This is very interesting, Dave, and appears to concur - at least in part - with what Pierre Bourdieu wrote in "The Forms of Capital" in 1983:
"So it has to be posited simultaneously that economic capital is at the root of all the other types of capital and that these transformed, disguised forms of economic capital [social capital, cultural capital]*, never entirely reducible to that definition, produce their most specic effects only to the extent that they conceal (not least from their possessors) the fact that economic capital is at their root, in other words -- but only in the last analysis -- at the root of their effects. The real logic of the functioning of capital, the conversions from one type to another, and the law of conservation which governs them cannot be understood unless two opposing but equally partial views are superseded: on the one hand, eeconomism, which, on the grounds that every type of capital is reducible in the last analysis to economic capital, ignores what makes the specific efficacy of the other types of capital, and on the other hand, semiologism (nowadays represented by structuralism, symbolic interactionsim, or ethnomethodolgy), which reduces social exchanges to phenomena of communication and ignores the brutal fact of universal reducibility to economics." * text within brackets inserted by me based on my interpretation of the paper. (Retrieved 9/11/06 from http://www. viet-studies.org/Bourdieu_capital.htm) Catherine Arden Stanthorpe, Queensland ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roop Dave" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "The Digital Divide Network discussion group" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 11:16 AM Subject: Re: [DDN] The Digital Divide and Human Health 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. __________ NOD32 3344 (20080810) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com _______________________________________________ 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.
