveness varied across contexts. The findings align with international evidence from South Asia, the United Kingdom, and China, but offer unique insights into the cultural specificities of Pakistan. The study contributes to theory by extending Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory in a South Asian context, and to practice by providing recommendations for universities, policymakers, and NGOs to design gender-sensitive curricula, strengthen institutional support, and foster inclusive STEM environments. Ultimately, this research highlights the urgent need for systemic reforms to achieve gender equity in higher education and expand women’s participation in STEM.

This paper describes a framework that assists the inclusion of Entrepreneurship into computing study programs. It has been developed within a European Tempus Project and is built following a process-oriented view of innovation and entrepreneurship. It outlines key activities and capabilities of entrepreneurship. An approach is presented that combines existing online tools with the traditional methodologies for creating courses on entrepreneurship. We introduce a concept -the virtual innovation space- to take the most advantages from opportunities that the Internet gives us for increasing efficiency of learning entrepreneurship for IT students. A summary of the course content on entrepreneurship that is developed and used by the project partners for their local courses is presented. We present and discuss feedback received from the project partners and describe some student projects and experiences. The work in this paper can be useful for other universities and similar projects to compare their effort and receive some justification or ideas for their initiatives.

Different strategies were followed to control the spread of the COVID-19 disease worldwide. Jordan declared a military-enforced curfew for three months, which successfully controlled the disease spreading. However, the curfew impacted several aspects of students’ lives and personalities. This study discusses the impact of the COVID-19 curfew restrictions on university students’ mental health, as this area was not fully discussed in previous studies. An online survey was distributed to cover the psychological symptoms and coping strategies of university students. Most of them experienced short temper, anxiety, and sleep problems. Female students expressed more psychological symptoms than males, they managed their stress by sleeping, studying, and worshiping. Whereas male students were working, exercising, and playing video games. A distinct interest was noticed among students of different ages. Young students (18–25 years) expressed unhappiness and distress-like symptoms; they advocated sleeping and playing video games. While elder students (>26 years) had anxiety, sleep problems, and short tempers, they managed their symptoms by studying, exercising, and worshiping. The curfew restrictions have negatively impacted the mental health of female and younger students more than other categories. These research outcomes will help decision-makers to implement healthy coping strategies to be followed during unusual conditions.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-01833-1.

Conceptual frameworks dominate organizational learning literature with limited empirical assessments. This raises several questions about the validity and applicability of the various conceptual frameworks for how managers can build organizational learning capabilities. As such, lessons from the conceptual frameworks of organizational learning for addressing performance improvement that might have been used by construction contractors have been limited. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of organizational learning by construction contractors. The principles that underlie organizational learning and the factors that promote double-loop learning as a strategy for improving construction contractors’ business processes are presented. The paper has also established the learning orientations and focus of the surveyed construction contractors to determine their organizational learning dimensions as well as the factors that induced their double-loop learning, as rich lessons for organizations in the construction industry.

BackgroundThe ‘long shadow’ of childhood bullying can extend beyond immediate adverse mental health and educational outcomes well into adulthood, with associated long-term health and social care costs. Reducing bullying is therefore a public health priority. KiVa, a school-based anti-bullying programme, is effective in reducing bullying in schools in Finland and is currently being tested in the UK through the large-scale Stand Together trial. MethodsThe Stand Together trial is a two-arm, pragmatic multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of KiVa in reducing bullying in UK primary schools compared to usual practice over one academic year. The trial is targeting approximately 13,000 7- to 11-year-olds in 116 primary schools across England and Wales, including North Wales, the West Midlands, South East- and South West England. Usual practice is defined as the delivery of the Personal and Social Education (PSE) curriculum in Wales and the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education in England. To assess cost-effectiveness, we are conducting a cost-utility analysis and wider cost-consequence analysis from a school and societal perspective. Pupil self-reported health-related quality of life (CHU9D) is the primary outcome to enable the calculation of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in an Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER). The cost-consequence analysis will consider other outcomes such as pupil self-reported bullying-victimisation, pupil absence and bullying-related service use, teacher wellbeing and the frequency of parent-school meetings regarding bullying. Cost calculations will include the time and resources required to implement KiVa in schools versus usual practice, including the cost of resources and training. We will undertake sensitivity analysis to explore the impact of assumptions about dose of intervention, adherence, and costs of delivery. Our analyses will provide the first large-scale RCT-based evidence of the cost-effectiveness of KiVa in UK primary schools.