Influence of ICT on working style used within frames of Lifelong Education

1. Influence of ICT on working style used within frames of Lifelong Education Tatjana Šepić Ivan Pogarčić Sanja Raspor The Polytechnic of Rijeka

2. Some starting points • Manner of Influence of ICT Implementation in all human activities • Indirect and/or directinfluence of ICT in qualitative and quantitative sense • Education as a process of gaining knowledge, skills and competencies • Lifelong Education as a necessity • ICT and web as a way to approach information and knowledge • The approach in a specific moment and for a specific period of time • Manners and positions when ICT can influence the working style

3. What is a Style? • Style (lat. stilus - pencil) is way of expressing character by all those features that differ it from others • Style can be determined by an individual or a group or an organisation character that through its internal communications create its own character, a combination of individuals’ characters

4. Style and way of acquiring one • Style and mode – what is the difference? • Mode as a way of realising one or more activities • Mode is generally predefined and in a certain measure determined • Level of determination sets possibility of any kind of variations - differences • Variations have stochastic characteristics that can define differences in the mode of performance • Expressed differences in qualitative and quantitative sense represent a style

5. About defining a style • Is there a way to define a style? • Is it determined independently, or is it influenced by someone or something else? • What about style within the frame of Lifelong Education? • In which circumstances the working style changes?

6. Style and its indicators Source: assessment.insala.com/centermark/Includes/ Sample Working Styles.pdf, (30.07.2009.)

7. Education and style • Work styles are connected to an individual’s behaviour or a group in general • The behaviour implies a pattern determined upon experiences or momentarily circumstances • Work styles are connectedto acquired knowledge and skills • Work styles are connectedto teaching and educational styles

8. The way of determining (work) styles The crucial areas (from bottom to top): • Professional Attitudes (Motivation, Persistence, Conformity, Responsibility, Structure and Variety) • Social Aspects (individual work, pair/group/team work or inclination towards authority)Environmental Preferences (noise, lightening, temperature, type of furniture etc.)

9. The way of determining (work) styles The crucial areas (from the bottom to the top): • Physical Needs (mobility during the work, intake and specific part of day) • Sensory Modalities (listening, visualisation, tactile and kinetic capabilities) • Brain Processing (reflexive and impulsive mode of working and decision making)

10. Starting assumptions • ICT influences educational style through different modes of e-Learning • Information science knowledge increases tendency towards usage of ICT in education and work • More intensive usage of ICT in all modes of business is an imperative of adjustment to new working conditions – PC on the work place • ICT application increases and improves possibility of profession identification or adjustment to the present needs • ICT ensures potential independence of place and time of executing work assignments • ICT allows virtualisation of work and work place

11. Caracteristics of examinees • Research has been conducted using a questionnaire on a sample of 100 examinees. • The examinees have been questioned via e-mail, providing anonymous answers to 20 questions. • They were familiar to the pollsters but the questionnaire itself was anonymous. • Questions have been grouped according to six crucial fields • Goal of the research is to confirm starting assumptions and define factors within individual crucial area that will imply more significant influence of ICT.

12. Objective disadvantages of the questionnaire • Relatively small group of examinees • Professional heterogeneity of group • Assumption of developed ICT infrastructure • Questions and answers can be inadequately elaborated considering heterogeneity of group

13. Subjective disadvantages of the questionnaire • Pollsterser familiar with the work environment and personally know the larger part of the examinees • Data on environment and examinees are historical so the final judgement can seem subjective • Pollsters expected results that would imply participants’ readiness to anticipate the assignements and to define a style

14. Advantages of the investigation • Examinees are heterogeneous considering the age group • Pollsters knew the majority of examinees as well as the level of their information science education in fulfilling work assignments • Good infrastructural ICT backup and safety network • Certain experience in usage of ICT and certain information science education

15. Results of questionnaire I • thin majority (45%) uses PC occasionally in fulfilling work assignments  • more than half of examinees (52%) believe that PC partially strengthens their motivation in performing business assignments  • the majority of examinees (63%) believe that PC does not influence their commitment in performing business assignments   • relative majority (41%) considers that PC helps them improve the way of performing business activities  • PC has no influence over “disciplinary rules” – (arrivals, interruptions, departures) when performing business assignments (84%) •  PC does not strengthen impression of responsibility (78%) (deadlines for finishing working assignments)  • relative majority (49%) believes PC has no influence over the concept of working assignments (the question about preferred mode of making a business does not have an adequate answer and will be commented later).

16. Results of questionnaire II • relative majority (44%) believes PC makes them more independent in performing business assignments • the majority of examinees (45%) uses the Internet for finding new information about their own profession • the majority (89%) believes the usage of PC requires special spatial and time conditions  • the majority of examinees (57%) does notmind relatively quiet music when performing their work  • the majority of examinees (43% and 46%) claims that PC influences their mobility and dependence upon location and time of performing work assignments • the majority (41%) cannot define whether there are some other conditions of physical type neither if there is a need for specific type of sense (53%) or kinetic requirements • the majority has a holistic approach (79%), but depending on the type of work they are willing to apply analytical approach (63%) while when making decisions most of them (82%) use combined approach.

17. Conclusion • Nature of work specifies the way of performing business activities. • An individual assigns to the mode of performing a business certain attributes that give it a specific shape – style. • The style depends upon the complexity of work since opportunities for expressing a personality grow together with its complexity. • Development of technique and technology enables liberation of automation of businesses activity. • Technique and technology create new possibilities and demand a definition of new profession. • The circumstancies ask for adjustments of educational system - Lifelong Education. • This research has been oriented toward individual and defining his/her style by neglecting the influence of a group • The future research in defining a working style and the influence of ICT can be conducted in that direction.

18. Just a minute….. Two different style of concentration

19. The end Thank you for your attention! Ivan Pogarčić pogarcic@veleri.hr Tatjana Šepić tatjanas@veleri.hr Sanja Raspor sraspor@veleri.hr The Polytechnic of Rijeka, Business Department 58 Vukovarska, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia www.veleri.hr +385 51 35 37 77