The Impact of IT on the Quality of Life

The digital divide is the gap between those that have ready availability to digital technology and what it offers, and those that do not. A good example of this is one student having access to the internet and thus the information that can be obtained there, and another student not having access to the internet or perhaps even a computer.

Some of the issues associated with the digital divide is the lack of information and communication technologies available to those people, counties, or countries that are on the disadvantaged side of the digital divide. Health care quality can greatly suffer from lack of proper testing tools and technology, law enforcement can suffer from lack of proper databases and/or tracking systems, fingerprinting technology, genetic labs, and the like that are used to solve crimes, or other technology used to prevent crime. National emergencies, such as the tsunami in Thailand that killed hundreds of people, can be warned against with proper technology. Even earthquakes can be warned against with proper seismographic technology.

Another huge issue plaguing the digital divide is the issue of education and educational disadvantages due to a gap in availability of technology. Information is readily available when the internet is easily and often accessed. However, students that lack the educational outlets and avenues that are available on the web can miss out on a great deal of learning and experience. Several programs, E-Rate and E-Tech, seek to bridge this divide by offering technology to schools in order to promote usage by technologically disadvantaged students; However, their results are mixed.

Communication is also impacted negatively by the absence of proper technology. This is in addition to money management, e-commerce, and the like. The digital divide creates large inequality between those on the up-side of it, and those on the down-side, thus presenting a great many opportunities for those who have access to information and communication technologies, and robbing those who don't of their chance at those same opportunities.

IT and Worker Productivity

A great deal of worker productivity these days depends on the use of technology. I should say, perhaps, that fewer workers are needed to maintain or enhance productivity, and that such technology as databases, word processing, and e-mail, reduce the time a worker may need to be on the job. IT advances have made it possible for innovation within the workplace, progressive management, new products, and new services. However, despite all this, it is still important to realize what IT can do and what it cannot. As Reynolds states, "it's difficult to quantify how much the use of IT has contributed to worker productivity" (Reynolds, 2007). So even though enhancements in a businesses system may have sped up how many cars are produced at a factory or how many computer chips are manufactured by Intel, it is hard to tell just how IT impacts the employees or workers of a particular business. While implementing new technology certainly makes it easier on employees and often adds a degree of efficiency, it doesn't work miracles and employers shouldn't expect that. Nor should they expect that technology can replace their employee base completely in order to lower costs. One of the most important parts of business is to keep its human side in tact. That being said, many companies lay-off employees to cut costs, or replace an entire department with computer based systems to handle what used to be a human employee position. I believe this is a decent topic for an ethical debate, as cutting jobs for company gains can severely harm the economy by raising the unemployment rate. It could potentially harm certain industries or specialties as well, as fewer graduates will seek those degrees and areas of work out of unwillingness to deal with the high probability of lay-offs due to computer-based replacements.

Healthcare and IT

With more online content and personal information stored within large scale databases, especially one such as the wide-scale medical information database discussed in the book, there is greater risk of privacy issues. Identity theft is a growing problem, and often the result of stolen information from a database of some sort. Recently a college database was hacked and hundreds of applicants personal information stolen. Situations like this just go to show that our seeming "safe" online systems aren't always as secure as we think they are. This also relates to growing use of IT within the healthcare system. More hospitals and private care providers are turning to computer technology to store patient information in order to be able to access all tests, results, and past visits quickly. It goes without saying that this is a great advantage to patients and providers, however, it also opens up new issues of security, privacy, and ethical use of information.

Ethical issues aside, IT has had a great deal of impact on the healthcare community. We now use a great many different forms of technology to gain a better understanding of a person's health, or a particular disease or condition. Without such technology it would be impossible to treat and/or track many of the diseases impacting America and the world today. Brain surgery for Parkinson's patients, heart transplants, bionic limbs, and gene replacement therapy are only some examples of the highly advanced procedures made possible by technology. However, all of these treatments come at a price, and a very high price at that. It is the hope that new IT programs can reduce the costs associated with health care, part of this is initiating electronic patient records and more efficient management systems.

In addition to inpatient care and doctors visits, patients can now speak to their physicians online, over the phone, or visit an online medical website for information on their condition. With these new forms of electronic communication and information accessing, it is important that ethical codes are followed; thus it is important to know those codes, what to expect, and how to protect privacy. Despite the ethical issues associated with online medical websites and telemedicine, these resources may be able to cut back on the growing healthcare costs.