My story

I totally forgot we had to do one of these, so I am doing it last minute. I think this would be interesting for the class because it is an interesting article and has relevence to some of the group projects. It is about how internet addiction is really a serious problem and a real addiction and the steps that China is taking to help curb it: Boot camp!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/technology/18rehab.html?_r=1&ei=5070&en=bec9d55750b2ab68&ex=1196139600&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=eta1&adxnnlx=1197328289-1JLv+6QACrMD7mdrhQW2ng

Final Update

Final update:

I have decided to go on the path towards how outsourcing is not a good thing for the people whose jobs are being outsourced. Outsourcing can be good for the company, maybe even create some new jobs, but these jobs are not necessarily as good as the jobs being lost. And they are not necessarily for the people who have lost their jobs.

I have found a few more sources that helped me to explain a few things a little better and helped me to understand what exactly goes on so that I could explain it better in my paper.

more update

Some of the feedback on my poster was helpful. It is helping me to direct my research. I am going to look for more articles on the pro-outsourcing side to help balance it. Some people suggested to take a side, but I don't know if I will do that. I just want to take it as it is. I am also going to look more into insource outsourcing, regarding people from out of the country coming into the country which also displaces Americans out of the job.

So far my research is leading me to believe that the proportion of jobs leaving the country outweighs the amount of jobs being created. Also the jobs being created are not necessarily even the same caliber as those that have left. It seems that there are some people benefit, but it is not my target group.

It was also suggested that I narrow it to a specific job. I might do that, but I will have to do more research before I make that decision final. Also a lot of questions were brought up about the effects on the economy outsourcing has, but I am not interested in researching that part.

I also received some examples that I am going to look into further, such as tech phone support and IBM.

Expert Interview

For my expert interview, I chose Dr. Weber. She was a teacher of mine in highschool, and she actually introduced me to the topic of outsourcing initially through her course on Cultural Anthropology/Globalization. And it is funny because I have done one expert interview before, and it was for her class. She was proud to know that what she had taught me stuck with me and really did help out in the long run.

Before talking about outsourcing, I wondered about her research habits. She went to Tanzania with her husband on a mission trip and used to talk about enthographies alot, so I was interested in her research methods. She pretty much researches the same way anybody else would... She would start with the most general key terms and narrow down her search as she goes along. She then would find sources and check their credibility before actually reading the article. She then would take down the citation of the source and put a little blurb as to what it contains. This also helps in citations aftewards, which is extremely important. To her, research is important but she knows that it can be tedious and exhausting!

Hearing the word "outsourcing," she instantly recommended Thomas Friedman, who is apparently one of her favorite authors. Some of her recommended books by him are The World is Flat and The Lexus and The Olive Tree.

She sees that outsourcing and globalization are closely interconnected. She says that technology enables globalization, enabling different countries to connect. This connection and technology therefore enables outsourcing.

Because my focus is white collar outsourcing, we put aside the subject of outsourcing manual blue-collar labor to sweatshops. That is an entirely different subject, and she wants it to be clear that her views of that and white collar outsourcing are entirely separate.

She views outsourcing of white collar jobs as a "leveling of the playing field." For example, countries such as the United States have been on top for so long, but now 2nd world countries like India are on the rise and are being able to have the same opportunities as us. She likes the idea of everybody being able to have the same starting point. A lot of great things can happen, many new inventions and discoveries, if everybody has the same opportunity and chance to become all that they can be. While white-collar outsourcing does not affect all countries, it is at least giving some countries a lift. She does not look out for just my target group, but at the world as a whole.

As for my target group, she believes that outsourcing is an innovating phenomenon. Some jobs are being sent overseas, and now us Americans have our hands free to move onto other things, even better things.

She sees a lot of good in outsourcing, but of course acknolwedges the bad. Nothing is black and white, there is always going to be gray. She thinks that some things are inevitable. And irreversible. Like the technological groundwork that enables outsourcing (the miles and miles and miles and miles of fiberoptic networks) would be impossible to take back, outsouring is not something that can be stopped. It is now a way of business and economic opportunity. To halt it would be disastrous.
She takes the stand of if you can't change it, accept it, and maybe make it better. She then made the statement, "The train is going whether you're on it or not... So you've gotta either get on or get left at the station... your choice."

I learned alot from listening to Dr. Weber. To me, she seems like a very viable source of information and she doesn't seem to have any reason to be biased. I will definitely look in to her recommendations of readings and give more thought to her words.

We also talked about my reasons for choosing this topic (was interesting to me as well as relevent because I was worried that I would not find a job if I majored in anything to do with technolgy). She advised that I not worry about that, that I should do what I want to do and what I find that is interesting. It will work out in the end, and don't limit myself. Just because some jobs are getting shipped off, doesn't mean all of them are. And by the time I graduate there will probably be something new and exciting created because of off-shoring that I will love.

bi weekly

After completing my annotated bibliography, I think am going to change my target group from informational science to information technology. There is more to choose from with this new target group. It was too hard to find relevant articles on Info Sciences.
I also have reached the frustrated stage. There are a few articles that are exactly what I would like, but there are so many with only a little bit of what I need.
Also, while I am not having to hard of a time finding sources that are against outsourcing because of its effects on my target group, I am having difficulty finding articles that are for it that aren't from managerial points of view.

update

I think things are coming along nicely... I am still trying to sort of redefine my target group so that I can get more relevent information.

Questions

Questions drawn from 2 & 3:
What jobs are being taken away?
At what rate?
What jobs are being created?
At what rate?
Even if there are a plethora of jobs still when I graduate, in 15 years when I have worked my way to where I will be and am comfortable, will my job be at risk of going to India, leaving me with nothing?
How am I going to be able to figure out the answers to that question?
What can be done in order to prevent job loss in the United States?
What exactly are the effects on the community that are getting their jobs taken away?
What kind of policies can be determined in order to decrease the flow of jobs overseas if it is too hight?
What would that do to the economy?
What would that do for the job holders?
What would happen if the flow didn't decrease but increased?

1,2,3

1- lead in statement:
Outsourcing jobs has a huge impact on the American community with jobs related to informational sciences or technology.
2- Why this topic is "a problem or issue, that is, a conflict or something unsettled, perplexing, vexing, distressful, and in the need of investigation"
It is in need of investigation because while outsourcing does make money for businesses, it also takes away jobs from workers who have worked hard to get to where they are... But apparently it creates new ones too?
3- justifications for further inquisition (if you have the answers to (#2), answer “so what?”).
So looking into this would help me decide if it would be wise to choose a major in these fields or ones similar if I am wanting job security for when I graduate.

Search Log

I went to see the reference librarian the other day... The one at Davis did not help me at all but the one in the UL was pretty helpful. She told me a little about what she knew about outsourcing, and also gave me some different search terms that I could possibly use to find more specific articles.

Class Time

In my research, I found that there is not a lot of sources on Informational Sciences... i narrowed it too much. I think I might have to choose a different major to research because Info Sciences is relatively new and the career path is not solid. I found that the most vulnerable jobs are in majors that can be related to Informational Sciences. So for now, I am going to focus on majors related to computer services.
I've found useful articles that say outsourcing is good for my target group, and well as articles that say outsourcing is bad for my target group.
I have come across a lot of articles that are useless, but I have also come across some articles that will really help my research.

Final Prospectus

Outsourcing jobs has become increasingly popular and easier due to technology. The outsourcing of jobs is when a job is sent overseas. Sometimes it is referred to as off-shoring. The reason for out-sourcing is that workers in poor countries offer cheaper labor than do workers in more advanced countries. This is said to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. But what about the people in between? What does outsourcing mean for the middle-class, working Americans that are losing their jobs because it is being transferred to some other country to somebody who will do it for less money? More specifically, how is this going to affect this middle class generation’s job future?

I would like to research the trends and patterns of outsourcing, and determine that if it continues like it is for the next few years, what will the job outlook be for me when I graduate around the year 2010 if I choose a major within the field of Informational Sciences? What is the ultimate affect of outsourcing on the American community with jobs related to informational sciences?

Updated Prospectus

Outsourcing jobs has become increasingly popular and easier due to technology. The outsourcing of jobs is when a job is sent overseas. Sometimes it is referred to as off-shoring. The reason for out-sourcing is that workers in poor countries offer cheaper labor than do workers in more advanced countries. What does outsourcing mean for Americans that are losing their jobs because it is being transferred to some other country to somebody who will do it for less money? What does it mean for the people who are receiving the job for smaller wages? How much is this widening the gap between the rich and poor? What are the pluses and minuses of outsourcing? More specifically, how is this going to affect this generation’s job future?

I would like to research the trends and patterns of outsourcing, and determine that if it continues like it is for the next few years, what will the job outlook for 2010 be for college students graduating from a school like Carolina?

Class Exercise 1

Topic Area:

• Outsourcing

Primary Research Question:

• How much will outsourcing affect my generation in our job search when we graduate from college?

Sub questions:

1. What kinds of jobs will be affected the most?
2. What does the answer to all of this mean?

Physical actions:

• Typing keywords into a computer
• Reading the information given back to me
• Saving the information that I thought was relevant

Affective

• Studious
• Frustrated
• Confused
  
• Satisfied

Cognitive

• I thought about how I can narrow my search even more
• What keywords would turn up the best results
• Is this 15 pg article worth reading

Kulthau's Theory

Kulthau's theory pretty much describes the process that I am experiencing. I picked outsourcing as my general topic, and then as stage 1 (Initiation) says, I realized that I really didn't have a lot of information about it and wondered if I made a bad choice in picking outsourcing. I couldn't figure out where I wanted to actually go with it, but then I finally chose to focus on the effects it will have on my generation in America. After finally narrowing it down, I felt relieved, and as stage 2 (selection) says, I felt optimistic and excited to begin researching. I am currently in stage 3 (Exploration), and am feeling the uncertainties it describes. I am coming across so much information that is useless and also confusing. I haven't come across he last three stages (formulation, collection, and presentation)in this project yet, but from previous experiences, I feel that Kulthau really understands what goes through most peoples' minds when they are researching.

My current information need is pretty much the same as in the last blog I posted. According to Kulthau, in order to fill my information need at this stage, I need to "locate information about the general topic, read to become informed, and relate new information to what is already known." Essentially, I am going to have to dig into the researching part of the assignment.

Current info need

I know the reasons for outsourcing jobs. I know the obvious consequences of outsourcing (people losing thier jobs in America and people in other countries doing them for poor wages in poor conditions). Outsourcing has been around for a while now, so I might need to look into articles that tell me the trends of outsourcing that will help me to be able to make a hypothesis of how our generation's outlook on jobs will be if the trend continues.
I also should look into more specific jobs that are being affected the most by outsourcing. I think that I will be able to find enough reliable sources on this topic because it is an ongoing issue and was more talked about in previous years. I have come across a few articles already on this topic which is how I was introduced to it. I have an idea of somebody I would be able to interview about it as well.

Prospectus

Outsourcing jobs has become increasingly popular and easier due to technology. The outsourcing of jobs is when a job is sent overseas. The reason for this is that workers in poor countries offer cheaper labor than do workers in more advanced countries.
What does outsourcing mean for Americans that are losing their jobs because it is being transferred to some other country to somebody who will do it for less money? What does it mean for the people who are receiving the job for smaller wages? More specifically, how is this going to affect this generation's job future?