Ch9 Broader IssuesCommunity or Isolation?Slide 3How Do You Measure Community?What About Isolation?Return to Mayberry?Blacksburg Electronic VillageSlide 8Slide 9Slide 10Computer AddictionCybersexCybersexProblems with Stanford StudyWho gets hooked?Information Haves and Have NotsCommunications Act of 1934CPSR & Universal Access"Larry Irving: Digital Divide Lives, Few People Care"Newsbytes (04/18/02); MacMillan, RobertThe Market's RoleAre Computers Hurting Education?Slide 22Political Freedom"War on E-Mail Spam Ratchets Up in Courts, Legislatures" Christian Science Monitor (4/18/2) P. 1; Marks, AlexandraPredictions from the PastSlide 264/15/02 CSC309 Miller 1Ch9 Broader Issues4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 2Community or Isolation?Many people feel that the impact of computers on community, social, and interpersonal interaction is negative and will get worse.Will on-line shopping kill real stores and eliminate the need for community-based professionals? Will the effluent pull back on support for local schools and public services?11/12/02 CSC309 Miller 3Community or Isolation?Will the ability to do so many things from home (shop, vote, bank, etc.) cut down on people to people interaction and result in a de-emphasis in the importance of community?Are there factors other than technology thatoffer greater threats to the concept of community ?Have these other factors already killed thesense of community?11/12/02 CSC309 Miller 4How Do You MeasureCommunity?It has been suggested that a good measureof “community” is the number of organizations that people join and are active in.Unlike studies of the early 90’s, recent studies tend to indicate that this is not aproblem.11/12/02 CSC309 Miller 5What About Isolation?There was a real concern about what the impact of the telephone would be. It was feared that it would negatively impact peoples abilityto talk face to face.Many people are reporting that e-mailcorrespondence has allowed them to keep in touch with the modern dispersed family.11/12/02 CSC309 Miller 6Return to Mayberry?Since the early 80’s there has been a move from the cities to the suburbs or smaller communities.It has been hypothesized that it is technologythat has given us ability to remotely computeand communicate that has made this possible.4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 7Blacksburg Electronic VillageBEV was put in operation in Oct of 93 as a partnership between the town of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech, and Bell Atlantic to improve community networking service to the level available on the Virginia Tech campus. Bell Atlantic installed a switch and a T1 line to the library and several hundred apartments while Virginia Tech provided personnel for management/development.4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 8Blacksburg Electronic VillageBy 1996, 45% of the population had access to BEV. All 20 local schools, 14 local news groups, more than 100 community groups and 200 businesses maintained BEV sites.Most active of the community groups were the seniors, the Islamic Center, and the arts council.User surveys consistently find the principle uses of the network are learning and teaching (35% of all traffic), civic interests, social relations, support for work or business, consumer information, entertainment, and medical services.4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 9Blacksburg Electronic VillageUsers/uses include Church groups, mountain bikers club, florist, travel agents, doctors, current issues forums,etc.Neat applications include a virtual science lab (4 schools and the university), a virtual science fair, MOOsburg (a multi-user model of the city), and a collaborative history of the city project,4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 10Blacksburg Electronic VillageWant to claim success integrating distinct and sometimes conflicting views. The vision of wide access and participation, well-developed but somewhat insular subcommittees, entrepreneurial initiative, and independently originated new applications and serviceare not always compatible.After 3 years accesses to BEV were approaching 250,000 per month.11/35/02 CSC309 Miller 11Computer AddictionThis is a real problem. Computer games have knocked more than a few studentsout of college. You might have noticed that old-timers tend to get hooked on Solitaire. (or e-bay)4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 12Cybersex Stanford study published 4/99 in “Professional Psychology: Research and Practice”9 million people a day log on to the Internet for sexual pursuits.8% were determined to be sexually compulsive because they spent more than 11 hours a week on cybersex and felt it interfered with their lives.13CSC309 Miller4/15/02Cybersex60% admitted to lying about their age.40% admitted to lying about their race.47% were married.The three “A”s of the Internet: affordability, accessibility, and anonymity.4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 14Problems with Stanford Study1. If all of these people admit to lying then at least that number does. Why believe them now?2. Since when does not feeling you have a problem mean that you don't have one?3. Arbitrary selection of hours needed to be addicted.4. Sample size not given or details on how data collected.11/13/02 CSC309 Miller 15Who gets hooked?Studies have reported that Internet addicts tend to have the personality that leads to addiction and it is probable that if they were not addicted to the Internet then there would be something else such as gambling, drug abuse, etc.4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 16Information Haves andHave NotsA family with a college education and earning over $50,000 is five times as likely to have a computer as one with non-graduates earning less than $30,000.Over half of the children of college graduates use a computer at home while only 17% of children in homes where the parents have high school education or less do.Are colleges with poorly supported computer labs even playing fields?4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 17Communications Act of 1934Under the universal service guarantee found inthe act, telephone companies are required to provide telephone service to poor people at low rates, subsidized by other customers.Do we need to extend this principle to the NET?CPSR argues that in an information-drivensociety the answer is yes.4/15/02 CSC309 Miller 18CPSR & Universal AccessAccording to CPSR, Universal Access requires:1. A place where everyone can go to get access.2. Easily used equipment.3. Training in the use of hardware and software.4. Affordable access.5. Access to the full range of features.4/21/02 CSC309 Miller 19"Larry Irving: Digital Divide Lives, Few People