Tools
Collaboration
Choose from templates
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Cons
- Too much uncensored information is found on the Internet.
- A lot of information has not been censored or organized.
- Many useless results
- A great deal of information on the Internet is unreliable, fake and dangerous.
- Any person can publish materials on the Internet.
- Unlike the common press, the Internet has removed most of the gates that ensure the information is evaluated, corrected and revised before publication.
- The Internet has become a channel that allows the spreading of malicious information such as pornography and terrorism.
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Up-to-date information is always available on the Internet.
- Latest information can be found in the Internet which makes it more useful than common printed materials.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Most information on the Internet is free of charge.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Most information on the Internet is free of charge.
- We can share information with others through the Internet with a number of communication channels such as:
- E-mail
- Blogs
- FTP servers
- Peer-to-peer networks
- The World Wide Web is the largest source of free information in the world.
- We can get access to information about any topic within a few seconds using a web browser, save time and money.
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- The Internet provides various kinds of information.
25.1 Equity of Access
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat_Sen
Wikipedia is an example of the Internet being a source of free information.
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- The Internet provides various kinds of information.
- In the past, we mainly obtained knowledge through printed materials such as books and encyclopedias.
- The Internet has now become the major source of information for most people in the world.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- The Internet is full of huge amounts of information about almost anything.
- Some of it is useful, up-to-date, well-organized and accurate.
- Some is outdated, illegal, unethical and inaccurate.
25.1 Equity of Access
Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Tiramisu
A web page teaching us how to make Tiramisu
- We are living in the Information Age.
- We can easily obtain tons of information from the Internet.
- Some people have never been able to access the Internet due to:
- Poverty
- Disabilities
- Underdevelopment of communication infrastructure
- This has led to the issue of equity of access.
25.1 Equity of Access
25.1 Equity of Access
- Gender equity
- Both genders should have been equally prepared and equally engaged on the use of the technology.
- Gender disparities in the Information Age are widespread.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Tackling the digital divide problem
- In the ‘Digital 21’ campaign, the Hong Kong SAR Government established a digital inclusion task force in 2007 to pool efforts to bridge the digital divide.
- Some charity groups have organized campaigns to collect and mend old computers and donate them to those people who cannot afford to buy a new one.
25.1 Equity of Access
Research on gender disparities in IT by AAUW Education Foundation in 2000
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Tackling the digital divide problem
- The Hong Kong SAR Government has launched a plan to provide free Internet access in public places such as:
- Public libraries
- Sports centres
- Schools
- It has sponsored a number of institutes to organize ICT training courses for:
- Unemployed people
- Housewives
- The elderly
- New immigrants
- Low-income households
- Digital divide
- As the Internet becomes more and more popular and important in our daily lives, the gap between Internet users and non-Internet users is getting wider.
- Content divide problem
- People who do not understand English will have fewer choices on the Internet since over 90% of the Internet materials are in English.
25.1 Equity of Access
Free computer and Internet services in a public library
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Internet users
- Can access up-to-date information and various electronic services through the Internet.
- Non-Internet users
- Refer to those people who are:
- Uneducated in ICT
- Disabled people
- Low-income families
- Have great problems in obtaining the latest information and the services available on the Internet.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Describe the growing gap between those people who can access and make effective use of ICT and those who cannot.
- Reasons for the digital divide:
- Socioeconomics (rich/poor)
- Race (white/black)
- Geographical areas (urban/rural)
- Global digital divide refers to the differences in technology access among countries.
- People can be divided into two groups:
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Cons
- Accessing the Internet can be addictive.
- People may spend too much time every day surfing the Internet.
- Addiction to the Internet is considered a kind of mental disorder.
- Conclusion
- The Internet is a great source for:
- Information
- Communication
- Entertainment
- Internet services
- The Internet can benefit us only if we use it wisely.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Some organizations, e.g. AbilityNet and U Can Do IT:
- Provide assessment services
- Recommend technology-aided solutions to individual clients
- Provide training for the disabled on using the technology-aided solution
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Some organizations, e.g. AbilityNet and U Can Do IT:
- Provide assessment services
- Recommend technology-aided solutions to individual clients
- Provide training for the disabled on using the technology-aided solution
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking
- Allow users to input text and issue commands to a computer by speaking into the microphone
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Freedom Scientific’s JAWS®
- A type of screen reader software
- Work with any computer application
- With its software speech synthesizer, information from the screen is read aloud through the computer speakers.
- Can output to refreshable Braille displays for the blind
- Access for the disabled
- SmartboxAT’s The Grid 2
- Allows computer users with limited speech ability to use a computer as a voice communication aid.
- Can be used as an alternative for controlling computer applications.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Various organizations have been created to develop software and hardware that make a computer more accessible to people with disabilities, e.g.
- SmartboxAT’s The Grid 2
- Freedom Scientific’s JAWS®
- Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking
NaturallySpeaking
25.1 Equity of Access
JAWS
- Gender equity
- To reduce the gender inequity:
- Attract more women and girls into computer science and related technical fields.
- Make women and girls more comfortable in the culture of technology.
- Get software developers to design programs with interfaces that cater equally to both genders.
25.1 Equity of Access
The Grid 2
- Gender equity
- Reasons:
- Boys see computers as toys, substituting computer skills for social skills.
- Girls tend to see computers as tools, unwilling to make that trade off as boys.
- Software developers usually design their programs with boys in mind and this reinforces girls’ negative attitudes towards computers.
25.2 Work Issues
- Working hours
- The telecommuter will have regularly scheduled work hours agreed upon with his or her supervisor.
- Telecommuters always have more flexible working hours than common office workers.
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
Requirements
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- Tasks that can adopt telecommuting:
- Writing
- Reading
- Telephoning
- Data analysis
- Computer programming
- Word processing
- Data entry
Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- A telecommuter often works at home and connects to the office’s network using:
- A personal computer
- Communication software
- A broadband modem
- Once connected, the employee can:
- Read and reply to e-mails
- Access the company’s databases
- Retrieve project-related information
Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- A work arrangement in which employees work away from a company’s standard workplace
- The employees can still communicate with the office by using information and communication technology.
25.2 Work Issues
- Change in the nature of work
- More and more companies:
- Allow their employees to work outside the office
- Provide them with desktop computers, notebook computers and PDAs
- These employees can access the Internet and the computer networks of their companies.
Home workers communicate with their colleagues via the Internet.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
- Occur when a person repeats the same physical movement for a long time.
- Common causes of RSI:
- Long hours of typing
- Long hours of using mouses
- Measures to avoid RSI:
- Take a short break every hour
- Stretch and relax the stressed muscles
- Many office workers have suffered from computer-related work and health issues. This has led to:
- The study of ergonomics
- Computer-related diseases
- The production of ergonomic devices
- Health guidelines for computer use
25.2 Work Issues
25.2 Work Issues
25.2 Work Issues
- Video conferencing
- A way of holding a meeting between people who are geographically separated by means of technologies
- Allows participants to collaborate as if they were in the same room.
- Other popular uses of video conferencing:
- Technical support
- Job-recruiting interviews
- Examples of virtual organizations
- Satellite offices
- Telecentres
Video conferencing
25.2 Work Issues
Video conferencing
25.2 Work Issues
- Virtual organizations
- Bring people of the same corporation though situated in different countries together at the same ‘place’ by using computer networks.
- We can find some telecommuting rooms at the Cyberport in Hong Kong.
- These telecommuting rooms are equipped with high quality facilities for work, e.g.
- A high-speed Internet connection
- Printers
Through the telecentres, employees can access computers and the Internet even if they are out of the office.
- Working monitoring
- Telecommuters should keep their supervisor informed on the progress of projects or assignments including any problems they experience during telecommuting.
- Methods of planning and monitoring the work of the telecommuter include:
- Communication with their supervisor on a daily basis followed by a debriefing.
- Making other arrangements for the telecommuting at the beginning of the program.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
25.3 Work and Health Issues
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Ergonomic devices
- Incorporate the science of ergonomics into the design of equipment and furniture.
- Benefits of the computer equipment with an ergonomic design:
- Make us more comfortable
- Increase our efficiency
- Increase safety in the workspace
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Various ergonomic devices
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- What is ergonomics?
- The science of integrating efficiency, safety and comfort into the workspace design.
- The study of the physical relationship between people and their tools.
- Seek to help people use computers correctly to avoid physical problems such as:
- Fatigue
- Eyestrain
- Repetitive strain injuries
- When ergonomics is ignored, the prolonged use of computer can cause sickness and injuries.
Various ergonomic devices
- Computer-related diseases
- Measures to avoid computer vision syndrome (CVS)
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Measure to avoid computer vision syndrome (CVS)
25.3 Work and Health Issues
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Computer vision syndrome (CVS)
- May appear when using a computer for a long period of time.
- Mainly caused by prolonged exposure to the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from the monitor.
- Common symptoms of CVS:
- Dry and irritated eyes
- Blurry vision
- Headaches
- Measures should be taken to avoid CVS:
- Take a short break every hour
- Use an anti-glare screen to reduce light reflection on the monitor
- Use a document holder to adjust the documents to the proper eye level
Measures to avoid CVS
- Computer-related diseases
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
Measures to avoid CVS
Signup
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Design of software
- Software designed to help people work more comfortably
- Examples:
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Choose a topic
Add members (2-3)
at least 3 types of elements and 10 slides
When using a mouse for a long time, tight muscles pull on their attachments at the elbow and at the wrist, causing pain. This will lead to RSI.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Design of software
- Software designed to help people work more comfortably
- Guide users to best use a computer
- Prevent computer-related injuries from developing
- Suggest appropriate times for recovery and micro-breaks
- Provide a range of stretching exercises designed to relieve muscular tension and improve static posture
- Provide useful ergonomic information
- Design of software
- Software designed for people with disabilities
- ‘Ease of Access Center’ of Microsoft Windows is designed for people with dexterity problems.
- Microsoft Windows also caters for people with vision difficulties and hearing difficulties, etc.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Design of software
- Software designed for people with disabilities
- Imagetalk Symbol Writer helps people with speech and language disorders to communicate.
- pVoke Software is designed for those who cannot speak.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Software that helps people work more comfortably
- Ergonomics
- Placement of furniture
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Windows Vista provides users with the ‘Ease of Access Center’ to help them work at a computer more easily.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Ergonomics
- Suggestions for the placement of furniture
- Adjust the monitor height so that the top for the screen is at or slightly below eye level.
- Place the keyboard and mouse directly in front of and close to you. Adjust the slope of the keyboard so that your wrists are straight.
- Frequently used objects need to be placed close to the workstation and should be easily accessible.
- Position the desk lamp so that it illuminates the source documents without causing glare on the monitor screen or the document.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
prezi.com
Good placement of furniture can help you work more comfortably.
Various ergonomic devices
25.4 Consequences of Indulging in Internet
Activities
Various ergonomic devices
25.4 Consequences of Indulging in Internet
Activities
- Internet Addiction problems:
- Real-life relationships
- Excessive use of the Internet will impair real-life relationships.
- Financial problems
- May arise due to compulsive online spending or shopping.
- Online gambling
25.4 Consequences of Indulging in Internet
Activities
- Internet Addiction problems:
- Real-life relationships
- Excessive use of the Internet will impair real-life relationships.
- Financial problems
- May arise due to compulsive online spending or shopping.
- Online gambling
- Spending too much time on these activities, or Internet Addiction, will cause problems.
25.4 Consequences of Indulging in Internet
Activities
- Additive Internet activities:
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- A computer user’s health guidelines
Viewing distance:
35 cm to 60 cm
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Arms:
elbows at 90˚ with parallel arms and hands
Viewing angle:
20˚ to centre of screen
Internet Addiction
- A computer user’s health guidelines
Viewing distance:
35 cm to 60 cm
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Arms:
elbows at 90˚ with parallel arms and hands
Ergonomic keyboard:
Keyboard height depends on the height of user
Viewing angle:
20˚ to centre of screen
Adjustable base with
5 legs for stability
Ergonomic keyboard:
Keyboard height depends on the height of user
A well-designed workspace
- A computer user’s health guidelines
- Work in a well-designed working area.
- Alternate work activities to prevent physical and mental fatigue.
- Take frequent breaks.
- Incorporate hands, arms and body stretching exercises into your breaks.
- Make sure your computer monitor is designed to minimize electromagnetic radiation (EMR).
- Try to eliminate or minimize surrounding noise.
- If you frequently use the telephone and the computer at the same time, consider using a telephone headset.
- Be aware of symptoms of RSI: soreness, pain, numbness, or weakness in neck, shoulder, arms, wrists and hands.
Adjustable base with
5 legs for stability
A well-designed workspace
Topics
ICT Health & Career Issues
Projects of Other Subjects
Others
learn how to present in a new way
learn how to collaborate with others
Prezi Project
Marking
Contents (3)
Styles/Skills (3)
Collaboration (2)
Presentation (2)
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Up-to-date information is always available on the Internet.
- Latest information can be found in the Internet which makes it more useful than common printed materials.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Most information on the Internet is free of charge.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Cons
- Too much uncensored information is found on the Internet.
- A lot of information has not been censored or organized.
- Many useless results
- A great deal of information on the Internet is unreliable, fake and dangerous.
- Any person can publish materials on the Internet.
- Unlike the common press, the Internet has removed most of the gates that ensure the information is evaluated, corrected and revised before publication.
- The Internet has become a channel that allows the spreading of malicious information such as pornography and terrorism.
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Most information on the Internet is free of charge.
- We can share information with others through the Internet with a number of communication channels such as:
- E-mail
- Blogs
- FTP servers
- Peer-to-peer networks
- The World Wide Web is the largest source of free information in the world.
- We can get access to information about any topic within a few seconds using a web browser, save time and money.
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- The Internet provides various kinds of information.
25.1 Equity of Access
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat_Sen
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Up-to-date information is always available on the Internet.
- Latest information can be found in the Internet which makes it more useful than common printed materials.
Wikipedia is an example of the Internet being a source of free information.
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- The Internet provides various kinds of information.
- In the past, we mainly obtained knowledge through printed materials such as books and encyclopedias.
- The Internet has now become the major source of information for most people in the world.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- The Internet is full of huge amounts of information about almost anything.
- Some of it is useful, up-to-date, well-organized and accurate.
- Some is outdated, illegal, unethical and inaccurate.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Most information on the Internet is free of charge.
Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Tiramisu
A web page teaching us how to make Tiramisu
- We are living in the Information Age.
- We can easily obtain tons of information from the Internet.
- Some people have never been able to access the Internet due to:
- Poverty
- Disabilities
- Underdevelopment of communication infrastructure
- This has led to the issue of equity of access.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- Most information on the Internet is free of charge.
- We can share information with others through the Internet with a number of communication channels such as:
- E-mail
- Blogs
- FTP servers
- Peer-to-peer networks
- The World Wide Web is the largest source of free information in the world.
- We can get access to information about any topic within a few seconds using a web browser, save time and money.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat_Sen
Wikipedia is an example of the Internet being a source of free information.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- The Internet provides various kinds of information.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Tackling the digital divide problem
- In the ‘Digital 21’ campaign, the Hong Kong SAR Government established a digital inclusion task force in 2007 to pool efforts to bridge the digital divide.
- Some charity groups have organized campaigns to collect and mend old computers and donate them to those people who cannot afford to buy a new one.
25.1 Equity of Access
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Pros
- The Internet provides various kinds of information.
- In the past, we mainly obtained knowledge through printed materials such as books and encyclopedias.
- The Internet has now become the major source of information for most people in the world.
- Digital divide
- Tackling the digital divide problem
- The Hong Kong SAR Government has launched a plan to provide free Internet access in public places such as:
- Public libraries
- Sports centres
- Schools
- It has sponsored a number of institutes to organize ICT training courses for:
- Unemployed people
- Housewives
- The elderly
- New immigrants
- Low-income households
25.1 Equity of Access
Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Tiramisu
- Digital divide
- As the Internet becomes more and more popular and important in our daily lives, the gap between Internet users and non-Internet users is getting wider.
- Content divide problem
- People who do not understand English will have fewer choices on the Internet since over 90% of the Internet materials are in English.
25.1 Equity of Access
A web page teaching us how to make Tiramisu
- Gender equity
- Both genders should have been equally prepared and equally engaged on the use of the technology.
- Gender disparities in the Information Age are widespread.
Research on gender disparities in IT by AAUW Education Foundation in 2000
Free computer and Internet services in a public library
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- The Internet is full of huge amounts of information about almost anything.
- Some of it is useful, up-to-date, well-organized and accurate.
- Some is outdated, illegal, unethical and inaccurate.
- Digital divide
- Internet users
- Can access up-to-date information and various electronic services through the Internet.
- Non-Internet users
- Refer to those people who are:
- Uneducated in ICT
- Disabled people
- Low-income families
- Have great problems in obtaining the latest information and the services available on the Internet.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Tackling the digital divide problem
- In the ‘Digital 21’ campaign, the Hong Kong SAR Government established a digital inclusion task force in 2007 to pool efforts to bridge the digital divide.
- Some charity groups have organized campaigns to collect and mend old computers and donate them to those people who cannot afford to buy a new one.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Describe the growing gap between those people who can access and make effective use of ICT and those who cannot.
- Reasons for the digital divide:
- Socioeconomics (rich/poor)
- Race (white/black)
- Geographical areas (urban/rural)
- Global digital divide refers to the differences in technology access among countries.
- People can be divided into two groups:
25.1 Equity of Access
- We are living in the Information Age.
- We can easily obtain tons of information from the Internet.
- Some people have never been able to access the Internet due to:
- Poverty
- Disabilities
- Underdevelopment of communication infrastructure
- This has led to the issue of equity of access.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Cons
- Accessing the Internet can be addictive.
- People may spend too much time every day surfing the Internet.
- Addiction to the Internet is considered a kind of mental disorder.
- Conclusion
- The Internet is a great source for:
- Information
- Communication
- Entertainment
- Internet services
- The Internet can benefit us only if we use it wisely.
Free computer and Internet services in a public library
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Cons
- Too much uncensored information is found on the Internet.
- A lot of information has not been censored or organized.
- Many useless results
- A great deal of information on the Internet is unreliable, fake and dangerous.
- Any person can publish materials on the Internet.
- Unlike the common press, the Internet has removed most of the gates that ensure the information is evaluated, corrected and revised before publication.
- The Internet has become a channel that allows the spreading of malicious information such as pornography and terrorism.
- Digital divide
- Tackling the digital divide problem
- The Hong Kong SAR Government has launched a plan to provide free Internet access in public places such as:
- Public libraries
- Sports centres
- Schools
- It has sponsored a number of institutes to organize ICT training courses for:
- Unemployed people
- Housewives
- The elderly
- New immigrants
- Low-income households
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- As the Internet becomes more and more popular and important in our daily lives, the gap between Internet users and non-Internet users is getting wider.
- Content divide problem
- People who do not understand English will have fewer choices on the Internet since over 90% of the Internet materials are in English.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Some organizations, e.g. AbilityNet and U Can Do IT:
- Provide assessment services
- Recommend technology-aided solutions to individual clients
- Provide training for the disabled on using the technology-aided solution
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Freedom Scientific’s JAWS®
- A type of screen reader software
- Work with any computer application
- With its software speech synthesizer, information from the screen is read aloud through the computer speakers.
- Can output to refreshable Braille displays for the blind
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Internet users
- Can access up-to-date information and various electronic services through the Internet.
- Non-Internet users
- Refer to those people who are:
- Uneducated in ICT
- Disabled people
- Low-income families
- Have great problems in obtaining the latest information and the services available on the Internet.
- Access for the disabled
- SmartboxAT’s The Grid 2
- Allows computer users with limited speech ability to use a computer as a voice communication aid.
- Can be used as an alternative for controlling computer applications.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Some organizations, e.g. AbilityNet and U Can Do IT:
- Provide assessment services
- Recommend technology-aided solutions to individual clients
- Provide training for the disabled on using the technology-aided solution
25.1 Equity of Access
S.1 ICT
- Access for the disabled
- Various organizations have been created to develop software and hardware that make a computer more accessible to people with disabilities, e.g.
- SmartboxAT’s The Grid 2
- Freedom Scientific’s JAWS®
- Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking
25.1 Equity of Access
- Digital divide
- Describe the growing gap between those people who can access and make effective use of ICT and those who cannot.
- Reasons for the digital divide:
- Socioeconomics (rich/poor)
- Race (white/black)
- Geographical areas (urban/rural)
- Global digital divide refers to the differences in technology access among countries.
- People can be divided into two groups:
- Access for the disabled
- Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking
- Allow users to input text and issue commands to a computer by speaking into the microphone
JAWS
- Gender equity
- To reduce the gender inequity:
- Attract more women and girls into computer science and related technical fields.
- Make women and girls more comfortable in the culture of technology.
- Get software developers to design programs with interfaces that cater equally to both genders.
25.1 Equity of Access
The Grid 2
25.1 Equity of Access
- Gender equity
- Reasons:
- Boys see computers as toys, substituting computer skills for social skills.
- Girls tend to see computers as tools, unwilling to make that trade off as boys.
- Software developers usually design their programs with boys in mind and this reinforces girls’ negative attitudes towards computers.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Pros and cons of freedom of information on the Internet
- Cons
- Accessing the Internet can be addictive.
- People may spend too much time every day surfing the Internet.
- Addiction to the Internet is considered a kind of mental disorder.
- Conclusion
- The Internet is a great source for:
- Information
- Communication
- Entertainment
- Internet services
- The Internet can benefit us only if we use it wisely.
- Access for the disabled
- Freedom Scientific’s JAWS®
- A type of screen reader software
- Work with any computer application
- With its software speech synthesizer, information from the screen is read aloud through the computer speakers.
- Can output to refreshable Braille displays for the blind
25.1 Equity of Access
NaturallySpeaking
25.1 Equity of Access
- Gender equity
- Both genders should have been equally prepared and equally engaged on the use of the technology.
- Gender disparities in the Information Age are widespread.
- Access for the disabled
- SmartboxAT’s The Grid 2
- Allows computer users with limited speech ability to use a computer as a voice communication aid.
- Can be used as an alternative for controlling computer applications.
25.2 Work Issues
Research on gender disparities in IT by AAUW Education Foundation in 2000
JAWS
- Working hours
- The telecommuter will have regularly scheduled work hours agreed upon with his or her supervisor.
- Telecommuters always have more flexible working hours than common office workers.
25.1 Equity of Access
- Access for the disabled
- Various organizations have been created to develop software and hardware that make a computer more accessible to people with disabilities, e.g.
- SmartboxAT’s The Grid 2
- Freedom Scientific’s JAWS®
- Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
The Grid 2
25.1 Equity of Access
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- A telecommuter often works at home and connects to the office’s network using:
- A personal computer
- Communication software
- A broadband modem
- Once connected, the employee can:
- Read and reply to e-mails
- Access the company’s databases
- Retrieve project-related information
- Gender equity
- To reduce the gender inequity:
- Attract more women and girls into computer science and related technical fields.
- Make women and girls more comfortable in the culture of technology.
- Get software developers to design programs with interfaces that cater equally to both genders.
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
25.1 Equity of Access
- Telecommuting
- A work arrangement in which employees work away from a company’s standard workplace
- The employees can still communicate with the office by using information and communication technology.
25.2 Work Issues
Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
- Gender equity
- Reasons:
- Boys see computers as toys, substituting computer skills for social skills.
- Girls tend to see computers as tools, unwilling to make that trade off as boys.
- Software developers usually design their programs with boys in mind and this reinforces girls’ negative attitudes towards computers.
25.2 Work Issues
25.1 Equity of Access
- Change in the nature of work
- More and more companies:
- Allow their employees to work outside the office
- Provide them with desktop computers, notebook computers and PDAs
- These employees can access the Internet and the computer networks of their companies.
Home workers communicate with their colleagues via the Internet.
- Telecommuting
- Tasks that can adopt telecommuting:
- Writing
- Reading
- Telephoning
- Data analysis
- Computer programming
- Word processing
- Data entry
- Access for the disabled
- Some organizations, e.g. AbilityNet and U Can Do IT:
- Provide assessment services
- Recommend technology-aided solutions to individual clients
- Provide training for the disabled on using the technology-aided solution
25.1 Equity of Access
Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
25.2 Work Issues
- Access for the disabled
- Some organizations, e.g. AbilityNet and U Can Do IT:
- Provide assessment services
- Recommend technology-aided solutions to individual clients
- Provide training for the disabled on using the technology-aided solution
25.1 Equity of Access
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Telecommuting
- A telecommuter often works at home and connects to the office’s network using:
- A personal computer
- Communication software
- A broadband modem
- Once connected, the employee can:
- Read and reply to e-mails
- Access the company’s databases
- Retrieve project-related information
- Access for the disabled
- Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking
- Allow users to input text and issue commands to a computer by speaking into the microphone
25.2 Work Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
- Occur when a person repeats the same physical movement for a long time.
- Common causes of RSI:
- Long hours of typing
- Long hours of using mouses
- Measures to avoid RSI:
- Take a short break every hour
- Stretch and relax the stressed muscles
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Many office workers have suffered from computer-related work and health issues. This has led to:
- The study of ergonomics
- Computer-related diseases
- The production of ergonomic devices
- Health guidelines for computer use
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- A work arrangement in which employees work away from a company’s standard workplace
- The employees can still communicate with the office by using information and communication technology.
25.2 Work Issues
NaturallySpeaking
- Examples of virtual organizations
- Satellite offices
- Telecentres
Home workers communicate with their colleagues via the Internet.
25.2 Work Issues
25.2 Work Issues
- Virtual organizations
- Bring people of the same corporation though situated in different countries together at the same ‘place’ by using computer networks.
- We can find some telecommuting rooms at the Cyberport in Hong Kong.
- These telecommuting rooms are equipped with high quality facilities for work, e.g.
- A high-speed Internet connection
- Printers
- Change in the nature of work
- More and more companies:
- Allow their employees to work outside the office
- Provide them with desktop computers, notebook computers and PDAs
- These employees can access the Internet and the computer networks of their companies.
25.2 Work Issues
Through the telecentres, employees can access computers and the Internet even if they are out of the office.
- Working monitoring
- Telecommuters should keep their supervisor informed on the progress of projects or assignments including any problems they experience during telecommuting.
- Methods of planning and monitoring the work of the telecommuter include:
- Communication with their supervisor on a daily basis followed by a debriefing.
- Making other arrangements for the telecommuting at the beginning of the program.
25.2 Work Issues
Video conferencing
- Working hours
- The telecommuter will have regularly scheduled work hours agreed upon with his or her supervisor.
- Telecommuters always have more flexible working hours than common office workers.
25.2 Work Issues
- Telecommuting
- Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
- Video conferencing
- A way of holding a meeting between people who are geographically separated by means of technologies
- Allows participants to collaborate as if they were in the same room.
- Other popular uses of video conferencing:
- Technical support
- Job-recruiting interviews
25.3 Work and Health Issues
25.2 Work Issues
Video conferencing
- Telecommuting
- Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
25.2 Work Issues
- Examples of virtual organizations
- Satellite offices
- Telecentres
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Telecommuting
- Tasks that can adopt telecommuting:
- Writing
- Reading
- Telephoning
- Data analysis
- Computer programming
- Word processing
- Data entry
Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
25.2 Work Issues
Through the telecentres, employees can access computers and the Internet even if they are out of the office.
Various ergonomic devices
- Virtual organizations
- Bring people of the same corporation though situated in different countries together at the same ‘place’ by using computer networks.
- We can find some telecommuting rooms at the Cyberport in Hong Kong.
- These telecommuting rooms are equipped with high quality facilities for work, e.g.
- A high-speed Internet connection
- Printers
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Ergonomic devices
- Incorporate the science of ergonomics into the design of equipment and furniture.
- Benefits of the computer equipment with an ergonomic design:
- Make us more comfortable
- Increase our efficiency
- Increase safety in the workspace
25.2 Work Issues
Various ergonomic devices
- Working monitoring
- Telecommuters should keep their supervisor informed on the progress of projects or assignments including any problems they experience during telecommuting.
- Methods of planning and monitoring the work of the telecommuter include:
- Communication with their supervisor on a daily basis followed by a debriefing.
- Making other arrangements for the telecommuting at the beginning of the program.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Computer vision syndrome (CVS)
- May appear when using a computer for a long period of time.
- Mainly caused by prolonged exposure to the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from the monitor.
- Common symptoms of CVS:
- Dry and irritated eyes
- Blurry vision
- Headaches
- Measures should be taken to avoid CVS:
- Take a short break every hour
- Use an anti-glare screen to reduce light reflection on the monitor
- Use a document holder to adjust the documents to the proper eye level
- Computer-related diseases
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- What is ergonomics?
- The science of integrating efficiency, safety and comfort into the workspace design.
- The study of the physical relationship between people and their tools.
- Seek to help people use computers correctly to avoid physical problems such as:
- Fatigue
- Eyestrain
- Repetitive strain injuries
- When ergonomics is ignored, the prolonged use of computer can cause sickness and injuries.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
- Occur when a person repeats the same physical movement for a long time.
- Common causes of RSI:
- Long hours of typing
- Long hours of using mouses
- Measures to avoid RSI:
- Take a short break every hour
- Stretch and relax the stressed muscles
- Computer-related diseases
- Measures to avoid computer vision syndrome (CVS)
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Many office workers have suffered from computer-related work and health issues. This has led to:
- The study of ergonomics
- Computer-related diseases
- The production of ergonomic devices
- Health guidelines for computer use
25.2 Work Issues
- Design of software
- Software designed to help people work more comfortably
- Examples:
When using a mouse for a long time, tight muscles pull on their attachments at the elbow and at the wrist, causing pain. This will lead to RSI.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
25.2 Work Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Measure to avoid computer vision syndrome (CVS)
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Measures to avoid CVS
25.2 Work Issues
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Design of software
- Software designed to help people work more comfortably
- Guide users to best use a computer
- Prevent computer-related injuries from developing
- Suggest appropriate times for recovery and micro-breaks
- Provide a range of stretching exercises designed to relieve muscular tension and improve static posture
- Provide useful ergonomic information
- Video conferencing
- A way of holding a meeting between people who are geographically separated by means of technologies
- Allows participants to collaborate as if they were in the same room.
- Other popular uses of video conferencing:
- Technical support
- Job-recruiting interviews
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Software that helps people work more comfortably
- Computer-related diseases
- Computer vision syndrome (CVS)
- May appear when using a computer for a long period of time.
- Mainly caused by prolonged exposure to the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from the monitor.
- Common symptoms of CVS:
- Dry and irritated eyes
- Blurry vision
- Headaches
- Measures should be taken to avoid CVS:
- Take a short break every hour
- Use an anti-glare screen to reduce light reflection on the monitor
- Use a document holder to adjust the documents to the proper eye level
Measures to avoid CVS
Video conferencing
- Design of software
- Software designed for people with disabilities
- ‘Ease of Access Center’ of Microsoft Windows is designed for people with dexterity problems.
- Microsoft Windows also caters for people with vision difficulties and hearing difficulties, etc.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
Video conferencing
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Design of software
- Software designed for people with disabilities
- Imagetalk Symbol Writer helps people with speech and language disorders to communicate.
- pVoke Software is designed for those who cannot speak.
Windows Vista provides users with the ‘Ease of Access Center’ to help them work at a computer more easily.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
25.3 Work and Health Issues
When using a mouse for a long time, tight muscles pull on their attachments at the elbow and at the wrist, causing pain. This will lead to RSI.
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Ergonomics
- Placement of furniture
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Ergonomic devices
- Incorporate the science of ergonomics into the design of equipment and furniture.
- Benefits of the computer equipment with an ergonomic design:
- Make us more comfortable
- Increase our efficiency
- Increase safety in the workspace
25.3 Work and Health Issues
25.4 Consequences of Indulging in Internet
Activities
- Ergonomics
- Suggestions for the placement of furniture
- Adjust the monitor height so that the top for the screen is at or slightly below eye level.
- Place the keyboard and mouse directly in front of and close to you. Adjust the slope of the keyboard so that your wrists are straight.
- Frequently used objects need to be placed close to the workstation and should be easily accessible.
- Position the desk lamp so that it illuminates the source documents without causing glare on the monitor screen or the document.
Good placement of furniture can help you work more comfortably.
Various ergonomic devices
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Internet Addiction problems:
- Real-life relationships
- Excessive use of the Internet will impair real-life relationships.
- Financial problems
- May arise due to compulsive online spending or shopping.
- Online gambling
- What is ergonomics?
- The science of integrating efficiency, safety and comfort into the workspace design.
- The study of the physical relationship between people and their tools.
- Seek to help people use computers correctly to avoid physical problems such as:
- Fatigue
- Eyestrain
- Repetitive strain injuries
- When ergonomics is ignored, the prolonged use of computer can cause sickness and injuries.
- Computer-related diseases
- Measures to avoid computer vision syndrome (CVS)
Various ergonomic devices
25.4 Consequences of Indulging in Internet
Activities
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Computer-related diseases
- Measure to avoid computer vision syndrome (CVS)
25.3 Work and Health Issues
- Internet Addiction problems:
- Real-life relationships
- Excessive use of the Internet will impair real-life relationships.
- Financial problems
- May arise due to compulsive online spending or shopping.
- Online gambling
Various ergonomic devices
25.4 Consequences of Indulging in Internet
Activities
- Spending too much time on these activities, or Internet Addiction, will cause problems.
Measures to avoid CVS
25.4 Consequences of Indulging in Internet
Activities
Measures to avoid CVS
Various ergonomic devices
- Additive Internet activities:
Internet Addiction
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Viewing distance:
35 cm to 60 cm
- A computer user’s health guidelines
Viewing angle:
20˚ to centre of screen
Arms:
elbows at 90˚ with parallel arms and hands
Ergonomic keyboard:
Keyboard height depends on the height of user
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Viewing distance:
35 cm to 60 cm
- A computer user’s health guidelines
Viewing angle:
20˚ to centre of screen
Adjustable base with
5 legs for stability
Arms:
elbows at 90˚ with parallel arms and hands
A well-designed workspace
Ergonomic keyboard:
Keyboard height depends on the height of user
25.3 Work and Health Issues
Adjustable base with
5 legs for stability
A well-designed workspace
- A computer user’s health guidelines
- Work in a well-designed working area.
- Alternate work activities to prevent physical and mental fatigue.
- Take frequent breaks.
- Incorporate hands, arms and body stretching exercises into your breaks.
- Make sure your computer monitor is designed to minimize electromagnetic radiation (EMR).
- Try to eliminate or minimize surrounding noise.
- If you frequently use the telephone and the computer at the same time, consider using a telephone headset.
- Be aware of symptoms of RSI: soreness, pain, numbness, or weakness in neck, shoulder, arms, wrists and hands.