Technology & Other Drugs

*note: this is a re-do blog post of week 3's topic - Science and Technology

Quick Glance - Can You Identify These Pills? 

(Answer: Left = Prozac, Right = Ibuprofen, Bottom = Calcium Supplement)

             From ibuprofen to allergy medicine, it is likely that every one of us has popped a pill in our mouth without knowing its exact ingredients or even its guided directions. Our lifestyles depend heavily on science and the scientists’ research. From physicians to researchers to engineers, science encompasses a variety and a myriad of professions and careers of Americans. It is surprising and worrisome that in common society, citizens are not well connected with the latest scientific research as well as unknowledgeable and poorly educated about essential and simple ways science works in our lives, for example, the drugs and medicine we take daily. How do they work? What causes their "healing" effects? And are they merely short-term or does the medicine have long-term benefits, or worse, long-term disadvantages?

            Science is increasing being fed to people without detailed information or any personal connection. The hours, weeks, years of research and work scientists perform are constantly taking a backstage role. However, some people may argue that it is not necessary for the public to know the intricacies and background of their medicine and drugs they consume. It does indeed take advanced knowledge and understanding of anatomy, biology, and chemistry, and the processes of creating a drug are laborious and time-consuming. But, as easy as it is to trust the science community with their products, it is just as easy to lose this trust when something goes wrong. And when this erraticism occurs, it is natural to blame the same science community when there should also be personal responsibility involved.

In Nisbet and Scheufele’s report, “What’s Next for Science Communication?” they mention how framing, interpretative storylines that communicate what is at stake in a societal debate, helps simplify issues for the public, and provides common points of references between scientists, the public, and the media. However, with framing comes subjectivity, which can prove to be harmful in the pharmaceutical realm. Advertising and business goals can get take emphasis over the best interests of the medicine’s users. It is essential to provide objective facts and news about medicine and pharmaceuticals to its users, and there are not enough third party organizations – which are unaffiliated with the drug – to distribute this type of information.

Recently, an organization, ePocrates, launched, having a main mission of mobile health software. It has established a popular medical iPhone application: ePocrates Rx, which essentially issues information about drug dosing, calculations, and interactions, and provides pictures of the drug pills. Moreover, they update their application constantly to include new drugs and interactions, to publicize drug recalls, and to communicate medication safety updates from the FDA, CDC, ISMP, and AHRQ. This free mobile application has extended to fit compatibility to the Blackberry, Android, Palm, and Windows Mobile. Consumers can also access this application online.

 Nisbet spoke to our class about the importance of public participation in science communication. Public participation has the ability and potential to increase accountability, transparency, and institutional change. With the pharmaceutical industry, feedback is vital in ensuring public safety and drug efficiency. While it is unrealistic that citizens are up to date and informed about the medical community, there should still be personal responsibility upheld when using pharmaceutical drugs. The community can use these new technological advances to create and strengthen access to science. Undoubtedly, applications like ePocrates Rx is convenient and saves time for consumers – we just have to choose to use them.

So when it comes down to it, it is up to the individual. How well informed do you want to be about what you are consuming, especially on a pharmaceutical level? Does your thought end when the pill does the job?  The weight of obligation is diminished, and it is an overwhelmingly a matter of choice and personal responsibility. Respect both yourself and the scientists who serve you in taking additional steps to become informed and cultured in scientific research and procedures. 

http://www.epocrates.com/products/iphone/rx.html

Mobile Phones Driving Gender Equality

Empowering Women Through Mobile Technology. This is the slogan for the organization, mWomen, which was established and funded by the GSM Association after identifying the significant gender gap in mobile phone ownership in middle and lower income countries. Across all countries, women are 21% less likely to own a mobile phone and this percentage is higher in sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, and South Asian regions.

            A report launched by the GSMA Development Fund and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women depicted that 93% of women reported feeling safer because of their mobile phone while 85% of women reported feeling more independent. 41% of women who own a mobile phone reported increased income and professional opportunities. (To view the full report: http://www.gsmworld.com/documents/Women_mobile_web.pdf) Mobile phones are a tool of empowerment for women in rural areas and/or in developing countries. Mobile communication transcends time and space, which saves time for its user, and as the old saying goes, “time is money.”

            Alice T. Liu, an ICT specialist, spoke to us last week about the benefits and the increase purposes mobile phones can serve in the area of finance and banking. Mobile phones are promoting efficiency and safety for individuals and families in transferring money and accessing their money sources. Mobile financial services have expanded to bill payments such as utilities and children’s school fees. Moreover, women who have access to mobile phones demonstrate a more significant role as an individual in their community. By being able to fulfill these types of duties from their own household, women have seen increases in responsibilities and independence.

            However, as mobile phone use begins to increase among women in developing countries, so their gender roles also evolve. Undoubtedly, mobile phones give these women empowerment and independence, but unfortunately, their male counterparts do not always look upon these traits so kindly. In an article published last week by Bloomberg news,  Aleeda Fazal, a mobile money specialist who helped establish M-Pesa, reported that, “In the Afghan woman’s mind, mobile phone technology helps her to keep in touch with friends and can help her be entrepreneurial…in the Afghan man’s mind, the technology means he loses control of the woman” (To view the full article: http://bangordailynews.com/2011/07/18/news/world-news/cellphones-empowering-women-in-developing-world/). While mobile phone use protects women from getting robbed in the streets when they walk to the schools to pay their children’s school fees, another type of violence and danger has ensued. Husbands are becoming outraged at the type of freedom a mobile phone gives their wives and many have prohibited the woman’s use of this technology as well as physically punished or abused them because of it.  It is difficult and deplorable to see that a tool that should be used for benefits are causing harm and damage in the inner community. Especially because these actions are occurring inside family households, there is not much the government or distributors of the mobile phones can effectuate. With any new advancement or progress, there is always a drawback, and in the case of mobile phones, these incidents of female figures suffering are a part of the battle to equality. These represents the greater complexity of the revolution of mobile phones. Culture and innovation lines are blurred, and societal structure and standards are difficult and take more time to surpass. Nevertheless, mobile phones still have the power to extend and heighten women status in these developing countries. mWomen’s reports have encouraged more mobile vendors, governments and NGOs to partner and administer programs and projects to continue to narrow the gender gap. With these types of programs, mWomen has two main goals: 1) addressing the barriers to ownership for women and 2) encouraging the development of products and services that appeal specifically tow omen in the areas of health, education, finance, and entrepreneurship.

As women in the developed countries continue to lobby for the top positions and careers in finance opportunities, women in developing countries will continue to fight to manage personal money.  With the increasing inexpensiveness of the mobile phone and the advanced technologies, which include mobile banking, there is great hope that women will be a part of the powerful changes and effects in the near future. Already, we see the profound impact mobile phones have on developing countries as well as the rapidity of technological programs, as agencies and vendors push for ownership for women in these areas, there will no doubt be an advance in education and autonomy. The mobile phone is and will continue to be a driving force in fostering gender equality in both developed and developing countries.

 Visit http://www.mwomen.org/ to learn more about the mWomen organization!

Government 2.0

Politics and Technology: Code for America 

        

            Pew Research Center’s Pew Internet and American Life Project in 2010 found that 82% of internet users (representing 61% of all American adults) looked for information or completed a transaction on a government website within the previous year of when the survey was asked. Technology and access to online sources are bringing government agencies – at all levels – closer to its constituents.

When I was researching the TedX conferences, the nonprofit organization, Code for America, was a representative organization that specifically caught my eye. Code for America is a nonpartisan and nonpolitical organization based in San Francisco, California that works with city governments to become more transparent, connected and efficient. They aim to enable and strengthen technology use and web design of government officials to deliver their city services. For example, Code for America’s Seattle Project is working to ease the communication between the city’s government and its people by providing more effective and efficient ways for people to offer input and receive responses through existing and new channels of communication such as Facebook and Twitter. Moreover, projects including designing a system that enables cities to replicate existing code projects in a sustainable and cost-effective manner are initiated. In order to do this, Code for America hires “fellows” who are technical web developers, designers, and entrepreneurs. They have municipal government training, are assigned specific city issues, and during their fellowship program, produce and leave behind an application addressing the issue they have been working with, helping cities run more efficiently. Overall, Code for America’s goal is to, “cultivate the next generation of public sector technology leaders.” Below is a Code for America outreach video for its fellowship program.

Somewhat of an equivalent to the program, Teach for America, Code for America is a two-way benefactor – for the fellows (who are usually in the younger generation, starting off their careers) and for the local city governments. The demand for web-industry professionals is high, and while they have been integrated heavily in the corporate world, it is definitely needed in the political realm as well. However, I feel like with the web as a form of information distribution, it is necessary to have smooth and effective communication with these web-industry professionals to ensure that the right information, in the right tone and procedure, is given. Especially in politics, it is essential to avoid misinformation, in order to protect politicians’ images and reputations. Moreover, the channels of communication should be smooth because constituents will rely on them more and more as they are developed and a glitch or complication in the system will only produce frustration and negative opinions toward the government. I believe that Code for America will need to take precautions in making sure that they work with the government as a whole, and keep non-partisan views when they work with the officials. Keeping procedures and rules are necessary to prevent even accusations or public views of corruption from being made. However, Code for America emphasizes access so if they are able to do their work without being a part of the government process, this role would be ideal. I also was trying to look in the benefits of working with Code for America on the government side. I was interested to see, but did not have much success in finding, why local governments would use this organization to help them manage their information distribution and website development, rather than hiring their own employees. Is there not existing staff that is in charge of this type of work? How do the responsibilities differ from the fellows of Code for America versus the local government employees? I wonder if Code for America will progress to be a more supplemental help for the city governments rather than its core force of technological development.

This new organization was founded just a couple years ago in 2009 and already has had several projects started and a solid group of staff and tech members. I am looking forward to see how Code for America’s first round of projects and fellows participating in the fellowship program develops and the organization’s short term and long-term influences. It will also be interesting to see how their organization will evolve as technology continues to advance. 

Technology for Price Transparencies

How much does an annual check-up at your physician cost? How about a biannual dentist appointment? What happens if there is an accident and you break your arm? Who covers these expenses? Sure, there is insurance, but are you certain that you are fully covered? How much and what do your co-pays cover? The list of health related questions goes on…

            “Data is care.” This was one of the major conclusions we reached during last week’s discussion of technology use in the health field. While we were primarily speaking about data of the patients themselves – which of course is essential in proper treatment and management of their health – I wanted to focus my blog post on the “data” of the other side of the issue. More specifically, the use of technology in determining how doctors, hospitals, and the other areas in the medical field are represented is an important opportunity in the future of our health care system.

            The United States health care system is undoubtedly far from being known as an archetype of health care in the world. Before the passage of the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama in 2010, over 55 million Americans were uninsured. However, the United States spends a significant amount on national health spending. In fact, as seen in the graph below, the United States comparatively is increasingly spending a larger percentage of its GDP with no results to show for it.

   

                Even worse, the majority of American citizens do not have any sort of understanding or comprehension about their medical costs. Americans know and get to see firsthand the goods and services of almost everything they purchase, except in the realm of their health services, which is ironic because health is arguably the most important aspect of an individual’s life. 

            Recently, states and certain regions have been adopting policy regarding hospital price transparencies. To elaborate, these policies have required hospitals, doctor groups, and insurance companies to provide more data on the services they provide. For example, New Hampshire launched its site, HealthCost, in 2003, which provides comparative information about the estimated amount that a hospital, physician, etc. receives for their services. It provides information about the prices based on insurance plan and on procedure. This website is organized to directly serve consumers and make this type of information more accessible and convenient for them; it is a resource to guide individuals to make more informed decisions regarding their health care.  

In the effort to protect individuals and to effectively use the government’s resources, price transparency publications such as that of New Hampshire’s should be further implemented in areas across the nation. In a period where technology is so prevalent in American life, we should be using this technology for the betterment of citizens. Most Americans have easy access to the Internet, and these publications can be posted and updated on online venues. Maybe even in a couple of years, there will be iPhone apps that detect what area you’re in, the hospitals/emergency centers around you, and the prices of basic procedures that they offer. The distribution of information has been moving at the speed of light, but it has not reached its full potential in the realm of American healthcare. Engaging individuals in managing and being educated about their health and health services will help the country remedy its uncontrollable health spending habits. The United States should be more urgent in considering options such as using technology to increase price transparencies as they can prove to be a powerful example for other countries, especially those who are still developing and only beginning to implement information technologies in government sponsored areas. The way that they handle this data is a true indicator of the care they hold for American citizens. 

            

Community in Computing

“…education is a human right and civic responsibility.” Nicholas Negroponte, founder of One Laptop Per Child

In an international scope, technologies are becoming increasingly significant and useful for the common citizen, whether rich or poor. Many governments are or are hoping to adopt one-to-one computing programs, where each person is connected to a computer. In class, we talked to about the potentials, advantages, and challenges of ICT use in developing countries. Computers allow people to access information, educating and instructing them on specific academic materials, valuable facts and data for their careers, etc. There is no doubt that connecting people with this information will improve and advance their lifestyles; however, a main problem with this initiative is the implementation of the technology.

Essentially, laptops that are being distributed are not always necessarily utilized usefully and rarely to its full potential. With the different social and cultural environments of the locations that these initiatives are being planted, the reality is that there is great difficulty in supporting the innovation. As Michael Trucano of the World Bank discusses in his blog, the problems run deep and complex with this vision. Teachers complain that they cannot use these laptops for their classroom benefit. There is a procedure of “dumping hardware…hope for magic to happen.”

The founders and drivers of this one-to-one computer initiative need to allocate more time and resources to the teachers of these students who are receiving laptops in the developing countries. First, I propose that the founders give laptops to teachers beforehand – say a year – in order for them to get familiar with the software and have the ability and time to shape their curriculum to use the technology to its highest benefit. Also, the visionaries of this initiative, whether the organization that distributes the laptops or a government committee, must distribute the technology with accompanying aid – manuals, sample outlines of curriculum, maybe even a technical assistant to insure that the programs work smoothly. There is very little data and research on the cost of ICT in education initiatives; and the scientists should stand behind this and conduct these types of research so implementation can run smoothly. Dr. Barry, in the Educational Technology Debate Blog, illustrates the importance that the organization should find and maintain development partners, “to recognize and support research and education research networks.”

Why not, in a way, outsource some of these responsibilities and regulation procedures to groups outside of the company? Major universities, especially those with established technology programs, may allocate grants and resources to carry out this type of research. University students, from those of the United States or even better, from the universities in and near the developing countries, can use this issue as an experience in the field. Setting up internships and linking the students to the professionals and visionaries can allow for a two way education process.  While students are acquiring hands-on experience and have the opportunity to see first-hand the power of technology in developing countries, OLPC and the other affiliated organizations receive help, new ideas, and support in their initiatives.

Imagine a dirt floor classroom in a rural area – filled with students with their brand new equipment, a teacher demonstrating mastery in the technology, visionaries evaluating the programs, and college students collecting data and research but also interacting with the students independently. I know this may just be enormously idealistic, but a vision that connects and brings together people of all different ages and lifestyles establishes community and a passion for good – which is just as important and will go just as far if not further than the technology of a piece of equipment.