Article 4

E-Mail Is for Old People:  As students ignore their campus accounts, colleges try new ways of communicating

Carnevale, D.  (2006)  E-mail is for old people: as students ignore their campus accounts, colleges try new ways of communicating.  The Cronicle of Higher Education, October 6, 2008, A27-A29.

Summary:

Dan Carnevale writes of the dilemma facing colleges and universities pertaining to the dispensing of information.  Several different educational institutions are discussed as well as different solutions to this problem.  The dilemma centers on students not checking their university email accounts.  Students have become disillusioned with the amount of messages they have been receiving and have stopped checking their accounts and are therefore not getting vital university information.  According to Brian Niles, “colleges need to branch out and find new ways to connect with students.”  Several solutions have been tried with some success.  These include campus MySpace pages, text messages and web portals.  Carnevale suggests that campuses and universities find ways to communicate with their students that the students will respond to.  He suggests that MySpace pages and web portals are less formal than university emails and will be received better by students.  Although many students like the new applications for information sharing some believe that these measure are unnecessary and that the colleges are trying too hard.  The University of South Carolina is an example of a school that has not chosen to use different methods to communicate.  They require students to check their campus emails and hold them responsible for the information they contain. 

Response:

I found this article very interesting.  I think it is a really great idea for colleges and universities to start thinking about how they dispense information to their students.  Educational institutions need to start thinking outside the box in order to connect to the new population of college students who use multiple different technologies to communicate with one another.  Using social networking sites such as MySpace and web portals would be a very effective way to communicate with students.  I liked the way that Harcum College uses a MySpace page to communicate with their students.  I think the use of a question section where students can pose questions to university officials and someone will get back to them in a timely manner will be a very effective way to communicate with students.  I also was intrigued by the idea of a text messaging service such as the one used by Pennsylvania State University.  I think that allowing students to choose what types of messages they receive via texts is a very smart service.  Whatever methods colleges and universities choose to adopt it is clear that a change is necessary and it will be interesting to see how this shift in presentation of information plays out.

Article 3

“Dilberts of the World, Unite!”

Sirota, D.  (2008, June 23) .  Dilberts of the world, unite!.  The Nation,

Summary:

David Sirota, in his article “Dilberts of the World, Unite!”, discuses the rise and fall of high tech workers from the early 1990’s to the present day.  He specifically focuses on Microsoft and their treatment of temporary workers, which Sirota adamantly believes are being mistreated.  Sirota writes that high tech jobs are on the decline after doubling between 1977 and 2004.  Between 2008 and 2010 one third of employment growth is said to be in white-collar jobs not high tech industries.  Sirota writes of several contributing factors.  A main factor is outsourcing.  In 1990 congress created a program named H-1B which allows large employers like Microsoft to employ foreign workers for high tech jobs. Sirota quotes a study conducted by the Center for Immigrant Studies who found that H-1B employees were paid an average of $13,000 less than American workers.  Bill Gates has personally lobbied in support of the H-1B program and Microsoft is one of the biggest employers of H-1B workers.  Sirota writes that Gates claims there aren’t skilled American to hire for these jobs but disagrees with this.  Sirota writes of WashTech, a union-like organization formed to support permatemps.  Microsoft hires many workers as permatemps and avoids giving benefits by contracting with employment agencies that actually employ the permatemps.  Sirota argues that the reasoning behind the H-1B program is bogus due to the fact that Microsoft has a huge pool of workers who are currently working as permatemps who could be hired as full time employees.  A poll done by WashTech in 2005 shows this difference of opinion.  Half of all high tech workers don’t think outsourcing will affect their jobs, but a simultaneous poll of high tech executives showed that they plan to ramp up outsourcing.

Response:

I found this article very interesting and well written.  Sirota follows a logical path of the rise and fall of such a “right now” profession.  I found it very disturbing that so many workers felt unthreatened about their jobs getting outsourced while at the same time their supervisors are planning to outsource even more.  I was also disturbed by the fact that Microsoft employs too many permatems and effectively avoids putting up money for benefits.  I foolishly thought that a company that gives so much to our schools would treat their employees better.  I guess I was wrong.  The bottom line once again wins.  Using a foreign worker who costs $13,000 less is $13,000 more in the pocket of the company.

Article 2

“Personally Controlled Online Health Data—The Next Big Thing in Medical Care?”

Steinbrook, R.  (2008) .  Personally controlled online health data—the next big thing in medical care?  The New England Journal of Medicine,  April 17, 2008,  1653-1656.

Summary:

Doctor Robert Steinbrook, in his article published by The New England Journal of Medicine, weighs in on the pros and cons of online repositories.  Steinbrook introduces readers to Dossia, Microsoft Health Vault and Google Health which are described as new ventures meant to provide patients with the ability to store, access, manage and share their personal health records.  Services provided by these online repositories include personal health histories, lists of medications used by the patient, allergies, immunization records, lab test results and records of doctor visits.  Steinbrook poses the question of whether utilization of these services will benefit patients in the form of improved health and lower health care costs or benefit the economy by creating new job opportunities.  The creation of online repositories will require doctors to decide whether they want to interface their electronic patient records with the new patient sites.  This also brings up questions of confidentiality.  Health care providers who use electronic patient records and allow patients to view these online are required to follow the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which in turn protects patients’ confidentiality.  Online repositories are not required to follow HIPAA rules and therefore are not required to protect patient confidentiality.  According to Dr. Steinbrook patients utilizing repositories would have more opportunities to manage their own health.  Steinbrook lists the advantages to patient controlled health records as improved health, communications between doctor and patient and coordination between health agencies which will in turn help to avoid medical emergencies.    Steinbrook also claims that better coordinated care will result in lower health care costs through the use of wellness programs which will aid in preventative care. 

Response:

This article poses an interesting view on technological advances.  Technology in the medical field is always advancing.  Electronic patient records are nothing new.  Independent websites that allow patients to manage their own healthcare are.  Group Health Cooperative in Washington State has recently created something similar to an online repository.  MyGroupHealth is an online site that contains electronic patient records and resources for patients to manage their own health care.  All patient records within Group Health are easily accessible by health care providers who are involved in a patients care.  Records are shared within offices and therefore no unnecessary time is spent duplicating patient records or tests.  This type of system can be very beneficial for patients as well as health care professionals.  I agree with Doctor Steinbrook that online patient record repositories such as MyGroupHealth can provide patients with improved health by giving patients the resources they need and the access to their personal health information.  I believe that creating online patient records that could be accessed in an emergency could save lives, time and money.  Providing patients with the resources they need to better manage their own care will create a sense of personal responsibility for their own health.  One aspect of online repositories such as Dossia, Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault that I am concerned with is the opportunity for breaches in patient confidentiality.  Personal health records must be kept confidential.  There are benefits and drawbacks to using technology in this way which must be thoroughly worked through before anything is put in place.  I expect to see more doctors’ offices imple

Article 1

"Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change"

Postman, N.  (1998, March 27) .  Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change.  In De Palma, P. (Ed.) .  (2011).  Annual editions:  Computers in Society.  (pp. 3-6) .  New York:  McGraw Hill. 

 

Summary:

In his address to the New Tech Conference in Denver Colorado on March 27, 1998 Neil Postman outlines five things he thinks all people should know about technological change.  Postman bases his theories on thirty years of experience studying technological change.  He has formed these theories for people who are concerned with the effect of technology on religious faith.  Postman’s first theory is his idea that new technology has advantages as well as disadvantages.  His second idea is that new technology helps some people but harms others.  Postman writes that new technology poses consequences that may be unpredictable and irreversible for his third theory.  In his fourth theory Postman warns readers to be cautious about new technology.  Postman writes that new technology not only adds to our existence it changes it.  Lastly Postman suggests that new technology has become mythic; meaning that it is accepted as truth which makes it more difficult to modify or control.

Reaction:

Neil Postman writes about technology is a very negative light.  He appears to be afraid of technological change.  This article is very biased and quite amateur.  His references to the Christian faith and bible are extraneous and detrimental to his theories being accepted as scholarly work.  His advice to be cautious about new technology is valid.  It is important as educators to fully evaluate whether incorporating technology into our classrooms will benefit our students and help them meet learning goals.  The use of technology for technology’s sake is inappropriate.  Technology can add to educational experiences if it is used correctly.  The use of technology to provide online distance education courses is an example in which technology provides people with greater access to education which in turn benefits society.