Technoligical Inequality

While researching the topic of this assignment, I came across an article that was very relevant to our class discussions and the overall theme of this class. This article explained the trends of homeowners owning a computer with Internet access. It concluded that the percent of families owning a computer and utilizing the Internet increases as the households income increased, and that income was the main reason why a family would or would not own a computer. The authors also discovered that African Americans and Hispanics still owned less computers than Caucasians, even if they were making the same amount of money. They explain that this may be due to the fact that Whites have a higher percentage of high school and college graduates than African Americans and Hispanics. In other words, just because one can afford the Internet doesn't mean they have the proper education to know how to use it. The article then goes on to talk about a program called "Computers for Youth" based out of New York, which basically gives out computers and educates inner-city students and faculty about how to use them. This is a very good way to increase the knowledge and use of the Internet, but there is still going to be a lot of work to do before inequality does not exist among everyone who should have a computer, no matter what their race or income is.

http://www.usca.edu/essays/vol112004/kleiman.pdf

Health Technology

The article I was reviewing dealt with expanding health information technology in hospitals. It was not only focused on the large complex hospitals, but also on the smaller local hospitals. The basis of my article was that hospitals were adding computerized technology to decrease the risk of error and provide better care to the patients. Things like computerized physician order entry, computerized decision support systems and barcoding for medication administration were all being introduced into the hospitals to improve the quality of care. Not only did they believe that these new systems would improve care, they also thought that the efficiency of the hospital would increase. Today it is certain that we are living in a technological based society. Everything is run on technology now, but 50 years ago it was not. Thinking about all of these computer based programs being introduced into the hospitals you have to wondering if the elderly people are going to be able to figure them out. Young adults have been around computers for long enough that they know the basic functions of them. Older adults, or people without access to computers are not going to be as competent with the computer systems and they are going to struggle. So are these technologies really improving efficiency? For many people YES but for many others NO.

I compared New York City and Chappaqua, both located in New York. The differences I found were the the city of New York has a service population of 3,313, 573 and has 5 buroughs with 1 central library throughout them. The library has a circulation of 15,710, 007. Chappaqua is almost all white in population 91% and New York has 44.1% white members. The economic status of Chappaqua is generally speaking, higher than New York which explains the difference in race and visitors.

Cell Phone Rings Annoy

I read an article on regarding cell phone usage (cnn) that piqued my interest as it was in regard to cell phone rings, an all so common topic in today's modern society. In the beginning of the article there is controversy on whether or not ringtones are appropriate depending on the location-- one woman in Virginia had "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" as her ringtone and it went off at her wedding rehearsal dinner, causing upheaval and mistrust among the groom and his family. The article also discusses how the older generations (that don't necessarily understand how to customize ringtones or retrieve them) are allowing their younger counterparts to customize and set their phones to ringtones of their choice. When the phone goes off, a message is sent (regarding the political and message of the song choice) to the outside world that the older member of society who has an unequal view of technology might not have chosen, might not approve of, and might not know how to remove. Lasty, the article talks about the million dollar industry that is being created  as people are intrigued by this "new" feature and constantly purchase. People that can not spend money on rent, per se, are therefore buying  on average, about 10 ringtones, at about $2.99 a piece. It add's up. Money is being wasted on a fleeting trend that people may not know how to use, may not know is hurtful to their image and may not be able to remove.

Last Thursday's lecture/assignment!

Hey guys! I don't see anything new on Learn@UW and didn't get an email from the professor about Thursday's lecture or assignment. Did we have a lecture or assignment to go over? Let me know! Thanks! -Julie

That Digital Divide, Bridged in a Classroom

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/jobs/30training.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=Digital%20Divides%20in%20technology&st=cse


This article discusses the challenges of computer and technology use that older generations face while trying to advance in their careers. Today, many people are having to find second jobs or coming out of retirement in order to make ends meet. However, with a statistic of "computer use among adults 65 and older ...[at] 38 percent" finding suitable jobs can be really difficult. Luckily, many colleges and communities are offering computer classes for those who need them. Personally, I have noticed a divide in the use of computers in my family. My dad is not as familiar with computer programs, typing on a keyboard and using the internet as the rest of the family.But because he's the one who takes care of most of the finances and taxes, it takes him a little more time to do those things online, than it would if he was more familiar with the technology. I think that this often happens, and in some situations, people may avoid computer use all together because of their frustrations. This problem could expand to not just age, like the article discusses, but possibly race, ethnicity, and economic standing as well. Which in turn would create even more divides between all of these groups of people.

Technical college difficulties

This article describes the recent influx of students into the Wisconsin Technical College system. These students consist mostly of middle aged adults who have been laid off from their jobs because of the recent economic downturn. The students are seeking to re-educate themselves and gain a new career. Because these students have not been in school for a while, they often lack fundamental skills such as math and computer skills. Willingness to learn may seem to lessen the technology gap, but the economy may put learning to a stand still. Technical colleges receive much of their funding from state programs and property taxes. With the state budget in deficit, the schools aren't getting the funding they need. Likewise teachers and supplies are in high demand and low supply. Though citizens are willing to learn new technology, the state is unable provide.

read article here