<div>Hi Michael, I was in my post, above, also delving for a minimalist description of the different approaches to topic here; so if you can clarify or wish to, in response to my post (by choice of course, and no need to explicitly use <em>thesis, antithesis, synthesis</em> if not seeming apt) - thanks. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>(I wouldn't ask Eric's artistic and exciting style and content to change a whit, or his wit to subside. But all of you here can probably parse out the points of view for initiates upon this request; would be quite welcome). </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Best wishes, Linda.<br><br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 2:18 PM, Michael Gurstein <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com">gurstein@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Eric,<br><br>I have no idea what this sentence could possibly mean from any<br>perspective--development, social science, marketing, management--"Direct use<br>
<div class="im">and consumption of a good or service is not any kind of test as to it's<br>viability or value to a society."<br><br></div>Anyway, since we aren't talking about syringes or police academies (???) but<br>
rather about access to the major and fundamental infrastructure of modern<br>society --<br><br>The unavailability of access is a major impediment to participation and<br>development... In my country, Canada, the fact that roughly 25% of the<br>
population is not accessing the Internet means that the range of public and<br>private services that have and are migrating to the Net are inaccessible for<br>use by those individuals leading either to the requirement for duplication<br>
of services (both manual and electronic) or to the denial of service (where<br>the service is available only in electronic form...<br><br>In the Cameroun (with which I'm not familiar) or in South Africa (with which<br>
I am familiar) lack of access to the Net means that the 97.1% (the Cameroun)<br>or the 91.4% (South Africa) of the population not currently accessing/able<br>to access the Net prevents them from having access to the knowledge,<br>
training, and support resources that are available to those with such<br>access. Perhaps most important this means that the huge bulk of the<br>population is not sufficiently informatized as to make a direct contribution<br>
to those activities which will spur local and national economic and social<br>development. South Africa for example, has a significant net shortage of<br>those with sufficient skills to occupy available technical positions<br>
necessary to maintain and extend the Information Society/Information<br>Economy. That individuals, communities, local institutions are unable to<br>access the Net makes it all that much more difficult to bridge these gaps,<br>
fill these slots and so on and so on.<br><br>All of which is to give me an opportunity to say once again BTW, how<br>disappointed I am that there seems to have been little or no discussion at<br>the IGF (although simply observing from afar I may have missed it) about<br>
issues of concern to the other 5.5 billion or so not currently accessing the<br>Net.<br><br>MBG<br>
<div>
<div></div>
<div class="h5"><br><br><br> On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 11:08 AM, Eric Dierker<br><<a href="mailto:cogitoergosum@sbcglobal.net">cogitoergosum@sbcglobal.net</a>> wrote:<br><br><br>This argument line is specious. Direct use and consumption of a good or<br>
service is not any kind of test as to it's viability or value to a society.<br><br>Do we say that since only 2% of the population uses syringe(s) to inoculate<br>thousands that the regulation and governance of medical appliances is not<br>
relevant? Do we say that because only the supplier uses a telecommunication<br>device to supply food more efficiently and less expensive that the<br>telecommunication device is not relevant to the eater?<br>Are police academies not relevant to the safety of a small child?<br>
<br>In fact the complete opposite is true. The need for intermediaries and those<br>skilled is the only reason to allow all of us pontithicators to have any say<br>in governance. The fact that the hunter and gatherer brings home the food<br>
from the forest does not obsolve or relinquish the right and duty of the<br>homemaker to manage his forest and fields. And since facts and opinions<br>without study and understanding are more dangerous than helpful, I tolerate<br>
all of you speaking for the consumer ;-) You all be careful that I do not<br>come up with an instant vaccine against ignorance, lest and whilst you be<br>out of a job.<br><br><br>--- On Thu, 11/19/09, Nyangkwe Agien Aaron <<a href="mailto:nyangkweagien@gmail.com">nyangkweagien@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<br><br>From: Nyangkwe Agien Aaron <<a href="mailto:nyangkweagien@gmail.com">nyangkweagien@gmail.com</a>><br>Subject: Re: [governance] FW: Internet Users Globally<br>To: <a href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org">governance@lists.cpsr.org</a>, "Michael Gurstein" <<a href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com">gurstein@gmail.com</a>><br>
Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009, 10:42 AM<br><br><br><br>Many thanks Michael for the revelation.<br>I can now understand that despite the availability of an optical fibre<br>along the cost of my country Cameroun about 97.1% of my fellow country<br>
men and women do not use internet. Astonishing is the finding that<br>only 86.56 Senegalese do not have access to Internet.<br>And when you look at the per capita income of both countries!!!<br><br>Internet bandwith capacity in my office is here in Douala is 256/64<br>
<br>Aaon<br><br>On 11/18/09, Michael Gurstein <<a href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com">gurstein@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>><br>>> For a very revealing application concerning Internet users by country go<br></div>
</div>>> to the<br>
<div>
<div></div>
<div class="h5">>><br>>> If you go to Google and put "Internet users in (your country of choice)"<br>>> into the search bar you will get the information graphed by year!<br>>><br>> I'm wondering how much of the discussion at this year's IGF was of<br>
relevance<br>> to the 99.19% of Malians who are not currently Internet users (or<br>similalry<br>> for 99.16% of Chadians, 89.49% of Bolivians, 92.8% of Indians, 98.18% of<br>> Papua New Guineans etc.etc.<br>><br>
>> MBG<br>><br><br><br>--<br>Aaron Agien Nyangkwe<br>Journalist-OutCome Mapper<br>Special Assistant The President<br>ASAFE<br>P.O.Box 5213<br>Douala-Cameroon<br><br>Tel. 237 3337 55 31, 3337 50 22<br>Fax. 237 3342 29 70<br>
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<br><br><br><br><br>--<br>LDMF.<br>> Dr. Linda D. Misek-Falkoff<br>> 914 769 3652<br>> law / computing / humanities:<br>> Founder/Director *Respectful Interfaces*;<br>> Member, Board, Officer - Communications Coordination Committee for the<br>
> U.N.;<br>> World Education Fellowship;<br>> Member Committees on disability, aging, health, values, development;<br>> National Disability Party (NDP); International Disability Caucus;<br>> Persons with Pain Intl.;<br>
> ICT multiple decades;<br>> Other affiliations on Request.<br>><br>> n.b.:<br><br>> - You are welcome to join *Respectful Interfaces.* The *Respectful<br>> Interfaces* Coda is: "Achieving Dialogue While Cherishing Diversity" (ask<br>
> about leadership interning).<br><br>> - Communication, Cooperation and Collaboration are core values of the<br>CCC/UN.<br><br><br>____________________________________________________________<br><br></div></div></blockquote>
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