Reader Response (Draft 3) "World Wakes Up to Digital Divide"

Wakefield (2010) implies that, countries around the world have started to take action in response to the digital divide. Research by International Telecommunications Union ( ITU) indicates that there is a greater difference between the most and least connected countries. In order to tackle the problem, Eastern European countries like Hungary have implemented a ‘Wi-Fi village’ program by providing Internet access as well as cheap recycled PCs to rural villagers. Moreover, certain countries like America have attempted to reach native communities which remain as a ‘barren desert’ by offering technical support in ‘specialised healthcare’. Wakefield also suggests that authorities should consider the ability of the citizens in utilizing network resources to maximize its benefits.

In my opinion, I do agree that the benefits of internet is unremarkable, however countries should consider its ability and the feasibility of such mass expenditure before implementing policies in response to digital divide. These considerations are essential to prevent them from investing blindly just to narrow the so call “digital divide”.

Firstly, we know that in order to establish widespread internet connections, a country has to invest a vast amount of money in terms of infrastructure. Hence, one should not disregard the significance of the country’s income level while considering the substantial needs for technology.  In the news article, ITU analyst Vanessa Gray points out that there is a correlation between a country's scale of digital divide and its economic status, but she seems to underestimate the implication of the economic factor by stating that ‘being able to compare gives them the incentive to do better’. According to the data of The World Bank, Iceland is rated as the high income country with a gross national income per capita (GNI) of $12,746 or more, while Myanmar only possesses a GNI of $1,045 or less. The massive income disparity between both countries has a distinct effect on their ability to provide nationwide internet access. It is obvious that Myanmar is just too poor and it is not practical for the government to invest in those costly communication infrastructures.

Furthermore, even though a country did have the ability to establish nationwide internet access, is it really feasible to invest heavily in technology while neglecting other phases of development? For example, Wakefield mentions that Hungary has invested a substantial amount on the development of high speed fibre-optics cable, at the same time providing training for rural villagers. However, the Education at a Glance 2014 report by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reveals that Hungary has serious weaknesses in education equity, challenging the government to retain and support their students in finishing their tertiary education. On the other hand, Hungary’s total expenditure on education institutions as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product(GDP) is only 4.4%, implying “the steepest decrease among all OECD countries” in year 2011. (OECD, 2014). The report also mentions that the level of education attainment has an evident effect on the unemployment rate of the people in Hungary. According to Okun’s Law, a decrease in the rate of employment will eventually cause a decrease in a country’s GDP. Therefore, the negligence of Hungary in the education sector should not be ignored as it may affect the country’s economy in long term basis.

As a conclusion, the policy makers play an important role in deciding the country’s direction of development and the future of the people. Hence, they should always consider these realistic measures and make the most out of the countries’ income instead of merely following the global trend.

References:

Wakefield, J. (2010). World wakes up to digital divide. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8568681.stm

The World Bank. (n.d.). Country and lending groups. Retrieved September 19, 2014, from http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2014). Education at a glance 2014- country note. Retrieved September 19, 2014, from http://www.oecd.org/edu/Hungary-EAG2014-Country-Note.pdf

What Is the relationship between GDP and unemployment rates? (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2014, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-relationship-between-gdp-and-unemployment-rates.htm

Essay Outline

Main topic area:

Challenges for Malaysian teachers to fully embrace Information and Communication Technology(ICT) in teaching.

Main problem identified:

Some teachers who are not well versed in ICT will not be able to enhance effective learning processes within students.

Proposed solution:

Ministry of Education should implement training programs to ensure that teachers are equipped with basic IT knowledge.

Proposed Thesis

While taken into account that application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching enhances students' effective learning process, the Ministry of Education should provide relevant training programs to make sure that the educators are up for the job.

Reader Response (Draft 2) "World Wakes Up to Digital Divide"

Wakefield (2010) implies that, countries around the world have started to take action in response to the digital divide. Research by International Telecommunications Union ( ITU) indicates that there is a greater difference between the most and least connected countries. In order to tackle the problem, Eastern European countries like Hungary have implemented a ‘Wi-Fi village’ program by providing Internet access as well as cheap recycled PCs to rural villagers. Moreover, certain countries like America have attempted to reach native communities which remain as a ‘barren desert’ by offering technical support in ‘specialised healthcare’. Wakefield also suggests that authorities should consider the ability of the citizens in utilizing network resources to maximize its benefits.

In my opinion, the increasing global awareness towards digital divide is an essential evolution. Alongside with the rapid development around the world, internet access had been declared as one of the modern 'basic necessities' by the young generation. However, it is only applicable to the 'developed countries'.

In the news article, ITU analyst Vanessa Gray points out that there is a correlation between a country's scale of digital divide and its economic status, but she seemed to underestimate the implication of the economic factor by stating that ‘being able to compare gives them the incentive to do better’. One should not disregard the significance of the country’s income level while considering the substantial needs for technology.  Comparing the developed and underdeveloped countries, the massive income disparity has a distinct effect on people's spending priorities. People in Iceland can afford to spend more to fulfil their desires apart from their needs. In contrast, people in Bangladesh may not even afford to feed themselves. When it comes to the issue of internet access, we can safely conclude that it is not practical for people in underdeveloped countries to invest in this certain aspect.

Besides, it is noted that Hungary has invested a substantial amount on the development of high speed fibre-optics cable, but at the same time it is 'traditionally lagged behind' in terms of economics compared to countries in the same continent. This shows that it may be hard for a country to achieve a well-balanced growth in all aspects and it depends on the government to decide its focus on a country’s development.  According to the statistics from Internet World Stats, a developing country such as Malaysia may not be considered as highly connected country with only 67% of internet penetration. However, the government did take the effort in providing higher education at lower costs for its people. The Hot Courses Abroad website states that the overall cost for a degree in Malaysia can start from as little as $2800. In the BBC article, the importance of education is further elevated as Sascha Meinrath mentions that, 'Providing books to everyone doesn't help those who cannot read in the first place.' If and only if the people possess the ability to utilize the network, then we can assure that they truly benefit from it. Hence, I support that the authorities should invest in terms on education which is more worthy rather that investing solely on the technology itself.

Maslow’s Theory of Needs implies that human are motivated to fulfill certain needs and they seek to fulfill the next one after one need is fulfilled. Hence, when the people cannot even satisfy their physiological needs, how can they afford to satisfy the technological needs? Moreover, even if they manage to acquire the infrastructure, it is also useless if they do not have the specific knowledge. As a conclusion, technological benefit is only beneficial when basic needs had been fulfilled while taken into account that humans are capable in making use of it. The authorities should keep this in mind rather than investing blindly just to narrow the so call "digital divide".

References:
Wakefield, J. (2010). World wakes up to digital divide. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8568681.stm

Asia internet use, population data and facebook statistics. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm

Comparing the costs of a degree overseas. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://www.hotcoursesabroad.com/study-abroad-info/student-finances/costs-of-education/

Mcleod, S. (2007). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Retrieved September 12, 2014, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Reader Response (Draft 1) "World Wakes Up to Digital Divide"

Wakefield (2010) implies that, countries around the world have started to take action in response to the digital divide. Research by International Telecommunications Union ( ITU) indicates that there is a greater difference between the most and least connected countries. In order to tackle the problem, Eastern European countries like Hungary have implemented a ‘Wi-Fi village’ program by providing Internet access as well as cheap recycled PCs to rural villagers. Moreover, certain countries like America have attempted to reach native communities which remain as a ‘barren desert’ by offering technical support in ‘specialised’ healthcare. However, authorities should also consider the ability of the citizens in utilizing network resources to maximize its benefits.

In my opinion, the increasing global awareness towards digital divide is an essential evolution. Alongside with the rapid development around the world, particularly the developed countries, internet access had been declared as one of the modern 'basic necessities' by the young generation. However, it is only applicable to the 'developed countries'.

In the news article, ITU analyst Vanessa Gray did point out that there is a correlation between a country's scale of digital divide and its economic status, but she seemed to underestimate the implication of the economic factor by stating that ‘being able to compare gives them the incentive to do better’. One should not disregard the significance of the country’s income level while considering the substantial needs for technology.  Comparing the developed and underdeveloped countries, the massive income disparity has a distinct effect on people's spending priorities. For example, people in Iceland can afford to spend more to fulfil their desires apart from their needs. On the contrary, people in Myanmar may not even afford to feed themselves. When it comes to the issue of internet access, we can safely conclude that it is not practical for people in underdeveloped countries to invest in this certain aspect, hence resulting in the digital divide.

The second issue is the different focus on a country’s development. It is noted that Hungary has 'traditionally lagged behind' in terms of economics compared to countries in the same continent despite its focus on the development of high speed fibre-optics cable. This shows that it is hard for a country to achieve a well-balanced growth in all aspects. Developing countries such as Malaysia are not considered as the highly connected countries, but the government did took the effort in providing higher education at lower costs for its people.  In the news article itself, report author Sascha Meinrath mention that, 'Providing books to everyone doesn't help those who cannot read in the first place.' If and only if the people possess the ability to utilize the network, then we can assure that they truly benefit from it.  In short, I believe that investing in terms of education is much more worthy compare to the technology itself.

Nevertheless, I do acknowledged the role of internet in worldwide connections. With internet access, global communities can communicate with each other without geographical restrictions. Besides that, online services such as internet banking and online shopping make life easier by saving a lot of unnecessary waiting time. Different job opportunities are also created throughout the virtual world, providing options for people to work from home. All in all, I agree that technology does benefits the community in various aspects of life. However, it will never bypass the substantial status of physiological needs which is a must for living. Technological benefit is only beneficial when basic needs had been fulfilled while taken into account that humans are capable in making use of it.

References:
Wakefield, J. (2010). World wakes up to digital divide. Retrieved September 7, 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8568681.stm

Benefits of internet use. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2014 from http://www.cyberethics.info/cyethics1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=186&Itemid=83&lang=en

     

Summary (Digital Divide)

According to Wakefield (2010), countries around the world have started to take action in response to the digital divide. Research by International Telecommunications Union ( ITU) indicates that there is a greater difference between the most and least connected countries. In order to tackle the problem, Eastern European countries like Hungary have implemented a ‘Wi-Fi village’ program by providing Internet access as well as cheap recycled PCs to rural villagers. Moreover, certain countries like America have attempted to reach native communities which remain as a ‘barren desert’ by offering technical support in ‘specialised’ healthcare. However, authorities should also consider the ability of the citizens in utilizing network resources to maximize its benefits.   

D1 Summary

According to Leake and Warren (2009), researchers from Ohio State University implied that heavy Facebook users, particularly university students, tended to dedicate lesser time for their academic work. This in turn resulted in an adverse effect to their examination results and 'grade point average' compared to those who did not use Facebook.

Small things, Big difference.

There was once when I had a short conversation with my mother. It was about my neighbor's three-year old child. He was suffering from a high fever and his parents had to send him to the hospital. Our conversation was eventually drawn to my childhood stories, which I can hardly remember. My mom told me that I experienced the same situation a couple of years ago. Everyone was so worried as there had been myths claiming that high fever will cause brain damage.

However, the main issue that caught my attention was not the incident itself. Instead, it was my mother's expression when she explained the whole incident. I can still recall that she tended to blame herself for her negligence in taking care of me thus resulting in this incident. I was so touched at that moment but I chose to keep it to myself. 

This event had a huge impact on my perception of life for which I am now more appreciative towards everything, particularly to my parents. I used to put things off when my parents ask me to do house chores but now I will not hesitate to fulfill their request. I appreciate every single moment that we spent together although it was just part of the daily routine.

On the other hand, I always bear in mind that life is full of uncertainties. We can neither alter the past nor predict the future, hence what we can do is to appreciate the present. This pretty much concludes who I am today and I can foresee a better future with this mindset.          

Edited on 3rd of September.