Needing a new programme : why is union membership so low among software workers?

In terms of employee characteristics, software workers represent a particularly fascinating and important group of workers to explore in terms of their behaviour towards unions. They represent an expanding cohort of so-called knowledge workers in the UK and other countries, many possessing considerable latent power through their proximity to and involvement with electronic means of production and accumulation. An early study of technical workers' unionism by Smith (1987) provides evidence that computer personnel possess at least some of Batstone et al's (1978) four potential sources of industrial power, namely: skill scarcity, strategic position, immediate impact on production, and potential to create uncertainty (Smith 1987: 104). Other writers, however, have hinted that software workers are no less immune to management pressures to routinise and Taylorise their work than are any other group of skilled workers (Kraft and Dubnoff 1986; Beirne et al 1998). Software workers also enjoy familiarity with information technology, an increasingly effective tool in organising union membership both in the USA (Fiorito et al 2002) and the UK (Diamond and Freeman 2002)

Reviews

Integrating Information Technology into Education edited by Deryn Watson and David Tinsley, London, Chapman & Hall, 1995, ISBN: 0–412–62250–5, 316 pages

Preventing child pedestrian injuries and deaths arising from vehicle-child accidents in domestic driveways: An action research project

This research was a three-fold investigation into the viability of previous recommendations for vehicle-related child driveway accident safety . Firstly, the groups most at risk of these types of accidents were determined in order that they could be specifically considered when reviewing the practicalities of previous recommendations . Secondly, the feasibility of previous recommendations was systematically examined through both an extensive literature review and key and expert informant interviews . Based on these, the likelihood of implementation of previous safety recommendations for the identified high risk groups was ascertained, providing a basis on which to abandon some previous recommendations, remove obstacles to others which would enhance practicability and generate further recommendations that would be tenable for the at-risk groups in particular. The key findings of this research were, foremost, that there is a noticeable lack of specific reference to vehicle-related child driveway accidents in any legislation or safety guidelines, as well as a shortage of official data that deal expressly with this type of accident. Further, it was found that the major obstacles to the implementation of previous recommendations - particularly the environmental ones - were cost, autonomy, and spatial constraints. While several recommendations were abandoned due to factors such as unproven or dubious effectiveness and/or prohibitive cost, it was found that the most viable recommendations were characterised by their relatively low cost for the families involved. These recommendations were typically environmental or educational in nature. Thus, the recommendations in this report include some moderate regulatory changes to facilitate greater uptake of environmental and behaviour-modifying recommendations as well as practical ideas that all need to be part of a cohesive campaign to address the issue of vehicle-related child driveway accidents in New Zealand

Fostering medical students' lifelong learning skills with a dashboard, coaching and learning planning.

IntroductionTo develop lifelong learning skills, students need feedback, access to performance data, and coaching. A new medical curriculum incorporated infrastructural supports based on self-regulated learning theory and the Master Adaptive Learner framework to engage students in reflection and learning planning. This study examines students' experience with a performance dashboard, longitudinal coaching, and structured time for goal-setting.MethodsFocus groups with first-year medical students explored performance dashboard usage, coaching and learning planning. We analyzed findings using thematic analysis. Results informed development of a 29-item survey rated strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) to investigate experience with the dashboard, coaching and learning goals program. The survey was distributed to one first-year medical student class. We performed descriptive statistics and factor analysis.ResultsIn three focus groups with 21 participants, students endorsed using the dashboard to access performance information but had trouble interpreting and integrating information. They valued coaches as sources of advice but varied in their perceptions of the value of discussing learning planning. Of 152 students, 114 (75%) completed the survey. Exploratory factor analysis yielded 5 factors explaining 57% of the variance: learning goals development (α = 0.88; mean 3.25 (standard deviation 0.91)), dashboard usage (α = 0.82; 3.36 (0.64)), coaching (α = 0.71; 3.72 (0.64)), employment of learning strategies (α = 0.81; 3.67 (0.79)), and reflection (α = 0.63; 3.68 (0.64)).DiscussionThe student performance dashboard provides efficient feedback access, yet students' use of this information to guide learning is variable. These results can inform other programs seeking to foster lifelong learning skills

Visualizaciones del análisis temporal del aprendizaje para aumentar el conocimiento durante la evaluación

Les representacions visuals de dades de traces generades per l’alumnat durant les activitats d’aprenentatge ajuden tant els estudiants com els professors a interpretar-les intuïtivament i a percebre’n amb rapidesa aspectes amagats. En aquest treball descrivim la visualització de dades de traces temporals durant el procés d’avaluació. L’estudi tenia un doble objectiu: a) descriure la implicació dels estudiants en el procés d’avaluació pel que fa a temps esmerçat i factors temporals associats amb característiques concretes de l’aprenentatge, i b) explorar els factors que influeixen en la intenció comportamental del professorat quant a emprar el sistema proposat com a sistema d’informació i les seves percepcions de l’efectivitat i l’acceptació del nostre enfocament. Les visualitzacions proposades s’han examinat en un estudi amb 32 professors d’ensenyament secundari. Vàrem adoptar una metodologia de recerca basada en el disseny i vàrem utilitzar un instrument d’enquesta –basada en el model d’acceptació de l’anàlisi de l’aprenentatge– per mesurar l’impacte esperat de les visualitzacions proposades. L’anàlisi de les troballes indica que a) els factors temporals es poden utilitzar per visualitzar el comportament dels estudiants durant l’avaluació, i b) la visualització de la dimensió temporal del comportament dels estudiants augmenta el coneixement del professor pel que fa al progrés dels alumnes, a possibles conceptes erronis (per exemple, endevinar la resposta correcta) i a les dificultats de la tasca.Visual representations of student-generated trace data during learning activities help both students and instructors interpret them intuitively and perceive hidden aspects of these data quickly. In this paper, we elaborate on the visualization of temporal trace data during assessment. The goals of the study were twofold: a) to depict students’ engagement in the assessment procedure in terms of time spent and temporal factors associated with learning-specific characteristics, and b) to explore the factors that influence the teachers’ Behavioural Intention to use the proposed system as an information system and their perceptions of the effectiveness and acceptance of our approach. The proposed visualizations have been explored in a study with 32 Secondary Education teachers. We adopted a design-based research methodology and employed a survey instrument – based on the Learning Analytics Acceptance Model (LAAM) – in order to measure the expected impact of the proposed visualizations. The analysis of the findings indicates that a) temporal factors can be used for visualizing students’ behaviour during assessment, and b) the visualization of the temporal dimension of students’ behaviour increases teachers’ awareness of students’ progress, possible misconceptions (e.g., guessing the correct answer) and task difficulty. Las representaciones visuales de datos de trazas generados por el alumnado durante las actividades de aprendizaje ayudan tanto a los estudiantes como a los profesores a interpretarlos intuitivamente y a percibir con rapidez aspectos ocultos. En este trabajo, describimos la visualización de datos de trazas temporales durante la evaluación. El estudio tenía un doble objetivo: a) describir la implicación de los estudiantes en el proceso de evaluación en cuanto a tiempo invertido y factores temporales asociados con características concretas del aprendizaje, y b) explorar los factores que influyen en la intención comportamental del profesorado en cuanto a emplear el sistema propuesto como sistema de información y sus percepciones de la efectividad y la aceptación de nuestro enfoque. Las visualizaciones propuestas se han examinado en un estudio con 32 profesores de educación secundaria. Adoptamos una metodología de investigación basada en el diseño y utilizamos un instrumento de encuesta –basada en el modelo de aceptación del análisis del aprendizaje– para medir el impacto esperado de las visualizaciones propuestas. El análisis de los hallazgos indica que a) los factores temporales se pueden utilizar para visualizar el comportamiento de los estudiantes durante la evaluación, y b) la visualización de la dimensión temporal del comportamiento de los estudiantes aumenta el conocimiento del profesor respecto al progreso de los alumnos, posibles conceptos erróneos (por ejemplo, adivinar la respuesta correcta) y dificultad de la tarea.

Creating Low-carbon Communities: Evaluating the Role of Individual Agency and Systemic Inequality in San Jose, CA

Following a scholarly need to test compelling community level sociodemographic representations of environmental behaviors and outcomes, a sequential mixed method approach was used to evaluate the connections of human agency and systemic inequalities with carbon footprints. Statistical analyses of the 2016 SDG San Jose Dashboard data of city blocks and 2009 - 2013 ACS survey data were supplemented with interviews with eight climate action-oriented community engagement professionals in the South Bay. Boundary limiting socioeconomic conditions for systemic inequalities and human agency, dimensions of Gidden’s Structuration model, were specified. Partially supporting structural inequality theories, socioeconomic resources, primarily, and to a lesser extent dominant race concentration, were associated with larger carbon footprints, particularly when wealth was concentrated. Both human (time driven alone) and demographic (senior and mid-aged blocks) agencies were also in part at play in shrinking or even enlarging carbon footprints, in wealthier communities. These findings not only contributed to the literature on climate action, but also highlighted the need for targeted interventions in communities of different socioeconomic standing

Science, Design, and Design Science: Seeking Clarity to Move Design Science Research Forward in Information Systems

This paper examines the fundamental nature of science, design, hence design science and design research, with a view to determining a conceptualisation of design science that is useful in the discipline of information systems (IS). After reviewing several notions of design, the paper recommends a conceptualisation that involves a broad practice-based view of design, an inclusive conceptualisation of design science, and a diverse and multi-paradigmatic approach to design research. The paper recommends that the design task in IS be conceived as one that includes rather than strips away the social and organizational context of the IT artifact, and this impacts the breadth of topics embraced by design science, and the types of methods employed to further enquiry in the field