User:Ecgree6/sandbox

 Implementing Suggestions:  Something I plan on implementing from my peer review, is how the lack of technology affects happiness around the world. This is certainly an important aspect that I didn't talk much about, and is a great edit. I plan on implementing this aspect by researching studies that show this relationship-- that is the relationship between a lack of technology and happiness. By adding this section to my piece, I will then have covered each important aspect to this article. This part will bring about a novel perspective, one that incorporates more of an ethical dilemma and how we as a global society addresses this issue. This addition will require some intense research but I believe I can get it done. Thanks for the insightful review!

 Article Rough Draft: 

Digital Divide Affects on economic disparity, education, and happiness

In the United States, research provided by Sungard Availability Services notes a direct correlation between a company’s access to technological advancements and its overall success in bolstering the economy. The study, which includes over 2,000 IT executives and staff officers, indicates that 69 percent of employees feel they do not have access to sufficient technology in order to make their jobs easier, while 63 percent of them believe the lack of technological mechanisms hinders their ability to develop new work skills. Additional analysis provides more evidence to show how the digital divide also affects the economy in places all over the world. A BCG Report suggests that in countries like Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K., the digital connection among communities is made easier, allowing for their populations to obtain a much larger share of the economies via digital business. In fact, in these places, populations hold shares approximately 2.5 percentage points higher.

The digital divide also impacts children’s ability to learn and grow in low-income school districts. Without Internet access, students are unable to cultivate necessary tech skills in order to understand today’s dynamic economy. Federal Communication Commission's Broadband Task Force created a report showing that about 70% of teachers give students homework that demand access to broadband. Even more, approximately 65% of young scholars use the Internet at home to complete assignments as well as connect with teachers and other students via discussion boards and shared files. A recent study indicates that practically 50% of students say that they are unable to finish their homework due to an inability to either connect to the Internet, or in some cases, find a computer. This has led to a new revelation: 42% of students say they received a lower grade because of this disadvantage. Finally, according to research conducted by the Center for American Progress, "if the United States were able to close the educational achievement gaps between native-born white children and black and Hispanic children, the U.S. economy would be 5.8 percent—or nearly $2.3 trillion—larger in 2050."

Furthermore, according to the 2012 Pew Report “Digital Differences,” a mere 62% of households who make less than $30,000 a year use the Internet, while 90% of those making between $50,000 and $75,000 had access. Studies also show that only 51% of Hispanics and 49% of African Americans have high-speed Internet at home. This is compared to the 66% of Caucasians that too have high-speed Internet in their households. Overall, 10% of all Americans don’t have access to high-speed Internet, an equivalent of almost 34 million people. Supplemented reports from the Guardian demonstrate the global effects of limiting technological developments in poorer nations, rather than simply the effects in the United States. Their study shows that the rapid digital expansion excludes those who find themselves in the lower class. 60% of the world’s population, almost 4 billion people, have no access to the Internet and are thus left worse off.

 Contribution to Selected Article:  Throughout my research, I will focus on the intersection points of the Digital divide and the possibility of living a happier life. I hope to provide further insight into how the digital divide affects one's ability in attaining a lifestyle full of virtue and excellence. Furthermore, I also plan to present ways in which we can begin to bridge this Digital divide. These are simply a few things I want to research while adding onto this page.

 Article Reviews: 

List 1: The Normative ethics page is clear and concise. From its opening sentence, we can notice an objective tone and point of view. There is nothing about the writing that suggests it is biased in any way, shape, or form. The beginning of the article also includes an easy to understand, basic overview of the topic in the lead section. The completeness of the page is another strength, as it talks about other subtopics of Normative ethics. It draws upon certain themes and multiple theories that add to the viewer's full understanding of what Normative ethics really is. Without the inclusion of this type of secondary information, the page would not be as effective as it currently stands. Additionally, this page does an exceptional job of citing its information from other websites and sources. At the bottom of the page, I clicked on some of the references and was immediately brought to another page with the data. This shows that the included information is not only reliable, but also necessary in explaining the overarching concept of Normative Ethics. Normative Ethics' talk page was also quite revealing. Throughout the page, there were numerous edits, comments, and changes made to the existing Normative Ethics page. It's comforting to see that people take the content on Wikipedia seriously and actually alter the information when necessary or important. I grade this page as A-Class due to all of its advantageous characteristics.

List 2: The Wikipedia page discussing the social impact of YouTube. It does a good job in its opening section by initially describing Youtube's unique properties and functions. This is a necessary component of any page so readers understand the exact information. Youtube's Wikipedia page reveals the many realms of life that it covers. It talks about the spreading of knowledge, the cause for further innovation, the heightened awareness of global and social issues, and the fortification of our societal values and standards-- Youtube contains the ability to alter each of these components. Hence, the page does a sufficient job in talking from multiple perspectives and not forgetting to underrepresent a certain viewpoint or group of people. The page also speaks in a purely objective tone free of biases and original opinions. It simply presents facts and information on the content of the social impact that Youtube contains. Furthermore, this Wikipedia page does an excellent job in citing all of its references; there are almost 100 different references throughout the entire page, each one linking to a reliable firsthand source -- a clear indication that the page's citing techniques are in full force. This page differs from our conversations in class because our class discussions almost always induce original opinions and points of view. This page, however, merely contains pure facts about the effects of youtube on our social interactions, and cites actual events and experiments that have occurred in the past. Indeed, at times this type of discussion can come along in the classroom; yet the norm throughout our conversations seem to generally focus on more on personal opinions and perspectives. Overall, this topic was another A-Class page. It was well organized and totally complete, supplemented with an active talk page showing that edits and thought are a clear concern for this Wikipedia page.