tech+and+gender+main+page


 * Welcome to our very rudimentary page. For now, lets just post ideas, emails etc here so they are in one spot. Very free form and disorganized. Anyone feel free to organize/change/etc. Just don't delete. I will copy our previous email in.**

2**-8-2011**
 * First very rough draft of letter**

TITLE???

Science and technology have become increasingly important to national economic success underscoring the long recognized need for a science and technology proficient workforce. Despite much attention, women are still underrepresented in science and technology careers. Much research investigates how to encourage women and girls to enter high school and college degree programs in preparation of such careers. However, less attention has been devoted on how to keep them there. Of course entering an appropriate education program is a required prerequisite of a STEM career. However, entering a degree program is but one early step in a lengthy education and career process. Research suggests that the link between the initial choice of degree program and career selection and longevity is not absolute. (cites???) Many women who enter science and technology degree programs fail to complete them, enter non-science careers, or transfer out of such career at a later time. The purpose of our proposed study is to explore why this occurs and identify possible steps to mitigate it. We propose an interdisciplinary, mixed-method study of digital social networking by men and women studying and working in technology and science to explore how digital networking influences the career choices longevity of women following their entry into a STEM degree program. Social networking has been shown to be influential in career choice and career path development. Individuals are more likely to select careers that are familiar (cites) and social networks can provide access to information about careers role models (cite). Additionally, social networks provide contacts and information leading to initial job placement and promotion opportunities, hire salaries, and career satisfaction (cite). Studies of gender and social networks have found (????). This research demonstrates the importance of social networks to the careers of women who enter science and technology degree programs and suggests that the promotion of the longevity of women’s careers in technology and science would benefit from an thorough understanding the role social networks play in the initial and later career choices made by women who enter science and technology degree programs. Social networking is increasingly accomplished through digital sites such as Linked-In and Facebook. This is particularly true of college age, technology savvy populations. Studies show ????. However, few studies have explored how digital networking influences career selection and promotion or if there are differences between how men and women perceive and utilize such tools. We propose a multi-disciplinary, mixed method study to explore how digital social networking influences initial career choices and career longevity of women who have entered STEM degree programs. Building on initial exploratory research, we will collect data for our study in three stages: 1) We will conduct an electronic survey of users of a digital social network 2) We will conduct semi-structured interviews of information and communication technology (ICT) professionals employed as civilians by the United States Navy, and 3) We will develop and test a social networking training and information program using building on resources developed through the MERLOT project. We will analyze the data using a variety of quantitative and qualitative tools but an overall iterative, grounded theory approach. Following this approach, we will allow our initial findings to refine and develop the design and subsequent stages of our project. We will begin by analyzing the survey data to answer??? using ???methods [DINA]. We will follow this analysis with semi-structured interviews to gain an in-depth understanding, not possible through a survey, of how individuals perceive social networking technologies and the links between perceptions, use and career decisions. Finally, based on the findings of the qualitative study, we will design an on-line program to teach young women about social networking sites. This will be tested by [Jon].

Dina and I just talked. Following up on the observations that social computing technologies might be changing the military organization culture. It is possible that men and women view and use these types of technologies differently. In particular Facebook. Dina asked, does the type of picture a women puts on Facebook effect career advancement. Possible questions: Do men and women interpret these technologies differently? Do they use them in different ways? Do they percieve the benefits/disadvantages of such technologies differently? Does the use of such technologies have different effects on men and women's careers?
 * 1-24-2011 ideas**

Could we make an argument that gender differences in interpretations of such technologies may influence development in tech careers? People interpret technologies differently (I have cites) There are likely to be gender differences (must be cites) Interpretation influences use (I have cites)

Social networking known to influence career development (have cites). Social computing technologies will have great influence especially in tech careers where it will be seen first (can make this argument--but we will want more to really link to gender in STEM for the grant) We will examine how social technologies (Facebook) are understood and used among men and women preparing for and in technology careers, how this is likely to influence their career trajectories, and how learning analytics can be used to take advantage of opportunities presented by social computing technologies. Three studies:

Study 1: How are social computing technologies interpreted and used by men and women in tech fields? (How does interpretation influence use?) Qualitative focus groups and semi-structure interviews of Naval Academy students and NPS students (maybe graduates) Study 2: How does use of social computing tech influence career development (salaries and promotion) in tech fields? Quantitive survey and Facebook data collection of Naval Academy students and NPS students (maybe graduates or general Navy population in tech careers)? Study 3: How can user analytics improve the use of social computing tech by boys and girls? Qualitative/qualitative or experiment? of high school students