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Digitalisation and the digital divide are important issues being studied, particularly within the urban-rural relationship. This paper focuses on women's perceptions of digitalisation and its potential in different types of rural areas in Czechia. A total of 241 guided interviews were conducted, of which 76 (31.5%) were with women. The respondents were rural managers/leaders, representatives of local government, businesses, and NGOs involved in LAGs who can stimulate local development. Results show similarities in the perceptions of men and women, who appreciate the benefits of digitalisation (e.g., speed of communication) and negatively perceive the weakening of social ties and unequal access to ICT infrastructure or digital skills. The sector of their work influences slight differences in women's views. It is necessary to support the construction of ICT infrastructure and the development of the population's IT skills to create equal conditions for access to digital technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cybersickness remains a significant challenge for virtual reality (VR) applications, particularly in highly immersive environments. This study examined the effects of immersion, task performance, and individual differences on cybersickness symptoms across multiple stages of VR exposure. Forty-seven participants aged 18–45 completed a within-subjects design that involved the Cybersickness in Virtual Reality Questionnaire (CSQ-VR) and the Deary–Liewald Reaction Time (DLRT) task. Cybersickness symptoms were assessed across four stages: before and after VR immersion, and before and after a 12 min rollercoaster ride designed to induce cybersickness. The results showed significant increases in symptoms following the rollercoaster ride, with partial recovery during the post-ride tasks. Eye–hand coordination tasks, performed after the ride and VR immersion, mitigated nausea, as well as vestibular, and oculomotor symptoms, suggesting that task engagement plays a key role in alleviating cybersickness. The key predictors of symptom severity included a susceptibility to motion sickness and gaming experience, particularly proficiency in first-person shooter (FPS) games, which was associated with a reduced cybersickness intensity. While task engagement reduced symptoms in the later stages, particularly nausea and vestibular discomfort, overall cybersickness levels remained elevated post-immersion. These findings underscore the importance of task timing, individual differences, and immersive experience design in developing strategies to mitigate cybersickness and enhance user experiences in VR environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This quantitative research utilizing the descriptive-survey design assessed the on-the-job training performance of the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) students. Ninety-four students have completed their on-the-job training in school year 2017-2018 and have participated in the study. The data were collected using a survey questionnaire and descriptively treated using frequency, percentage, and weighted mean. In addition, the qualitative part of the post-evaluation survey form was treated using thematic analysis. The study revealed the following: the partner-company organization is related to the student's specialization as they utilized IT-based software and assigned tasks related to information technology. Student trainees were able to develop their communication skills while mobile application development skills were identified as the least. OJT students also identified Professional Ethics and Values Education for IT, Multimedia Systems, Operating Systems as well as Oral Communication, Fundamentals of Grammar, and Presentation Skills and Technical Writing as the most relevant subject courses; and they perceived doing work not related to information technology, extended OJT, overtime, and certain provision of existing manual as problems. The researchers concluded that the BSIT Internship manual when implemented can effectively improve their field work performance [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the relationship between teachers' perceived necessity and their online learning skills during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. It focuses on four key elements of online course design: course communication, resource authenticity, time management and technical skills. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative survey was used to collect data from 39 teachers using the Survey Monkey application and manual returns. The data was collected through five Likert- scale questionnaires. Finding: The findings showed a significant discrepancy between teachers' perceived necessity and their actual online learning skills. The mean score for teachers' perceived necessity for online learning was at the highest level while their actual skills were at the lowest. A positive correlation between English proficiency and teachers' online learning skills was found. Further analysis demonstrated a significant relationship between English proficiency and teachers' online learning skills. Conclusion: Teachers perceived the necessity for online learning skills as crucial as their actual skills were found to be limited or low during the pandemic. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that English proficiency skills positively impact teachers' online learning skills. Research Limitations: It is recommended to carry out a more extensive investigation involving a larger population to obtain generalizable results. Practical Implication: The result indicates that teacher training in online learning skills is crucial in preparation for the future. The study informs the policymaker to consider further emergency situations related to the full online learning policy. Contribution to Literature: This study highlights the importance of English proficiency in the development of online teaching skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Inequalities & Economic Growth / Nierownosci Spoleczne a Wzrost Gospodarczy is the property of University of Rzeszow and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this study is to examine how teaching ICDL courses could improve the IT skills of young people. A sample of 27 young participants was selected from Mosul city. A questionnaire and interviews regarding digital skills and knowledge were the data collection methods. The data were then analyzed to determine the current level of participants and to fulfill the objective of this study. At the end of the training course, the students were evaluated to analyze the learning outcomes of the course. According to the study findings, most of the participants improved their online and spreadsheets skills by an increase of 90 percent from their previously recorded results and around 50 percent increase for the computer and word processing essentials. The gender gap was not entirely evident in the conducted test as the participation rate of females was high and reached an approximation of 50% in total, however, female, and male counterparts of both age groups, proved competent during the tests, with males proving to be more successful in both age groups. This leads to the conclusion that more efforts are needed to rally females into being involved in the computer world and to challenge their male counterparts in computer literacy and in taking their future path in computer science majors. Additional ICDL training is also recommended to be given to IDPs and war-torn areas where a large percentage of youth lack the basic IT skills, as it is deemed useful to the recovery of their community and in turn, provide an adequate future to shape the return framework.

In this paper we aim to contribute to a better understanding of an emerging phenomenon of 'liquid workforce', which according to industry press, is rapidly growing. Our specific focus is on the broad research questions: How do liquid IT workers remain competitive? What are suitable strategies for their management and engagement? Using the research insights from the interviews with independent liquid IT professionals working on the same mission-critical compliance program in a large financial institution, we propose a new conceptual model of their 'personal competitive advantage' (PCA). Drawing from the theories of human capital and social capital, we theorize PCA as a complex, mutually enhancing (a triple-helix-like) interplay of three highly-intertwined components of 'Doing', 'Relating' and 'Becoming'. Based on the proposed model, we then articulate an initial set of strategies for management and engagement of the liquid workforce. In doing so, we expand and challenge the current IS research on IT workforce that remains focused on its retention and prevention of turnover. Instead, we propose to focus on specific management strategies for building and maintaining social capital within and beyond organizational boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use vocational training curricula to investigate how IT skills are trained within broader skills packages and how these relate to labour market outcomes. Skills packages are the typical combinations of IT skills (e.g., CNC) and technical or nontechnical skills (e.g., material sciences or work safety) that are jointly required in the real world and occur in training curricula. This broadened perspective of teaching IT skills offers new insights into how digital skills can be successfully integrated into future education and training programmes. We use legally binding vocational education and training (VET) curricula of dual apprenticeship training in Switzerland. We apply natural language processing methods to analyse the extensive curriculum texts, which meticulously define the skills that have to be taught. We identify four typical skills packages, each of which are centred around one of four different types of IT skill (CNC/CAD, control technologies, system technologies, IT-applications). Our empirical analyses show that VET graduates trained in these skills packages receive positive labour market outcomes compared to VET graduates without these skills packages. Moreover, we find that the positive outcomes are not just driven by differences in cognitive skill requirements of the respective occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Question: The research proposition is to identify the information technology (IT) skills required from accounting professionals by the labour market from European emerging and developed economies and analyse whether there are differences between the requirements, depending on the type of economy. Motivation: The wide adoption of several emerging technologies across various domains of activity is a widely debated topic. However, regardless of its popularity, little research focused on comparing the expectation of the professional bodies and the current labour market expectations in terms of the IT skills accountants should demonstrate. Idea: This study aims to analyse if there is any gap between the expectations formulated by accounting professional bodies and the labour market’s requirements in European countries regarding the IT skills accountants should demonstrate. Data: The dataset selected for this study consisted of 1000 accounting job advertisements, collected between two periods: September 2017 - July 2018 and January - February 2021. Tools: A cross-sectional study, including a content analysis and statistical analyses, was conducted to analyse the dataset collected. Findings: The results illustrate the European labour market’s current expectations regarding the IT skills accountants should demonstrate. The statistical analyses conducted highlight an association between the skills asked by emerging and developed European based companies. Contributions: This paper provides a glimpse regarding the European labour market’s expectations in terms of IT skills requested from accounting professionals, thus being a reference for the European professional bodies and academia.

The accounting profession is reshaping due to the processes’ digitalisation imposed by the business environment and the accounting faculties are committed in providing a solid base of knowledge to future practitioners. The wide adoption of different emerging technologies, that have the potential to reshape the profession, has to be supported by accounting faculties by adapting the study plans so that graduates will develop the needed IT-related skills. The research proposition is to identify the IT subjects integrated into the accounting curricula from emerging EU countries and identify the changes. The dataset used for this research is represented by the curricula of study programs from 25 accounting faculties from eight countries. The sample was collected in 2018 and 2021. The results illustrate that universities started to address the growing need of integrating in the study programs more subjects regarding emerging and current technologies that facilitate and enhance accounting processes. The results illustrate that the accounting faculties are integrating more IT-related courses, but there is still room for improvement. This paper provides a glimpse of the progress made by universities in terms of the curricula’ adaptation, thus being a reference for both researchers and the academic environment.

The health pandemic has rapidly pushed many organizations to a virtual workplace. Working remotely has triggered an increase in anxiety, emotions, behaviors, and technostress among employees and IT professionals worldwide. Thus, today, change management and communication skills are critical in the new virtual workplace. This study's purpose endeavors to examine whether emotional intelligence is a true indicator of extra-role behaviors measured by employee organizational citizenship behavior. The research methodology uses an online survey. A total of 150 higher education faculty and leaders participated. The results indicate a statistically significant relationship p < .001 between the total emotional intelligence and organizational citizenship behaviors scores. The findings support the positive effects of employee emotional intelligence and citizenship behaviors that contribute to individual and organizational performance. This study may assist companies, researchers, and IT Leadership programs in retooling their IT leaders with the communication skills necessary for the new virtual workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the employment opportunities trend in the library and information science profession based on job advertisements published in Employment News. Data for the analysis pertained to the years 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2019. The study reflects the impact of ICT on various aspects of vacancies advertised in libraries such as designation, required qualifications, experience, skills and competencies. It is found that there have been significant changes over the years in the required ICT related qualifications and skills. In most of the job vacancies, the recruiters are looking for candidates who have sound knowledge of information technology. It is also found that with the ICT implementation, more vacancies are published in Employment News in the field of library and information science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how the scholarly accomplishments of students might increment due to specific fundamental causes. The academic performance of the student was prioritized as a dependent variable, and the independent indicators chosen were “information seeking, IT ability, reading/writing capacity, and resilience.” At the same time, age, gender, marital status, and family income were included in the control variables. The research subject samples were limited to (N = 288) postgraduate students from three mega universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. Forward regression analysis was performed in this research to decide the impact of the indicators. The results indicate that information seeking affects academic performance positively and significantly. Essentially, the study revealed that information technology (IT) skills make a fundamentally positive and significant impact on academic performance. Reading and writing influenced academic performance considerably. In addition, resilience affected academic performance emphatically and essentially. Further, this research also noted the relationships between information-seeking behaviors, IT ability, reading/writing capacities, and resilience capabilities and the academic performance of students. These variables have a positive impact on the academic performance of students.

This study explores how the scholarly accomplishments of students might increment due to specific fundamental causes. The academic performance of the student was prioritized as a dependent variable, and the independent indicators chosen were "information seeking, IT ability, reading/writing capacity, and resilience." At the same time, age, gender, marital status, and family income were included in the control variables. The research subject samples were limited to (N = 288) postgraduate students from three mega universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. Forward regression analysis was performed in this research to decide the impact of the indicators. The results indicate that information seeking affects academic performance positively and significantly. Essentially, the study revealed that information technology (IT) skills make a fundamentally positive and significant impact on academic performance. Reading and writing influenced academic performance considerably. In addition, resilience affected academic performance emphatically and essentially. Further, this research also noted the relationships between information-seeking behaviors, IT ability, reading/writing capacities, and resilience capabilities and the academic performance of students. These variables have a positive impact on the academic performance of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accounting profession is reshaping due to the processes' digitalisation imposed by the business environment and the accounting faculties are committed in providing a solid base of knowledge to future practitioners. The wide adoption of different emerging technologies, that have the potential to reshape the profession, has to be supported by accounting faculties by adapting the study plans so that graduates will develop the needed IT-related skills. The research proposition is to identify the IT subjects integrated into the accounting curricula from emerging EU countries and identify the changes. The dataset used for this research is represented by the curricula of study programs from 25 accounting faculties from eight countries. The sample was collected in 2018 and 2021. The results illustrate that universities started to address the growing need of integrating in the study programs more subjects regarding emerging and current technologies that facilitate and enhance accounting processes. The results illustrate that the accounting faculties are integrating more IT-related courses, but there is still room for improvement. This paper provides a glimpse of the progress made by universities in terms of the curricula' adaptation, thus being a reference for both researchers and the academic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job erosion is a major concern globally, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment and low wages remain pressing societal challenges in the wake of increased automation, more so for traditionally disadvantaged groups in the labor market, such as women, minorities, and the elderly. However, workers who possess relevant information technology (IT) skills may have an edge in an increasingly digital economy. In this study, we examine the role of IT skills in labor market outcomes for workers, using a household IT use survey from an emerging economy that captures detailed, individual-level data on IT skills, which are also integrated with data on workers' wages, occupations, and industries between 2007 and 2015. The results indicate that basic IT skills increase individuals' employment probability, which is driven by both higher labor force participation and a higher probability of transitioning from unemployment to employment, after accounting for the decision to participate in the workforce. Advanced IT skills do not provide a significant incremental effect on employment probability on top of basic IT skills. However, having advanced IT skills helps workers to earn higher wages while incrementally increasing the probability that they are employed in higher-paid jobs. Interestingly, the effect of basic IT skills on employment is significantly larger for the female and older workforce that typically has a higher preference for flexible work options. These results emphasize the importance of providing necessary IT access and offering basic IT training to traditionally disadvantaged groups to close the IT skills gap and the digital divide. We offer implications for the future of work, education, and public policy for designing IT training policies for workers, students, and organizations to stimulate employment with higher wages, particularly in developing economies and for traditionally disadvantaged segments of the workforce, such as women and the elderly, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Job erosion is a major concern globally, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment and low wages remain pressing societal challenges in the wake of increased automation, more so for traditionally disadvantaged groups in the labor market, such as women, minorities, and the elderly. However, workers who possess relevant information technology (IT) skills might have an edge in an increasingly digital economy. In this study, we examine the role of IT skills in labor market outcomes for workers. We leverage a household IT use survey from an emerging economy that captures detailed, individual-level data on IT skills and IT use, which are also integrated with household labor force survey data on workers' wages, occupations, and industries between 2007 and 2015. We find that basic IT skills increase employment probability, and these employment effects can be explained by both increased labor force participation and a higher probability of transitioning from unemployment to employment, after accounting for the decision to participate in the workforce. Advanced IT skills are not significantly associated with higher employment, conditioning on basic IT skills. However, having advanced IT skills helps workers to earn higher wages and incrementally increases the probability that they are employed in higher-paid jobs. Interestingly, the effects of basic IT skills on employment are significantly larger for the female and older workforce that typically has a higher preference for flexible work options. Additionally, IT skills complement occupations that have a higher share of nonroutine tasks that cannot be performed by predefined rules. These results emphasize the importance of providing necessary IT access and basic IT training to traditionally socially disadvantaged groups to reduce the IT skills gap and close the digital divide. We contribute to the literature by providing evidence on the role of different IT skills in the entire labor force across multiple occupations and demographics, going beyond IT professionals and employed workers who have predominantly been studied in the information systems literature. We discuss implications for the future of work and education and public policy for designing IT training policies for workers, students, and organizations to stimulate employment for workers with higher wages, particularly in developing economies and for traditionally disadvantaged segments of the workforce, such as women and the elderly, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Google is the single largest driver of traffic to library Web sites and digital repositories, and librarians would do well to listen when the search giant reveals information about its practices or makes recommendations. Recently, Google announced that it would begin to favor Web sites that use the secure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS) in its search results rankings. HTTPS encrypts data transmission and one of Google's stated reasons for this change is to help make the Web safer and minimize data theft. Similar announcements by Google have sometimes been ignored by librarians, to the peril of the visibility and use of library products and services on the Web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative information technologies and the rapid rate of information updates reveal the need for more effective two-way communication, facilitation of interaction and collaboration, information exchange and flexibility. The article presents a research on cooperation tools in the virtual exchange project between the Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi Hryhorii Skovoroda State Pedagogical University (Ukraine) and the Trakia University (Bulgaria). A brief description of a specialized course in virtual exchanges related to energy efficiency psychology for future entrepreneurs and industrial workers is presented. In addition to covering the subject matter, educational information is designed in such a way that it enables one to acquire and practice ICT skills, in particular, to use various collaboration tools allowing interaction between students and teachers and having implications for learning strategies. The article’s goal is to test software tools that can be used for virtual exchange in higher education institutions at international level, evaluate their attractiveness to students, and determine whether the use of already familiar collaboration tools influences the general impression from virtual exchange. The experimental work involved 12 useful tools for cooperation in the information field. Leaders and outsiders were identified, that is, tools that participants in the virtual exchange preferred outside the exchange process and those that the participants never used. During each week of the virtual exchange course, new tools for teamwork were used. Leaders in terms of satisfaction with the process of virtual exchange were Skype, Zoom, Webex, Google G-suite, Workplace by Facebook, Cliqtalk, Padlet. The study provides a theoretical basis for informing all individuals interested in the virtual exchange about the relationship between specific tools for collaborative work in the process of virtual exchange and their influence on each other. The results will be taken into account for a more in-depth analysis of the tools functionality in the virtual exchange process. It was also important that absolutely new tools for virtual exchange could have a high assessment in terms of satisfaction with the process and its results. This suggests the motivation to learn, especially in the field of cooperation with the help of information technology, which is so appreciated by young people.

Dynamic changes in the economy, new arrival of quick qualitative changes, development of information technologies, as well as financial, economic and technological turbulences keep influencing changes also in agriculture. Creation of proper conditions for career development and attracting young people into agriculture represent important milestones of its development. In addition to professional expertise and specific skills fundamental in agriculture, general entrepreneurial skills, adequate knowledge and skills in the area of information technologies together with the constant personal development of the entrepreneur and his co-workers are deemed necessary in the environment of small and medium-sized farms. The aim of the paper is to analyze the range of entrepreneurial activities in agriculture and explore the current situation in the area of further personal development of entrepreneurs as well as their co-workers in the sphere of small farms in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hackathons are techno-creative events during which participants get together in a physical location. They may be hosted by civic communities, corporations or public institutions. Working individually or in teams, usually for several days, participants develop projects such as hardware or software prototypes. Based on a digital ethnography of two events in the Netherlands and Denmark, this article investigates project development practices at hackathons. In particular, it analyses how participants organized their project work and which technologies were used in support of their creative endeavours. Hackathons are increasingly competitive rather than collaborative events, involving time pressure, inducements such as prizes, and requiring efficient skills utilization. I argue that this facilitates the following tendencies: Firstly, strategic effort is put into final presentations. Projects need to be convincingly presented, and persuasively pitching an idea becomes crucial. Secondly, there is only limited time for personal learning, since participants' existing skills need to be efficiently applied if a team wants to stay competitive. This encourages division of labour within groups: a tendency which seems especially problematic given that IT skills biases are often expressed in terms of gender. Thirdly, participants are more inclined to use technologies that are proprietary but appear 'open enough'. In light of this observation and by drawing on the concept of technology as resource and opportunity, I discuss the techno-political implications of utilized technologies. With this analysis, I aim at contributing to the critical debate on hackathons as productive but likewise ideologically significant fields of 'hacking cultures'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A concern in higher education is that most students do not acquire higher-order thinking skills, 'cannot think', are not engaged in reflective student-centred teaching and learning and do not always acquire technology skills. Numerous studies have indicated the importance of a digital learning environment that facilitates the acquisition of IT skills, reflective and critical thinking learning skills while creating an electronic portfolio. To establish the impact of portfolios on the reflective metacognitive learning and the development of higherorder thinking skills in student-teachers (n=167) in the field of science, qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to collect data. The results showed that for the majority of the participants (n=160) it was the first time that they had created an ePortfolio and engaged in reflective metacognitive learning experiences. The researcher was able to identify students' weaknesses and strengths, their interests and goals in life. Most of them regarded the learning process as time consuming, did not wish to share poor learning experiences with others, found it difficult to express their learning experiences in a second language and were unable to create an ePortfolio in an organised manner as they were not capable of metacognitive reflection. This paper is relevant for higher education lecturers in developing students to become independent learners by using an ePortfolio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tremendous amount of literature has been published about the merits of agile development practices. But in today’s environment, agile development practices are quickly being supplemented with major technology breakthroughs that enhance software quality, improve enterprise performance and provide business resiliency. This paper describes three major breakthroughs; services-based architectures, cloud computing, and DevOps practices. A brief overview of each technology is discussed and how the three technologies working together provide enterprise value. The paper concludes with a discussion on the skills and talents required to implement these technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Knowledge: International Journal is the property of Institute for Knowledge Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper is to present the activities of literary club ERATO at “Vasil Drumev” Science and Mathematics High School, Veliko Tarnovo, as a means of effectively making use of the students’ free time by meeting their specific educational needs and providing platform for their individual talents as well as developing their intellectual potential. The text focuses on the main points of the organization of the literary competition Spring in Tarnovgrad. It also analyses the role of each activity – the work on the contents and technical aspects of the of the Status; the preparatory work which includes a lot of challenges and requires indepth knowledge of literature; the selection of the literary and musical works for the script of the event and the realization of the final stage for the development of the students’ creative potential. It also focuses on the drafting of the students’ collection of works, a very complex process which requires special IT skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While healthcare systems are taking advantage of the ICT to improve healthcare services, healthcare workforce needs additional competencies in order to continue the provision of the best achievable care. In this paper emphasis is given to an active research effort taken during the MEI2015 Conference. Based on hands-on group-work, participants identified the actions needed to boost the acquisition of IT competences by healthcare workforce and collaboratively indicated the most important actions. The leading priority actions were integration of IT into Curriculum, continuous IT/eHealth training at the work place, raising awareness of IT competences, participatory decisions for actions, match healthcare applications to users' own context, inclusion of professionals in the development of eHealth projects. Interestingly, the proposed actions coupling the outcomes of another study following a different methodology, but also support the cooperation opportunities on IT skills for healthcare workforce. The latter formed a set of recommendations which were proposed within the CAMEI coordination and support action of EC-FP7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Business Informatics / Informatyka Ekonomiczna is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research aims to comprehensively investigate the landscape of blended learning at Takoradi Technical University (TTU). Through a quantitative method involving a cross-sectional study design and surveys, this study offered valuable evaluation of blended learning practices in the context of TTU. The study revealed that although there seems to be a difference in the mean performance of students before and during the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, a comparative analysis (specifically, a paired sample test) revealed the difference in mean performance does not have a significant toll on the academic performance of students. Furthermore, it was revealed that students believe that blended learning to a great extent enhances their participation in class, promotes peer support, and improves their IT skills. It is keenly recommended that; the government intervene by ensuring that taxes on internet data packages to students are substantially reduced to ensure that students afford data packages to be able to effectively participate in online learning activities. The study concluded that while a majority of students found the Blended Learning System technically accessible, challenges related to logging in, internet connectivity, and the cost of data were notable concerns that impacted perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness.

• We examine training curricula, identifying the skill bundles, including the IT skills, taught during occupational training. • We distinguish "generic" and "expert" IT skills and examine how they interact with the specificity of occupational skill bundles. • We investigate the outcomes of involuntary separations for workers with such differences in skill combinations. • We find that involuntary separations lead to wage losses for specific occupations. • However, a combination with "generic" IT skills decreases these earnings losses. This paper examines how workers' earnings change after involuntary job separations depending on the workers' acquired IT skills and the specificity of their occupational training. We categorize workers' occupational skill bundles along two independent dimensions. First, we distinguish between skill bundles that are more specific or less specific compared to the skill bundles needed in the overall labor market. Second, as digitalization becomes ever more important, we distinguish between skill bundles that contain two different types of IT skills, generic or expert IT skills. We expect that after involuntary separations, these different types of IT skills can have opposing effects, either reducing or amplifying earnings losses of workers with specific skill bundles. We find clearly opposing results for workers in specific occupations—but not in general occupations: Having more generic IT skills is positively correlated with earnings after involuntary separations, whereas more expert IT skills is negatively correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore expectations in information technology skills for organizations in Vietnam, a developing country in South East Asia. Previous research in Vietnam has mainly focused on information technology adoption; this study offers an insight into the demands of information technology skills in Vietnam. A theoretical framework consisting of five domains of expertise is used to examine the nature and structure of information technology profession in Vietnam. Results from the study show that there is an anticipated increase in demand for information technology professionals who possess deep skills in a broad scope of roles and experience both in information technology and other business domains. Technical skills in the technology infrastructure and services domain in combination with strong communication and problem solving qualities are highly valued by Vietnamese employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]