Honours Year Project Report

Did I Make All the Right Choices?: The Role of Symbolism in the IS Tertiary Education Process

By

Tan Shao Yi (U017414R)

Department of Information Systems

School of Computing

National University of Singapore

2003/2004

Honours Year Project Report

Did I Make All the Right Choices?: The Role of Symbolism in the IS Tertiary Education Process

By

Tan Shao Yi (U017414R)

Department of Information Systems

School of Computing

National University of Singapore

2003/2004

Project No.: H03040 Advisor: Mr. Tan Teck Keong, Michael Deliverables: Report (1 Volume)

ii

Abstract

Information technology (IT) is revolutionising and restructuring nearly all aspects ofhuman endeavour. In this dynamic technological domain, the requirement of IT researchand education relevance is unquestionable. However, the gestation of students engaged in IStertiary education remains long and arduous, and subjected to uncertainties in the externalenvironment. The current situation presents a valuable opportunity to understand howstudents make their decisions in IS tertiary education—a process marked by a number ofcritical junctures—while being subjected to such uncertainty.

This study employs ethnography, informed by the complementary perspectives of sym-bolic interactionism and Bourdieu’s theory of practice. We adopt a longitudinal analysis ofthe critical junctures students encounter along the way. Symbolic interactionism allows amicro-level analysis of the minutiae of students’ daily practices, while Bourdieu’s theory ofpractice provides a macro contextualisation of the IS tertiary education process. By focus-ing on actual practice in situ from both perspectives, we afford a better understanding ofIS tertiary education as received by students and its challenges, while contributing to thefuture development of the discipline. We also allude to the possibility that decision-makingtheories may benefit from a qualitative approach using these two theoretical perspectives.

ACM Subject Descriptor: K.3.2 Information Systems Education.

Keywords: Information systems education, decision-making, symbolic interactionism, the-ory of practice, ethnography, myths, metaphors, rituals, symbolic capital.

iii

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my appreciation to Mr. Michael T. K. Tan, my HYP supervisor who was

instrumental in the conduct of this study. Mr. Tan brought symbolic interactionism (Mead,

1934; Blumer, 1969), theory of practice (Bourdieu, 1977), and ethnography into my world, and

prompted a revisitation of my own journey through university education.

Retracing my steps opened my eyes to the world of academic tribes (Walter, 1983), their dis-

ciplinary territories (Becher and Trowler, 2001), and their associated rituals (Manning, 2000)—

symbolism that I was previously blinded to (§5.1.2). As a result, my final year of stay in NUS

was a much richer experience as I grew to be cognizant of the meanings in its secular ceremonies

and cultural performances.

Many others in NUS also helped make this study possible. I extend my appreciation to the

faculty members, fellow students and friends who shared their time and experiences generously.

iv

Contents

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 The Long Road in the IS Tertiary Education Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2 Dilemmas at Critical Junctures along the Long Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.3 Symbolism at Critical Junctures? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.4 Focus and Roadmap of Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES 4

2.1 Decision-Making Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.2 Symbolic Interactionism: Micro Analysis of Human Interactions . . . . . . . . . . 52.3 Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice: Macro Contextualisation of Human Action . . . . 6

3 RESEARCH STUDY 8

3.1 Research Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.2 Ethnography Informed by Two Complementary Theoretical Perspectives . . . . . 8

3.2.1 Symbolic Interactionism: Methodological Fit with Ethnography . . . . . . 93.2.2 Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice: Methodological Fit with Ethnography . . 9

3.3 Research Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.3.1 Bourdieu’s Concept of Field: The IT Environment in Singapore . . . . . . 113.3.2 Bourdieu’s Concept of Habitus: Dispositions of IT Students in Singapore 12

3.4 Research Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 14

4.1 Critical Juncture 1: The “SoC vs. Other Faculties” Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . 154.1.1 From the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154.1.2 From Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4.2 Critical Juncture 2: The “IS vs. CS” Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184.2.1 From the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194.2.2 From Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.3 Critical Juncture 3: The “Four-Year vs. Three-Year” Decision . . . . . . . . . . . 234.3.1 From the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234.3.2 From Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4.4 Critical Juncture 4: The “Academia vs. Industry” Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.4.1 From the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.4.2 From Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

5 DISCUSSION 31

5.1 A Summary from the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325.1.1 Symbolic Enactment: Myths Initiate Default Lines of Action for Actors . 325.1.2 Symbolic Enactment: Metaphors Create a Cultural Baggage for Actors . 335.1.3 Symbolic Enactment: Rituals Maintain the Perception of Rational Decision-

Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345.2 A Summary from Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

5.2.1 Social Reproduction: The Field Determines Who is Entitled to Decide . . 345.2.2 Social Reproduction: The Habitus Ensures Conformance by Actors . . . . 355.2.3 Social Reproduction: Symbolic Capital are the Artefacts of Desire . . . . 35

v

5.3 Symbolic Interactionism and Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice: Shedding New Lighton Decision-Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

6 CONCLUDING REMARKS 37

6.1 Limitations of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376.2 Implications for Research: Toward Symbolism in Qualitative Decision Research . 376.3 Implications for Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

6.3.1 Toward Greater IT Professionalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386.3.2 Toward More Informed Decision-Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

REFERENCES 41

APPENDIX i

1

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Long Road in the IS Tertiary Education Process

Information technology (IT) is revolutionising and restructuring nearly all aspects of human

endeavour (Ward and Peppard, 2002; McNurlin and Sprague Jr., 2002). This technological

domain however, is best characterised by its ups and downs. The late 1970s saw IT’s initial

foray into the business world, the 1980s saw the development of Internet-based applications,

and the mid-1990s saw the boom and bust of the ‘dot.com’ era. More recently, we witnessed the

over-hyped promises of e-ing information systems, and the emergence, evolution and departure

of other novel technologies and management trends (Ward and Peppard, 2002; McNurlin and

Sprague Jr., 2002; Boudreau et al., 2001). IT remains an immature and rapidly evolving field

in which significant changes occur every decade.

This state of continuous flux in the technological landscape has resulted in uncertainty for

both the academia and students pursuing an IT education. The requirement of IT research

and education relevance is unquestionable (Westfall, 2001); however, the IS academia is best

described as chasing after practice, rather than leading practice (Benbasat and Zmud, 1999), and

new knowledge on technologies is usually disseminated far past the date when the technology

could be considered new (Benbasat and Zmud, 1999; Lyytinen, 1999).

Amidst the turbulent landscape, IS tertiary education remains a long and arduous (van

Slyke et al., 2003) gestation for the student; typically four years for the undergraduate, and

another four years for the graduate by research. While the effective lifetime of IT investments

is often measured in terms of periods of three to five years, the rate of change in tertiary IT

education occur in time scales reminiscent of plate tectonic movement (Langenberg and Spicer,

2001). The fledging student in pursuing an IS education is also not spared from uncertainties

in the external environment. The last few years saw a general economic slowdown, an increase

in local unemployment rates (SingStat, 2003; Tan, 2003), and a drop in industry pickup of

graduates with ordinary IT degrees (Chuang, 2002). On a global note, discussions in ISWorld

also suggest a reduction in the number of incoming IS-majors, and increasing attrition in the

sister Computer Science (CS) world (Cohoon and Chen, 2003).

2

1.2 Dilemmas at Critical Junctures along the Long Road

In all of our lives, there are defining moments. The decisions that we make at these critical

junctures in our lives can, to a large degree, determine the quality of the life we have in the

future. These decisions are ones that will not only shape our lifestyle, but also much of the

fabric of our life.

Hamlet’s soliloquy: “to be or not to be: that is the question” is one of the most widely

recognised quotations in the language, and succinctly points us to the presence of dilemmas in

human life. Choice is what makes us human, and personal choices may lead to fame and fortune

or to disaster. The consequences of choices were sometimes irreversible and there was no second

chance. In Greek mythology, Pandora’s curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the box

from Zeus, releasing the misery of the Spites into the world. In Oedipus Rex, the thoughtless

behaviour of Oedipus led to negative consequences for the protagonist. Oedipus made poor

choices on several occasions and as a consequence he paid the price. In biblical times, Adam

and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden lead to wrath upon all mankind.

The practice of receiving tertiary education may be described as being marked by a number

of critical decision junctures. Though not severe in consequence as Pandora’s curiosity or Adam

and Eve’s rashness, the decision-making process remains a daunting task. The student has to

identify choices, gather and evaluate information about alternatives, and select from among the

alternatives. Many tertiary institutions offer curriculum advice for neophyte students enrolling

at their institutions. Some institutions have even revamped their admissions systems to allow

students who were undecided, to transfer between courses when they are clearer where their

interests lay (ST, 2004).

Other decision junctures receive no less attention. Institutions continue to provide curricu-

lum and career advisory throughout undergraduate and graduate years, and researchers often

attempt to offer insight by delving into the socialisation of students to the academia and their

careers (e.g., Becker et al., 1961; Trocchia and Berkowitz, 1999; Hall, 1969). Such studies are

often complemented with advice of good intent (e.g., AIS, 2004; van Slyke et al., 2003; Stone,

1996).

3

1.3 Symbolism at Critical Junctures?

Against this backdrop, IS tertiary education is marked by a number of critical junctures. From

the initial decision to pursue an IT degree, the student has also to decide on the curriculum

to pursue, and whether to pursue a graduate degree or to exit and join the industry. These

decisions are best characterised as ambiguous as the probabilities of outcome correctness are

hard to divine (Carroll and Johnson, 1990). Numerical power may also prove its inadequacy in

quantifying student preferences.

In recent years, a theoretical recognition of the symbolic nature of computers and IT has

gained strength (Prasad, 1993). Adopting a symbolic view of students’ decision-making may

accomplish several ends. Symbolic perspectives help researchers enter the cognitive worlds of

students, help explain what choices are to students, and help researchers understand how choices

in decisions influence action. In addition, symbolic perspectives also reveal the expressive world

of decision-making beyond rational and economic terms.

Despite the significance of symbolism in decision-making, there appears to be a dearth of

research that utilise symbolism in decision-making. Gaining an appreciation of such symbol-

ism at critical junctures may therefore yield new and interesting insights into the IS tertiary

education process, with implications for practice and future research.

1.4 Focus and Roadmap of Paper

This paper is concerned with a study of students pursuing an IS tertiary education—the deci-

sions made as the student progresses through and makes sense of the education process. We

begin by presenting a literature review of decision research, and the theoretical perspectives that

we will be employing in our study—Mead/Blumer’s symbolic interactionism, and Bourdieu’s

theory of practice.

Ethnography, informed by the theoretical perspectives of symbolic interactionism and Bour-

dieuian theory of practice, forms the strategy of inquiry for this study. Symbolic interactionism

is particularly appropriate for our study because it simultaneously emphasises both process

issues and the roles of meaning and symbols. Bourdieu’s theory of practice is appropriate as it

reveals the material and symbolic resources at stake in receiving IS tertiary education.

Thus, symbolic interactionism offers a micro lens to experience the process of receiving

IS tertiary education from the perspective of individual student actors. On the other hand,

4

Bourdieu’s theory of practice allows for a macro overview of the symbolic marketplace in IS

tertiary education.

The resultant findings are then presented for discussion and analysis. We conclude with

implications for research and practice.

2 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

2.1 Decision-Making Theories

The main body of the decision-making literature is built upon a small number of basic ax-

ioms formulated by von Neumann and Morgenstern, Savage and others (Loomes and Sugden,

1982). Expected utility theory (EUT) (von Neumann and Morgenstern, 1947) has dominated

the analysis of decision-making under risk, and states that the utility of outcomes are weighted

by their probabilities. Later generalised models of bounded and limited rationality (Simon,

1982; Savage, 1967), and theories such as prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky, 1979) and

regret theory (Loomes and Sugden, 1982) were devised that challenged the traditional concept

of EUT.

The notion of bounded rationality (Simon, 1982) was introduced by economists to des-

ignate rational choice, taking into account the limitations of both knowledge and cognitive

capacity, as well as the structure of their environment. Rational behaviour in economics means

that individuals maximise some target function under the constraints they face (e.g., their utility

function) in pursuit of self-interest.

Regret theory (Loomes and Sugden, 1982), an alternative theory that describes decisions

under uncertainty assumes that: (1) many people experience the sensations we call regret

and rejoicing ; and (2) in making decisions under uncertainty they try to anticipate and take

account of these sensations. Anticipated regret can play an important role in decision-making

(Simonson, 1992) as many decision problems one faces involve a choice between two or more

uncertain alternatives (Ritov, 1996). According to regret theory, each outcome is associated

with an evaluation of the difference between the outcome and the outcome that would have

been received had a different option been chosen (Boles and Messick, 1995). Decision-makers

more often seek to avoid losses than achieve gains (Carroll and Johnson, 1990).

More recently, developments in artificial intelligence have witnessed the emergence of qual-

5

itative decision theory where the rationale for choosing among decisions no longer relies on

probability theory or numerical utility functions (Dubois et al., 2002; Brafman and Tennen-

holtz, 1997; Doyle and Thomason, 1999). The motivation for this paradigm, is that users of

information systems are not necessarily capable of describing their state of uncertainty by means

of a probability distribution, nor may they be willing to quantify their preferences (Boutilier,

1994).

2.2 Symbolic Interactionism: Micro Analysis of Human Interactions

Symbolic interactionism has come into use as a label for the study of human group life and

human conduct (Blumer, 1969), and is concerned with the formulation of meaning when indi-

viduals interact. The perspective is based on the belief that objects have no intrinsic meaning

to them, except that which people assign to them in the course of social interaction (Prasad,

1993). Objects are viewed in terms of the experience that they would bring if a specific plan of

action was carried out toward them (Reynolds, 2003).

Symbolic interactionism also concerns itself with the self as an object of the actor’s own

action (Charon, 2001). Through the course of social interaction, the self is formed through

stages in a processual fashion (Reynolds, 2003; Charon, 2001; Mead, 1934) and is the internal

environment toward which minded action takes place.

Like the self, the mind is a social product derivative (Reynolds, 2003); the symbolic action

an actor directs toward the self (Charon, 2001). The actor is constantly engaged in covert mind

activity; continually holding conversations with their self in every situation (Blumer, 1969).

This action, becomes deliberate and conscious when the actor must rehearse various lines of

action to work out a problem that has interrupted the flow of an activity (Mead, 1934). To

be able to engage in such covert mind activity depends on the ability to enact various roles

and understand the acts of others by adopting their perspectives (Charon, 2001). This social

process (Reynolds, 2003) gives rise to human action (the act) that clues others to the actor’s

covert activity (Mead, 1934).

This concept of enactment is important to our study as students invoke symbolism when

engaging in minded activity. Holding conversations with their self in decision-making, students

covertly enact various roles to consider the perspectives of others in decision-making. An in-

depth examination of the symbolism of choices provides us with the opportunity to shed light on

6

covert mind activity. Although there is no set of universally accepted categories of symbolism,

concentrating on interpreting such symbolism in the categories of myths, metaphors and

rituals (Hirschheim and Newman, 1991; Kendall and Kendall, 1993; Robey and Markus, 1984)

may help account for most decisions made in the IS tertiary education process.

In our study, myths are important symbolism as they provide explanations, reconcile con-

tradictions, and help resolve dilemmas for students at critical junctures in decision-making.

Metaphors are like the magical incantations of old, and students use them to make linkages

with the new and unfamiliar, and to envision their decisions in new ways. Rituals are the sym-

bolic behaviours that reinforce the prevailing belief system in pursuing IS tertiary education.

These symbolism are inextricably linked at decision junctures, but we will attempt to delve

into each of them individually. Symbolic interactionism allows for this micro analysis of social

interactions where meanings emerge.

2.3 Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice: Macro Contextualisation of Human Ac-

tion

Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice (Bourdieu, 1977, 1990; Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992;

Bourdieu, 1998) is concerned with the field (the symbolic marketplace) within which individ-

uals and groups—endowed with a set of habitus—are inclined to take up particular positional

identities and pursue their interests in a struggle over different forms of capital. Such mainte-

nance and enhancement of position in the stratified world is termed as social reproduction

(Bourdieu, 1984). Social actors are never free of the need to reproduce their relative positions

(Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977).

The concept of the field, together with the notions of capital and habitus form the central

organising concepts of Bourdieu’s work and are pertinent to our study.

A field is a site of intense struggles between competing stakeholders over specific material

and symbolic resources and access to them. Bourdieu uses the concept of capital to describe the

material and symbolic resources that are at stake in the field. Each actor’s position in a field

is determined by the distribution of capital (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992), and is reflective

of the power relations that constrain and enable their actions and reactions in social situations

(Bourdieu, 1990).

Capital represents “power to dispose in the frame of a field”, and is equivalent to “trumps in

7

a card game” (Bourdieu, 1990). Bourdieu distinguishes between social, cultural, economic

and symbolic capital. Social capital refers to social networks that one employs to improve

social standing. Cultural capital concerns informational resources such as language, cultural

knowledge, competencies, and credentials. Economic capital is capital that is immediately

and directly convertible into money. Symbolic capital is a form that is assumed by different

kinds of capital when they are perceived and recognised as legitimate and valuable (Bourdieu,

1990). Each form of capital is unequally distributed among social groups (Bourdieu, 1988),

but the different forms of capital are convertible under certain circumstances (Bourdieu and

Wacquant, 1992).

The habitus is an internalised strategy-generating framework that bounds thoughts, per-

ceptions, expressions and actions. The habitus is thoughtless—it is a set of dispositions that

are learned over one’s life history which generate perceptions and guide practices. Collective

histories account for the similarity in the habitus of actors that occupy similar social positions.

Thus, a habitus is applicable to both individuals and social groups (Bourdieu, 1977). The habi-

tus of different social groupings are also markedly unequal and hierarchical in nature (Bourdieu,

1984).

In this study that is informed by Bourdieu’s theory of practice, our attention is turned on the

material and symbolic resources that are at stake in the field of receiving IS tertiary education.

Students, the government, educational institutions, and general IT practice are bonded by a

belief of the significance of IT to the country’s future economic growth. Capitals in this field of

study are unequally distributed, and individuals will readily exchange their existing capital to

build up stock of symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 1977). For example, social capital in this field may

be represented by the prestige of having a university degree or a family tradition of academics.

Cultural capital may be represented by strong vitae. An example of economic capital exchange

for cultural capital would be investing tuition for IT academic credentials.

A study of practices allows us to focus on a macro overview of the fundamental patterns of

behaviour that shape the IS tertiary education experience. Although practice takes on different

meanings from other theoretical perspectives (e.g., Gidden’s structuration theory, Foucault’s

discursive and disciplinary practices), Bourdieu’s theory of practice is appropriate as it empha-

sises symbolic capital. The notion of symbolic capital is consistent with symbolic interactionist

assumptions on meaning formulation in the course of social interaction.

8

3 RESEARCH STUDY

3.1 Research Question

In this study of the IS tertiary education process, we seek to address the following question in

our course of research:

• How does symbolism manifest itself and influence the decision-making of undergraduate

and graduate students at critical junctures?

3.2 Ethnography Informed by Two Complementary Theoretical Perspectives

To marshal data on the numerous and diverse aspects of human behaviour, we employ the

use of ethnography as a research methodology. Ethnography focuses on local interpretations

(Geertz, 1973) of the people being studied, and grasping the native point of view (Agar, 1992).

It is a term from the subfield of cultural anthropology and it alludes to the situated, empirical

description of peoples and races (Rock, 2001) over an extended period of time in an unfamiliar

culture.

It has been suggested that any approach to social inquiry requires a theoretical foundation.

In this regard, ethnography has been criticised as lacking in conceptual depth (Hammersley,

1992). Ethnography as a methodology would thus benefit from the use of other theoretical

perspective(s) to guide the study.

When weighing the applicability of different theoretical perspectives for the study of symbol-

ism, the most pertinent philosophical assumptions are those related to the underlying ontology

and epistemology that guide research. Ontology concerns itself with the essence of the phe-

nomena under investigation, while epistemology refers to the criteria by which valid knowledge

about a phenomenon may be constructed and evaluated (Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991). The

underlying philosophies of these theoretical perspectives must also reconcile with the underlying

research methodology used.

Ontologically, ethnography is inclined towards subjectivity, and the empirical world exists

only through the action of humans in creating and recreating it. It assumes that people dis-

play their culture through behaviour in specific social contexts, and these displays do not give

meaning; rather, meaning is inferred by others (Neuman, 2003). To attempt to understand the

people being studied, it is imperative that the ethnographer immerses himself in the life-worlds

9

of the people being studied. Epistemologically, ethnography is interpretive in nature as the

researcher attempts to place the observed phenomena in their social and cultural context (van

Maanen, 1988). It is this inherent respect ethnography holds for the social world it studies that

makes it suitable for our study of symbolism, and in particular as the underlying methodology

for the two theoretical perspectives discussed as follows.

3.2.1 Symbolic Interactionism: Methodological Fit with Ethnography

Ontologically, symbolic interactionism posits that social realities are subjective and are con-

structed when human actors interact with one another. Interacting with other objects and our

selves as objects through symbolic representations, we engage in symbolic interaction (Musolf,

2003). Epistemologically, the minded nature of humans (thinking; internalised conversation)

conceives experience as an intersubjective reality: meaning is fundamentally rooted in social

and interactive contexts and is inevitably subject to interpretation (Blumer, 1969). Interaction-

ist assumptions about the nature of human interaction entail corresponding methods aimed at

exploring the subjective and intersubjective worlds of those whom we would understand.

In-depth qualitative data collection methods such as the use of thick description (Geertz,

1973)—weaving multiple, contradictory and complex meanings—allow the researcher to develop

understanding of the sense-making and schemas of human actors (Prasad, 1997). In addition,

immersing oneself—focusing the study on microscopic interactions—allow intimacy with the

research setting. Thick description and immersion allow for the incorporation of local interpre-

tations and the cultural context (Prus, 1996) that ultimately constitute symbolic interaction

epistemology (Gopal and Prasad, 2000). Thus, the central characteristics of ethnography: thick

description, placing interactions in their cultural context, immersion and connection, and priv-

ileging local knowledge (Prasad, 1997) are a methodological fit with symbolic interactionism.

Through such a methodological approach, the researcher may enter the cognitive worlds of the

students to conduct a micro-level analysis of how symbolism shape the IS tertiary education

experience.

3.2.2 Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice: Methodological Fit with Ethnography

Ontologically, Bourdieu’s theory of practice attempts to thread a dialectical middle way between

the thesis and antithesis of objectivism and subjectivism (Jenkins, 1992). The social world in

10

which history, social structure and unifying patterns are to be found is the objective world.

Subjectivity is what people think of the ‘real’ world (Jenkins, 1992). A practice orientation

thus suggests that the causes for human action are situated, local, and socially constructed.

Epistemologically, theories like Bourdieu’s theory of practice are inherently critical in nature.

Critical studies critique the status quo through the exposure of what are believed to be deep-

seated, structural contradictions within social systems, and thereby to transform these alienating

and restrictive social conditions (Trauth, 2001). Critical researchers study the social life of

people in order to help them change conditions and improve their lives (Cecez-Kecmanovic,

2001).

Studying practices requires a focus on the mundane details of everyday life to uncover

the local habits, assumptions, and tacit knowledge that members of the social group have

difficulty articulating (Turner, 1994). Methodologically, a practice orientation relies upon the

interpretation of largely observational data collected over an extended period of time. It thus

calls for field-based ethnographic research, which forms the backbone of Bourdieu’s theory of

practice (Blommaert, 2003; Jenkins, 1992; Bourdieu, 1988). Multiple qualitative data collection

strategies, such as the use of participant-observation, interviews, and informants, complement

the immersion of the ethnographer in the research setting to constitute social life as available

for analysis. Through such a methodological approach, we would be able to explore the ‘bigger

picture’ to highlight how objectivism and subjectivism play a part in the IS tertiary education

process.

3.3 Research Site

The research for this study takes place in the School of Computing (SoC) in NUS, where I was

immersed in the organisational context as an undergraduate for two years, and subsequently as

an IS-major for a one-year period during my honours year. NUS is a reputable major university

in Asia, with a strong IS department which makes it suitable for this study. SoC experienced

rapid growth in undergraduate enrolments in the late 1990s. The early 2000s witnessed a decline

in undergraduate enrolment in the last four intakes.

In pursuing tertiary education in SoC, students’ decision-making manifests itself at four

critical junctures:

1. The “SoC vs. Other Faculties” decision,

11

2. The “IS vs. CS” decision,

3. The “Four-Year vs. Three-Year” decision, and

4. The “Academia vs. Industry” decision.

At the first critical juncture, students applying for undergraduate admissions to NUS are

required to choose from the courses offered by the University. One such choice would be whether

to pursue an IT course offered by SoC, or a course in other faculties of the University. Upon

being admitted into a common IT curriculum, the second critical juncture entails students to

focus on an IS or a CS curriculum after the first semester. Subject to academic performance, the

student may be presented with a third critical juncture with a choice between a four-year track

leading to an honours degree, or a three-year track leading to a general degree. The fourth criti-

cal juncture questions the student to go academia, or to exit and pursue a career in the industry.

An investigation of decision-making at these critical junctures requires an examination of

both the IT field in Singapore, and the habitus that disposes students to act in certain ways.

We examine an application of Bourdieu’s concepts of field and habitus to our research site in

the subsections that follow.

3.3.1 Bourdieu’s Concept of Field: The IT Environment in Singapore

Applying Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts to our study, objectively complicit opponents—the

government, educational institutions, and general IT practice—are engaged in action poised at

making people aware that IT is a field in which they will need to participate in as informed

citizens. Thus, tertiary IT education plays an important role in providing the knowledge and

training required to participate in this technological era. Singapore, the country that the re-

search site is based, has prided itself on being one of the first countries to have a national

IT plan. Key aspects of the national IT plan include a world-class broadband Internet infras-

tructure to every home and office, educating the entire population in IT (Kwan, 2002), and

development of the country as a hub for electronic commerce (Soh, 2003).

Two decades1 of coherent IT policy, application, and development positioned the island

state ahead of many of the world’s larger countries. 65% of all households owned PCs, and1National Computerisation Plan (1980–1985), National IT Plan (1986–1991), IT2000 (1992–1999), Info-

comm21 (2000–2003) and Connected Singapore (2003–present) (IDA, 2003).

12

more than half of all households have Internet access (Ng, 2003). IT education as a form of

cultural capital, grew to be of symbolic importance. The mid-1990s saw an explosion of IT

education at the tertiary level, with local polytechnics and universities offering a plethora of

specialised IT diplomas/degrees to meet the demands of the industry. The Republic crossed

into the 21st century with a government drive in promoting technopreneurship. Incubation and

technopreneur resource centres were established in the local universities and technopreneurship

minor programmes were offered at the undergraduate level.

The recent decline in the electronics and IT markets, and the increasing need to move toward

higher value-added markets, have been important motivations of life science and biotechnology

investments in Asia. The rise in attention toward genomics and life sciences in Western countries,

triggered by the elucidation of the human genome provided for yet another motivation to increase

life science spending in Asia. Singapore has been the most aggressive of the East Asian countries

in developing its biotechnology industry, in particular the interface between life sciences and IT

industries.

3.3.2 Bourdieu’s Concept of Habitus: Dispositions of IT Students in Singapore

In the field of Singapore’s IT endeavours, the government provides basic IT training through

the incorporation of computers into the education curriculum. Basic programming lessons and

training in office productivity software are offered in the students’ formative years in elementary,

middle and high schools. They created the habitus that an IT education brought a ‘distinct

career advantage’: it was “hot market, everyone at home were advising me to me to go into

computer stuff ”, and “jobs were aplenty”. To ride on the crest of the IT wave was to be part

of the S$8.1bn e-business (IDC) and US$65bn e-commerce (Gartner) markets in the country.

Others developed an interest in computers from national computer literacy efforts, and grew

up in a society in which the prominence of computers is clear. IT is suggested as an important

generic skill for modern life.

3.4 Research Methods

In qualitative research, ensuring the trustworthiness of the final account is critical. In this study,

we employ Lincoln and Guba’s criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of ethnographic inquiry:

credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).

13

The credibility criterion refers to the truth of the findings, as viewed through the eyes of

the subjects and within the context in which the research was done. Credibility will lie in the

triangulation of multiple viewpoints, methods, and data sources.

Multiple viewpoints included interviewing and interacting with the faculty, teaching assis-

tants, students in the undergraduate and graduate programmes, as well as recent graduates of

the school. A total of 34 individuals2 were formally contacted for this study. Five individuals

served as key informants for this study, and they were selected as I had a high level of contact

with them on a daily basis.

Multiple methods included interviews (formal and ad-hoc), participant-observation, and

an open-ended questionnaire. Formal interviews3 were semi-structured and were taped and

transcribed verbatim unless the interviewee objected to being recorded. The participants in

this study embarked on tertiary education in a range from the late 1960s to the present (2003).

Thus it was not possible for every interview to span the complete agenda; some respondents

were invited to focus in detail on particular junctures (e.g., on other critical junctures if IS as a

discipline was not yet established). Since our interest was in how students make their decisions

at critical junctures and this seemed clearly tied to experiences in the education process, there

was no necessity to concentrate on one group of students and follow them through education.

By employing participant-observation, I attended lectures, tutorials, engaged in academic

project work with other students, meetings (one-to-one and in groups; both online and in

person), daily social conversations, observing things that happen, and listening to what is

said. Casual and informal interviews with individuals were conducted during the course of

participant-observation.

The open-ended questionnaire instrument was ad-hoc and employed the use of the sentence

completion technique (SCT) (Phillips, 1965). This instrument applied only to individuals who

cannot be conveniently contacted in person4. When the questionnaire instrument was admin-

istered via e-mail, respondents were requested not to dwell on providing “correct” responses to

the questions, and that immediate reactions to the questions were most valuable. The use of

SCT encouraged the generation of qualitative responses, and reduced the inclination to delib-

erate on the answer and deliver a “proper” response instead of an individually meaningful one

2Faculty: 5; graduate programme: 6; undergraduates: 17; graduates: 6. (see table 3 on appendix page ii)3Faculty: 5; graduate programme: 6; undergraduates: 8.4Undergraduates: 8; graduates: 6.

14

(Phillips, 1965). The questionnaire was followed up with a phone call if further clarification on

responses was required.

I also collected data from multiple data sources: taking field notes, surveying the school’s

literature, educational materials and other publications. In order to remain unobtrusive, most

of my field notes were often taken off-site.

Dependability refers to the consistency of the results with the data collected. In attempt-

ing to increase it, I provided an explicit description of the research design and data collection

process (§3.3 and §3.4). I also provide an audit trail in a separate document that documents

the research decisions, choices and insights in my field notes and theoretical memos.

The transferability criterion refers to the applicability of the study’s findings to new

contexts. It is increased by providing thick descriptions through contextualisation, such as non-

verbal behaviours during interviews and other observations and events related to the context of

the data collection.

Finally, confirmability refers to freedom from bias in the research procedure and results. It

is increased by making explicit my positions and subjective biases by explaining the theoretical

assumptions brought into the study (§2), the positions vis-a-vis the participants and the research

site (§3.3), and the social context from which I collected data (§3.3).

In this research, analysis was not a separate stage of the process which began after I had

finished gathering data. Rather, data-gathering and analysis went on simultaneously through

both open- and focused-coding (Emerson et al., 1995) to read field notes and transcripts line-by-

line. In open-coding, I read field notes line-by-line to identify themes suggested in the field notes.

These themes are then used to direct focused-coding where I subject the field notes to further

fine-grained, line-by-line analysis on the basis of the themes identified as of particular interest.

Such ongoing analysis at times directed further data collection by raising new questions, and

to fine-tune my interpretations of ongoing symbolic interactions.

4 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

The long road in receiving IS tertiary education in SoC is marked by four critical junctures

where decision-making takes place. In this section, we adopt a micro- and a macro-view of

each critical juncture using the perspectives offered by symbolic interactionism and Bourdieu’s

15

theory of practice.

At the micro-level, symbolic interactionism through the categories of myths, metaphors and

rituals will be used to guide our analysis of the symbolism that students attach to their choices.

At the macro-level, the concept of symbolic capital from Bourdieu’s theory of practice allows us

to unify the themes of symbolism that shape the exchange of material and symbolic resources

in the field. These distinct, yet inherently related foci for both the micro and macro worlds

may converge to paint a better picture of decision-making in the IS tertiary education process.

4.1 Critical Juncture 1: The “SoC vs. Other Faculties” Decision

Every group has choices and decisions to make in a new environment. Its members go through

a learning process in which they define their situation sufficiently, though often inaccurately, to

be able to adopt what seems to them appropriate behaviour.

At the first critical juncture, students applying for undergraduate admissions to NUS are

required to choose from the courses offered by the University. One such choice would be whether

to pursue an IT course offered by SoC, or a course in other faculties of the University. We explore

this critical juncture in detail using symbolic interactionism and Bourdieu’s theory of practice.

4.1.1 From the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Myth: Education is Sine Qua Non for Good Job Prospects. Many students began ter-

tiary education under societal pressures of a degree as ‘passport’ to good job prospects in

the white-collar workforce (“degree or die” as one undergraduate puts it). A university

degree was ‘prestigious’ in the local context and is believed to hoist one up the social

stratification. For those who swore by the myth, the choice to go IT was pure imitation

and lacked a symbolic understanding of their future roles as IT professionals: “It was the

most popular choice”, and “I don’t know, all my friends chose computing.”

Metaphor: IT is the Next Era. For others intending on a future career in computing, the

age of IT signified the beginning of time in which technology prevailed in nearly all as-

pects of human endeavour (Ward and Peppard, 2002; McNurlin and Sprague Jr., 2002).

National IT plans played a contributing part in encouraging IT literacy (Kwan, 2002),

portraying the country as an e-commerce hub (Soh, 2003). Some students got in touch

16

with IT as early as during their elementary school days. To pursue an IT degree, whether

it was a prime choice or an alternative route to the coveted degree, was to gain an ‘im-

portant generic skill’ necessary for informed participation in modern society.

Students taking up an IT degree during the boom years viewed the new era in an ‘ap-

pliance’ fashion. This IT appliance when ‘turned on’ created “an abundance of good job

prospects” that directly translated to a “reasonably high stipend”. Prefixing an ‘e-’, or

postfixing a ‘.com’ to ideas was believed to bring in required funding from venture capital-

ists, and attached a ‘coolness’ factor in academic projects. The establishment of incubation

centres at both university- and faculty-level to bring student ideas to commercial fruition

amplified the hype surrounding IT. However, the later government highlight on life sciences

triggered a sense of ‘regret’ for some of these students: “I regretted my decision to pursue

an IT degree because the government stopped focusing on IT and switched to life sciences.”

IT signalled the beginning of a new era, but the symbolic glow of an abundance of good

job prospects and the commanding stipend it brought along gradually dimmed with the

change of government emphasis.

Metaphor: IT is a Tool. IT at this early juncture is conceived as a ‘tool’, albeit with many

different labels; such as “An entertainment console”, “A drawing board that you can draw

on using a mouse and type using a keyboard”, “To automate tasks and make human life

easier” and so on. These early symbolism were the manifestations of introductory IT

lessons in school that presented the use of office productivity applications and simple pro-

gramming. This initial encounter with the IT tool was a reference point of the role of

IT professionals in the industry—to coax technology into working for them. Interaction

with the IT tool was for many students an entry to the IT world, and fuelled interests in

computers.

Ritual: The Next Logical Step. The course of education in Singapore is ritualised by 17

years in pre-school, primary, secondary, and post-secondary education (STB, 2003). For

17

many students, a degree in general represented the ‘next logical step’; the default ruling

out of other options or a force of patterns that carried the student along. A faculty

member elaborates:

“In Singapore, things are pretty much structured; you can always go out anddo business after primary school, but climbing that ladder is the ‘expected’, youmust conform to the expectation!”

This ritual supported the myth of an education as prerequisite for good job prospects,

and a step in the direction of a degree was the “least risky” choice.

Many students chose to pursue a tertiary education in SoC over other faculties as it was

also the next logical step from a science stream during secondary and post-secondary

education:

“If I did not choose to pursue an IT degree, I would have chosen to pursue anengineering degree because it is the only way to go after having gone through thescience stream throughout my studies. Other degrees in arts or science didn’tseem to provide a very rosy career outlook.”

4.1.2 From Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective

In this first critical juncture, all three forms of social, cultural and economic capital have

symbolic importance.

Social Capital: In the island state that worships A?s, students were subtly encouraged in a

number of ways to value education:

“At festive gatherings, all my relatives will start comparing their children’s per-formance in school. When one of my cousins didn’t do so well [than the other],his parents will chide him off for his lacklustre performance. Those who werepursuing university education had praises heaped onto them.”

The government’s old obsession with academic achievements (Ibrahim, 2002) created the

habitus where talent, paper qualifications and the right credentials were the ingredients

for success. A university degree grew to be a prerequisite for good prospects and advan-

18

taged the graduate over other contemporaries.

For students who lacked agency in the choice to go IT (“I don’t know”), this indicated an

unclear but complicated formation of education choice. Twenty years of continued gov-

ernment emphasis shaped the habitus (IT is the next era) to predispose these students to

embrace IT. The habitus left these students oblivious to the possibility that their options

have been narrowed to an IT education.

Cultural Capital: IT education became part of the cultural capital that one can acquire as

membership into the IT industry. The learning from the faculty was a crucial means to

accumulate the embodied cultural capital; the knowledgeable persona they sought. As

two undergraduates describe, “Before I joined SoC, I feel an IT education teaches IT

technical skills that will be useful at work”, “An IT education enables me to have the basic

foundations for my future job”. The IT education was a mechanism for gaining access to

opportunity structures that IT provides in the workplace. One computing undergraduate

describes the IT cultural capital as potentially fetching a higher stipend: “That time I

looked at the mean pay for grads and the mean pay for IT grads was higher.”

Economic Capital: Although in the long-term, any degree as social and cultural capital was

readily convertible to higher salaries, the depiction of an IT degree with a “rosier” career

outlook than those of traditional faculties (arts and science were quoted) indicated that

economic capital was also a key decision factor at this juncture.

4.2 Critical Juncture 2: The “IS vs. CS” Decision

The student now enters the second year of study and must choose between an IS- or a CS-

based curriculum. An IS curriculum focus the student on the application of IT to enhance the

effectiveness of organisations and businesses, while a CS curriculum emphasises the pillars of

computer science: programming languages, theory and algorithms, architecture and networking.

19

At this critical juncture, the student moves closer to the heart of the school’s drama where

the battle for recognition in the school’s hierarchy is played out. We explore this critical juncture

in detail using symbolic interactionism and Bourdieu’s theory of practice.

4.2.1 From the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Persistence of Symbolism. The metaphors of IT as a tool or an enabler impressed upon

individuals contrasting symbolism of the IT profession, and affected the decision to go IS

or CS. For one student who pursued CS, the IT professional was master, and IT was the

tool to be manipulated:

“It fascinates me as to how a machine can be made to produce all these stuffand to help man. More precisely, as programmers we have absolute commandover how things should be done. The thought of having the control makes mefeel in control.”

Others attributed the decision to pursue IS to earlier modules in the curriculum that

emphasised the need of businesses, IT professionals and IT to work in concert. A faculty

member describes, “I chose IS as I felt IT solutions were just one part, another part of it

was how it was accepted by organisations.”

The IT professional had to befriend the IT tool, and not to simply wield the whip in a

master-slave relationship. This new metaphor of IT as an enabler is described in the later

part of this subsection.

The choice to go IS was also auxiliary to the myth that education was prerequisite for

good job prospects. An IS-major laments:

“I didn’t think I would do well or even survive in CS. In Singapore, qualificationscount, and I wanted an IT honours degree, so IS was the better path.”

IS represented the next logical step for students who would otherwise have been performance-

wise worse off in a CS curriculum.

20

The symbolism of education is sine qua non for good job prospects, IT is the

next era, IT is a tool, and next logical step persisted with the emergence of a new

myth and metaphor that are described as follows.

Myth: IS is a Logistical Alternative. Some students perceived an IS curriculum to offer

‘salvation’ from the technical complexities in CS: “It was non-technical”, “Easier to do

well”, “IS pulled me in? I think it was rather CS that pushed me in.” The NUS Publi-

cation on Undergraduate Student Feedback echoed complementary results, with modules

in the IS curriculum generally having lower perceived difficulty ratings than those offered

in a CS curriculum (NUS, 2003). The number of graduating three-year IS students (205)

and three-year CS (114) students also hung in an imbalance, with the number of IS stu-

dents outnumbering CS students by almost twice (SoC, 2004). IS offered an alternative

IT degree that was a prerequisite for good job prospects.

The symbolism of logistical alternative was particularly significant for students who failed

to get into their prime choice at the first critical juncture. IS as a discipline that draws

references on theories from other disciplines (Baskerville and Myers, 2002), was an attrac-

tive alternative to that choice degree. For one IS-major, the business perspective offered

by IS compensated for the failure to admit into the business faculty:

“I didn’t want to do computing. I wanted to do business administration butfailed to gain admission. IS was the closest to a business course.”

For another faculty member, IS allowed for an association with IT despite having a weaker

grounding in one of the pillars of CS—mathematics:

“That time my interest was in graphics, but I didn’t think I could handle themathematics. Still wanting a PhD degree, I looked at the closest one to CS andthat was IS, and there I went.”

The maturity in math and grounding in programming (for CS) was another deciding fac-

tor. One faculty member even remarked that most IS students would do well “if they had

a flair in writing and speaking.”

21

This myth of IS as a logistical alternative to CS perpetuated the symbolism of IS as

‘second-class’, and CS students were perceived as ‘pure breeds’ of a SoC education.

Metaphor: IT is an Enabler. This metaphor is a common one, and is a sea change from the

early tool metaphor that emphasised an in-depth knowledge to work the IT tool. The

enabler metaphor however, articulated that an IS business perspective was imperative to

ensure proper execution of IT to derive value from its investment. A faculty member

succinctly described the enabling power as being able “to change organisations, to change

society”, and “IS is important to explain how IT solutions regardless of technical superi-

ority were accepted.”

IT as an enabler took students beyond its technical nature; allowing them to assume the

roles of potential employers and to picture IT as cogs in the business wheel. It dawned

upon them that there was a gulf between tertiary IT education and practitioner knowledge

needed to ‘enable’ businesses. One CS student despondently puts it across:

“The CS curriculum was very theoretical and may not be relevant to practice;it was more geared towards the research environment and has not prepared usadequately for industrial work.”

The stratification of IS students being inferior to CS students gradually diffused, as many

students translated the diversity of the curriculum into economic terms. An IS student

quipped:

“When we graduate, the market actually demands programmers. Both CS andIS students have programming knowledge, so we stand greater employability ifemployers want someone who can do more than just program.”

More recently, it has also been suggested in ISWorld that the use and acceptance of online

technologies in the world workforce has changed employment demands. Mechanical tasks

can be outsourced and/or completed by a centralised group of personnel. The ‘pure tech-

nocrat’ has been described to be designated for corporate oblivion, and the new shift is

22

towards graduates with IT industry qualifications and demonstratable analytical, human

and other associated management skills and training.

4.2.2 From Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective

At this critical juncture, social and cultural capital were of symbolic importance.

Social Capital: The myth of IS as a logistical alternative was a reprieve to those who lacked

the mathematical maturity, and permitted them access to an honours degree in a bid

to rise up the social stratification. A recent IS honours graduate notes: “In Singapore,

qualifications count, and I want to have a honours degree so IS was the better path.”

Focusing our view to the research site, just the act of enrolling in a CS curriculum has

been described as socially elevating oneself to the top of the school hierarchy. As one

CS-major puts it: “Some of the IS people took IS because they find CS too difficult. . . I

chose CS as I thought it was the best stream in SoC.”

Another undergraduate philosophised:

“An in-depth knowledge of CS is imperative as new knowledge in the IT dis-cipline is premised on the understanding of prior concepts. IS concepts, con-versely, can be easily understood from casual reading of the literature, or pickedup through working experience in the industry. CS graduates are therefore at anadvantage in the introduction of any new technology as they are more likely tograsp new concepts, and achieve a complete understanding of the technology ina shorter time.”

Not to be outdone, IS-majors staunchly defended their decision by capitalising on the

broad-based nature of the discipline as a big plus as compared to CS: “Sophistication level

higher in IS, more flexible, more macro, more interdisciplinary and therefore wider career

choices and applications.” A faculty member in an earlier lecture quipped:

“A lot of people emphasise maybe CS is more tangible and IS is ‘idle banter’:just use your common sense; I think it’s obvious that common sense is notthat common. And again, as you can see, I’m not trying to be in favour ofone. But generally speaking, based on past statistics, or rather based on this

23

year’s (2003) statistics, IS first-class honours students all got placements in theindustry, and as compared to first-class CS honours students there are manywho are still unemployed. So that goes to show that IS students may be able topresent themselves much better in the industry as compared to CS students; andthat’s because they know how to engage in ‘idle banter’.”

Yet others shifted the blame to physical attributes rather than let personal capabilities

play a part, for instance: “I’m a girl! CS is just too male-dominated.”

Cultural Capital: Pursuing an IS curriculum hints to the acquisition of a new cultural capital—

the breadth of the IS curriculum that would better position them for alternate opportu-

nities, and the eventual advantage over the CS student in climbing the corporate ladder.

An IS-major unabashedly remarked in triumph: “I realised that CS is nothing great. We

might be the ones managing them in the future!”

4.3 Critical Juncture 3: The “Four-Year vs. Three-Year” Decision

The third critical juncture is subject to academic performance. At this juncture, the IS stu-

dent must choose between a four-year track leading to a honours degree, or a three-year track

leading to a general degree. This decision point proves to be the most perplexing as conflicting

symbolism emerge to challenge the existing ones that have sedimented. We explore this critical

juncture in detail using symbolic interactionism and Bourdieu’s theory of practice.

4.3.1 From the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Persistence of Symbolism. The early myth of education as a prerequisite to good job prospects

from the first critical juncture continues to persist to this stage. For one honours-year

student, the myth was drilled incessantly by the elders:

“My parents always say getting a higher degree is good. . . Study more when youngis good. . . It was also an easier choice to continue for an additional year, ratherthan to look for a job—a big change from schooling days.”

Others who analogised IT to being an enabler in businesses, credited this metaphor as

being instrumental in encouraging them to stay on and increase their knowledge of the IT

24

field: “The additional modules in IS consulting and the strategic use of IS would be really

useful next time when we find work.”

For a second group of students, a basic IT degree was all that is needed in this IT era.

Although education remains a prerequisite, practice now appears to be favoured over

theory as working experience and professional certifications are listed as new requirements

in local job placements. The metaphor of IT as a tool manifested itself as requiring hands-

on experience and professional certifications to work them. A recent graduate laments:

“I realised that IT education in the University taught mostly theory and offeredlittle practical skills. Useful skills such as designing and building a network haveto be picked up on our own; they (the University) don’t provide classes to impartsuch practical skills.”

The next logical step for these students would be to leave the academia and “get my hands

dirty on a job.” A quick count of the number of students who filed for graduation (SoC,

2004) reveals that twice as many three-year students were graduating (319), as compared

to the number of four-year students (165).

The symbolism of education is sine qua non for good job prospects, IT is the

next era, IT is a tool, IT is an enabler, and next logical step persisted with the

surfacing of new myths and a new metaphor. We examine these new symbolism in detail.

Myth: Industry Experience is Sine Qua Non to a Career. This paradoxical myth stems

from local classifieds that usually list working experience (typically 1–3 years) as a pre-

requisite in job advertisements. Taking the perspective of a prospective employer, a grad-

uating student laments:

“No one will hire a grad without working experience. Landing any job is possible,but to start a career requires impressive resume”.

Many start to question the value of an honours degree after the fourth year as compared

to a year of working experience. The questions that ring incessantly in their minds are:

25

“Would a one-year working experience make up for the higher pay that I wouldreceive if I pursued a four-year honours? Does the honours degree guarantee mea better job?”

Myth: Professional Certification is a Ticket to Success. Professional certifications offered

by many prominent IT vendors were viewed as viable substitutes to the lack of industry

experience. The myth of professional certification as a ticket to success is largely asso-

ciated with the symbolism of the three-year ‘express lane’, to quickly accumulate these

‘tickets’ to aid in landing a better job. A graduating student who switched from a four-year

programme to a three-year programme explains:

“In today’s economy, taking a practical course and having professional certifi-cations like MCSE and CCNA would be more recognised and valuable than ahonours degree.”

The metaphor of IT as a tool manifested itself again as requiring professional certifications

to work them.

Metaphor: A Four-Year Programme is Refuge. With a local economy berated by the ef-

fects of the Asian financial crisis, terror, SARS, and a rise in unemployment rates; the

economic landscape could be best characterised as turbulent. As a refuge, the four-year

programme offered protection and shelter for students intending on an IT career. A stu-

dent in the honours-year reflects on the earlier decision to pursue a four-year programme:

“The economy is bad. Staying one more year to tide it over might allow me tosee what options are available.”

For others, this refuge offered a safe sanctuary to “increase my knowledge of the IT field”

that might allow the student to command a higher stipend in the future when compared

to an ordinary degree.

4.3.2 From Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective

At this critical juncture, cultural and economic capital were of symbolic importance.

26

Cultural Capital: The country’s belief in meritocracy created a system in which only the

‘best’ in terms of educational qualifications and training can move one up into the ranks

and positions of power and responsibility (Khan, 2001). At this critical juncture, the

decision to accumulate greater cultural capital in the form of educational qualifications

(a honours degree from a four-year programme), or that of experience and training (by

exiting the academia early and attending professional training) was a perplexing decision

as both were critical to improving one’s social standing. An honours IS-major recollects:

“I had a hard time deciding whether to do my honours. My friends were tellingme that working in the industry for a year will enable me to gain the experienceneeded to put my position on par with an honours graduate. I felt both work-ing experience and the honours degree were necessary. In the end I settled forhonours on the advice of my parents.”

For this honours IS-major, the elders have invoked age as symbolic power in Singapore

society where seniority commands immense respect.

Educational qualifications as symbolic cultural capital were directly convertible for greater

economic capital in the future. A recent study found that a university graduate with a

first degree would earn on average 17% more for every extra year spent in school (Davie,

2004); a substantial pay-off to education in Singapore. Money was seen as the prime

factor in determining many facets of living amongst Singaporeans (Goh, 1996). Related

to this widespread belief was the prevalence of the social ‘disease’ of job-hopping, that

many swore by the myth that experience in a previous firm was translatable to “a few

dollars more” in a new firm.

The relative importance of the two forms of cultural capital may only be understood at

the micro-level, which we have examined using the view from the symbolic interactionist

perspective.

Economic Capital: Economic capital was also of symbolic importance at this critical juncture

as an additional year of study took a year of earnings away from the student:

27

“I was really against taking honours as I felt that my opportunity cost was veryhigh—when you go out to work you are earning money, but when you take hon-ours you are wasting money. When you compare S$30K [from a year of work]and taking a year of honours that does not earn you money. . . the equation wasvery simple.”

4.4 Critical Juncture 4: The “Academia vs. Industry” Decision

The fourth critical juncture questions the IS student to go academia, or to exit and pursue a

career in the industry. We explore this critical juncture in detail using symbolic interactionism

and Bourdieu’s theory of practice.

4.4.1 From the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

Persistence of Symbolism. Disciplinary differences are evident at the beginning of an aca-

demic career (Becher and Trowler, 2001). At this juncture, a doctorate becomes an

obligatory requirement to an academic career. A faculty member analogises it to:

“A kind of driving license—this establishes that you are able to do an inde-pendent piece of study and now you can move forward to teach and do furtherresearch.”

While IS exhibits the ‘doctorate as obligatory’ characteristic of ‘pure’ subject areas, it also

places significance on the professional component within academia as well as outside it

(most faculty members listed prior industry experience prominently on their web pages)—

characteristic of ‘applied’ disciplines. As one faculty member describes:

“In IS they like [to recruit] people who have working experience, so that wouldhelp in the teaching when talking about real-world systems.”

Thus, recruitment to the IS academia consist of both individuals who view the doctorate

as the next logical step in the pursuit of academic credentials, as well as practising IS

professionals who subsequently came to recognise the attractions of an academic life.

The symbolism of education is sine qua non for good job prospects, industry ex-

perience is sine qua non to a career, and next logical step persisted to this critical

28

juncture. Choosing between an academic or an industry career takes into consideration

new myths, metaphors and rituals. We examine these new symbolism in detail.

Myth: Jobs in the Industry are Dull and Boring. This myth was manifestation of a de-

sire for recognition, attention, importance or appreciation. A faculty member described

work in the industry as a ‘commodity’: “I felt I was doing more routine things at work,

and it was getting boring.”

Another PhD student likened working in the industry as:

“I would be just a small potato in a company. Like my friend graduated as afinancial master and he was doing cashier-like things, this was a waste!”

For some individuals, it was ‘self actualisation’ (Maslow, 1943): “Something in you that al-

ways wanted to pursue an academic career”, and “What I needed to do” and that pursuing

a PhD was the only way to quell this desire:

“After my Masters, my interests were quite diffused and my motivations forstudy were not direct. Working for a number of years, I felt that it was time togo back and do a higher degree as I knew what I wanted to do for a PhD.”

Metaphor: The Academia is Temple of Science, the Industry is Real Work. The academia

as a temple of science metaphor is a common one. Both factions of individuals academi-

cally inclined, and those who were intending on a career in the industry had contrasting

labels for this temple. For one PhD candidate, it offered positive labels of “quietness”—

the supposed seclusion, and “freedom to do what I like” in a sanctuary that offered a

conducive environment for intellectual pursuits. Others intending on a career in the in-

dustry ignored or scoffed at the academia with particularly negative labels, “Ivory tower”,

“Engaged in idle banter”, “Attempting to sketch an industrial picture from public sources

and various modes of inquiry”. To these individuals, the industry was a symbolism of ‘the

plains’ beyond the ivory tower, where everybody else engaged in “real work, so to speak”.

29

Ritual: Intellectual Progression. Other students revelled in the ‘intellectual progression’ of

the academia, viewing research and teaching to be:

“Very mentally challenging and stimulating; I do like it. . . I feel very challengedto complete a good research study, to write it up, to publish it and to do thewhole thing.”

A PhD candidate described the process as:

“A long PhD rail. When you are on the PhD train you go all out, and whenyou reach your destination, you will be rewarded with intellectual pleasures—apot of gold. It is quite charming right?”

This suggests a mystical value attached to a doctorate that fuels the PhD candidate to

pursue the PhD rail. The pleasures derived from the process of knowledge acquisition,

creation, and diffusion; joining fellow acolytes and high priests in worshipping the god of

research upon being indoctrinated:

“When you are on board the PhD train, everything is very different—they aretrying to change your way of thinking. Every teacher would tell you now you area PhD student, and it’s about theory, not any practical thing. You will be readinga lot of advanced papers and some were by Nobel Prize winners in economics.How can I find fault with a Nobel Prize winner? But they said that this is amust for PhD students because you have to criticise, then you can construct.”

4.4.2 From Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective

At this critical juncture, social, cultural and economic capital were of symbolic importance.

Social Capital: Inherited social capital from family members who were academics played a

great part in deciding to go academia. Often when a parent or spouse was an academic,

the academia became such a large part of their lives that it almost seemed as if they were

preordained to enter it. Such a crystallisation of a vocational choice was also related to

family habitus and the maintenance of social class: “My dad wanted me to do a PhD.

He’s a teacher, and he’s been a principal for most of his life. So the value of education

was always there in our family”, and “My parents were both professors, so my relatives

expected me to be one too.”

30

Such inherited social capital allowed individuals embarking on an academic career to claim

access to a doctorate, or was instrumental in painting the picture of life as an academic for

the individual. The last quote from a faculty member also reflects the desire to perpetuate

access to the doctorate as social capital for the family. This was significant in the local

context where qualifications hoist one up the social stratification. The symbolism of “real

work”, hints to this stratification where the academia play ‘experts’ in the ivory tower,

presiding over the working class out in the fields—providing the relevant knowledge that

govern and demarcate the domains of the working class.

In the course of our study, questions that posed a comparison between life in the academia

and the industry were always phrased indirectly. However, such questions were sensitive

and never failed to create an atmosphere of tension that triggered other responses in

defence:

“If you joined a company, that’s one perspective. As a researcher, you mightsee more of them at a time. Although it’s an outside perspective, but what’sso interesting about the inside? It’s always nicer to see things from the outsidethan the inside.”

“It’s not because I was not enjoying my job or not doing well. I would say,better than okay in [company name].”

Such responses were not conclusive, but one PhD candidate hinted that strong competition

in the industry may actually have played a part in deciding to go academia:

“I can see where I am going here (in the academia). In the industry I cannot seewhere I am going. . . I chose the clearer option. Being a practitioner was abouthow to compete, and what value you can add [to make yourself employable]. Ispent two years in IS and have not touched CS. Naturally that fear of not beingable to compete in programming is there, especially [when the first job] is usuallyabout programming. . .Whether I could compete with anyone else became a keyworry that I had. . . I didn’t have the justification for myself [to receive a certainsalary]. Employability was a key issue, the economy was bad and I had nothingto offer. Other than doing IS that is rather detached from the practitioner—Italk in my own language, they work in their own worlds. . . It’s something verydisjoint. The cost of going out, the uncertain benefits, definitely weigh lowerthan my choice of doing research here.”

Cultural Capital: Cultural capital was also symbolic at this critical juncture. The wealth of

31

cultural capital is increased through the accumulation of knowledge as part of pursuing an

academic career. Knowledge as a socially constructed reality is most immediately available

to, and usable by the participants in its creation (Walter, 1983). Revelling in such bliss

of “intellectual pleasures” consists in the consciousness of perfection and beauty which

characterise them—the ‘intellectually validated’ (Walter, 1983) insight into the realities

of things and their approximation to omniscience.

Yet for individuals who accumulated a wealth of experience from a long stint in the in-

dustry, the academia was an altruistic choice. Teaching in the academia was fulfilling the

‘responsibility’ to disseminate this accumulated cultural capital through ‘diffuse educa-

tion’:

“I thought I could share my working experience with these students through theIT appreciation and exposure courses to narrow down their future recruitment(identity) gap when they joined the workforce. At least I can contribute what Ihave.”

Economic Capital: Individuals who subscribed to the myth that industry experience was sine

qua non to a career wasted no time in escaping into the monetary promises of the industry.

For them, academic qualifications were gatekeepers to the quest for that first million:

“It has been four years in the University—we have always been reading about theindustry, millions of start-ups, people making a lot of money, all those stuff—Ijust can’t wait to get out and do my first million! It’s all about going into theindustry, learning how they are doing things, applying what we know; I’m allready for the job!”

5 DISCUSSION

In this paper, we employed two different theoretical perspectives to examine how students made

their choices at critical junctures in the IS tertiary education process. Each perspective allows

a thorough examination of a different level of social reality—SI’s micro-level analysis of myths,

metaphors and rituals at work in the cognitive worlds of the students, and Bourdieu’s macro

overview of how students work culture in decision-making.

32

→ Critical Junctures↓ Symbolism

SoC vs. Others IS vs. CS 4- vs. 3-Year Acad. vs. Ind.

MythsEducation is sine qua non for good job prospects

√ √ √ √

IS is a logistical alternative√

Industry experience is sine qua non to a career√ √

Professional certification is a ticket to success√

Jobs in the industry are dull and boring√

MetaphorsIT is the next era

√ √ √

IT is a tool√ √ √

IT is an enabler√ √

Four-year programme is refuge√

Academia is the temple of science√

Industry is real work√

RitualsNext logical step

√ √ √ √

Intellectual progression√

Table 1: Myths, metaphors, and rituals that accounted for decisions made.

→ Critical Junctures↓ Capitals

SoC vs. Others IS vs. CS 4- vs. 3-Year Acad. vs. Ind.

Social√ √ √

Cultural√ √ √ √

Economic√ √ √

Table 2: Symbolic capitals that were critical to decision-making at various junctures.

The myths, metaphors and rituals present at critical junctures in the IS tertiary education

process are summarised in tables 1 and 4 (appendix page iii), while the capitals at stake in the

various junctures are summarised in tables 2 and 5 (appendix page iv).

5.1 A Summary from the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

In symbolic interactionism, the concept of enactment is a central concern for any research project

and is the process by which symbolic realities mediate meaningful action (Prasad, 1993). By

focusing again on symbolism in the categories of myths, metaphors and rituals, we discuss

how the symbolism of decision choices influence their selection and the eventual perception of

outcome correctness.

5.1.1 Symbolic Enactment: Myths Initiate Default Lines of Action for Actors

Myths in our study have demonstrated their importance in initiating action. However, the risk

arises when such myths initiate default lines of action without much thought on the part of

33

actors.

The myth of ‘education is sine qua non for good job prospects’ instigated students to select

an IT undergraduate education without a thorough consideration of their future roles as IT

professionals. This myth is however, not exclusive to IS tertiary education. A recent article

in the local press highlights how medicine students in the same host university “put ‘medicine’

on their application forms for the wrong reasons” (Lee and Prashanth, 2004). The authors

highlight a fundamental flaw in the selection system where students lacking passion and love of

medicine chose medical school.

This scenario is re-enacted in our IS tertiary education process where students applied for

an IT/IS education without an affinity to the profession. Without an affection to these future

roles, regret sets in as soon as the novelty of the choice wears off.

The other myth of ‘professional certification is a ticket to success’ brings potentially dire

consequences to the IT industry. This myth extends the ‘paper chase’—so prevalent in Singa-

pore society—beyond the academia and into the industry. The emphasis is shifted from the

knowledgeable persona to an amassment of paper qualifications, resulting in a new breed of IT

professionals who rote-parrot from certification test banks.

5.1.2 Symbolic Enactment: Metaphors Create a Cultural Baggage for Actors

Metaphors as cultural baggage allow actors to establish linkage with the new and unfamiliar.

Such reification of metaphors into the cultural baggage (observe the persistence of metaphors

in table 1) takes place as students step through and make sense of IS tertiary education. In

this study, the hype surrounding the ‘IT as the next era’ metaphor was so potent that it led to

an explosion of tertiary IT education, and the establishment of incubation and technopreneur

resource centres. This metaphor initiated students en masse for that symbolic IT education.

In addition, cultural baggage has also the potential to tunnel perspectives. For instance, the

metaphor of ‘IT is a tool’ constrained the CS student to a master-slave relationship between

the IT professional and the IT tool.

Other enabling metaphors allow a widening of the actor’s peripheral vision. The metaphor

of ‘IT is an enabler’ unveiled the vision of the IS student to see beyond the master-slave rela-

tionship, and sensitised them to the importance of businesses, IT professionals and IT to work

in concert.

34

These metaphors shaped the perspective of students as they reacted to their mental images

of the social reality surrounding IT. As such, the ability of metaphors to skew rationality in

decision-making cannot be underestimated.

5.1.3 Symbolic Enactment: Rituals Maintain the Perception of Rational Decision-

Making

The ritual of ‘the next logical step’ persisted throughout the four critical junctures (see table 1).

Overtly, such a ritual maintains the image of rational decision-making by students. Covertly,

such rituals perpetuate the prevailing myths and metaphors, allowing students to pursue their

self-interests under the effects of these symbolism.

The next logical step is but a facade of the covert maintenance of self-interests. An exami-

nation of such rituals allows us to reveal hidden agendas and symbolic effects beyond seemingly

rational and economic terms.

5.2 A Summary from Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice Perspective

In Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the concepts of field, habitus and capital are inextricably linked.

The field is a site of intense struggles for material and symbolic capital. Actors act strategically,

depending on their habitus in order to reproduce their relative positions (Bourdieu, 1977). Such

maintenance and enhancement of position in the stratified world is termed as social reproduction

(Bourdieu, 1984).

5.2.1 Social Reproduction: The Field Determines Who is Entitled to Decide

Intuitively, we would expect the outcomes of decision-making to redistribute capital and alter

the dynamics of the field. In contrary, the field is responsible in determining who actually gets

to make a decision. Success breeds further success; actors hoisted up the social stratification

through earlier amassment of symbolic capital wield tremendous symbolic power and reserve the

entitlement to decide. In our study, students with the right academic achievements comman-

deered such resources in the tertiary education marketplace to purchase more cultural capital

(the university degree, a CS curriculum, or an honours degree) to sustain their initial advan-

tage. This circular logic systematically eliminates those lacking in such symbolic resources and

convinces them to settle for less than desirable options.

35

5.2.2 Social Reproduction: The Habitus Ensures Conformance by Actors

The habitus allows actors in decision-making to internalise the objective structures in the field

and its unspoken rules. Externalisation of these objective structures takes place through prac-

tices. In social reproduction, the habitus creates the perception of ‘default lines of action’

(see §5.1.1 and §5.1.3) that disguise the efforts of those in symbolic positions to colonise the

field. The habitus reifies the objective structures of the field into the social fabric, and allow

their existence to continue to be validated and accepted. This dialectic relationship between

the field and the habitus privilege those already advantaged and ensures conformance of those

disadvantaged to the rules.

The danger of such reproduction strategies arises when privileged actors default to lines of

action without a symbolic understanding of their consequences. In §5.1.1 we highlighted how

medicine students in the same host university chose medicine for the wrong reasons. One did so

due to excellent grades and felt it would be “a waste” not to apply for the most “hard-to-get ’

course in the University. Another claimed that parents were responsible for the choice (Lee

and Prashanth, 2004). In our study, students chose IT for similar reasons: “I ended up with

computing as the cut-off-point at that time was the hardest, and the most stringent”, and “it was

hot market, everyone at home were advising me to go into computer stuff.” A lack of affinity

to the career spells disaster not only for the student, but also the prospective employer.

5.2.3 Social Reproduction: Symbolic Capital are the Artefacts of Desire

Cultural capital is of symbolic importance throughout the four critical junctures (see table 2)

and manifested itself in the forms of academic achievements and working experience.

Singapore’s preoccupation with elitism (Chang, 2003) perpetuated the circular logic of ‘suc-

cess breeds further success’, and resulted in the rise of academic achievements as symbolic

capital:

“In any given society, of the one thousand babies born, there are so many percentnear geniuses, so many percent average, so many percent morons. I am sorry if I amconstantly preoccupied with what the near-geniuses and the above average are goingto do. But I am convinced that it is they who ultimately decide the shape of thingsto come. It is the above average in any society who sets the pace.” (Lee, 1990)

Tertiary students in Singapore belong to Lee’s category of “the above average” or a better

36

part of his “average” (Chang, 2003). To remain positioned among these categories in order

to be entitled to decide, one has to pursue the only viable route: the amassment of symbolic

cultural capital—academic achievements (Ibrahim, 2002).

5.3 Symbolic Interactionism and Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice: Shedding

New Light on Decision-Making

The two different theoretical perspectives employed in this study permit the study of students’

decision-making at both the micro- and macro-levels.

A micro view of symbolism at work allow us to enter the cognitive worlds of students to

understand choices from their perspectives. Symbolism at the micro-level (myths, metaphors,

and rituals) potentially initiate default lines of action, tunnel or widen peripheral vision, and

assist in the surface perception of rational decision-making. By tunnelling vision, symbolism

lead to bounded rationality by blinding actors to alternative choices.

On a positive note, symbolism also allow actors to qualitatively evaluate decision outcomes.

Such evaluation is important as it allows decision-makers to avoid potential sensations of regret

(Simonson, 1992).

Bourdieu’s theory of practice allows us to situate decision-making in the context in which

it is made. The concept of the field allows for an identification of the objectively complicit

opponents. The notion of habitus reminds us that past actions by these opponents play a role

in fashioning the disposition of choices. The objective conditions in the field adjust the habitus

that disposes individuals to act in a certain way.

In sum, the surface appearance of decision-making is but a reflection of the habitus at work—

perpetuating myths and metaphors—disposing actors to make certain choices. Rituals are the

overt appearance of the habitus at work, and allowed actors to mask hidden agendas while

maintaining the perception of rational decision-making. Rationality in decision-making is but

a facade for the effects of the habitus, and the need to improve one’s social standing in the field

through the amassment of symbolic capital. The diverse set of presumptively rational choices

made by students in the IS tertiary education process establishes the continued advantage of

the already advantaged.

37

6 CONCLUDING REMARKS

This study suggests that different theoretical perspectives applied to specific avenues in a re-

search study may converge to produce a more comprehensive understanding of the IS phe-

nomenon under study. Specifically, symbolic interactionism and Bourdieu’s theoretical perspec-

tives have been selected by virtue of their distinctive foci, philosophical reconcilability, and

complementary strengths. Symbolic interactionism’s micro analysis of social interactions, and

Bourdieuian theory of practice’s macro contextualisation of human action converge for a greater

understanding of the IS tertiary education process.

In conclusion, the goal of this ethnographic study is to generate a set of well-defined themes

related to the decision-making process of undergraduate and graduate IS students. Quantita-

tive methods though well established in extant literature, may prove inadequate in other facets

of decision-making that cannot be expressed using numerical power. The long road in human

life is marked by these decision junctures that are awash with symbolism. Dilemmas at crit-

ical junctures are sometimes too complex to fathom by means of probability distributions or

quantification of preferences. Qualitative methods invite new opportunities for research into

such unchartered waters, and open up new insights for further analysis. By focusing on actual

practice in situ using a symbolic perspective, we afford a better understanding of IS tertiary ed-

ucation as received by students, and its challenges while contributing to the future development

of the discipline.

6.1 Limitations of the Study

A limitation of this study would be its weak generalisability to other contexts. The Asian

context of the research site may yield unique insights not applicable to other settings. The

scope of the study is also limited to just one major university. Future research may thus wish

to explore these same concepts in other contexts and university settings.

6.2 Implications for Research: Toward Symbolism in Qualitative Decision

Research

The results of our study reveal that theories in decision-making may benefit from a qualitative

approach using the two theoretical perspectives selected. In this regard, a qualitative approach

38

may yield new and interesting insights for researchers studying decision-making in organisations.

For instance in organisational studies: an in-house software development project or an

implementation of a new IS may be characterised by a number of critical junctures (e.g., the

decision to go-ahead with the implementation, what software package should be installed, which

engineering methodology should be performed, who should lead the project team). Myths,

metaphors and rituals play an important part at these critical junctures in effecting individual

action.

Bourdieu’s concepts of the field and habitus enable the researcher to reveal the objectively

complicit opponents in the implementation (e.g., management, the IT staff, consultants, end-

users and the dominant coalition) and how their past actions fashioned the disposition of choices.

A critical view offered by these concepts reveal the symbolic capital at stake, and helps the

researcher understand the efforts by actors to challenge and defend their amassment of such

resources.

6.3 Implications for Practice

6.3.1 Toward Greater IT Professionalism

In the third critical juncture, we drew attention to the myth of ‘professional certification is a

ticket to success’ and its outcome on decision-making in the inner sanctum of the university.

The effect of this myth is further amplified by the country’s obsession with elitism (Chang,

2003). Aspiring individuals are instigated to embark on a paper-chase to render themselves

more marketable to prospective employers, and to move up into the ranks and positions of

power and responsibility (Khan, 2001).

The recent spotlight on infocomm accreditation, skills and talent management (NICC, 2003)

may potentially transform this mere obsession into a state of dire consequence for the IT pro-

fession. Amidst the emphasis on staffing the manpower requirements of the infocomm industry,

we have neglected the development of IT professionalism5. IT professionalism and competence

cannot be simply acquired through re-skilling and accreditation. Extensive practice, immersion,

apprenticeship and coaching is the only way to mastery (Denning, 2002). The academia and

local IT professional bodies have an important role to ensure that such erroneous symbolism

do not continue to perpetuate. We should instead, be articulating enabling symbolism: profes-

5“A description you hope others will apply to you, not a set of degrees of job qualifications.” (Maister, 1993)

39

sional working behaviour, attitudes and expectations that are the hallmark of IT professionals.

More has to be done to ensure that the “IT professional” is accredited on the basis of embodied

knowledge, rather than paper-certifications of conceptual knowledge through rote-parroting.

6.3.2 Toward More Informed Decision-Making

In introducing our study, we highlighted mythological examples to demonstrate how poor

decision-making led to dire consequences that were sometimes irreversible. Human beings’

interest surrounding decision-making is not undue as their outcome correctness shapes not only

the decision-maker’s lifestyle, but also much of the fabric of life. Decision-making at critical

junctures in the IS tertiary education process have important ramifications for students and

their potential employers.

For the student, an incorrect decision in educational choice results in frustration when seek-

ing employment. The fresh graduate job-hops from one employer to another, only to be con-

fronted each time with realities of the IT profession that are incongruent with their internalised

symbolism. Regret sets in irrespective of the employer. Without a symbolic understanding of

what being a member of the profession entails, a poor decision is made and there is no second

chance:

“I always regretted my decision to pursue IT. I shouldn’t have followed suit with myfriends who all chose IT. I should have gone along with my interests in digital mediaor visual communications. Now I am stuck here.”

Related to this incongruence are erroneous myths that are ends to themselves, and steer

actors away from social reality. A final evaluation of decision outcome only to realise that they

were deluded will be too late:

“Some of my friends who finished Masters in the same programme ended up in jobsthat were very similar to what basic undergraduates did. We questioned why we tookmasters and concluded that Masters was for interests’ sake. If you took Mastersthinking you can earn more, I think you had better forget about it.”

Sophocles’s words: “quick decisions are unsafe decisions” offers sound advice in decision-

making, and stresses the importance of making informed choices. A proper management of the

effects of symbolism surrounding our lives, coupled with an interest, dedication and a special

aptitude are the ingredients to success in any career. In the words of a professor:

40

“My natural inclination was towards teaching, and research is something I reallyliked. . . I knew that research was something I was interested in. . . It’s that I enjoyedthe mental challenge; I do like that. . . I find it very challenging and stimulating.”

41

References

Agar, M. H. (1992). Speaking of Ethnography. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications.

AIS (2004). ISWorld PhD page. In Schwarz, A., Ives, B., and Poora, J. (Eds.), Association forInformation Systems. Available: http://www.isworld.org/phd/phd.htm.

Baskerville, R. L. and Myers, M. D. (2002). Information systems as a reference discipline. MISQuarterly, 25 (1), 1–14.

Becher, T. and Trowler, P. R. (2001). Academic Tribes and Territories: Intellectual Enquiryand the Culture of Disciplines (Second ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.

Becker, H. S., Geer, B., Hughes, E. C., and Strauss, A. L. (1961). Boys in White: StudentCulture in Medical School. Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

Benbasat, I. and Zmud, R. W. (1999). Empirical research in information systems: The practiceof relevance. MIS Quarterly, 23 (1), 3–16.

Blommaert, J. (2003). Bourdieu the Ethnographer. The 8th International Pragmatics Confer-ence.

Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Englewood Cliffs, NewJersey: Prentice Hall.

Boles, T. L. and Messick, D. M. (1995). A reverse outcome bias: The influence of multiplereference points on the evaluation of outcomes and decisions. Organizational Behavior andHuman Decision Processes, 61 (3), 262–275.

Boudreau, M.-C., Gefen, D., and Straub, D. W. (2001). Validation in information systemsresearch: A state-of-the-art assessment. MIS Quarterly, 25 (1).

Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UniversityPress.

Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Cambridge:Harvard University Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1988). Homo Academicus. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1990). In Other Words: Essays Towards a Reflexive Sociology. California: Stan-ford University Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1998). Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Bourdieu, P. and Passeron, J.-C. (1977). Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture.Banner Street, London: Sage.

Bourdieu, P. and Wacquant, L. D. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Cambridge,UK: Polity Press.

Boutilier, C. (1994). Towards a Logic for Qualitative Decision Theory. Proceedings of the 4thInternational Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning.

42

Brafman, R. I. and Tennenholtz, M. (1997). Modeling agents as qualitative decision makers.Artifical Intelligence, 94, 217–268.

Carroll, J. S. and Johnson, E. J. (1990). Decision Research: A Field Guide. Sage.

Cecez-Kecmanovic, D. (2001). Doing critical IS research: The question of methodology. InTrauth, E. M. (Ed.), Qualitative Research in IS: Issues and Trends, pages 240–270. Hershey,Pennsylvania: Idea Group Publishing.

Chang, J. H.-Y. (2003). Culture, state and economic development in singapore. Journal ofContemporary Asia, 33 (1), 85–105.

Charon, J. M. (2001). Symbolic Interactionism: An Introduction, an Interpretation, an Inte-gration (Seventh ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Chuang, P. M. (2002). New computer science grads still in favour. Availablehttp://it.asia1.com.sg/newsarchive/03/news001 20020308.html. The Business Times, March8.

Cohoon, J. M. and Chen, L. Y. (2003). Migrating out of computer science. Computing ResearchNews, 15 (2), 2–3.

Davie, S. (2004). It pays to study, especially in S’pore. Availablehttp://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/storyprintfriendly/0,1887,231152,00.html. The StraitsTimes, January 21.

Denning, P. J. (2002). The profession of IT. Communications of the ACM, 45 (9), 21–26.

Doyle, J. and Thomason, R. (1999). Background to qualitative decision theory. AI Magazine,20 (2), 55–68.

Dubois, D., Fargier, H., and Prade, H. (2002). Qualitative decision theory: From Savage’saxioms to nonmonotonic reasoning. Journal of the ACM, 49 (9), 455–495.

Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., and Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Uni-versity of Chicago Press.

Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. New York: Basic Books.

Goh, C. B. (1996). Science and technology in Singapore: The mindset of the engineeringundergraduate. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 18 (1), 7–24.

Gopal, A. and Prasad, P. (2000). Understanding GDSS in symbolic context: Shifting the focusfrom technology to interaction. MIS Quarterly, 24 (3), 509–546.

Hall, D. T. (1969). The impact of peer interaction during an academic role transition. Sociologyof Education, 42 (2), 118–140.

Hammersley, M. (1992). What’s Wrong with Ethnography?: Methodological Explorations. NewYork: Routledge.

Hirschheim, R. and Newman, M. (1991). Symbolism and information systems development:Myth, metaphor and magic. Information Systems Research, 2 (1), 29–62.

43

Ibrahim, Z. (2002). That test-tube remark not a matter of elitism. Availablehttp://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/columnist/0,1886,491-153760-,00.html. The Straits Times,November 9.

IDA (2003). Milestones of government computerisation. Availablehttp://www.egov.gov.sg/milestones.htm.

Jenkins, R. (1992). Pierre Bourdieu. New York: Routledge.

Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk.Econometrica, 47, 269–291.

Kendall, J. E. and Kendall, K. E. (1993). Metaphors and methodologies; living beyond thesystems machine. MIS Quarterly, 17 (2).

Khan, H. (2001). Social Policy in Singapore: A Confucian Model? World Bank Institutue.

Kwan, W. K. (2002). Tokyo impressed with IT use in Singapore schools. Availablehttp://it.asia1.com.sg/newsdaily/news006 20020729.html. The Straits Times, July 29.

Langenberg, D. N. and Spicer, D. Z. (2001). The modern campus. In Maughan, G. R. (Ed.),Technology Leadership: Communication and Information Systems in Higher Education, NewDirections for Higher Education. John Wiley & Sons.

Lee, K. W. and Prashanth, P. (2004). Students should help talent-spot. Availablehttp://straitstimes.asia1.com/forum/story/0,4386,237810-1078178340,00.html. The StraitsTimes, March 2.

Lee, K. Y. (1990). Prime Minister’s Speeches, Press Conferences, Interviews, Statements, etc.,1959–1990. Singapore: Prime Minister’s Office.

Lincoln, Y. S. and Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Thousand Oaks, California: SagePublications.

Loomes, G. and Sugden, R. (1982). Regret theory: An alternative theory of rational choiceunder uncertainty. The Economic Journal, 92 (368), 805–824.

Lyytinen, K. (1999). Empirical research in information systems: On the relevance of practicein thinking of IS research. MIS Quarterly, 23 (1), 25–28.

Maister, D. H. (1993). True Professionalism: The Courage to Care about Your People, YourClients, and Your Career. New York: Free Press.

Manning, K. (2000). Rituals, Ceremonies, and Cultural Meaning in Higher Education. Bergin& Garvey.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396.

McNurlin, B. C. and Sprague Jr., R. H. (2002). Information Systems Management in Practice(Fifth ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, Self and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

44

Musolf, G. R. (2003). The chicago school. In Reynolds, L. T. and Herman-Kinney, N. J. (Eds.),Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

Neuman, W. L. (2003). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches(Fifth ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Ng, M. K. (2003). Consumer durables in households, 1992–2002. Availablehttp://www.singstat.gov.sg/ssn/feat/nov2003/pg2-4.pdf. Statistics Singapore Newslet-ter, September.

NICC (2003). Products and services overview. Availablehttp://www.nicc.org.sg/products/overview.aspx. National Infocomm Competency Cen-tre.

NUS (2003). Publication on NUS Undergraduate Student Feedback 2002/2003. NUS: Office ofthe Provost.

Orlikowski, W. J. and Baroudi, J. J. (1991). Studying information technology in organizations:Research approaches and assumptions. Information Systems Research, 2 (1), 1–28.

Phillips, H. P. (1965). Thai Peasant Personality: The Patterning of Interpersonal Behavior inthe Village of Bang Chan. University of California Press.

Prasad, P. (1993). Symbolic processes in the implementation of technological change: A sym-bolic interactionist study of work computerization. Academy of Management Journal, 36 (6),1400–1429.

Prasad, P. (1997). Systems of meaning: Ethnography as a methodology for the study of in-formation technologies. In Lee, A. S., Liebenau, J., and DeGross, J. I. (Eds.), InformationSystems and Qualitative Research. London: Chapman and Hall.

Prus, R. (1996). Symbolic Interaction and Ethnographic Research: Intersubjectivity and theStudy of Human Lived Experience. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press.

Reynolds, L. T. (2003). Early representatives. In Reynolds, L. T. and Herman-Kinney, N. J.(Eds.), Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

Ritov, I. (1996). Probability of regret: Anticipation of uncertainty resolution in choice. Orga-nizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 66 (2), 228–236.

Robey, D. and Markus, M. L. (1984). Rituals in information system design. MIS Quarterly,8 (1).

Rock, P. (2001). Symbolic interactionism and ethnography. In Atkinson, P., Coffey, A., Delam-ont, S., Lofland, J., and Lofland, L. (Eds.), Handbook of Ethnography, pages 26–38. Greenwich,London: Sage Publications.

Savage, L. J. (1967). Difficulties in the theory of personal probability. Philosophy of Science,34 (4), 305–310.

Simon, H. A. (1982). Models of Bounded Rationality. MIT Press.

45

Simonson, I. (1992). The influence of anticipating regret and responsibility on purchase deci-sions. The Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (1), 105–118.

SingStat (2003). Key indicators. Available http://www.singstat.gov.sg.

SoC (2004). File for Graduation Listing for Sem 2, 2003/04. Availablehttp://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/˜online/info20032/FFGList.html. NUS: School of Computing.

Soh, F. (2003). Japanese studying S’pore’s IT strategy in varsity. The Straits Times, December25.

ST (2004). NUS to offer choice of 2 courses to freshmen. Availablehttp://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/women/expert/0,5350,239548,00.html. The Straits Times,March 16.

STB (2003). Singapore education system. Available http://www.singaporeedu.gov.sg/htm/sis/sis02.htm.Singapore Education.

Stone, D. N. (1996). Getting tenure in accounting: A personal account of learning to dancewith the mountain. Issues in Accounting Education, 11 (1).

Tan, T. (2003). Another bad year ahead for jobless. Availablehttp://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/education/story/0,1870,177249,00.html. The StraitsTimes, March 15.

Trauth, E. M. (2001). The choice of qualitative methods in IS research. In Trauth, E. M.(Ed.), Qualitative Research in IS: Issues and Trends, pages 1–19. Hershey, Pennsylvania:Idea Group Publishing.

Trocchia, P. J. and Berkowitz, D. (1999). Getting doctored: A proposed model of marketingdoctoral student socialization. European Journal of Marketing, 33 (7/8), 746–759.

Turner, S. P. (1994). The Social Theory of Practices: Tradition, Tacit Knowledge, and Presup-positions. Cambridge: Polity Press.

van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography. Chicago: University ofChicago Press.

van Slyke, C., Bostrom, R., Courtney, J., McLean, E., Snyder, C., and Watson, R. T. (2003).Experts’ advice to information systems doctoral students. Communications of the AIS, 12,469–478.

von Neumann, J. and Morgenstern, O. (1947). Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour(Second ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Walter, V. (1983). At work in the temple of science: Theory-building in the university. Inter-national Journal of Public Administration, 5 (2), 175–193.

Ward, J. and Peppard, J. (2002). Strategic Planning for Information Systems (Third ed.). WestSussex, England: John Wiley & Sons.

Westfall, R. D. (2001). Dare to be relevant. Communications of the AIS, 6.

i

APPENDIX

ii

No. Participants ProfilesFaculty Members1. F1 Assistant Professor. MSc (CS), PhD (Business Administration).

Never left the academia.2. F2 Fellow. MSc (Electrical Engineering), PhD (IS). Returned to the

academia to pursue PhD after 7 years in industrial R&D.3. F3 Senior Lecturer. PhD (Statistics). Returned to the academia with

over twenty years of industrial experience in managing IT.4. F4 Senior Lecturer. BBA, MSc and PhD (CS). Alternated between the

academia and the industry. Served a number of management roleswhile in the industry.

5. F5 Adjunct Professor. PhD (Engineering). Over twenty years of indus-trial experience in planning, designing, implementing and managingIT before returning to the academia.

Graduate Students/Teaching Assistants6. T1 BSc (CS). Never left the academia. Currently pursuing graduate stud-

ies.7. T2 BSc (IS). Served a number of consultancy roles during a brief stint in

a major government agency. Currently pursuing graduate studies.8. T3 MSc (IS). Spent one year working before deciding on an academic

career. Currently pursuing a PhD.9. T4 MSc (Financial Engineering). Served a brief stint in the engineer-

ing industry developing applications to manage engineering changes(MRP/ERP) before returning to the academia to pursue a PhD.

10. T5 MSc (IS). Served a brief stint in a major government research institute.The emphasis on research in the institute influenced the decision topursue a PhD.

11. T6 MSc (IS). Never left the academia. Currently pursuing a PhD.Undergraduate/Honours Students12. CS1*13–14. CS2–3

CS honours-year students.

15. IS1* IS honours-year student. Has since graduated (graduation class of2003) with first-class honours. Currently still seeking employmentwhile pursuing a part-time CFA.

16. IS2 IS honours-year student. Previously enrolled in CS but switched to ISdue to a lack of maturity in mathematics.

17–18. IS3*–IS4*19–28. IS5–14

IS honours-year students.

Recent Graduates (Graduation class of 2003)29. G1* Switched from a four-year programme to a three-year programme in

the last semester. Graduated with a general IT degree. Currentlyemployed in a local start-up developing web-based applications.

30–34. G2-6 Recent graduates (general IT degree). Currently employed in the in-dustry.

Table 3: Profiles of participants (* indicates informant).

iii

Symbolism Field-Based ExamplesMyths Education is sine qua non for good

job prospects“Degree or die.”

“My parents always say getting a higher degree isgood. . . Study more when young is good. . . ”

IS is a logistical alternative “IS pulled me in? I think it was rather CS thatpushed me in.”“That time my interest was in graphics, but Ididn’t think I could handle the mathematics. Stillwanting a PhD degree, I looked at the closest oneto CS and that was IS, and there I went.”

Industry experience is sine qua nonto a career

“No one will hire a grad without working experi-ence. Landing any job is possible, but to start acareer requires impressive resume.”

Professional certification is a ticket tosuccess

“In today’s economy, taking a practical courseand having professional certifications like MCSEand CCNA would be more recognised and valu-able than a honours degree.”

Jobs in the industry are dull and bor-ing

“I felt I was doing more routine things at work.”

“Like my friend graduated as a financial masterand he was doing cashier-like things, this was awaste!”

Metaphors IT is the next era “Hot market, everyone at home were advising meto go into computer stuff.”“Jobs were aplenty.”

IT is a tool “To automate tasks and make human life easier.”“It fascinates me as to how a machine can bemade to produce all these stuff and to help man.More precisely, as programmers we have absolutecommand over how things should be done.”

IS is an enabler “To change organisations, to change society.”“IS is important to explain how IT solutions re-gardless of technical superiority were accepted.”

Four-year programme is refuge “The economy is bad. Staying one more year totide it over might allow me to see what optionsare available.”

Academia is the temple of science “Quietness, freedom to do what I like [to study].”“Ivory tower.”

Industry is real work “Real work, so to speak.”Rituals Next logical step “In Singapore, things are pretty much structured;

you can always go out and do business after pri-mary school, but climbing that ladder is the ‘ex-pected’, you must conform to the expectation!”“I didn’t think I would do well or even survivein CS. In Singapore, qualifications count, and Iwanted an IT honours degree, so IS was the betterpath.”

Intellectual progression “Very mentally challenging and stimulating; I dolike it. . . I feel very challenged to complete a goodresearch study, to write it up, to publish it and todo the whole thing.”“They are trying to change your way of thinking.Every teacher would tell you now you are a PhDstudent, and it’s about theory, not any practicalthing. You will be reading a lot of advanced pa-pers and some were by Nobel Prize winners ineconomics. How can I find fault with a NobelPrize winner? But they said that this is a mustfor PhD students because you have to criticise,then you can construct.”

Table 4: Myths, metaphors, rituals and field-based examples.

iv

CriticalJunctures

Capitals Field-Based Examples

SoCvs. Others

Social “During festive occasions, all my relatives willstart comparing their children’s performance inschool, and if one of my cousins didn’t do so well[than the other], his parents will chide him offfor his lacklustre performance. Those who werepursuing university education had praises heapedonto them.”

Cultural “An IT education enables me to have the basicfoundations for my future job.”

Economic “That time I looked at the mean pay for gradsand the mean pay for IT grads was higher.”

IS vs. CS Social “In Singapore, qualifications count, and I want tohave a honours degree so IS was the better path.”

Cultural “Some of the IS people took IS because they findCS too difficult. . . I chose CS as I thought it wasthe best stream in SoC.”“I realised that CS is nothing great. We might bethe ones managing them in the future!”

4- vs. 3-Year

Cultural “I had a hard time deciding whether to do myhonours. My friends were telling me that work-ing in the industry for a year will enable me togain the experience needed to put my position onpar with an honours graduate. I felt both work-ing experience and the honours degree were nec-essary.”

Economic “When you compare S$30K [from a year of work]and taking a year of honours that does not earnyou money. . . the equation was very simple.”

Acad. vs.Ind.

Social “My parents were both professors, so my relativesexpected me to be one too.”

Cultural “I thought I could share my working experiencewith these students through IT appreciation andexposure courses to narrow down their future re-cruitment (identity) gap when they joined theworkforce. At least I can contribute what I have.”

Economic “I just can’t wait to get out and do my first mil-lion! . . . I’m all ready for the job!”

Table 5: Symbolic capitals and field-based examples.