Directions for research on gender imbalance in the IT profession

Internet use, depression, and cognitive outcomes among Chinese adolescents

This study provides new evidence on how the growingly significant digital life shapes Chinese adolescents' cognitive and mental health outcomes based on their gender, parental education, and geographical location. Using the China Education Panel Survey, a nationally representative survey following 12-15-year-old students in 2013 and 2014, and individual fixed-effect models, we find that more time spent on the Internet is associated with higher self-reported depression scores. This negative impact on mental health is more substantial for girls, those with less-educated parents, and those living outside the city center. The link between Internet use and cognitive development is almost null. Time spent online negatively affects Chinese young adolescents' subjective well-being but has little impact on their cognitive development. The link between Internet use time and subjective well-being also depends on gender, parental education, and the geographical location of those adolescents. The heterogeneous impacts of Internet use time offer crucial new evidence to the multiple dimensions of the digital divide among adolescents in China.

Decoding the Role of Gender in the Relationship Between the Online Payment System and SME Performance: A Case Study Investigating an Emerging Economy—Bangladesh

This research examines the moderating role of gender on the adoption of online payment systems (OPS). It also explores the impact of using OPS on the performance of SMEs in an emerging economy, using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Resource-Based View (RBV). The results indicate that male SME owners (entrepreneurs) are more likely to focus on perceived usefulness, whereas female SME entrepreneurs are more likely to focus on perceived ease of use while adopting OPS, according to data obtained from 302 SMEs in Bangladesh through face-to-face surveys. The results also report that the use of OPS has a considerable positive effect on SMEs' performance. The study's findings will add to the scarce research on the impact of using OPS on business performance in the context of SMEs in emerging economies, in addition to enhancing the OPS adoption literature from a gendered lens.

Coding vs presenting: a multicultural study on emotions

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare emotions perceived while coding and presenting for software students, comparing three different countries and performing also a gender analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data are gathered by means of the discrete emotions questionnaire, which was distributed to a group of students (n = 174) in three different countries: Norway, Spain and Turkey. All emotions are self-assessed by means of a Likert scale.

Findings

The results show that both tasks are emotionally different for the subjects of all countries: presentation is described as a task that produces mainly fear and anxiety; whereas coding tasks produce anger and rage, but also happiness and satisfaction. With regards to gender differences, men feel less scared in presentation tasks, whereas women report more desire in coding activities. It is concluded that it is important to be aware and take into account the different emotions perceived by students in their activities. Moreover, it is also important to note the different intensities in these emotions present in different cultures and genders.

Originality/value

This study is among the few to study emotions perceived in software work by means of a multicultural approach using quantitative research methods. The research results enrich computing literacy theory in human factors.