skip to main content
10.1145/1982143.1982156acmconferencesArticle/Chapter ViewAbstractPublication PagescprConference Proceedingsconference-collections
research-article

Researching the older IT professional: methodological challenges and opportunities

Published:19 May 2011Publication History

ABSTRACT

Many developed nations' populations are aging. For workplaces, this has two important implications: organizations face an increasingly older workforce, at the same time that they experience a higher level of retirements. Both of these factors suggest some dramatic implications for those studying the workplace that must be considered. Regrettably, findings show that age-based research on older adults' experiences with technology is severely lacking (Birkland & Kaarst-Brown, 2007). To help address this gap, this paper reviews the sampling, ethical, and methodological implications for those who seek to study IT professionals and IT use in the aging workplace.

References

  1. AARP. (2010). The Employment Situation, September 2010: Older Workers Have Little to Cheer About Once Again. Retrieved November 1, 2010Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  2. Birkland, J. L. H. (2007). Myths of the Older Adult User and ICTs: What We Know and Don't Know and How We Know It. Working Paper - School of Information Studies. Syracuse, University: 1--65.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  3. Birkland, J. L. H., & Kaarst-Brown, M. L. (2010). 'What's so special about studying old people?': The ethical, methodological, and sampling issues surrounding the study of older adults and ICTs. In F. Sudweeks, H. Hrachovec & C. Ess (Eds.), Proceedings of the seventh international conference on Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication (pp. 341--356). Vancouver, B.C., Canada.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  4. Carlson, E. (2009). 20th-Century: U.S. Generations. Population Reference Bureau, 64(1).Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  5. Cattell, R. B. (1971). Abilities: Their structure, growth, and action. New York: Houghton Mifflin.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  6. Cavanaugh, J. C., & Blanchard-Fields, F. (2006). Adult development and aging (5th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing/Thomson Learning.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  7. DeLong, D. W. (2004). Lost knowledge: Confronting the threat of an aging workforce. New York: Oxford University Press.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  8. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. (2007). Ageing and work in Europe. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/reports/TN0407TR01/TN0407TR01.pdfGoogle ScholarGoogle Scholar
  9. Finkel, D., Reynolds, C. A., McArdle, J. J., & Pedersen, N. L. (2007). Cohort differences in trajectories of cognitive aging. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 62(5), 286--294.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  10. Hayes-Bautista, D. E., Hsu, P., Perez, A., & Gamboa, C. (2002). The 'browning' of the graying of America: Diversity in the elderly population and policy implications. Generations 26(3), 15--24.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  11. Hedge, J. W., Borman, W. C., & Lammlein, S. E. (2006). The aging workforce: Realities, myths, and implications for organizations. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association (APA).Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  12. Kaarst-Brown, M. L. (1995). A Theory of Information Technology Cultures: Magic Dragons, Wizards and Archetypal Patterns. Schulich School of Business. Toronto, ON Canada, York University: 700.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  13. Kaarst-Brown, M.L. & Guzman, I.R. (2010) "A Cultural Perspective on Individual Choices of STEM Education and Subsequent Occupations". SIGMIS CPR'10 Proceedings of the 2010 ACM SIGMIS Computer Personnel Research Conference. May 20--22, 2010. Vancouver, BC, Canada. 55--65. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  14. Korczyk, S. and S. A. Rix (2004). Is early retirement ending? Washington, D.C., AARP Public Policy Institute.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  15. Larwood, L., Rodkin, S., & Judson, D. (2001). Retraining and the technological productivity paradox. International Journal of Organizational Theory and Behavior, 4(3&4), 201--224.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  16. Larwood, L., Ruben, K., Popoff, C., & Judson, D. H. (1997). Aging, retirement, and interest in technological retraining: predicting personal investment and withdrawal. The Journal of High Technology Management Research, 8(2), 277--300.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  17. Martin, J. (1995). "The Style and Structure of Cultures in Organizations - 3 Perspectives". Organization Science 6(2): 230--232.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  18. Marquié, J. C., Jourdan-Boddaert, L., & Huet, N. (2002). Do older adults underestimate their actual computer knowledge? Behaviour & Information Technology, 21(4), 273--280.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  19. Maurer, T. J., Wrenn, K. A., & Weiss, E. M. (2003). Toward understanding and managing stereotypical beliefs about older workers' ability and desire for learning and development. In J. J. Martocchio & G. R. Ferris (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 22, pp. 253--285). Stamford, CT: JAI Press.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  20. Reynolds, C. A., Finkel, D., Gatz, M., & Pedersen, N. L. (2002). Sources of influence on rate of cognitive change over time in Swedish twins: An application of latent growth models. Experimental Aging Research, 28, 407--433.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  21. Rix, S. E. (2001). Toward active aging in the 21st century: Working longer in the United States. Paper presented at the Japanese Institute of Labour Millennium Project. from http://www.jil.go.jp/jil/seika/us2.pdf.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  22. Rosen, B., & Jerdee, T. H. (1985). Older employees: New roles for valued resources. Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  23. Rosow, J. M., & Zager, R. (1980). The future of older workers in America: New perspectives for an extended work life. Scarsdale, NY: Work in America Institute.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  24. Sackmann, S. A. (1992). "Culture and Subcultures: An Analysis of Organizational Knowledge". Administrative Science Quarterly 37(1): 140.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  25. Salkowitz, R. (2008). Generation Blend: Managing Across the Technology Age Gap. NY, John Wiley & Sons.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  26. Simon, R. (1996). Too damn old. Money, 25(7), 118--126.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  27. Spillman, B., & Pezzin, L. (2000). Potential and Active Family Caregivers: Changing Networks and the 'Sandwich Generation'. The Milbank Quarterly, 78(3), 347--374.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  28. U.S. Census Bureau. (2008). Table 3. Percent Distribution of the Projected Population by Selected Age Groups and Sex for the United States: 2010 to 2050 (NP2008-T3). Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/summarytables.html.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar

Index Terms

  1. Researching the older IT professional: methodological challenges and opportunities

    Recommendations

    Comments

    Login options

    Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

    Sign in
    • Published in

      cover image ACM Conferences
      SIGMIS-CPR '11: Proceedings of the 49th SIGMIS annual conference on Computer personnel research
      May 2011
      164 pages
      ISBN:9781450306669
      DOI:10.1145/1982143

      Copyright © 2011 ACM

      Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

      Publisher

      Association for Computing Machinery

      New York, NY, United States

      Publication History

      • Published: 19 May 2011

      Permissions

      Request permissions about this article.

      Request Permissions

      Check for updates

      Qualifiers

      • research-article

      Acceptance Rates

      Overall Acceptance Rate300of480submissions,63%

    PDF Format

    View or Download as a PDF file.

    PDF

    eReader

    View online with eReader.

    eReader