Erin's Fluency Blog

Milestone 9- Debugging…Can I do it?

erin4540 — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:46:52 +0000

Ahhh, Snyder’s chapter 7 (To Err is Human: An Introduction about Debugging); had I only read it 7 months earlier, I’d be $100 richer! As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I would not consider myself proficient in IT. I am not entirely comfortable with all the workings of the computer and the minute a problem arises, I am the first to call the always helpful (and always expensive) “IT guy.” Snyder’s chapter 7 hit strikingly close to home and once again made me feel a little foolish. As an example of debugging, Snyder outlined a scenario in which a person discovered that documents were not printing simply because computer settings were configured to “queue” files as opposed to “print” them. Having experienced this exact problem, and having paid somebody $100 for a 15-minute house visit, I really appreciate this chapter. To others, it may seem obvious; you have a problem, you deduce possible causes and plug away until you’ve isolated the error. And in other aspects of my life, that is an obvious process; a process I follow nearly everyday. Although I consider myself an intelligent person and a capable problem-solver, there is something about IT problems, that make me automatically assume that it is “over my head.” But Snyder’s point that 99% of errors are caused by human mistakes simplified the process for me. I realized that I am not looking for a “bug” caused by this complex system of software and hardware and programs and memory. I am most likely looking for a “bug” caused by something I did. (The same way I find myself looking for a reason why my macaroni and cheese is so runny…I added too much water). It doesn’t have to be as complex as I perceive it to be. Approaching the task of debugging thinking that I am looking for a mistake that I made, as opposed to a mistake made by the complex computer, eases my nerves and increases my confidence in my ability to solve the problem. Lack of confidence and high anxiety are two primary reasons I had always relied on the “professionals.”

Digital Governance Nugget 10-”Virtual Fence” along Mexican border

erin4540 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 14:35:29 +0000

In September of 2006, the
U.S. Government awarded Boeing Co. with a $67 million contract to install a “virtual fence” along the Mexican border. This contract is for the first phase of the government’s Secure Border Initiative Network that is estimated to cost $2 billion. The contract mandates the use of cameras, sensors and unmanned planes, but exactly how the money is used is left up to the contractor. This immediately made me think of accountability issues. Upon further researching the Initiative, I learned that 58 companies had applied for the contract, but when narrowed down to the five finalist, the list was comprised of four companies who were regularly contracted out for defense (Boeing Co, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman) and one newcomer, Ericsson. Ericsson was the only finalist with specific telecommunications expertise, being a leading wireless infrastructure vendor globally and having built a similar “virtual fence” on the border between Russia and
Norway three years ago. It makes me wonder why Ericsson was not given the contract. If the government is going to put billions of dollars in the hands of a contractor and say,” Do whatever you want, so long as you utilize cameras, sensors and unmanned planes,” wouldn’t it make sense to entrust a contractor who has direct experience with such a project? It is possible that Boeing Co’s proposed plan appeared to be more comprehensive and efficient, but it seems hard to believe. To me, it seems more believable that considering the long and profitable history of Boeing Co as a defense contractor for the government, they were granted special consideration. After all, according to the Project on Government Oversight between 1997 and 2004, the four federal contractors making the highest campaign contributions were Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. This list sounds pretty similar to the list of the top five finalists to build the “virtual fence.” There is one name missing however, Ericsson, the company with telecommunication expertise. Based on this information though, it appears that it may not be expertise that wins contracts, but instead campaign contributions. In addition, in the past, Boeing has been investigated and found guilty of placing especially “generous” Pentagon officials in high ranking positions within the company, raising further issues in conflicts of interest. Contracts awarded based on this criteria will likely lead to increased waste of money, decreased accountability and in this case, failure to control illegal immigration at the Mexican border.

Digital Governance Nugget 9-Goodbye English, Hello Txt-spk?

erin4540 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 14:31:11 +0000

A recent article at www.cnn.com reported that New Zealand’s Qualification Authority has announced that high school students will be allowed to use “text-speak” this year on the country’s national exams. “Text-speak” refers to the language used by cell phone users to send text messages. As a means of saving time, vowels are often omitted from words (i.e. “text” would be “txt”), acronyms are used (i.e. “laugh out loud” would be “lol”) and letters that can be words in and of themselves are substituted (i.e. “see” would be “c”). This seems ludicrous. According to the 2005 United Nations Development Programme Report,
New Zealand is tied for first place with 19 other countries for having the highest literacy rate at 99.9%. (FYI…the
United States comes in at number 55 with a 97% literacy rate)
New Zealand could not have made it to the top of this list without a conscious and dedicated effort to teach its children to read and master the English language. How will allowing “text-speak” in the classroom affect the country’s literacy rate? If “text-speak” is allowed in schools, should it be allowed on tests of literacy? It will be interesting to see the affects (if any) this decision has on these high school students as they enter college and the professional world. Potentially, correct spelling could become a lost art. If for four years straight a student never had to write the word “probably,” but instead, only “prbly,” I can see that it could become confusing. Is it “probably” or “probobly” or “probbably?” I’m having a hard time thinking of any positive effects this decision will have on the students or the country as whole. It is unlikely that “text-speak” will become acceptable in the collegiate or professional worlds, so why add one more challenge to the students and to the professors/managers who will have to re-teach incoming students of proper English. I can’t help but wonder the response I would get from Dr. Shulman if my next discussion paper was titled, “Dscssn Ppr 2: Implemntatn Succss Fctrs.”

Digital Governance Nugget 8-TeleRehabilitation

erin4540 — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:04:15 +0000

I am very interested in building my professional career in a way that will promote and enhance the independence of people with disabilities. One critical aspect of enhancing independence of people with disabilities is access to assistive technology (power wheelchairs, vehicle hand controls, hearing aids, hands-free computer programs, etc). For a variety of reasons accessing assistive technology is often difficult for people with disabilities. This is especially true of people with disabilities living in rural areas, where the biggest barrier is lack of professional expertise of assistive technology and lack of facilities providing assistive technology. However, new technology has created an excellent way to connect rural people with disabilities with urban professionals trained in assistive technology. TeleRehabilitation is a way of video conferencing that would allow occupational therapists and assistive technology service providers the opportunity to communicate with and evaluate individuals in remote areas in terms of current function and benefit of proper assistive technology. For many individuals living in rural areas where lack of internet use, unemployment levels, poverty and lack of education are comparatively high, TeleRehabilitation is literally the only way they can communicate with professionals and access assistive technology. The problem is that Medicare and private insurers are reluctant to pay for this type of care as they feel accuracy will be lost without true “hands-on” evaluation. Although it is true that TeleRehabilitation has some short falls that “first-hand” care does not (i.e. cannot see minor tremors) I think this is simply an illustration of policy failing to keep pace with the ever evolving technological field. TeleRehabilitation is the first economically reliable means of increasing independence of people with disabilities living in rural areas, while decreasing medical costs and enhancing employability. As insurers continue to pay unnecessary medical bills for issues that could have been prevented through assistive technology and the Federal government continues to pay millions of dollars in income maintenance programs to individuals who could be working with access to assistive technology, it is inevitable that policies will eventually change. This type of teleconferencing has brought many people together and has been very successful in allowing face-to-face contact despite great distance (i.e. GSPIA’s distance learning course in Macedonia, communication’s between federal officials and Army generals in
Iraq, etc.). It is time the medical profession caught up.

Milestone 8-Access and Excel

erin4540 — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:01:37 +0000

Snyder’s last 2 chapters on Excel and Access have forced me to confront my weaknesses. I have always been confused and intimidated by these programs, and have therefore avoided them as much as necessary. But after researching Excel to present it to the class and being taught about Access, I have finally realized that avoidance of these programs due to fear and confusion will only hurt me in my professional career. As a manager of a non-profit organization, I will inevitably have to have a means of tracking budgets and financial issues, donations, constituents, work schedules, etc. Technically, I could do all of these things in a Word document, but the waste of time and resources would be immeasurable. In the past, as soon as confusion set in, I would declare myself unable to figure out the program and close it. But after seeing all the functions of each program, I have forced myself to take time with the Snyder book and actually perform some functions, step by step. And to my surprise, I am able to figure out these programs, with just a little patience. To my own defense though, I do think that the “Help” option in these programs is often inadequate for a first time user. Many times I have found that the “Help” option just adds to my confusion. I think that Snyder, on the other hand, does a much better job explaining the how’s and why’s of these programs

Milestone 7-Excel

erin4540 — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 15:54:05 +0000

I think that Excel is an interesting program because it is capable of performing so many functions and calculations, yet many people never benefit from its capabilities because they are unaware of features or confused by the program. I am included in this population. At my last internship I did learn a lot about Excel and some of its convenient functions (i.e. mail merge, auto filter, etc.) but I know there are countless other functions that I do not take advantage of. I thought that Snyder’s discussion of Excel was pretty elementary, but useful for people who are not at all familiar with the program.. The very basic data presented in this chapter made it difficult to develop a class project that was stimulating and informative, not knowing the extent to which the class already understood Excel. But in preparing the presentation, I did come across some different ideas and products that may someday help me as a manager. As we presented in class, different software programs will now allow you to perform additional calculations within an Excel worksheet and some programs have developed their own spreadsheets taking “the best Excel has to offer” and adding more features. As a manager, programs like these would probably allow you to store and manipulate many types of information spanning many years, in just one program. Prior to the presentation, I was also unaware of how easily and quickly I could import data from an outside source. I remember in undergrad doing a large project dealing with census data, and I actually retyped several pages of the census to accompany my written findings. Had I known of the import feature at that time, I would have saved myself hours (literally) of work.

Digital Governance Nugget 7-Permanent Memory?

erin4540 — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 15:50:06 +0000

Although I stated in my last blog that I am tired of discussing privacy issues, my web search this week has produced one more reason in which I feel compelled to again revisit the issue. Microsoft is currently engaged in a project called MyLifeBits that will essentially digitalize every single photo, CD, card, book, phone conversation, lecture, website, home video, television show, etc. that a person experiences in his life. The program will build a virtual memory that will allow users to search by keyword nearly any aspect of their life thus far. The very first thing I thought of when I read the article was, you guessed it, privacy! In a society that has some afraid to simply conduct a web search or send an email, I wonder if there would be a market for software capable of digitally recording the most intimate aspects of one’s life? The MyLifeBits project however, has been going on for five years, thus beginning before the major privacy issues of today were a concern. Knowing that, I began wondering about the utility of the project if privacy were not an issue. Do people really desire to save every phone conversation, email, card, website, television show, photograph, etc? Assuming people want to save all of these things, assumes that there is meaning attached to each of these things, but I don’t think that is necessarily true. Every year for the last 24 years, I have received a birthday card from my Uncle that says the same thing, “Happy Birthday, Erin. Have a Great year!” When it comes in the mail, I barely look at it anymore. I would have no desire to save it, let alone 24 of them. The same holds true for television shows or websites. I can’t count the number of hours in my life that I have spent aimlessly gazing at the TV or browsing the web for no significant reason. Would I want all of this recorded? No. I don’t feel cheated that I don’t know what I watched on TV as a seven year old. I realize that there are significant moments over my last 24 years that I have forgotten all together or may not remember as well as I used to, but I don’t think a “digital diary” is the answer to that problem. I am sure that the development of software to handle such a project is very expensive, and I’m not sure that the worth of it is comparable. I will rely on pen, paper and a scrapbook for the important stuff, and hopefully quickly forget the rest.

Milestone 6-Privacy and Digital Security

erin4540 — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 15:42:12 +0000

After reading Snyder’s chapter 17, Garson’s chapter 6, discussing student’s papers concerning privacy and debating the state of privacy post 9/11, I’m tired of discussing privacy issues! It is a frustrating issue that is not easily agreed upon and will likely remain a debatable issue for years to come. Snyder’s discussion of encryption seems ridiculous. If the point of encrypting is to maintain one’s privacy while communicating via the internet, then fine. But as Dr. Shulman pointed out, doesn’t encrypting messages simply “flag” that person as having something to hide? If so, then encrypting messages may limit one’s privacy even more. After all, with time and resources, any code can be broke. But even if someone was absolutely sure their code could not be cracked, who has time to encrypt and decode messages??? I just cannot see encryption as a beneficial option for everyday internet users. I did enjoy the discussion of cookies, both in the chapter and during the class exercise. Prior to this class, I had heard of cookies, but had no idea what they were, or where they were stored. Being able to see in class how easily and quickly cookies can accumulate, I was prompted to check the status of cookies on my home computer. I had 436 cookies on my computer!

Digital Governance Nugget 6-Digital Divide

erin4540 — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 15:40:06 +0000

A few weeks ago in class, we staged a debate in which the digital divide was disputed. One student, when comparing the digital divide with pollution, said it is not the goal to provide internet access to every single person in the world, but instead to expand access to a majority of people. Considering the complexity of providing internet access to the billions of people in the world, at the time of the debate, I agreed with that student. But upon further researching the subject, I now believe that with the proper players and governmental cooperation, internet access could be provided to the entire world. I realize that this is a very optimistic thought, but very few pessimists have ever changed the world! An article at www.cnn.com reported that through a collaboration with the Libyan government and the non-profit agency, One Laptop per Child, all 1.2 million school children in
Libya will receive laptop computers and internet access. The most shocking aspect of the program is that 1.2 million computers, a server in each school, a team of technical advisors, satellite internet service and other infrastructure can all be provided for only $250 million. The computers are even equipped with foot pedals and solar energy adaptations in cases of inadequate electricity. At first $250 million seems like a lot of money, but considering the multitude of products and services it provides, coupled with Western government’s pace of spending (the United States’ Military spending in 2005 was more than $420 Billion!), $250 million is pretty cheap. So, if it can be done in
Libya, why can’t it be done everywhere? In my opinion, one of the biggest reasons internet access is not worldwide is the gross distribution of wealth in our world. I had recently heard that for the first time ever, Forbes Magazine’s annual list of the100 wealthiest people did not contain one millionaire; they were all billionaire’s. The people on this list have more personal money than some entire nations in the developing world. When discussing distribution of wealth, it is easy to point fingers at government’s such as our own that spend billions of dollars frivolously or billionaires living in multi-million dollar homes, but the average American often forgets that we too are players in the distribution of wealth game. The
United States is home to nearly 300 million people. Imagine if all of us donated just $1 to One Laptop per Child. More than 1.2 million people could be provided internet access. Imagine if we all donated $5. More than 8 million people would be provided internet access. So next time you stop at Starbucks on your way to work, think about the real difference that $4 you just spent on a small coffee could have really made. My argument may seem extreme and unrealistic, but I am a firm believer in the power of charitable giving and the desire to help people. A whole new world will be opened up to those Libyan school children, and hopefully someday, everybody will get that same opportunity.

Laptop provided to Libyan school children

Milestone 5-Online Research

erin4540 — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 18:31:07 +0000

This is actually the first Snyder chapter that I have read and already been familiar with the content. He mentions the importance of narrowing your search by uncovering relevant search words via certain credible sites. In my research, I have always found it helpful to check www.wikipedia.com first. Although this information is not always credible, I can usually find keywords that I can then plug into a new Google search. And luckily, I have had pretty good luck with extracting decent information from the website. Snyder’s chapter did introduce me to a new search site; www.google.com/advanced_image_search I’ve searched many images since reading the chapter and am amazed at the quantity and variety of available pictures. I’m looking forward to using some images in upcoming blogs.