Video Response

I thought it was a little disturbing that Luisa had to save up for three years to buy a computer. The technology gap article that I wrote about previously stated that a Bangladesh worker would need to save for his salary for eight years to buy a computer while an American would only need to save one month’s salary. This movie shows that a disparity this large is not just an international problem. Luisa put a face to the racial ravine and the way income gaps lead to information gaps.
Equally disturbing is a high school with no music, arts, or sports. This seems very Brave New World to me. Were these kids learning about history? Would they even know about the warnings of 1984? I agree with the woman who said that schools shouldn’t be “training grounds.” If schools train their students to think well, then they should be able to learn these computer skills quickly in the workforce if they need them. It is important to be well rounded. When Travis went to get a job, he even said it was hard because there are 10,000 other people who can do the same job. But if he had had some extra or special skill, that would have been an asset.
I also thought Travis’s friends were interesting. They had a content problem (from the 4C’s) because as Travis said they just weren’t interested in computers, not even in chat-rooms or email. This is odd to me since from personal experience I have seen these kind of personal interactions are what draw people to the internet. Perhaps the problem here is that they don’t have anyone on the other end. For example, I have had an email address since I was seven, and I would regularly email family members, but if these kids don’t have family or friends who are connected to the internet than it has no appeal. But someone has to initiate this kind of online social capital. Someone has to get an email address first. Maybe Travis was the first step and will eventually inspire them to learn to use computers.
Someone in the movie also mentioned that technology was a new civil rights movement. This is an interesting perspective since it seems to have alienated minorities more than empower them. The important point here though is that it has the potential to empower these groups if CTC’s are available and they take advantage of their access to information and improved communication abilities.

Video Response

What does it mean to fill the digital divide or to eliminate the racial ravine? The perspective I gained from this movie is that, "The American dream is a competitive dream;" filling the digital divide means increasing the competition. It also, of course, means more equal employment. The reason there is more competition is that it's fairer, yet someone is still stuck job hunting.

As for why some are more successful than others in the job market, I don't have much original insight, but effort is obviously important. For example, Kep, unlike Travis, never used a computer before high school. Travis procrastinated in his final project, while Kep graduated with honors.

Digital Divides Video

      I enjoyed that the movie addressed the controversy involved with technical colleges. I thought it made the movie more respectable and credible because it showed the potential advantages and disadvantages associated with technical schools.  The film also helped reinforce several class concepts and key terms.  I liked how I could relate to the situations of the various students within the movie.  I also appreciated that the movie put an emphasis on how people entering the manufacturing workforce after high school have difficulties supporting their family.  Similarly, people entering the computer and technical workforce are often faced with adversity when it comes to keeping up/ahead of cutting age trends and endure a high level of competition.  Lastly, I enjoyed how the movie placed an importance on social skills, working in groups, and the application of learning directly into workforce situations.
      Kep was the immigrant who faced several challenges when he moved to America. He was trying to learn English and had never worked on a computer before he went to technical school. Kep embraced these new challenges and became passionate about his English class as well as computers. Kep had access to great connectivity and had the capability coupled with the desire to learn. Through school, he learned about how the content and competition of the computer industry created his urge for cutting edge innovation and context. He thrived in this environment receiving a full ride scholarship for college.
     Luisa left her "bonding" gang member role, found her love for computers, and began technical school as well. She came from a low income household and worked full-time while attending school. She was apart of the "racial ravine" by not owning a computer (at first). She fell behind in school because she was working so much and lost a potential job opportunity by not being able to master PhotoShop 4. This is a perfect example of the digital divide and how low income communities can put forth effort, but have trouble crossing over the divide.

Digital Divides Video

This week in discussion we watched a movie called Digital Divides. This movie focused our attention on youth, computers, education, and employment. I'd like you to post your initial reactions to the movie as well as provide more analysis about what this film adds to our overall class discussions. Please provide several paragraphs so that we can get a good idea of the point you'd like to make.

Some good starting points would be to compare and contrast the differing stories. We witnessed four different stories--those of Luisa, Cedra, Travis, and Kep. How do issues that we've been discussing in class relate to their stories? How can we think about their narratives in terms of racial ravines, 4Cs, or social capital? What sorts of differences allow some of them to do well but not others?

I'd also like everyone to reply to one of the responses. In particular, I'd like you to respond to a classmate that noticed something you hadn't. Was there any reason you didn't notice that particular point? Do you think about labor and race differently now because of that post?

·    Define “gentrification.”  How did this come into play with the Near North Branch, Cabrini Green and the Gold Coast?

gentrification is the (according to dictionary.com)

the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses this came into play when dealing with Cabrini Green and the Gold Coast because eventually the Gold Coast began expanding into Cabrini with the renovation of buildings and shops (aka gentrification).  A lot of the low income housing units were torn down, the liquor store was replaced by a park, and many of the older residents were displaced because they could not afford the increased cost of living.  While it did clean up the neighborhood and make it overall safer, the problem with gentrification is alienates some of the oldest residents that have been living in that area.

Midterm 1 Review

To understand "racial ravine" it is definitely important to understand "the digital divide". Based on the articles and class discussion, racial ravine is basically another interpretation of the digital divide where you can see inequality in cyberpower based on ethnic differences. This term came from page 1 of Social Capital and Cyberpower in the African-American Community. This is an important concept because the term racial ravine means basically the same thing as the digital divide, it just makes the digital divide more specific by pointing out where the divide can be thought to be.

Midterm, Exam 1

Week 2 Readings: Social Capital: What is this? Can you define it?

"...social capital has both an individual and a collective aspect- a private face and a public face. First, individuals form connections that benefit our own interests". Page 20
"...'networking,' for most of us get our jobs because of whom we know, not what we know- that is, our social capital, not our human capital". Page 20
Social Capital= whom we know.
"however, social capital also can have 'externalities' that affect the wider community, so that not all the costs and benefits of social connections accrue to the person making the contact". Page 20
"... positive consequences of social capital- mutual support, cooperation, trust, institutional effectiveness- can be maximized and the negative manifestations- sectarianism, ethnocentrism, corruption- minimized". Page 22
"The forms of our social capital- the ways in which we connect with friends and neighbors and strangers- are varied". Page 27
-Quotes are from Bowling Alone