Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing

Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing PDF Author: John Downing
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780866568654
Category : Community organization
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing presents an original perspective on the uses of computers for community- and social-change-based organizations. Drawing on the experience of community organizers and administrators who use computers for social and political goals, and computer consultants who tailor systems to the specialized needs of small non-profit and membership groups, the book offers valuable information and advice on traditional and innovative applications. Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing aims to reach professionals who want to explore and use the computer efficiently and creatively, including: computer professionals working for social change administrators of small social service and community organizations leaders of self-help organizations, networks, and coalitions paid and volunteer staff and leadership Chapters range from suggestions on data-based implementation through reports on computer uses in neighborhood housing preservation and crime reduction, to discussions of the broad issues surrounding the role of technology in democratic social movements. This provocative book provides practical guidelines on computerizing for empowerment, together with insights into the challenges faced by low-budget organizations and contemporary social movements. Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing incorporates material from the precedential first and second New York City Conferences on Computers for Social Change: New Tools for Political and Community Organizing.

Computers and Society

Computers and Society PDF Author: Ronald M. Baecker
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198827083
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 549

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Book Description
The last century has seen enormous leaps in the development of digital technologies, and most aspects of modern life have changed significantly with their widespread availability and use. Technology at various scales - supercomputers, corporate networks, desktop and laptop computers, the internet, tablets, mobile phones, and processors that are hidden in everyday devices and are so small you can barely see them with the naked eye - all pervade our world in a major way. Computers and Society: Modern Perspectives is a wide-ranging and comprehensive textbook that critically assesses the global technical achievements in digital technologies and how are they are applied in media; education and learning; medicine and health; free speech, democracy, and government; and war and peace. Ronald M. Baecker reviews critical ethical issues raised by computers, such as digital inclusion, security, safety, privacy,automation, and work, and discusses social, political, and ethical controversies and choices now faced by society. Particular attention is paid to new and exciting developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the issues that have arisen from our complex relationship with AI.

Computers and Society

Computers and Society PDF Author: Lisa C. Kaczmarczyk
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439885567
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Since computer scientists make decisions every day that have societal context and influence, an understanding of society and computing together should be integrated into computer science education. Showing students what they can do with their computing degree, Computers and Society: Computing for Good uses concrete examples and case studies to highlight the positive work of real computing professionals and organizations from around the world. Each chapter profiles a corporation, nonprofit organization, or entrepreneur involved in computing-centric activities that clearly benefit society or the environment, including cultural adaptation in a developing country, cutting-edge medicine and healthcare, educational innovation, endangered species work, and help for overseas voters. The coverage of computing topics spans from social networking to high-performance computing. The diversity of people and activities in these profiles gives students a broad vision of what they can accomplish after graduation. Pedagogical Features Encouraging students to engage actively and critically with the material, the book offers a wealth of pedagogical sections at the end of each chapter. Questions of varying difficulty ask students to apply the material to themselves or their surroundings and to think critically about the material from the perspective of a future computing professional. The text also gives instructors the option to incorporate individual projects, team projects, short projects, and semester-long projects. Other resources for instructors and students are available at www.computers-and-society.com Visit the author’s blog at http://computing4society.blogspot.com

Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing

Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing PDF Author: John Downing
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780866568654
Category : Community organization
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing presents an original perspective on the uses of computers for community- and social-change-based organizations. Drawing on the experience of community organizers and administrators who use computers for social and political goals, and computer consultants who tailor systems to the specialized needs of small non-profit and membership groups, the book offers valuable information and advice on traditional and innovative applications. Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing aims to reach professionals who want to explore and use the computer efficiently and creatively, including: computer professionals working for social change administrators of small social service and community organizations leaders of self-help organizations, networks, and coalitions paid and volunteer staff and leadership Chapters range from suggestions on data-based implementation through reports on computer uses in neighborhood housing preservation and crime reduction, to discussions of the broad issues surrounding the role of technology in democratic social movements. This provocative book provides practical guidelines on computerizing for empowerment, together with insights into the challenges faced by low-budget organizations and contemporary social movements. Computers for Social Change and Community Organizing incorporates material from the precedential first and second New York City Conferences on Computers for Social Change: New Tools for Political and Community Organizing.

Humanizing Technology

Humanizing Technology PDF Author: Elizabeth Gerver
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461594480
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
A few years ago, a book of this type and style could not or would not have been written. This is because, until a few years ago, no real in-depth knowl edge of computers and computerized equipment was at the disposal of those with a nonscience, nonquantitative background. Some people from other disciplines-including business, the arts, and the social sciences-had been working with such equipment, but they had "gone over" and tended to be even more computer-conscious than those whom they served. It is only comparatively recently that people like Elisabeth Gerver with a firm arts and adult education background first of all became knowledgeable and then remained true to that background. To her eternal credit, Elisabeth Gerver, when she became involved, avoided being sucked into the world of the jargon or even that of the thinking of the computer scientists and the electronic engineers. On the contrary, she insisted that she was an educated woman dealing with other educated people, and that they would all speak in the language of everyday discourse. It worked! One consequence of her experience and her thought is this remarkably lucid and readable book. It will prove to be of immense value to many in the world of adult and community education. But the beneficiaries will run beyond those sectors of society. Other people with a nonscience, nonquantitative background will surely find it of immense value in their early, inevitably hesitant and faulty, grappling with the world of new technology.

Computers and Society

Computers and Society PDF Author: Lisa C. Kaczmarczyk
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9781138432901
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Since computer scientists make decisions every day that have societal context and influence, an understanding of society and computing together should be integrated into computer science education. Showing students what they can do with their computing degree, Computers and Society: Computing for Good uses concrete examples and case studies to highlight the positive work of real computing professionals and organizations from around the world. Each chapter profiles a corporation, nonprofit organization, or entrepreneur involved in computing-centric activities that clearly benefit society or the environment, including cultural adaptation in a developing country, cutting-edge medicine and healthcare, educational innovation, endangered species work, and help for overseas voters. The coverage of computing topics spans from social networking to high-performance computing. The diversity of people and activities in these profiles gives students a broad vision of what they can accomplish after graduation. Pedagogical FeaturesEncouraging students to engage actively and critically with the material, the book offers a wealth of pedagogical sections at the end of each chapter. Questions of varying difficulty ask students to apply the material to themselves or their surroundings and to think critically about the material from the perspective of a future computing professional. The text also gives instructors the option to incorporate individual projects, team projects, short projects, and semester-long projects. Other resources for instructors and students are available at www.computers-and-society.com Visit the author's blog at http: //computing4society.blogspot.com

Social Computing and Virtual Communities

Social Computing and Virtual Communities PDF Author: Panayiotis Zaphiris
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1040070531
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Due to the advancement of the Internet, online communities are gaining increasing importance in the research community. Presented from a user's perspective, this book explores the diverse application areas of social computing and online communities. A significant portion of the text focuses on real-world case studies in which user behaviors, social mechanisms, and technological issues are investigated. Drawing from computer science, information systems, and social science, the book takes a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate virtual communities. It is useful for those who construct, moderate, and maintain online communities.

High Technology and Low-income Communities

High Technology and Low-income Communities PDF Author: Donald A. Schön
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262691994
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
How will low-income communities be affected by the waves of social, economic, political, and cultural change that surround the new information technologies? How can we influence the outcome? This action-oriented book identifies the key issues, explores the evidence, and suggests some answers. Avoiding both utopianism and despair, the book presents the voices of technology enthusiasts and skeptics, as well as social activists. The book is organized into three parts. Part I examines the issues in their socio-technical, economic, and historical contexts. Part II--the core of the book--proposes five initiatives for using computers and electronic communications to benefit low-income urban communities: - to provide access to the new technologies in ways that enable low-income people to become active producers rather than passive users;- to use the new technologies to improve the dialogue between public agencies and low-income neighborhoods;- to help low-income youth to exploit the entrepreneurial potential of information technologies;- to develop approaches to education that take advantage of the educational capabilities of the computer;- to promote the community computer: applications of computers and communications technology that foster community development. Part III presents a synthesis of the various topics. Its main questions are, What are the prospects and problems of initiatives to enable the poor to benefit from the new technologies? and What federal, state, and municipal policies would enhance the prospects for success? Contributors Alice Amsden, Jeanne Bamberger, Anne Beamish, Manuel Castells, Joseph Ferreira, Peter Hall, Leo Marx, William J. Mitchell, Mitchel Resnick, Bish Sanyal, Donald A. Schön, Alan and Michelle Shaw, Michael Shiffer, Bruno Tardieu, Sherry Turkle, Julian Wolpert

The Neighborhood in the Internet

The Neighborhood in the Internet PDF Author: John M. Carroll
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317571525
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Today, "community" seems to be everywhere. At home, at work, and online, the vague but comforting idea of the community pervades every area of life. But have we lost the ability truly to understand what it means? The Neighborhood in the Internet investigates social and civic effects of community networks on local community, and how community network designs are appropriated and extended by community members. Carroll uses his conceptual model of "community" to re-examine the Blacksburg Electronic Village – the first Web-based community network – applying it to attempts to sustain and enrich contemporary communities through information technology. The book provides an analysis of the role of community in contemporary paradigms for work and other activity mediated by the Internet. It brings to the fore a series of design experiments investigating new approaches to community networking and addresses the future trajectory and importance of community networks. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, community psychology, human-computer interaction, information science, and computer-supported collaborative work.

Reinventing Technology, Rediscovering Community

Reinventing Technology, Rediscovering Community PDF Author: Philip E. Agre
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 1567502598
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book addresses how computers affect people's everyday lives. Using actual situations and problems that people have encountered with current software applications, this book offers academics ways to examine how new situations are created through computer use. It contains some of the very first papers on very important topics including the AEGIS disaster, the intriguing new world of MUD environments, and community networks, including a study of Community Memory in Berkeley, possibly the world's first community computer system. The first half contains critical studies, in which the authors explain ways of describing real situations where people are already using computers. This situations are often problematic and much more complicated than the scenarios that the designers envisioned when designing the system. The second half of the book contains constructive studies, reporting experiences in trying to build systems in new ways, with a fully developed consciousness of what people need and the interactions between computer systems and social systems.

The Social Impact of Computers

The Social Impact of Computers PDF Author: Richard S. Rosenberg
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483267156
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
The Social Impact of Computers should be read as a guide to the social implications of current and future applications of computers. Among the basic themes presented are the following: the changing nature of work in response to technological innovation as well as the threat to jobs; personal freedom in the machine age as manifested by challenges to privacy, dignity, and work; the relationship between advances in computer and communications technology and the possibility of increased centralization of authority; and the emergence and influence of artificial intelligence and its role in decision-making, especially in military applications. The book begins with background and historical information on computers and technology. Separate chapters then cover major applications: business, medicine, education, government; major social issues, including crime, privacy, work; and new technologies and problems: industry regulation, electronic funds transfer systems, international competition, national industrial policies, robotics and industrial automation, productivity, the information society, videotex. The final chapter discusses issues associated with ethics and professionalism. The material presented should be accessible to most university students who have had an introductory course in computer science. Self taught or sufficiently motivated individuals who have gained an understanding of how computers operate should also profit from this book. Especially useful are backgrounds in sociology, economics, history, political science, or philosophy.