http://www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/index.html
this URL takes you to the PBS "Digital Divide" website, which is a beaut!
mary
-- Dr. Mary Bryson, Associate Professor, Education, UBC GenTech Project http://www.shecan.com Curriculum Vitae http://www.educ.ubc.ca/faculty/bryson/cv.htmlIn societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of "spectacles". Everything that was directly lived has moved away into representation. - Guy Debord, "The Society of the Spectacle" c 1967
---------- >From: Mike Cole <mcole@weber.ucsd.edu> >To: uclinks@weber.ucsd.edu, xmca@weber.ucsd.edu >Subject: Digital Divide >Date: Fri, Feb 18, 2000, 1:58 PM >
> > The following article, forwarded to me by Michael Schudson, is out of > place in ongoing discourse, but if/when we get to strategies of positive > action and all the ignorance that route entails, this article strikes me > as one interesting starting point. > mike > ----- >>From mschudso@weber.ucsd.edu Fri Feb 18 12:32:30 2000 > > > "Honda, Keith" <Keith.Honda@asm.ca.gov> > Subject: RE: Digital Divide funding: Comrades vs. competitors > To: "'digitaldivide@list.benton.org'" <digitaldivide@list.benton.org> > > Why Can't We Fly Across the Digital Divide (KMH 2/3/2000) > > Five years ago, the only ones talking about the digital divide were staff > members at an obscure federal agency: the NTIA (National Telecommunications > and Information Administration). Today, there is a mad rush to provide > solutions to the digital divide problem. However, in our rush to fix the > digital divide - and earmarking millions of dollars on new programs - are we > creating programs that are destined for failure? While I believe that > bridging the digital divide is essential, it remains unclear whether current > efforts will succeed unless conventional wisdom is challenged. > > The current approach to the digital divide reminds me very much of the > failed projects I saw overseas as a Peace Corps Volunteer. In my travels > overseas, water systems and other projects were found in a state of > disrepair, only a short time after they were built. Though local people > were trained to fix the pumps and pipes, the unforgiving climate and the > lack of funds to buy spare parts destined these projects for failure. The > more complex a project, the increased likelihood of breakdown. > > With this realization, Peace Corps and other agencies developed an > alternative approach to conventional wisdom, now known as "appropriate > technology." The most appropriate technology was that which could be built > with local materials and maintained by local people. What we learned was > that it was easier to design a complex solution that would fail, than a > simple one that worked. > > The appropriate nature of a technology was not only dependent on the cost > and sustainability. For a project to succeed, it was essential that the > technology be consistent with the behavioral or cultural norms of the > community. Take the example of a water system that piped water to each > house in a village. > > Consultants who came to build the water system, asked villagers whether they > wanted water piped into their homes. The villagers stated that they wanted > the water system. However after the project was completed, consultants were > confounded when they learned that villagers continue to walk to the well for > water. Villagers continued life as though the water system was not there - > they continued to spend hours at the well, washing clothes, and helping each > other as they drew water from the well. > > In their rush to provide a solution, the consultants never learned enough to > ask the "appropriate" questions. Villagers continued to use the well, > because it was more than just a location to collect water - it functioned as > gathering place - a place where the community came together. The water > system was the functional opposite: the water system isolated them into > separate homes. In the end, the consultants were disappointed that the > solution didn't work and blamed the villagers for asking for something they > really did not want. In contrast, the villagers were happy, they had never > intended to change their way of life, but they were pleased to have received > the latest offering from generous overseas donors. > > This project, and other projects like it, failed because the well meaning > consultants were never able to see the world from the view of the people > that they were proposing to help. Though consultants could see the well, > they never understood the value or function of the well in the lives of the > community members. The consultants never considered the chasm between their > point of view and the lives of the community. Rather than building a bridge > over the chasm, the consultants literally flew over it, spent plenty of > money, and left after a few weeks. There was never meaningful involvement > of community members in verifying the problem or designing the solution. > > In our rush to provide a solution to the digital divide, we cannot allow our > good intentions to supplant critical thought. If we fly across the chasm > that is the digital divide, we will never gain an appreciation for the depth > and width of that divide. We must build a bridge with a firm foundation on > each side of the divide. > > We must challenge conventional wisdom which assumes that technology, in and > of itself, enhances the quality of life. We must accept the responsibility > to work intimately with the communities we are proposing to help and to > assess the "appropriateness" of our efforts. The projects which are most > likely to succeed in bridging the digital divide will be identified not by > how much change they bring to a given community, but by how seamlessly they > are able to integrate technology into the existing fabric of a community. > > * Keith Honda > * Chief of Staff > * Assembly District 23 > * 100 Paseo de San Antonio #300 > * San Jose CA 95113 > * voice: 408.269.6500 > * fax: 408.277.1036 >
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