Horizontal Networks Vs. Vertical

One of the majority of our discussions was focused on The Three Industrial Revolutions and I wanted to expand on a previous post, with an emphasis on the organization of the three revolutions.

First Industrial Revolution:
Beginning: In the late 18th century.
Key technologies: Printing press, steam engine (transportation), machinery
Archetpyical workplace: workshop
Organization: Master-apprentice-serf
Expansion: This period defined individuals by their social status. Either you were lucky to have been taken in as an apprentice and work your way up to a master, or you fell into the later category of a se.rf. Much of your income was dependent on your families, or with intelligence with a bit of luck.

For the later two I would like to quote another blog that I found had a useful definition of vertical and horizontal networks.
That blog: http://growchangelearn.blogspot.com/2007/04/vertical-and-horizontal-networks.html
The poster defines them as: "Vertical networks are confining, imposed and physical. Horizontal networks are expansive, self controlled and non-physical."

The second revolution was characterized by these vertical networks in the late 19th century with the creation of: electricity, internal combustion, telegraph, telephone. Jobs were mostly taken place in factories, where there was a since of a boss, and a boss' boss. Big individual, like Rockefeller, rose out of this era.

The third revolution was characterized by horizontal networks. The advent of the Internet allowed for a bit of equality between individuals. Albeit those left behind (our topic in this class). The author describes this through a quote by Jarobe written in 2001 as "what we have is not a an Internet economy but an information economy in which computers and the Internet play an essential enabling role."

I think the distinction of these two terms is important and may be important for our exam.

One Laptop Per Child: Relating to Access

The program One Laptop Per Child seeks to achieve the access of Device, according to Warschauer, providing the computer as the physical ability to make a connection to the internet but does not necessarily include the skills & understanding of using the computer in the socially valued ways.

One Laptop Per Child also achieves similarly Van Dijk's material access where the computer again provides the physical item for connectedness; however, One Laptop Per Child does not guarantee fulfillment of the skills access, mental access nor usage access mentioned by Van Dijk. There seems to be relatively minimal intent to provide the children with the education to use the computer.