Inclusion of Technology in Technology-Poor Environments

In our developing global society, we often find a sharp division between the “Haves” and the “Have Nots” with respect to new and innovative products appearing within the market places of differing economies. The leveling influence in assuring that a more equitable distribution of technology occurs between cultures and societies is communication. Further, I am in complete agreement with Dr. Elliot Soloway in that the most feasible method of information dissemination currently available is the portable phone, whether it is a simple cell phone or a newer, “smart” phone. This is a means of communication that is easily produced at a minimal cost and can be made available in great numbers in a very short time. The technology is fairly simple by current standards and signal coverage would be a small matter of arranging relay stations in a pattern to provide optimal area coverage.

With the (increased) introduction of mass communication, more information could be shared with a greater number of people, leading to awareness of new and emerging technologies that should be available to everyone. The influx of new technology, though common by our current standards, would be managed by local governments that would address issues concerning cultural and social needs and demands. This would, hopefully, maintain gender, cultural, and socioeconomic sensitivity. Until these technologies are made available, the thought of using current or older technologies in new ways to improve the standard of life for entire communities is a very real consideration. Many of the answers that have been developed for use by third world communities are based on common sense and are so simplistic that it is a wonder that they were not developed during the last century. This is the same kind of innovative thinking and initiative that should be applied top the incorporation of newer technologies as they become available.

For more information concerning the influx of technology into low-technology areas, visit the sites listed below:

“Big Tech Companies Can’t Forget Simple Gadgets, Inventors Say” -
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4225945.html

“Appropriate Technology Comes of Age: A Review of Some Recent Literature and Aid Policy Statements” http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=91665427

“A MacGyver for the Third World”
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/10/65276

“Tech targets the Third World”
http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/20/technology/fastforward_thirdworld.fortune/index.htm

“Big Tech Companies Can’t Forget Simple Gadgets, Inventors Say”
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4225945.html

“Science and Technology as a Tool of National Development in Third World Countries”
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Tadeo1.html

“Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/magazine/13anthropology-t.html?_r=1

DVD or VOD: A question for Additional Viewing

Reviewing the works of Philip K. Dick was a highly enjoyable chore that gave me the opportunity to revisit some videos that I had not seen in quite a while. It also took a good bit of convincing before my wife believed that my assignment was to watch a movie. When it came time to make my decision as to which of Dick’s films to watch, I went to one of the shelves in our family room and looked for the titles that I wanted. I have owned all of the films mentioned in the original assignment for years and deciding which to see again was the only difficulty I experienced. My choice, “Minority Report”, was 150 minutes of escapism that I actually viewed with an altered perception. Instead of seeing the technology and taking it in stride, I was writing down examples of the new and unique items observed in the film and comparing them to current and emerging technologies.

As to the competition between DVDs and VOD (video on demand), It does not seem to be a “Red Queen” situation. One is not being favored over the other by the consuming public, as in the case of VHS over Betamax, or the more recent decline of the HD DVD to the Blueray disk and player. It should be noted that the American population is the group being observed in this situation: Betamax is still very popular in Mexico and HD DVDs are still being sold in Canada. The situation between DVDs and VOD seems to be a matter of preferences and convenience with the American public. Both formats have coexisted for quite some time without one threatening the continued existence of the other. Both formats seem to be thriving and maintaining their popularity with consumers, giving them a choice in terms of convenience.

McLuhan’s tetrad displays the four laws of media as Enhancement, Closure, Retrieval, and Reversal. The two formats, DVD and VOD, currently seem to occupy similar positions on the tetrad. DVDs and videos on Demand both retrieve or rekindle the phenomenon of story telling. I suspect that this is one of the main reasons why they are allowed to coexist without too much friction: they both answer a requirement that we as humans have to tell, or be told, a story.

Further information about Video on Demand can be obtained from the following:
http://www.cs.tut.fi/tlt/stuff/vod/VoDOverview/vod1.html
http://home.vod.com/
http://www.itvdictionary.com/vod.html

Second Life: A First Life Disruption?

“Second Life” is a disruptive technology in that it has the potential to replace direct connections between individual human beings. These include, but should not be limited to, the telephone, texting, teleconferencing, instant messaging, and actual f2f conversations. As a professional educator, I can see the potential for Second Life to replace the traditional classroom, and even distance learning, with a digital version that is experienced in the artificial world created within the computer network. Education would take on a whole new personality, with experiments about space travel actually being conducted in space, including the physics of space travel, planetary colonization, and the effects of long term weightless environments, just to name a few. Conversations with people from the other side of the planet could take place f2f virtually, with translation programs taking care of the participants’ original languages. This would mean that entire cultures could be sampled without leaving the security and comfort of one’s own home. Many of the planet’s present problems may be resolved within this medium, including armed conflicts, hunger, territorial disputes, and economic and trade difficulties.

There is, of course, a darker side to this situation, in that people will become further isolated and insulated from one another as the digital world becomes bigger and more real/important than actual flesh and blood living. Care should be taken that this situation does not escalate to the levels prophesied by some writers of science fiction, who have predicted a society where no one leaves there home and everything is automated and actuated through the digital world.

It may be that “Second Life” continues to grow in its present state, at its present rate, without becoming too disruptive toward other technologies too quickly. But there is the “wildcard effect” that means this application may take off and start replacing multiple technologies and involving more people on a grander scale. With the way technology and communication are expanding and steadily including more of our global community on an ongoing basis, I can see that this program may have a very long life. On the other hand, that same “wildcard effect” may occur and replace this artificial world with something completely different at any time. This is the element that makes technology so interesting to work with: the notion that something new and different may appear at any time and replace multiple elements of the present day society and culture.

Rhymes of History

The “Rhymes of History” are those things in our society that seem to repeat themselves in different forms to accomplish tasks and answer requirements that have become very basic in our Human society. One such item is that of the relating of information or stories from one individual or group to another. Information was originally shared by word of mouth and depiction by crude drawings or other made objects (mud or clay figurines, carvings of wood or stone, etc…) Scrolls and books became later archival devices for information and remained so for many years.

Recent improvements in technology have carried on the passing of information (fact and fiction) in the form of laser disks, VHS tapes, CDs and DVDs, and most recently Blueray Disks. This includes information for instruction, fictional information (movies) for relaxation, and music and games (for recreation).This rekindling of the sharing of information has become a very lucrative industry, with one left guessing as to what new developments will be made public in the near future. The question of, “Will I have to buy another copy of the White Album?” constantly appears as a minor concern.

It may be that within the next 5000 days (about 13½ years), there may be little need to purchase too many new items. We may have access to more than we can now imagine if the Internet and the computer network presently growing within our global society continue to expand as they have been. Dr. Kevin Kelly relates the development of the World Wide Web as a kind of evolution of an electronic over-mind of which we are all a part. His Ted presentation in 2007 is extremely interesting and worthy of sharing. The link to Dr. Kelly’s presentation is listed below. Please take a look and comment.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

Response for Quarterly Discussion I, SBSF-7100-138 Research Forum

I have been so busy with other-than Walden matters that I almost missed the cue for the discussion. Life happens and the responses we all make must to situations take time and effort. Nothing serious or life threatening, but very time consuming and labor intensive. I have responded to the book, the application, and the tips for an advice blog in the following paragraphs. In retrospect, being in this program has already made a significant change in my attitude toward numerous things. Eighteen months ago, my responses would have been vastly different, such as a user's manual for the XP OS for the book, a copy of Halo for the program, and the expression, "Plant your corn early this year" for the advice.

The book would be the APA Manual. It sounds odd (to me), because I know who I am now and who I was before I started this process, but the APA manual has really become important to me. Maybe one day I'll figure it all out eventually, or at least remember the important bits.

The program would be Microsoft Word 2003 or 2007. The capabilities of these two word processing applications have helped me over some rough spots more than once. Even though there is currently legal action being leveled against Microsoft for their 2007 Word program, surely both of these applications will be available when they are needed later on.

Finally, there are several tips that I would share. Believe in yourself and you will find that the extremely difficult is accomplished right away while the impossible takes only slightly longer (learned this in the Army). Don't lose your momentum. You may slow down a little, but don't stop completely or you may not be able to get started again. Learn from the actions of others. Pay attention to your classmates' responses and try to see things from their perspective. Study advice and constructive criticism that you receive for what it is worth and see how you can adapt it to what you're doing. This in itself can be well worth the effort you put in and should give back a synergistic return. Finally, don't resist change and be set in your ways, rather be set to change your ways. No matter how much you know or how well you can do something, chances are there is someone, somewhere, who knows more or can do it better. This last bit, after reading it, sounds very sophomoric to me. The sound of it, however, doesn't make it any less true.

Wow, really letting my "Inner Nerd" roar tonight! You can find this message posted on my blog at http://www.psych0daddy.blogspot.com/ . Visitors are welcome.

John R.

Cell Phone Tetrad

Inspiration is where you find it, sometimes in the oddest places. On FM 86, about half way between San Antonio and College Station, just north of Luling, I found this sign. I see it every time we visit our son at A&M. It seems to remind me of what I should be doing instead of driving around the Texas countryside.

Week 2 Blog on a Valuable Emerged Technology

Within the past four or five years, learning and productivity in the classroom have been enhanced by the introduction of the pen drive. Also known as travel drives, jump drives, flash drives, or thumb drives, these archival devices appeared in the year 2000 as portable memories and have been increasing in capacity and capability (while steadily dropping in price to become very affordable) ever since. They have replaced floppy disks as the archival standard for computers, and shown an ease of use not associated with recordable compact disks.

Some of the challenges that face the educational system concerning pen drives are slowly being resolved. The issues of cost, storage capacity, and the finite number of read/write cycles per unit in are being answered with cheaper, higher capacity, more durable and dependable devices. Still, students and teachers have difficulty with the drives. Although fairly durable, they are still subjected to very rough treatment at the hands of students. Many pen drives are damaged by having protective coverings removed or having the USB connecter bent, while others are lost or forgotten because of there size. Often, after continued use, the contact points of the USB wear thin and have to be “coaxed” into connecting with a computer. There are times when these devices just stop working (fail) due to a combination of situations. In these instances, the information contained on the drive is lost to the owner unless it has been backed-up in a different location.

Pen drives have allowed educators and students a greater degree of freedom as they share information, take notes, and communicate with each other. The concern over lost, altered, or plagiarized documents has been reduced significantly by the introduction of these memory devices. Further, documents produced by and for educators can now be easily transported and shared without the need to make and work with multiple paper copies. These devices are also becoming more closely integrated with the computers themselves, thus increasing their capabilities and functionality. With the current Windows Vista OS and the soon-to-be marketed Windows 7 (which should be what Vista was advertised to be prior to its release), a feature called “Ready-Boost” allows some flash drives to augment OS memory.

Improvements to these archival devices are ongoing. One area that needs improvement is the factor of location or recovery of lost or misplaced drives. For a modest fee, a locator could be installed in the drive to provide the owner a means of location. Or perhaps the straps that come with some drives could be lengthened so that a drive could remain around the neck of the user as it is being used. Storing the added cord and drive in a shirt or pants pocket would be a small trade-off for securing documents important to the owner. As to the wearing thin of contacts, a replacement USB connector could be fashioned and available for purchase, to be attached to the original unit after removal of the old USB connector. Further, lost information could be retrieved by an application that would allow the owner to access the memory portion of the drive directly and draw off the desired information.

Having just finished writing and re-reading this information, I am reminded of what I have been telling students for years. That is, if humans can envision it, eventually humans can make it a reality. Reality check – it’s 2009 AD and I’m still waiting for my flying car that was promised to me by the year 2000AD.

For further information on this topic, visit:

http://www.ezinearticles.com/?A-Summary-of-USB-Drives,-History,-Benefits-and-Uses&id=2683103

Welcome to my new Blog Site. This was established as a requirement for one of my Walden classes, but I have a feeling that it will get a lot more use than just school.

Comments? Questions? Criticisms? (Careful!!)