Wildcard Response

I thought it was really interesting when one of the people in the film said something about how in today's society we cannot even imagine life without computers.  While this is certainly true, this made me consider technology's affect on our society in general.  I have similar feelings as I could not even imagine what college would be like without computers, internet, powerpoints, texting, email, facebook, etc.  However, as content and I am about our current technology, I cannot help but consider what the future will be like as far as information technology is concerned.  

Can you even imagine  how painful it would be going to the library, searching through books of shelves and scholarly journals in hope that you might find something of interest for research?   This would be a painful, slow process.  Today, we just punch in what we want in a search engine or database, and instantly know if information exists and exactly what we have to do to access this information.  Furthermore, this information can come from anywhere in the world as we are so interconnected.  It may seem we have reached the pinnacle of information technology, but I'm sure 30 years from now students will look at our generation like it was the stone age.  

It is both exciting and scary to think about the future of informational technology.  I envision a world where our computer is more like a friend than a machine, and it will be your voice, not your fingers, that will do most of the work on a computer.  Digital convergence will probably eliminate physical textbook and newspapers completely, and most of the information we receive will come from a screen.  People won't be typing papers and much as they will be talking papers.  I obviously can only speculate the future of information technology, but I can guarantee that it will not be what it is today.  What effect this will inevitable technology advancements have on future generations' learning and overall on society in general?  

If anyone's interested here's an interesting video about the internet's influence on information technology: Web 2.0

Movie Response #1

In each of these cases, there are many factors at play that are the ultimate in determining the success of a student. Cedra's father works hands on with computers and this naturally steered her towards the same field. She goes to Silicon Valley which is a high technology environment. When questioned about her schooling experience, she mentions that it is "assumed" that you will have a nice job because of the lots of opportunities you have at that school. This is something that naturally aids in Cedra's ability to be attending Brown. She has the support of a technologically advanced school and doesn't have the pressures of money struggles due to her parents' support and prominent positions within the community.

However, look at Kep. Born into a family of refugees in Cambodia, he completely turns his life around due to the access and support he has from his school. He gets an internship which provides him with hands on experience and helps round out his resume and has the opportunity to go to CalTech. Naturally the support that his family provides along with the technology access he has, are the tools that he took advantage of in order to be successful.

What sets Travis apart from Kep? They went to the same school and had the same access to the same technology. Maybe it is that Kep was more motivated since he knew this was the only opportunity he would probably ever have to make a name for himself and relieve some of the financial burden in place on his family. He probably didn't want to spend the rest of his life working at the doughnut shop his parents ran. What about Travis though? The reason he barely graduated was due to his own neglectfullness in checking the compatibility of his presentation. He mentions he should have been more careful.

Luisa had her graduation delayed due to working too much at her fast food job. As a student who had to work throughout her high school career, I completely understand how tough it is to balance working with school. However, a smart student knows where to draw the line and when working becomes too much. Then again though, when one has such financial pressure, this line can become blurred because of the need for money. Perhaps if she came from a family like Cedra, and she didn't have financial concerns, she would have had more time to study for her Photoshop exam.

In each of these situations, family life is probably one of the most crucial factors. However, Kep shows that just because one comes from a family that is struggling doesn't mean you can't make more for yourself. It is important to note that hard work can overcome any obstacle because someone will notice it. Besides for the four C's, family life is the most important aspect determining success. All these students seemed to have a basic knowledge of how to use computers, a means of accessing them, and a reason to access them (four C's) but they all had outside influences that propelled them towards or hindered them from success. Honestly, I was not very surprised by the way everything turned out.

Movie Response #4

The three different school environments were a bit of a surprise to me because they were definately very different from other typical high schools. I feel that the two Tech schools do a good job of preparing the students for their careers, but I do not believe that that is what is important in high school. In William B. Travis High School in Texas, they wanted to help the students out by finding a passion and something to be interested in, with the focus primarily on computers. They did this by creating a multimedia class. This is a good way for the students to learn the computer and internet skills they might need later in life. On the other hand, when schools, like Tech High, only serve one purpose- in trying to prepare the students for their career, the students are then missing out on everything else in high school.

When the educational psychologist had talked in the movie, she said, "it is not about making a living, but about making a life." I feel that that statement sums it up. Students that are in high school should be developing academic AND social intelligence. They need to be well-rounded students, not just skilled in one particular area- computers. I feel that all of the fun events and activities, such as dances and football games, are extremely important in helping each student develop their LIFE and personality, not just skills needed in career, becuase our lives are so much more than just our job.

I feel that Tech High's business school environment is not the way of the future, becuase it is leaving out so much that students should be learning and experiencing as a young adult. I'm not saying that the preparation for a career is not important, but rather that there is a place and time for everything. There could be separate courses and places, such as the Urban League shown in the video, where students can learn these technology skills, but I don't feel that it is necessary and healthy to teach the kids ONLY what they should know for their career.

Midterm - Goals / Loc. of Near N Branch

What were two goals local politicains and community leaders hoped to accomplish with construction?
"The library and the mayor hoped that locating Near North on the border between Cabrini Green and the Gold Coast would accomplish two things: encourage others improvements in Cabrini and bring together residents of two neighborhoods who had virtually no no contact with one another." (pg 37)

How did location play a role in the creation of the library?
The location of the Near North branch was important 'to communicate the vision bridge the neighborhoods, as well as the practical and persuasive point that the Chicago Public Library would not fund two branches in the area'. It attracted patrons from both communities.

The right location also ensured accessibility to it by Cabrini Green while wasn't so far that those from the Gold Coast weren't too intimidated to venture into the perceived danger by car in Cabrini Green. (pg 37)

Missed MIS

Although the discussion is far from passed, thought I'd get caught up on posting before the exam;
MIS for 'Race & Place':
I found the most ill-conceived statement on pg 32 when the librarian explained low circulation as due to that the largely black, mostly working-class community simply didn't read.

MES for 'Better Together':
I found the most encouraging statement as the statement that a woman made about how she felt when the Near North Branch was placed in Cabrini Green (pg 37?):
"Before, I though no one cared about people around Cabrini. And so we didn't care. Now I feel like someone is watching, trying to make thigns better. So I am trying to better myself and my children."

Midterm: Lifelong Learning

Koontz, C. M., Jue, D. K., & Lance, K. C. (2004). Neighborhood-based in-library use performance measures for public libraries: A nationwide study of majority-minority and majority white/low income markets using personal digital data collectors.

How do libraries fulfill a role in the process of lifelong learning for low-income persons?

"Public libraries are one of the few if not only public information resources in areas having a high concentration of low-income individuals... public libraries are vital in diminishing the information gap between the technical elite and the technical poor..."(pg. 30) Libraries are fulfilling the role for the low-income population by providing the free access to resources. Access to the internet, and access to literature not only helps students with their research but can be utilized by anyone to learn at least the basics about any skill set. In this way libraries become a lifelong tool for the have nots. As long as libraries stay up to date with their technology and means of access, anyone with access to the library will be just as conected to resources as anybody else with the luxury of internet at home.

Midterm: What is GIS...?

What is GIS, and how and why did the researches use it in the context of this study? Why were notions of space important?

First of all, GIS stands for geographic informational systems. In one part of this article software was used to plot the closest library to any location in the city, creating polygons among the NYC area. GIS can be useful to create maps (known as cartography) but they also include useful ways to obtain certain information that is area specific. The polygons mapped onto NYC were used as spacial units that were analyzed by data such as population, race, median household income, and educational attainment for the population. It can be assumed that any given individual would most frequent the closest library to their house so this information was used alongside the data received from each library to analyze the public uses and issues with the libraries.

If this field of study at all interests you our college offers a certificate in GIS (http://www.geography.wisc.edu/GISCertificate/index.htm). The certificate includes 4 classes and some electives. To get an idea of learning more about GIS the four base classes include Geology 370, 377, 560, 578, which are named Introduction to Cartography, Introduction to GIS, Advanced Quantitative Methods, and GIS Applications respectively.

Week 3- Humboldt Park & Uptown

Week 3: Putnam & Feldstein 

How did the Humboldt Park Branch engage its largely Latino patron base? What about Uptown?

Humboldt Park

-The library maintains an extensive collection of Spanish-language books, magazines and newspapers

-They combine the youth and adult nonfiction section  because some adults may not have high reading abilities.  With the combination, they won't feel embarrassed looking for books at their reading level, which could possibly be directed towards the youth books. 

Uptown

-Has a large Southeast Asian population

-The library has a variety of books in Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese, English-language books, Russian, and other languages. 

-Many of the newcomers get a library card so that they can connect to their "new home", and the library is seen as the "least threatening public institution". 

Midterm (Week 03)

In the article Race and Place: A personal account of unequal access, author Tracie Hall describes the "White Cathedral" as "A gleaming white, newly blue-carpeted edifice to self-learning." Hall then describes the limitless amount of resources and books and study spaces. The extravagance of the "white cathedral" represents the inequality between the wealthy who live near and utilize the "white cathedral" and the poor who use the "yellow palace" local branch lacking many resources. 

Neighborhood-based in-library use performance measures... week 4

List some of the alternative measures of library use the researchers identified and collected usage statistics on. What can these alternative measures tell library management, administration and others about a given branch library's use?

Alternative measures:

-Language of materials

-Transaction type (in person, by phone, etc)

-Age of user

-Library location of activity

-User activity

-Computer software used

-Number of users in activity

By using these alternative measures, instead of relying solely on circulation data, a better sense of the actual library use can be gained. Library management will learn where to invest more time and effort in the library and administration can better appropriate funding to areas of the library that need it. These alternative measures can help to make the library more effective and more appealing to what the public is actually interested in using the library for.

Midterm: "Social capital and cyberspace in the African American community

The authors invoke Castells' "dual city"? What is it? Briefly identify.

The term dual cities refers to the power of new information technologies creating differences in the social structure and in power relationshps. The term refers to how there are often two separate cities located in one city due to poverty. This situation creates groups who "have" and groups that "don't have" the technologies that enable them to obtain information.

Midterm: Community analysis: Research that matters to a north-central Denver community

Describe some of the tools and other data sources the researchers reviewed.

The researchers used a wide variety of tools to get a good representation of what the community was like and to get a feel for the people in it. The used "Walk arounds" to get a general feel for the neighborhood and how people in the neighborhood moved around. They looked for bus stops, sidewalks, bridges, etc. The researchers also looked at old newspaper articles to get a feel for the community's past and get a feel for how it has changed, so they can try to anticipate how it would change in the future. They sought out leaders in the neighborhood that could identify the needs of individual groups like church groups or schools. Finally they walked around with a video camera to interview the average person living in the community. This got people interested and excited about what would be happening in their community.

Pragmatic Technology-Week 5 (for Midterm 1)

From "Community Informatics: Integrating Action, Research, and Learning."

Featured on Page Eight

Definition- meeting human needs and accomodating all users in the creation and use of ICT's( Information and Communication Technologies).

1) Is a part of the principle of Community Inquiry: the ICT is not only a device for bringing excluded classes into information society and the digital public forum, but also, a context itself for the understanding of society and an instrument to conduct efforts in research, organization, and facilitation to bring the formerly excluded into the digital society.

2) Emphasizes a strong link between social groups and social institutions to understand societal needs and to cooperate in finding solutions to the digital divide to benefit society.

3) Stresses democratic inclusion in society as the only way to include new users in the digital information society in a way that is natural and meets its full potential.

- Comon Language Notion
-Meeting real human needs

Extrapolated to the whole picture of connecting the formerly disconnected:

**Society and implementors of new technology must openly converse, be on the same wavelength, and pursue the same goals for the successful proliferation of information technology to former nonusers with technology being the main vehicle for reaching society, analyzing society, and integrating society in the context of the four c's( content, connectivity, capability, and context) into the technology driven information society that we live in.

Midterm - Definition of Neighborhoods

Japzon, A. C., & Gong, H. (2005). A neighborhood analysis of public library use in New York City. Library & Quarterly, 75(4): 446-463. Addresses social capital issues and library branches serving communities of color in NYC.

How did the researchers define “neighborhoods”?

In this article the nieghborhood is defined as "a geographical or spatial entity with boundaries." Each nieghborhood has its own certain characteristics that produce an overall identity, to which libraries must provide service for. The article provides examples of attributes that contribute to this identity such as demographics, the environment, proximity, its political attributes, and its social-interactive characteristics. These factors vary by importance throughout each neighborhood, but the most important attribute, the article argues, is the "social and spatial interactions" in the community. It goes on to give a narrower definition of a neighborhood based off this argument, that it is a "limited territory within a larger urban area, where people inhabit dwellings and interact socially." It also defines it as a place in which "certain social relationships exist." These different definitions highlights the articles stand point on the nieghborhood and the relationships within a community that gives it a certain identity. The library must understand this identity providing materials and resources that will benefit and help this identity grow.

Kevin Nieuwenhuis

Midterm - Social Interactions

To what does Putnam attribute the change in the social interactions of groups since the mid-20th century to now?  Provide a few examples, both before and after.

According to Putnam, Americans are becoming less concerned with community wellbeing as we were in the past, due to our increasingly individualistic society.  Putnam writes: “In several surveys in 1999 two-thirds of American said that America’s civic life had weakened in recent years, that social and moral values were higher when they were growing up, and that our society was focused more on the individual than the community.”  Social gatherings such as bowling leagues, poker games, and group barbecues seem to be disappearing and factors like the Internet and social movements may play a role in this.  

Gentrification in Cabrini Green and the Gold Coast

According to Mirriam-Webster's online dictionary, Gentrification is defined as the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.

One of the most fitting examples of this occured in Cabrini Green when the new Near North Library was built. When they built the library, they had the idea that they would build it on the border of the "slum" neighborhoods so as to make it as easily and centrally located to both communitites. What ended up happening is once the library went in, the neighborhood started getting less rough and newer buildings started going in to complement the library. Once this happened, property values began to rise and a new group began moving into the area: the middle class. When the property owners realized they could start charging higher rent because of the new, higher income levels, the low income families got driven out of the area, many into lower quality places, because they couldnt afford to live there anymore. This is a prime example of gentrification in Chicago.