Video Reflection
15 years ago
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Video Reflection
Our group went through several ideas and finally decided to highlight the differences in access between a student and the general population. This allowed us to compare our personal access to the rest of the world, which helped me better appreciate how significant differences in access are. What we realized is that a short time without internet access for us seems catastrophic but is minor when compared with the many people who have no home access at all and may have trouble getting transportation to CTC’s. The largest divide students see on campus is the divide between students who have computers and high-speed internet access and students who do not have a computer at all but can rent one from the library or use a workstation anytime. Although this divide may seem significant to us, it is minor compared to the real digital divide. This project forced us to think about the divides we see personally and then look at the bigger picture. Otherwise it is hard to appreciate the significance of the digital divide when our exposure to it as students is so limited.
Legacy
For those of you who need a refresher on the movie Legacy there is a great link that does a good job of displaying themes and summary of the documentary. The link is this: http://www.pbs.org/legacy/documentary/index.html
Check it out before the final it may help
Check it out before the final it may help
Chatman
How did Elfreda Chatman’s theories about Information Poverty and Life in the Round match the experiences of the Collins family in the documentary Legacy?
1)The information poor perceive themselves to be devoid of any sources that might help them
This is obviously true with the legacy video, the mother of the family felt that the welfare ppl were uncooperative and refused to helpp her the way they promised that they would. A big difference was that the daughter, (nikki?) knew that there were ppl that are willing to help them (schoalrships) and went to her mentor to get it.
2)Information poverty is partially associated with class distinction
The Collins family obviously didnt have much information and thus can be seen whent hey went to other ppl for help on alot of basic things.
3) Information poverty is determined by self-protective behaviors, which are used in response to social norms
Because the mother didnt want to seem ignorant and worthless, she didnt really stick with those information sessions and job offers.
4) Both secrecy and deception are self-protecting mechanisms due to a sense of mistrust regarding the interest or ability of others to provide useful information
> well i cant really think of anyhting in legacy that relates to this point but its definitely a good point which we are aware of in real life - we often ask - why is this person being soo nice/.?
5) A decision to risk exposure about our true feelings is often not taken due to perception that negative consequences outweigh benefits
Again, this can be related to the mother not going through fully with school.
6) New knowledge will be selectively introduced into the information world of poor people. A condition that influences this process is the relevance of that information in response to everyday problems and concerns.
Sholarship information with Nikki.
1)The information poor perceive themselves to be devoid of any sources that might help them
This is obviously true with the legacy video, the mother of the family felt that the welfare ppl were uncooperative and refused to helpp her the way they promised that they would. A big difference was that the daughter, (nikki?) knew that there were ppl that are willing to help them (schoalrships) and went to her mentor to get it.
2)Information poverty is partially associated with class distinction
The Collins family obviously didnt have much information and thus can be seen whent hey went to other ppl for help on alot of basic things.
3) Information poverty is determined by self-protective behaviors, which are used in response to social norms
Because the mother didnt want to seem ignorant and worthless, she didnt really stick with those information sessions and job offers.
4) Both secrecy and deception are self-protecting mechanisms due to a sense of mistrust regarding the interest or ability of others to provide useful information
> well i cant really think of anyhting in legacy that relates to this point but its definitely a good point which we are aware of in real life - we often ask - why is this person being soo nice/.?
5) A decision to risk exposure about our true feelings is often not taken due to perception that negative consequences outweigh benefits
Again, this can be related to the mother not going through fully with school.
6) New knowledge will be selectively introduced into the information world of poor people. A condition that influences this process is the relevance of that information in response to everyday problems and concerns.
Sholarship information with Nikki.
Toward a New Agenda- group 4
"Toward A New Agenda" in Bridging the digital divide: Technology, community and public policy
1.) Providing a summary/ 6. Relating your article to the larger themes from the class
Toward a new agenda focused on two arguments. First in order to further the CT movement information concerning limitations of technology needs to be analyzed. Secondly, in order to achieve bridging broad social goals coordination is needed between CBOs, CTC, the government and new key actors. The article begins by explaining the current situation; currently, ITs offer "freedom, flexibility, and opportunity primarily to already powerful groups". Technology is currently not being used properly as a tool is it is not supported and thus aggravates inequalities and the digital divide. To achieve the goals outlined in the article the article suggests focusing on youth. This may not have immediate benefits but has positive long term effects. This plan will erode "existing inequalities in the span of one generation". A second suggestion is to integrate the government with key actors. To further governmental support thus creating incentives for collaboration between schools and CTCs. Libraries are the current leaders in in the communuity technology movement, due to available resources. Libraries have a existing infrastructure, staff, training in information science and advanced skills. The main emphasis of the article is to create partnerships between existing resources and further government support. This will be achievable through a "new generation of policy efforts characterized by greater integration"... "and a willingness to change".
2.) Defining key terms
"Digital Exile" : one of five categories individuals are grouped into concerning technology in the workplace. It is the extreme or the wrong side of the digital divide.
"Power Users": Also one of five categories individuals are grouped into concerning technology in the workplace (an It savvy category). this is the opposite of the digital exile, these individuals have all types of access and use technology for analysis
"Tech-fix": Describes the myth that technology is primarily a problem solver
"social leveler": the ability to erode the relative power of all kinds of hierarchies structured on the control of information.
3.) Analyzing potentially weak points in the author’s argument
The Article gave suggestions on how to advance the community technology movement but failed to mention why their ideas were thought to work. The article gave suggestion after suggestion, ranging from government intervention to partnerships but never gave a reason for why their suggestion was thought to be correct. Support of their ideas from previous analysis or experiments was never given.
4.) Comparing your article to our past readings
Past articles have discussed CTCs and their importance in bridging the digital divide. Toward a new agenda critiques the role CTCs are playing. This article suggests not enough collaboration with other organizations with the main goal of education, training, and bridging the digital divide.
1.) Providing a summary/ 6. Relating your article to the larger themes from the class
Toward a new agenda focused on two arguments. First in order to further the CT movement information concerning limitations of technology needs to be analyzed. Secondly, in order to achieve bridging broad social goals coordination is needed between CBOs, CTC, the government and new key actors. The article begins by explaining the current situation; currently, ITs offer "freedom, flexibility, and opportunity primarily to already powerful groups". Technology is currently not being used properly as a tool is it is not supported and thus aggravates inequalities and the digital divide. To achieve the goals outlined in the article the article suggests focusing on youth. This may not have immediate benefits but has positive long term effects. This plan will erode "existing inequalities in the span of one generation". A second suggestion is to integrate the government with key actors. To further governmental support thus creating incentives for collaboration between schools and CTCs. Libraries are the current leaders in in the communuity technology movement, due to available resources. Libraries have a existing infrastructure, staff, training in information science and advanced skills. The main emphasis of the article is to create partnerships between existing resources and further government support. This will be achievable through a "new generation of policy efforts characterized by greater integration"... "and a willingness to change".
2.) Defining key terms
"Digital Exile" : one of five categories individuals are grouped into concerning technology in the workplace. It is the extreme or the wrong side of the digital divide.
"Power Users": Also one of five categories individuals are grouped into concerning technology in the workplace (an It savvy category). this is the opposite of the digital exile, these individuals have all types of access and use technology for analysis
"Tech-fix": Describes the myth that technology is primarily a problem solver
"social leveler": the ability to erode the relative power of all kinds of hierarchies structured on the control of information.
3.) Analyzing potentially weak points in the author’s argument
The Article gave suggestions on how to advance the community technology movement but failed to mention why their ideas were thought to work. The article gave suggestion after suggestion, ranging from government intervention to partnerships but never gave a reason for why their suggestion was thought to be correct. Support of their ideas from previous analysis or experiments was never given.
4.) Comparing your article to our past readings
Past articles have discussed CTCs and their importance in bridging the digital divide. Toward a new agenda critiques the role CTCs are playing. This article suggests not enough collaboration with other organizations with the main goal of education, training, and bridging the digital divide.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
"Understanding Digital Inequality"-Key Terms
Digital Inequality- "inequality in the access and use of information and communication technologies" (pg 98).
Socio-economic Inequality- "associated with differential behavioral patterns in such fields as sociology, marketing, health psychology, and child development. Socio-economic status essentially brings out a synergy of social and economic forces that derive from assets internal to individuals and resources contained in their surrounding environments" (pg. 99).
User Acceptance- term used to "represent individuals' continuance usage intention of the sponsored technology" (pg 98). User acceptance is important in that "government initiatives to implement ICT (information and communication technologies) will not alter the state of digital inequality unless there is continued usage." In other words, closing the digital divide is not possible by simply providing access, users must be willing to continue to use the technology even after they are provided with material access.
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)- "suggests that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control will influence the individual's behavioral intention, which will in turn determine the individual's behavior. Unlike other theories that have been applied to examine ICT acceptance, TPB captures information about social and behavioral control factors" (pg 99).
Personal Network Exposure- "represents the cumulative proportion of adopters in one's personal network" (pg 104). This research tool is used to measure how behaviors of one's personal network influences ICT use.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Comparing "Understanding Digital Inequality"
This article overlaps quite a bit with van Dijk’s article, in which he discusses the four barriers to access. The “Understanding Digital Inequality” article states early on that “most governmental digital inequality initiatives have emphasized technology access,” and later states, “disadvantaged individuals still need to deal with psychological and material barriers.” Van Dijk would agree that more than just “material access” needs to be addressed and that “mental access” is an equally important barrier. According to the reading, lack of confidence “is one of the most important factors deterring the disadvantaged from accessing and using ICT.” The article also states that “technological complexity” or hard-to-use software is a significant barrier and that programs to increase ICT usage require “significant social support,” which van Dijk would call “skill access,” which is “caused by insufficient user-friendliness and inadequate education or social support.” Finally, the article claims that a higher education level enables the advantaged to “more readily access and comprehend information signals related to ICT innovations.” This is comparable to van Dijk’s instrumental (ability to operate the equipment), informational (ability to search or literacy), and strategic (using information for a purpose) digital skills. A more educated user is more likely to possess these skills or obtain them easily.
The articles we read early on stressed the importance of understanding a community to have the most relevant library services possible so that resources would not be wasted. This was particularly stressed in the “Branch Libraries” article, which explained the steps Chicago had taken to match services to the community. The “Understanding Digital Inequality” article emphasizes this too. “Unsuccessful projects results in a waste of valuable resources, which could discourage the government, residents, and other stakeholders from orchestrating similar initiatives in the future.” Therefore, like earlier articles have suggested it is necessary to “replace the typical generic policy that treats everyone as the same.” These articles also point out that when government takes on a large project to improve the lives of its citizens, it is showing that it takes the community seriously. In other words, building ICT’s shows that the “government is committed to their interests.” The article also encourages “partnerships between government and the private sector,” which is largely emphasized in the “Learning from Seattle” articles.
One of the findings of this article is that less educated people tend to use ICT’s for entertainment. This is consistent with the “Public Internet Access for Young Children in the Inner City” article’s findings. However, neither of the articles discourages this kind of behavior. Instead, the reading states that “recreational use of various kinds of technologies can have educational value.” It suggests that ICT’s should “infuse an educational element into such services so that the disadvantaged can develop useful skills, rather than just enjoying the technology.” Instead of discouraging play altogether, education should be mixed into ICT’s.
The articles we read early on stressed the importance of understanding a community to have the most relevant library services possible so that resources would not be wasted. This was particularly stressed in the “Branch Libraries” article, which explained the steps Chicago had taken to match services to the community. The “Understanding Digital Inequality” article emphasizes this too. “Unsuccessful projects results in a waste of valuable resources, which could discourage the government, residents, and other stakeholders from orchestrating similar initiatives in the future.” Therefore, like earlier articles have suggested it is necessary to “replace the typical generic policy that treats everyone as the same.” These articles also point out that when government takes on a large project to improve the lives of its citizens, it is showing that it takes the community seriously. In other words, building ICT’s shows that the “government is committed to their interests.” The article also encourages “partnerships between government and the private sector,” which is largely emphasized in the “Learning from Seattle” articles.
One of the findings of this article is that less educated people tend to use ICT’s for entertainment. This is consistent with the “Public Internet Access for Young Children in the Inner City” article’s findings. However, neither of the articles discourages this kind of behavior. Instead, the reading states that “recreational use of various kinds of technologies can have educational value.” It suggests that ICT’s should “infuse an educational element into such services so that the disadvantaged can develop useful skills, rather than just enjoying the technology.” Instead of discouraging play altogether, education should be mixed into ICT’s.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Group 3-comparing the article to larger class themes
Servon. Building the Bridge: Learning from Seattle.
This article relates to many larger themes discussed that we discussed throughout the entire semester. It provides an excellent example of narrowing the digital divide, various organizations and the city working together to solve problems with technology and improve IT problems as well.
Seattle's attempt to deal with the technology gap earlier than most cities relates to various attempts to close the digital divide that we have discussed. Seattle has attempted to address the major challenges of the digital divide by improving access, closing minority technology gaps, and continues to provide more CLCs and to address education issues. Instead of being content with digital inclusion, as other articles have suggested, Seattle is continuing its quest to minimize the digital divide by setting the goal of technological literacy for all of its residents.
Seattle has created a strong emphasis on various organizations and the city working together to make improve technology for everyone within the city. The city created the Citizens’ Telecommunication and Technology Board to help solve problems with access, income, education, and connectivity. The city also has a planner to help set goals the city hopes to achieve by narrowing the digital divide. Seattle works with HUD to help create more CTC is needed areas and to keep them running efficiently. Bellevue, a local community college provides IT training to all of Seattle’s residents and works closely with technology companies to improve education and access. The city has created IT tools that work toward their planned goals and promote better technology to all within the city. The community technology planner has created the ability to work across all local government departments to benefit the residents within the city.
The city of Seattle has attempted to minimize their digital divide by working together and not accepting what they have already accomplished as "good enough". As a result, more minorities are moving across the digital divide, people dealing with educational issues are able to get training and become skilled, low income residents are able to access CTC centers without the fear of transportation difficulties, and things will continue to improve as long as they stay on track with their goals. I think this article represents a great attempt to solve all the problems that cause the digital divide.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Review: Group 4, Key Terms "Toward a New Agenda"
~ Community Technology (CT) Movement: this movement is one in response to the larger socioeconomic transformation that has created our current informational society; uses locally based institutions and programs that act to enlighten and teach about advances in information and computer technology, engage citizens in civil society, and encourage disadvantaged groups to seek the new opportunities presented through the use of new technology
~ IT: "information technology"; IT provides better potential in creating a more economically and socially just society (221); "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware" (Wikipedia); more often than not, IT offers freedom, flexibility, and opportunity to already tech. powerful demographics
~ "digital exile" vs. "power user": these terms refer to the opposite ends of the IT skill spectrum; those with little to no experience of skill with IT and other digital resources are considered to be excluded or "exiled", while those considered "power users" represent the technologically savvy and more experienced users; according to the article, "women and people of color were disproportionately represented in the least IT-savvy categories" (222)
- "low-order task": refers to computer usage such as word processing
- "high-order task": computer usage such as analyzing information and design
~ CTC: fairly obvious since we have mentioned them all semester; "Community Technology Centers";
primary goal is to bring technology to under-served communities, however unlikely to create a largely significant
dent in the digital divide ; key to social bridging capital
~ CBO: "Community-building Organizations" / "Community Based Organizations"; voluntary, civil society
non-profit organizations ; aid in areas of community services and action, health services, educational services,
personal growth and improvement services, and self-help and social welfare groups
- partnerships between CTCs and CBOs are imperative to the growth and success of the Community
Technology Movement
~ "tech-fix": coined by Weinberg in 1966, this term was used to describe the myth that technology is primarily
a problem solver ; in some cases, IT has the ability to aggravate certain spacial and socioeconomic inequalities,
however, with the correct implementation of policies and reform, IT would most definitely lessen the digital divide
Group 2 Video Response/Reflection
our video attempted to put into perspective some of the topics we discussed in class into a context that was much closer to home. I think that often in discussing the digital divide we often make sweeping statements about who is included vs those who are not. The digital divide itself is a fairly generalized and sweeping statement encompassing all parts of access to technology and its uses in our world today. Therefore showing the wealth of opportunities for individuals on our campus we attempted to show that although there are differences in students connection with technology (since they come from diverse backgrounds) that still the campus community is extremely well connected and at the leading edge of the technological revolution. With this privileged spot any small disruption in connection or access seems huge, a seeming digital divide. However this break in connection doesn't suddenly transport us across the digital divide. Here at the university there are so many opportunities that it turns out to be not a problem at all when looked at from a wider lens. By detailing the opportunities for students we attempted to further highlight the stark differences that truly make up a divide in our society in technological access.
All in all I felt that we were relatively successful in communicating this message in such a short time. A more stark contrast could be made if the video continued on to highlight another community which did not have such a comprehensive network of opportunity and access to back them up. By showing these two groups in comparison I think that our message of students privilege would be further fleshed out.
The group worked well to get the filming and editing done. Ideas in the early stages were difficult to form into a cohesive yet time sensitive narrative. It was this portion of the project that was most difficult for our group. By picking a specific area of the narrative though we were able to give in depth look at the student population rather than touching upon a host of ideas without any context or depth.
In the end there were somethings that could have changed or been done differently but i think we were successful in this assignment.
All in all I felt that we were relatively successful in communicating this message in such a short time. A more stark contrast could be made if the video continued on to highlight another community which did not have such a comprehensive network of opportunity and access to back them up. By showing these two groups in comparison I think that our message of students privilege would be further fleshed out.
The group worked well to get the filming and editing done. Ideas in the early stages were difficult to form into a cohesive yet time sensitive narrative. It was this portion of the project that was most difficult for our group. By picking a specific area of the narrative though we were able to give in depth look at the student population rather than touching upon a host of ideas without any context or depth.
In the end there were somethings that could have changed or been done differently but i think we were successful in this assignment.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Video Project - Self Reflection
For the video project, I showed up to the meeting to film about our topic which was about 3rd places and their usefulness. I also edited our video content, providing a relatively coherent video with entertainment to keep the audience's attention to the topic, and editing a video takes a deceivingly large amount of time :(
What I learned from making the video was the experience of actually being in a third place and knowing about how it fits into our society. We took the experience of learning about third places in the classroom to actually experiencing what they have to offer and we were able to capture that on video. Hence, I think I was able to appreciate how third places like Starbucks integrate into our society after taking this class, and not being as ignorant about such locations anymore.
What I learned from making the video was the experience of actually being in a third place and knowing about how it fits into our society. We took the experience of learning about third places in the classroom to actually experiencing what they have to offer and we were able to capture that on video. Hence, I think I was able to appreciate how third places like Starbucks integrate into our society after taking this class, and not being as ignorant about such locations anymore.
Learning from Seattle - Condensed Summary
Group 3 - Seattle Summary
Summary
Seattle has attempted to become a Technology literate city. It has better than average access rates to multiple technology sites. IT can play a crucial role in providing access to information to the residents of Seattle, ensuring a more democratic system where the public is informed, thus a better quality of life. Seattle matches the conception that the majority of people who lack access tend to be older, low-income, low education, and African American or Latino. In order to reach out to these citizens, the city has established public work stations, and through those have provided internet access as well. Organizations such as The Citizens’ Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board and The Technology Matching Fund were created to encourage and promote affordable access to and use of telecommunications and technology; advocate, solicit, and facilitate citizen participation in telecommunications and technology decision making; and the Matching Fund has provided money to initiate CTCs, however there is no continuing support. Basically the article keeps talking about the initiatives that Seattle has taken to become a technology literate city. Although it has not completely accomplished its goals, the city of Seattle is well on its way to providing access to the internet to its citizens and is an idealistic role model for other cities to follow.
Summary
Seattle has attempted to become a Technology literate city. It has better than average access rates to multiple technology sites. IT can play a crucial role in providing access to information to the residents of Seattle, ensuring a more democratic system where the public is informed, thus a better quality of life. Seattle matches the conception that the majority of people who lack access tend to be older, low-income, low education, and African American or Latino. In order to reach out to these citizens, the city has established public work stations, and through those have provided internet access as well. Organizations such as The Citizens’ Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board and The Technology Matching Fund were created to encourage and promote affordable access to and use of telecommunications and technology; advocate, solicit, and facilitate citizen participation in telecommunications and technology decision making; and the Matching Fund has provided money to initiate CTCs, however there is no continuing support. Basically the article keeps talking about the initiatives that Seattle has taken to become a technology literate city. Although it has not completely accomplished its goals, the city of Seattle is well on its way to providing access to the internet to its citizens and is an idealistic role model for other cities to follow.
Group 3
Building the Bridge: Learning from Seattle in Bridging the digital divide: Technology, community and public policy. , Servon,L. J. . Oxford: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated, 2002
Key terms:
Seattle Public Access Network (PAN)-serves as an electronic city hall that allows citizens to obtain city information and services electronically and to communicate with city officials.
Citizens' Telecommunication and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB)-makes recommendations to the mayor and city council on issues of about telecommunications and technology
Citizens' Literacy and Accesss Fund-established by the city to decrease the digital divide. They developed a fiber map detailed with infrastructure investement in the state relating to the digital divide.
CLC-Computer Learning Center-similar to a CTC
Technology Matching Center (TMC)-neighborhood and citywide organizations* that support/create citizen driven technology literacy and access projects.
Seattle Community Network (SCN)-one of the first technological community networks
*the major key term used was IT "Information Technology" and the various complications and attempted remedies to solve IT problems
Key terms:
Seattle Public Access Network (PAN)-serves as an electronic city hall that allows citizens to obtain city information and services electronically and to communicate with city officials.
Citizens' Telecommunication and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB)-makes recommendations to the mayor and city council on issues of about telecommunications and technology
Citizens' Literacy and Accesss Fund-established by the city to decrease the digital divide. They developed a fiber map detailed with infrastructure investement in the state relating to the digital divide.
CLC-Computer Learning Center-similar to a CTC
Technology Matching Center (TMC)-neighborhood and citywide organizations* that support/create citizen driven technology literacy and access projects.
Seattle Community Network (SCN)-one of the first technological community networks
*the major key term used was IT "Information Technology" and the various complications and attempted remedies to solve IT problems
Review
Jaeger, P. T., Bertot, J. C., McClure, C. R., & Langa, L. A. (2006). The policyimplications of Internet connectivity in public libraries Government InformationQuarterly 23(1): 123-141.
Key terms for the article:
Sufficient connectivity-high enough bandwidth
Broadband connectivity-the transmission speed in which data is transferred
Digital Inclusion-an alternative to the digital divide that focuses on how many people ARE online
"Mission Accomplished" Prospective-viewing current levels of internet access as an accomplishment instead of working to increase the usage levels
E-Government Act of 2002-reinforcement of public libraries providing citizen access to e-government sites
Children's Internet Protection (CIPA)-requires a library to filter Internet access in the library so that children are protected from potentially harmful material
Key terms for the article:
Sufficient connectivity-high enough bandwidth
Broadband connectivity-the transmission speed in which data is transferred
Digital Inclusion-an alternative to the digital divide that focuses on how many people ARE online
"Mission Accomplished" Prospective-viewing current levels of internet access as an accomplishment instead of working to increase the usage levels
E-Government Act of 2002-reinforcement of public libraries providing citizen access to e-government sites
Children's Internet Protection (CIPA)-requires a library to filter Internet access in the library so that children are protected from potentially harmful material
Answers from Review Sheet
Jaeger, P. T., Bertot, J. C., McClure, C. R., & Langa, L. A. (2006). The policy
implications of Internet connectivity in public libraries Government Information
Quarterly 23(1): 123-141.
Jaeger et al. (2006) found that 99.6% of all public libraries provided Internet access on their
public terminals. However, there were still things related to that access that continued the
digital divide. What were the issues?
-Just having high connectivity is not the same as having sufficient connectivity (having high enough bandwidth) to adequately use the Internet services that are available and that meet patron needs.
-Libraries are having problems with the number of public access workstations available for use and that these workstations are not enough to meet demands.
-High-speed connectivity (bandwidth) is not evenly distributed across libraries.
-Patrons served by rural libraries have less access to workstations, non-filtered workstations, high-speed connectivity, and wireless Internet services for patron-owned computer use.
-Government has shifted its attention from digital divide to a focus on "digital inclusion". This focus has moved the policy in a direction from working to increase Internet usage among entire populations to viewing the current levels of access as an accomplishment. This is dangerous because it is accompanied by a reduction in the funds available for many programs.
Hsieh, J. J. Po-An; Rai, Arun; Keil, Mark. (2008). Understanding digital inequality:
Comparing continued use behavioral models of the socio-economically advantaged and
disadvantaged. MIS Quarterly, 32(1): 97-126.
How did computer use differ between disadvantaged (low-income) and advantaged (high-
income) groups in this study?
-pleasure and satisfaction derived from using a technology is more important for the disadvantaged
-utility obtained from using a technology is more critical for the advantaged
-advantaged are better educated and tend to have more access to and experience with ICT, and are therefore in a better position to appreciate it
-disadvantaged use ICT to escape into a virtual world and escape reality (to avoid life difficulties, gambling and substance abuse)
-governments devise initiatives to address digital inequality to help the disadvantaged gain access, use ICT, develop digital skills for work opportunities, and improve their quality of life
-advantaged use computers as personal network exposure
Week Fourteen: April 28 & 30 - Where do we go from here?
Servon, L. J. (2002). Chapter. 8 – Building the Bridge: Learning from Seattle. Bridging
the digital divide: Technology, community and public policy. Wiley, John & Sons,
Incorporated.
Which Seattle residents were less likely to have access to computers (page 201)? Compare
these statistics with the Collins family. How many of these characteristics did the Collins
family share?
-Residents less likely to have access tend to be older, low-income, low-education, and African American or Latino.
-The Collins share several of these characteristics. They are low-income, low-educated and are African American. They have inadequate housing, and seek for better education opportunities. They live in the part of the city that is considered the "inner-city" and the people who live there are very poor and predominatly black or brown. Also, the "inner-city" has a lack of material resources for the citizens.
implications of Internet connectivity in public libraries Government Information
Quarterly 23(1): 123-141.
Jaeger et al. (2006) found that 99.6% of all public libraries provided Internet access on their
public terminals. However, there were still things related to that access that continued the
digital divide. What were the issues?
-Just having high connectivity is not the same as having sufficient connectivity (having high enough bandwidth) to adequately use the Internet services that are available and that meet patron needs.
-Libraries are having problems with the number of public access workstations available for use and that these workstations are not enough to meet demands.
-High-speed connectivity (bandwidth) is not evenly distributed across libraries.
-Patrons served by rural libraries have less access to workstations, non-filtered workstations, high-speed connectivity, and wireless Internet services for patron-owned computer use.
-Government has shifted its attention from digital divide to a focus on "digital inclusion". This focus has moved the policy in a direction from working to increase Internet usage among entire populations to viewing the current levels of access as an accomplishment. This is dangerous because it is accompanied by a reduction in the funds available for many programs.
Hsieh, J. J. Po-An; Rai, Arun; Keil, Mark. (2008). Understanding digital inequality:
Comparing continued use behavioral models of the socio-economically advantaged and
disadvantaged. MIS Quarterly, 32(1): 97-126.
How did computer use differ between disadvantaged (low-income) and advantaged (high-
income) groups in this study?
-pleasure and satisfaction derived from using a technology is more important for the disadvantaged
-utility obtained from using a technology is more critical for the advantaged
-advantaged are better educated and tend to have more access to and experience with ICT, and are therefore in a better position to appreciate it
-disadvantaged use ICT to escape into a virtual world and escape reality (to avoid life difficulties, gambling and substance abuse)
-governments devise initiatives to address digital inequality to help the disadvantaged gain access, use ICT, develop digital skills for work opportunities, and improve their quality of life
-advantaged use computers as personal network exposure
Week Fourteen: April 28 & 30 - Where do we go from here?
Servon, L. J. (2002). Chapter. 8 – Building the Bridge: Learning from Seattle. Bridging
the digital divide: Technology, community and public policy. Wiley, John & Sons,
Incorporated.
Which Seattle residents were less likely to have access to computers (page 201)? Compare
these statistics with the Collins family. How many of these characteristics did the Collins
family share?
-Residents less likely to have access tend to be older, low-income, low-education, and African American or Latino.
-The Collins share several of these characteristics. They are low-income, low-educated and are African American. They have inadequate housing, and seek for better education opportunities. They live in the part of the city that is considered the "inner-city" and the people who live there are very poor and predominatly black or brown. Also, the "inner-city" has a lack of material resources for the citizens.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Review for Final Exam
Hsieh, Rai, and Keil. Understanding Digital Inequality: Comparing Continued Use Behavioral Models of the Socio-Economicall Advantaged and Disadvantaged. MIS Quarterly.
Relating the article to broader concepts from class:
The first theme (and probably the easiest to understand) was the issue of socio-economic class and education in the digital divide. For the purposes of this study, these were to two independent variable used to find a difference in access to technology. From class, we know that the lower one's educational attainment and socio-economic class, the less likely they are to use information technology. The article also made it very clear that there are different types of access to technology, as discussed in the Van Dijk article. Access is more than just having a computer and an ethernet cord. Access is knowing how to use the computer, wanting to use the comnputer and using it for somthing that will help better the individual (playing computer games is not an example of this). The article suggested that to get the lower socio-economic people to use computers we should start them playing games. If they play games on the computer, they may learn more about how to use it. In addition, computer anxiety will lessen and they will most likely begin using computers for higher level activities, such as browsing the internet, e-mail, and paying bills online.
The other part of the article talked about the research method, which was the Free Internet TV initiative in LaGrange, Georgia. About 3,500 housholds participated in the study. This reinforced the idea from class that even when technology is made physically availible, the problem is not solved. People were still struggling psychological barriers to access. So policy makers need to understand all the different barriers to access and not just the physical ones.
Relating the article to broader concepts from class:
The first theme (and probably the easiest to understand) was the issue of socio-economic class and education in the digital divide. For the purposes of this study, these were to two independent variable used to find a difference in access to technology. From class, we know that the lower one's educational attainment and socio-economic class, the less likely they are to use information technology. The article also made it very clear that there are different types of access to technology, as discussed in the Van Dijk article. Access is more than just having a computer and an ethernet cord. Access is knowing how to use the computer, wanting to use the comnputer and using it for somthing that will help better the individual (playing computer games is not an example of this). The article suggested that to get the lower socio-economic people to use computers we should start them playing games. If they play games on the computer, they may learn more about how to use it. In addition, computer anxiety will lessen and they will most likely begin using computers for higher level activities, such as browsing the internet, e-mail, and paying bills online.
The other part of the article talked about the research method, which was the Free Internet TV initiative in LaGrange, Georgia. About 3,500 housholds participated in the study. This reinforced the idea from class that even when technology is made physically availible, the problem is not solved. People were still struggling psychological barriers to access. So policy makers need to understand all the different barriers to access and not just the physical ones.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Video project contribution/ Legacy comments
For the video I attended the first meeting where we brainstormed idea's for the project and assisted in developing questions for our video. I attended our second meeting where we updated each other on our progress and shared files. I then interviewed several people in my apartment complex and shared those videos at the third and final meeting.
As far as legacy goes, I thought it was very inspirational how the daughter, despite everything that was going against her, fought to become a teacher and made a good living for herself. The part I couldn't get over was how lazy/complacent her mother was. I can't imagine having my kids in that situation, and sitting at home most of the days and blowing off job opportunities. I'm not sure if she would have had all kinds of access to technology if she would have taken advantage of it.
As far as legacy goes, I thought it was very inspirational how the daughter, despite everything that was going against her, fought to become a teacher and made a good living for herself. The part I couldn't get over was how lazy/complacent her mother was. I can't imagine having my kids in that situation, and sitting at home most of the days and blowing off job opportunities. I'm not sure if she would have had all kinds of access to technology if she would have taken advantage of it.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Toward a New Agenda" in Bridging the digital divide: Technology, community and public policy
Your assignment, in preparation for our final, is to thoroughly discuss the remaining articles via our blog. Our collaboration will make the entire review a lot more productive for everyone.
Keep the following tasks in mind as you're blogging the article:
1.)Provide a summary
2.)Define key terms
3.)Analyze potentially weak points in the author’s argument
4.)Compare your article to our past readings
5.)Read the other groups’ blog posts and comparing it to your article
6.)Relate your article to the larger themes from the class
Feel free to comment on any other group's blog discussions as well. You should be reading them anyway, and providing extra commentary will help us all.
In addition, we'll be distributing a study guide later. Please use this same blog space to discuss that guide.
Keep the following tasks in mind as you're blogging the article:
1.)Provide a summary
2.)Define key terms
3.)Analyze potentially weak points in the author’s argument
4.)Compare your article to our past readings
5.)Read the other groups’ blog posts and comparing it to your article
6.)Relate your article to the larger themes from the class
Feel free to comment on any other group's blog discussions as well. You should be reading them anyway, and providing extra commentary will help us all.
In addition, we'll be distributing a study guide later. Please use this same blog space to discuss that guide.
Building the Bridge: Learning from Seattle." in Bridging the digital divide: Technology, community and public policy
Your assignment, in preparation for our final, is to thoroughly discuss the remaining articles via our blog. Our collaboration will make the entire review a lot more productive for everyone.
Keep the following tasks in mind as you're blogging the article:
1.)Provide a summary
2.)Define key terms
3.)Analyze potentially weak points in the author’s argument
4.)Compare your article to our past readings
5.)Read the other groups’ blog posts and comparing it to your article
6.)Relate your article to the larger themes from the class
Feel free to comment on any other group's blog discussions as well. You should be reading them anyway, and providing extra commentary will help us all.
In addition, we'll be distributing a study guide later. Please use this same blog space to discuss that guide.
Keep the following tasks in mind as you're blogging the article:
1.)Provide a summary
2.)Define key terms
3.)Analyze potentially weak points in the author’s argument
4.)Compare your article to our past readings
5.)Read the other groups’ blog posts and comparing it to your article
6.)Relate your article to the larger themes from the class
Feel free to comment on any other group's blog discussions as well. You should be reading them anyway, and providing extra commentary will help us all.
In addition, we'll be distributing a study guide later. Please use this same blog space to discuss that guide.
Understanding digital inequality: Comparing continued use behavioral models of the socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged
Your assignment, in preparation for our final, is to thoroughly discuss the remaining articles via our blog. Our collaboration will make the entire review a lot more productive for everyone.
Keep the following tasks in mind as you're blogging the article:
1.)Provide a summary
2.)Define key terms
3.)Analyze potentially weak points in the author’s argument
4.)Compare your article to our past readings
5.)Read the other groups’ blog posts and comparing it to your article
6.)Relate your article to the larger themes from the class
Feel free to comment on any other group's blog discussions as well. You should be reading them anyway, and providing extra commentary will help us all.
In addition, we'll be distributing a study guide later. Please use this same blog space to discuss that guide.
Keep the following tasks in mind as you're blogging the article:
1.)Provide a summary
2.)Define key terms
3.)Analyze potentially weak points in the author’s argument
4.)Compare your article to our past readings
5.)Read the other groups’ blog posts and comparing it to your article
6.)Relate your article to the larger themes from the class
Feel free to comment on any other group's blog discussions as well. You should be reading them anyway, and providing extra commentary will help us all.
In addition, we'll be distributing a study guide later. Please use this same blog space to discuss that guide.
Reading Race Online
Your assignment, in preparation for our final, is to thoroughly discuss the remaining articles via our blog. Our collaboration will make the entire review a lot more productive for everyone.
Keep the following tasks in mind as you're blogging the article:
1.)Provide a summary
2.)Define key terms
3.)Analyze potentially weak points in the author’s argument
4.)Compare your article to our past readings
5.)Read the other groups’ blog posts and comparing it to your article
6.)Relate your article to the larger themes from the class
Feel free to comment on any other group's blog discussions as well. You should be reading them anyway, and providing extra commentary will help us all.
In addition, we'll be distributing a study guide later. Please use this same blog space to discuss that guide.
Keep the following tasks in mind as you're blogging the article:
1.)Provide a summary
2.)Define key terms
3.)Analyze potentially weak points in the author’s argument
4.)Compare your article to our past readings
5.)Read the other groups’ blog posts and comparing it to your article
6.)Relate your article to the larger themes from the class
Feel free to comment on any other group's blog discussions as well. You should be reading them anyway, and providing extra commentary will help us all.
In addition, we'll be distributing a study guide later. Please use this same blog space to discuss that guide.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Group 11 Video Project
Here's the video.
The things I brought to this project were the basic premise of talking about a 3rd space in a 3rd space, and the filming. I thought it was interesting to see if we could find the characteristics of a third space in a real world situation. Initially I thought that the criterion for finding a 3rd space were a bit odd and difficult to fulfill, but after coming up with potential locations to shoot at, it became more and more clear that almost anywhere could be a third space, at least to some degree. I would say that this project made the classroom experience stronger by forcing some of the students who usually don't speak their mind to talk and have a face put to it (unlike what they are able to do in the blog).
The things I brought to this project were the basic premise of talking about a 3rd space in a 3rd space, and the filming. I thought it was interesting to see if we could find the characteristics of a third space in a real world situation. Initially I thought that the criterion for finding a 3rd space were a bit odd and difficult to fulfill, but after coming up with potential locations to shoot at, it became more and more clear that almost anywhere could be a third space, at least to some degree. I would say that this project made the classroom experience stronger by forcing some of the students who usually don't speak their mind to talk and have a face put to it (unlike what they are able to do in the blog).
Comment on Legacy
I am concerned about how the movie-makers affected the family.
Even though it was not a 100% happy ending, the story went toward a good way and good direction.
A question comes up in my mind: if there was no one filming the story, the movie team never showed up,will the story be different?
I like the movie and it showed the digital divide and and many difficulties in low-level areas. However, it just seems to me that the movie was always heading the good ways and we know they will overcome the difficulties and survive.
I am guessing a lot of families experienced the similar condition and were not able to get a job and a house. Some of them do illegal stuff and drugs for their entire life.
This can be a direction for us to think about: there are more families that have lower income, lower accessbility to information, and more digital divide.
Even though it was not a 100% happy ending, the story went toward a good way and good direction.
A question comes up in my mind: if there was no one filming the story, the movie team never showed up,will the story be different?
I like the movie and it showed the digital divide and and many difficulties in low-level areas. However, it just seems to me that the movie was always heading the good ways and we know they will overcome the difficulties and survive.
I am guessing a lot of families experienced the similar condition and were not able to get a job and a house. Some of them do illegal stuff and drugs for their entire life.
This can be a direction for us to think about: there are more families that have lower income, lower accessbility to information, and more digital divide.
Legacy
Legacy tells the story of a poor family who struggles with all types of adversity, one of these is being on the wrong side of the digital divide. An interesting point in an earlier post was brought up about government funding and taxes. The richest communities pay the highest amount of taxes (property and income) and therefore have the best access to technology resources. Im sure they have internet and computer training available to them at local libraries, they just dont really need it as much as a poorer community. It is clear that there needs to be changes in the way the government allocates resources to different communities, but that is an issue that goes far beyond the digital divide. The family in Legacy faced problems that were much larger than internet access. Bishop says that access to the internet provides a source to spread community information which could involve support groups. Access to this type of information may or may not have helped the family overcome problems like drug addiction.
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