Dear Roop Dave, Your posting is so very true and very much in line with our own effort... closing the digital divides Scenario I - Underdeveloped countries
Genesis of all problems is “economic divide” and not the “technology or digital divide”. I have seen how poverty dictates “do’s & don’ts’”. Reply: The key to close the economic divide is through Education. Without Education, the economic divide is very difficult unless someone found "oil " in his/her backyard. This is the direction by which our project AGE ( www.paperlesshomework.com ) is driving at. Second important factor is “knowledge divide” as in some cases (of course rare) I have seen even with affluent suffers due to lack of knowledge. Reply: Exactly. This happens mostly in rural areas where technology finds wanting to reach. This is exactly the main challenge that we are able to overcome to reach out to the rural (and URBAN poor). In order to use Techonolgy to increase knowledge not only in literacy, we had an idea of using technology and everyday class lessons to impart such knowledge into the most important sector of society...the children. We actually have a couple (not enough though ..need volunteers) to teach health through English comprehension or exercises. We call it "Learning English through Anti-smoking" or Anti drugs etc When the young has in ingrained with such knowledge unconsciously, the form a very powerful ambassadors for Anti-smoking lobbies. No weapon and no money you can spend can be more powerful than that. That is exactly our intention, once we have partners around the world to indulge in. So far though we have none. We are on our own. You posted: If we tailor use of any technology for eradication of poverty and knowledge divide in any community, health index will automatically improve as by-product. People with no mean for square meal have their health issues as the last priority. Reply: I can tell you as a personal experience why this statement is very very true. In my country, even my father, came from China to Malaysia as coolies (labourers) in very hard times in the 40s (before WWII). These people struggled to make a living. These people, mostly illiterates struggled to send their children to school for education because Chinese through centuries believe in Education to uplift themselves to a better living. They can toil and toil but seldom will get their children to leave school just to help out the family. In the end, with better education, the children became professionals and went on to a quality life. This is very unlike many societies we know forced their children to perpectual poverty by not going to schools to help out their fathers to earn a pittance . That is why today, in the entire South East Asia, Chinese are dominant in Business and almost every profession after a few decades. So in similar tones, if we can reach out to the rural poor or urban poor, good contents to study, that would be the first step to close the digital divide. If we go on doing what most of the world is doing using impractical technologies for many projects, the UNESCO'S prodiction of missing the target 2015 will come to pass. Have a look at how I described in my web page under the section "Partners " you would read how we are attempting to overcome such limitations. You posted: Scenario II – Developed countries Knowledge divide exists even in the countries like United States and attempts to narrow such divides help the society at large. But unfortunately in many cases there are complications as – “information can not be converted into knowledge” without proper background to understand that information. First word is creating a new category of people who belong to this category and needless to say that – this will have negative impact on the overall social management fabric. Reply: Very true even in developed countries like USA... there are millions of people who are out of reach not because of lack of efforts but rather lack of technology to reach out. Yes, lack of a practical technology to reach out. Why do I say that? Take many lower affluent schools in poor neighborhoods, the lack of computers are obvious and even if they do, they may not have Internet. Even if they have computers and Internet, are the schools providing them digital exercises and tutorials they can use at home (where most of our learning take place not in schools)? No. They are still very much paper based. This many have not realised and started using latest technologies to overcome age old problem of poverty for these guys cannot afford broadband, or latest computers with flash etc. You cant even do this digital divide in rich developed countries and units such as UNESCO is trying to reach out the poor with rich men's tools. If anyone of you think you can help out to put this message out, we do welcome to hear from you or anyone wishes to start a project through grants (you can apply to many institutions) etc using our tools. Alan www.paperlesshomework.com contact us at: www.paperlesshomework.com/Ycontact.htm Keep in touch with AGE install, our toolbar www.paperlesshomework.communitytoolbars.com --- On Mon, 8/11/08, Roop Dave <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Roop Dave <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [DDN] The Digital Divide and Human Health To: "The Digital Divide Network discussion group" <[email protected]> Date: Monday, August 11, 2008, 9:16 AM Dear All, Let me share some my first hand experience in the area of “digital divide” / telemedicine/ Health management” etc. Let us take two different scenarios to make it global. Scenario I - Underdeveloped countries Genesis of all problems is “economic divide” and not the “technology or digital divide”. I have seen how poverty dictates “do’s & don’ts’”. Second important factor is “knowledge divide” as in some cases (of course rare) I have seen even with affluent suffers due to lack of knowledge. If we tailor use of any technology for eradication of poverty and knowledge divide in any community, health index will automatically improve as by-product. People with no mean for square meal have their health issues as the last priority. Scenario II – Developed countries Knowledge divide exists even in the countries like United States and attempts to narrow such divides help the society at large. But unfortunately in many cases there are complications as – “information can not be converted into knowledge” without proper background to understand that information. First word is creating a new category of people who belong to this category and needless to say that – this will have negative impact on the overall social management fabric. The learning derived are- 1. Manage digital divide for improving economic standing first followed by knowledge management. Jumping to health management, by passing these two crucial factors would not help in any society (first / or third world). R K Dave, SMIEEE Strategist & Expert (ICT & Disaster Management) www.AdvisorICT.com --- On Sun, 8/10/08, David Keyes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: David Keyes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [DDN] The Digital Divide and Human Health To: [email protected], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sunday, August 10, 2008, 5:17 PM This is an interesting discussion, though it may be an easier one to have as a set of narrower questions on a web discussion. I agree that the use of data, both qualitative and quantitative, would be ultimately vital to determining impact and perhaps not enough as been done. Just as important is defining the scope of questions. I see a number of arenas for this. "Human health" is also broad. I leave that to health experts, but perhaps this encompasses individual physical and mental health, and then public health. I also see some distinction between getting health info, getting info about where to get health assistance, participatory health support activities, and use of digital media to support creating health marketing materials, and use of telecenters and digital media as a health prevention (and fitness and public safety) activity. Here are some of the areas of research I'd see on this topic from my experience in community technology. 1) Does learning about health information online improve health? 2) Does participating in a health or disease-related support group improve physical and/or mental health? 3) Does retrieving health info likely lead to its use and to a subsequent impact? How is this different or complementary to information provided by another source (friend, care provider, brochure)? 4) How many community technology/ telecentres are connecting residents with health and fitness information? (e.g. I know of a group of seniors that use the computer lab to retrieve walking maps for their exercise.) 5) If someone's knowledge of using a computer and the Internet increases, does it increase their sense of self-sufficiency and control, and thereby extend their life and quality of life? (There's an interesting potential correlation to some research done in England finding that if seniors have a greater sense of their choices and control, it results in extending their lives.) 6) Does a social network, with an e-component (email, text, web), enhance a consumer's access to health care provider and health information (that is accurate)? 7) Does the production of content (e.g. writing about nutrition, your health, mapping neighborhood air quality) lead to increased health awareness and health? 8) What is the public safety impact of youth media programs? This is all consumer sided vs provider sided (health professionals getting access to exchanging data and best practices) and doesn't include potential impact from health monitoring (remote testing/transmission on diabetes, blood pressure, etc). And of course all this takes money for research. I'd definitely like to see more and how it gets indexed in the health and Internet/dig divide/ social health journals. - David ******************************************* David Keyes Director of Community Technology Programs City of Seattle Department of Information Technology PO Box 94709 Seattle, WA 98124-4709 USA (206) 386-9759 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax (206) 684-0911 http://seattle.gov/tech/ Street address: 700 Fifth Ave. Suite 2700 >>> "Judith Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 08/10/08 7:04 AM >>> Greetings, The question of health care and the digital divide issues that are being raised about "knowing" and "data" are central to discussions that are happening in medical education and diagnosis communities. A recent book <http://www.amazon.com/Interprofessional-Family-Discourses-Knowledge-Processes/dp/1572734027/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218309980&sr=1-3> Interprofessional and Family Discourses: Voices, Knowledge and Practice (Language and Social Processes) <http://www.amazon.com/Interprofessional-Family-Discourses-Knowledge-Processes/dp/1572734027/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218309980&sr=1-3>by Marleen Iannucci McClelland and Roberta G. Sands, Hampton Press. raises questions about how different disciplines within healthcare diagnose patients and how voices are missing. This volume raises questions about dialogues in a face2face and digital world that are central to understanding areas of the digital divide that are often not visible. They also raise questions about how parents are engaged in the dialogues and thus how patients are able to access or enter information. This volume also proposes a biosocial model that might be of interest to those involved in discussion about health care and the digital divide. This volume also address questions about what counts as knowing, research and health care and how these are constructed through different lenses used by different actors. I see the questions that were raised, therefore, as interdependent with the broader concern of this community. Judith _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
