ASSIGNED BLOG POST 12:
Reflecting on the readings and speakers of the entire semester, in what ways do you see IST, SRA and Penn State students as perfectly well-suited to address issues arising with the integration of technologies into crisis response?
This class has been a great experience, it has not only taught me more about disaster response, but how technology that I, as well as my classmates, already use on a daily basis for fun can be implemented in crisis situations. The IST and SRA, as well as other Penn State students in this class are well suited to address issues arising with the issues arising with the integration of technologies into crisis response. SRA and IST allows its students to help integrate technology into areas that don't readily incorporate technology that would help benefit that industry. This class has helped us visualize ways to integrate technology into humanitarian relief efforts through the use of twitter, facebook, open-source mapping, etc.
Our interest and near immediate integration of technology into our own lives definitely allows for IST and SRA majors for the seamless crossbreeding in between technology and physical, information, and other types of security. This allows us to implement the uses of various technologies to achieve the goals of a particular concern, especially when linking human and technology elements. Innovation is also a key part of both of the IST and SRA majors; innovation of technology, innovation of new ways to do old things, and innovation of new processes. All of these things together have been taught in our Crisis Informatics class and other SRA and IST classes, which is why students from both majors can address issues arising with the issues arising with the integration of technologies into crisis response well.
I agree with your comment about the class being a great experience and great learning environment when it comes to crisis response. Especially since we had a great graduate student who would give excellent input about how to improve things or look at a situation from a different angle.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you to an extent I believe that kids that take SRA 397A might have an upper hand on the students who do not take the course because they are not indulged into the information on a regular basis for an extended amount of time. I found it to be beneficial to be learning about these events so that we can see how things are implemented into the crisis response.
“Our interest and near immediate integration of technology into our own lives definitely allows for IST and SRA majors for the seamless crossbreeding in between technology and physical, information, and other types of security.” –I agree with this comment because our generation seems to be “tech nerds” and always using technology. I don’t know if our generation could get by a single day without a cell phone or Facebook or Twitter.
Hello Jenn,
ReplyDeleteMuch like I have said to other students in this class, I also agree with you that this class was an excellent experience. Eye-opening doesn't start to describe how I feel this class has affected me. I used to assume that whenever organizations stepped into a disaster or crisis zone, they knew exactly what to do, how to gather information, and how to help everyone. It's the hopeful picture that's painted by NGOs like the Red Cross, who feature TV ads with their success rate statistics. Now that we've taken this class, it's interesting to see how much help the UN and other NGOs will need from students like us in the near future as the rate of technology growth surpasses their abilities to adapt to the new technology. Just for example, it took 2 years for the UN to debate about making a Twitter/Facebook account, while the rest of the world talked about app development for their cell phones and finding ways of gathering information off social networking sites to possibly make a difference for aid workers actually in the disaster areas. It's fantastic to see organizations like NetHope, Ushahidi, and our own university's Geography department utilizing technology in new ways to capture online data and translate it into actionable information, possibly to save time, money, and lives. Now all it takes is for policies to change with the times and accept the fact that technology and social networking is here to stay. One of the biggest things this College focuses on is the importance of pairing people with technology, but I also think that it's more important that they actually apply the tech to change the world. After all, we can't have people like Patrick Meier of Ushahidi doing all the work to solve the world's problems, it's going to be the bright, young minds of our generation that's going to make some changes, and hopefully the humanitarian assistance community will be one sector that we can improve for the future.
Tony
I agree with you that this class has been a great experience, one of the best of the best of my collegiate career. I also think you bring up a good point we will be able to handle the ever expanding integration problem because a lot of these are technologies we use in our everyday lives. We just need to figure out how to apply them effectively in the ways the crisis organizations are looking for them to be applied. There are a lot of holes in the systems but a lot of potential. Once we figure out a verification method twitter and facebook could become two prominent tools in crisis informatics.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think you make an interesting point that we willingly and wantingly immerse ourselves in any and all technology soaking it up with pretty much the greatest of ease or at least greater ease than those at the organizations we have heard from this semester. We will be able to impress the need for these technologies upon an older generation. Also with enough time and effort be able to quell their fears about said technologies. This will lead to some of us working on a integration plan and making sure the system used is safe and secure and verifiable. I feel Humanitarian Organizations should be on the cutting edge of technology no lagging so far behind so hopefully we can get them to increase their tech budgets and see the light at the end of the fiber optic cable.