A MODEL AS A PLATFORM TO IT AND CULTURALUNDERSTANDING

摘要

The central role of information technology (IT) in the digital age is largely unquestioned. This has led to arngrowing demand for IT professionals to design, develop, implement, and support IT infrastructures in the publicrnand private sectors. However, in recent years there has been a shortfall of IT graduates entering the jobrnmarket. Nowhere was this more pronounced than in Ireland, where the ‘Celtic Tiger’ was the fastest growingrneconomy in the world, and a global leader in the software industry. In order to keep up with demand,rneducational institutions adopted innovative programmes to increase the skill-set and knowledge base of ITrngraduates. Two such programmes delivered by University College Cork saw a collaboration between industry,rna state sponsored organization and third-level institutions. The first, the Diploma in Applied BusinessrnComputing, provides socially disadvantaged students with a third level qualification in IT. The second is arnmasters programme in Management Information and Managerial Accounting Systems. The construction andrnimplementation of any course is very much emergent, given the unique institutional nature of academicrnprogrammes and the diversity of the participants involved. This paper reports on an action research study ofrntwo contrasting approaches to delivering course modules in both programmes. A conceptual framework drawnrnfrom Davis’s (1989) work on the acceptance of information technology and the introduction of other necessaryrncomponents is employed as a theoretical lens with which to describe and analyse this study’s findings, whichrnillustrate IT acceptance by students is vital if academic programmes are to fully leverage technology to supportrneducators and learners alike in crossing the digital and cultural divides.