Critical Response Essay Module 3

Module Three Response           James Haske                IRLS551          Spring 2007 

            In this paper I will be responding to a critical analysis essay written by Emi Kawasaki concerning technology access of Latino populations.  Before reviewing Ms. Kawasaki’s paper, I first conducted my own research on the subject and formulated my own theories and ideas about which areas of concern were most important and influential. In my response, I will compare those to the ideas Ms. Kawasaki presented while including elements from my own research.

            Ms. Kawasaki’s paper has two main focal points which are: reasons for hesitancy by Hispanics to adopt technology and the major legislative hindrances to the betterment of the immigrant people of Arizona.  The first area that she explored was five dimensions of access which included; physical access to hardware, community factors, cultural differences, employment access and educational which she described as the most important factor.  The second area explored in her paper was research concerning hold backs affecting technology acceptance, including immigration status, and psychosocial aspects.

            My goal in performing research for this paper was to uncover the specialized areas of concern for Latinos and find out why these factors were specific to that demographic population.  The first area I chose to examine, like Ms. Kawasaki, was research that attempted to identify which factors affect Latino populations.

            In previous research concerning the digital divide, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA, 1995) has identified a number of factors that affect levels of literacy and Internet connectivity including: age, economic level, race and education.  Ms. Kawasaki cited the work of Tornatzky, who identified five dimensions of access to technology including: physical, educational, community, cultural, and employment access (Tornatzky, Macias & Jones, 2002, p2-5) and stated that technology education was the most important factor.  Finally, in Stanley’s article, we are presented with the idea that there are “psychosocial obstacles” that undermine motivation for acquiring computer skills which are relevance, comfort zone, and self-concept. (Stanley, 2003, p47)  There certainly are a number of factors that may hinder access to technology of Latino populations and the research I performed seemed to drill all of them down to the psychosocial obstacles as being those with the greatest effect.

           Up to this point. I was clear on the downward hierarchy of factors that affect access to technology, but once I reached the most specific level in the inverted pyramid, psychosocial factors, I had a difficult time rationalizing the reasoning given for these factors, and feel that a more in-depth exploration would be essential to truly understanding the issues faced by the Latino populations.  The ideas surrounding psychosocial factors were presented in greatest detail in the Stanley research, but I immediately questioned how applicapable research that was performed in a low income area of San Diego, would be to a national arena such as the U.S. as a whole.

           The southwest portion of the United States does have a very high level of Latino immigrants and on one side would be a good location to conduct research, since there is a large subject group to explore, but the concerns they experience may be considerably different from Latino populations in other areas of the country where the influx of immigration is not as pronounced.  I believe that the large numbers of immigrants from Latin American countries have a tremendous effect on the results we may attain when we survey technology access concerns for the Latino populations in the U.S.  With a current estimate of 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. (Passel, 2006) many of whom have come from Mexico, where only 5% of the population has an Internet connection (Currey & Kenny, 2006) the data that is acquired may be overly influenced in certain geographic regions and may not be reflective of the entire nation.  Since computer use is so low in other countries, it may appear as though there is a high level of indifference to the use of technology, or attitudes of hesitation by the Latino culture here in the U.S. to embrace technology, which might not be entirely true. 

            As I reviewed the literature, I began to see where a number of articles, most notably Stanley’s, focused in great depth on the psychosocial aspects, which I have a difficult time in accepting.  Ms. Kawasaki stated these in her essay as not seeing relevance in learning technology, not wanting to step outside of a comfort zone and learn new skills, and a notion of self-concept whereby becoming familiar with technology would cause a bad self-impression of themselves to their peers.  Though I wish this module would have presented more information on these factors, as I believe they are in the ballpark of where this research needs to be exploring, I don’t think that Latinos are as resistant to technology as the articles may portray.  Certainly not in as much of a degree of personal vanity concerning changes in self-image as the research presents, but possibly more so on the factors such as not fully understanding the ways that technology might benefit them and improve their lives.

             After exploring all of the research for this module, Ms. Kawasaki and I share similar views relating to the important role that community centers, including libraries, play in helping diverse populations begin exploring and familiarizing themselves with technology.  I still question for myself, are we doing enough, and is what we are doing effective, but regardless, it is still a step in the right direction.  It is also clear that immigration legislation can have a drastic and immediate effect on the cause for improving access to technology to diverse populations.  As Americans, we must question policies that install roadblocks to acquiring the skills needed to become national citizens, and examine if they lead in a direction that supports the ideals this country was founded upon.

References

Curry, J., & Kenny, M. (2006) Digital divide or digital development? The Internet in Mexico. 11(3) First Monday. Retrieved March 14, 2007 from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_3/curry/index/html

National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (1995) Falling Through the Net: A Survey of “Have Nots” in Rural and Urban American. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from University of Arizona Library course Reserves Web site: http://eres.library.arizona.edu/eres/docs/122994/falling_through_the_net_a_survey_of_have_nots_in_rural_and_urban_america.html

Passel, J.S. (2006) The size and characteristics of the unauthorized migrant population in the U.S. Pew Hispanic Center. Retrieved March 9, 2007 from http://pewhispanic.org/files/esecsum/61.pdf

Stanley, L.J. (2003) Beyond access: psychosocial barriers to computer literacy. 19(5). The Information Society, Retrieved March 2, 2007, from Academic Search Premier database.

Tornatzky, L.G., Macias, E. E., & Jones, S. (2002) Latinos and information technology: The promise and the challenge. The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, Retrieved March 10, 2007 from EBSCOhost database.