SAP Literature Review/Blogpost #9

            John Carroll’s websites—at least in the S.T.E.M. area—function as a core component of the university’s education and information relaying systems. Where do we schedule our classes? Where do we submit our assignments? Where do we even find out what our assignments are and what the calendar looks like?  The list goes on and on…

            At least in my own experience, this is not something new or unique to my time at JCU. Over the course of my life, I have seen how more and more is migrating from the local shop or catalog to the online sites. My family hardly ever uses a phone book anymore but rather just google search for the number we need, which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. 99% of our bills are paid via online methods, as well as our banking. We get our directions via the internet.  We do not have SMS texting, so we rely on internet-based methods such as email and Facebook/Skype/Google and the like messenger programs for the bulk of our written communications. We buy an increasing percentage of our equipment and other goods via online stores.

 I haven’t used physical books significantly for research projects since 9^th grade. Why? Simply because they are more time consuming when it comes to even finding the information I am looking for and they are always slightly out of date. You cannot publish and distribute a full size, physical book overnight, yet it is possible, in a way, via the internet. Without the internet, I would not have had the opportunity to pick up a ridiculous amount of information outside of the normal school system via podcasts and websites over the course of late middle and all of high school. What took me fifteen minutes to learn via the audio recordings delivered by the internet would take a good twenty minutes to read in physical form—without any verbal emphasis context--as well as extra time to even find the physical information in the first place (encyclopedia indexing …ugh, don’t get me started…).  

I would not have found out about and decided to go to John Carroll without information I found via online sources. My dad has been affected by a string of lay-offs since 2009ish, and each time has found work again via the internet.

So, what was the point of that rant? As an illustration as to what the better off side of the “digital divide” looks like, of which we take for granted. Too many lack access to these kinds of resources. In general, the sources that I cite at the end of this post verified the idea that internet access and ability to move up the socioeconomic ladder go hand in hand. They did also point out the other issues that my group is not capable/planning to directly deal with, namely decent internet access transmission rates and providing education and training on how to use the internet for new users. We plan to focus on providing devices that can access the internet, with the hope being to bank on the assumption that local Wi-Fi hotspots are able to provide a serviceable level internet access, but users need their own devices. We could try to come up with some way to provide education on how to use the devices, but we are 100% incapable of doing the work of an ISP by ourselves.  

 (sources are given without direct quotes, the literature is related to the issue fairly well but not 100%)

Bibliography

Baird, Jane E., Robert C. Zelin II, and Queen Esther Booker. "Is There A "Digital Divide" In The Provision Of E-Government Services At The County Level In The United States?."Journal Of Legal, Ethical & Regulatory Issues 15.1 (2012): 93-104. Business Source Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Howard, Philip N., Laura Busch, and Penelope Sheets. "Comparing Digital Divides: Internet Access And Social Inequality In Canada And The United States." Canadian Journal Of Communication 35.1 (2010): 109-128. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Wagner, Todd H., et al. "Free Internet Access, the Digital Divide, and Health Information." Medical Care 2005: 415. JSTOR Journals. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

WARF, BARNEY. "Contemporary Digital Divides In The United States." Tijdschrift Voor Economische En Sociale Geografie (Journal Of Economic & Social Geography) 104.1 (2013): 1-17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

YOUNG, JEFFREY R. "Bandwidth Divide' Could Bar Some People From Online Learning." Chronicle Of Higher Education 59.26 (2013): A12. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.