Chapter8

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The most widely used measurement of the material standard of living is grossdomestic product (GDP) per capita.

The worst economic downturn in U.S. history occurred during the Great Depression,when the GDP declined by about 50 percent from 1929 to 1932; by 1932, the unemploy-ment rate had reached 25 percent.14

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gdp

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____is defined as the amount of output produced per unit of input, and it ismeasured in many different ways. For example, productivity in a factory might be measuredby the number of labor hours it takes to produce one item, while productivity in a servicesector company might be measured by the annual revenue an employee generates dividedby the employee’s annual salary. Innovation is a key factor in productivity improvement,

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Productivity

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Today, organizations are trying to further improve IT systems and business processesthat have already gone through several rounds of improvement. Organizations are alsoadding new IT capabilities to help workers who already have an assortment of personalproductivity applications on their desktop computers, laptops, and personal digital assis-tants (PDAs). Instead of eliminating workers, companies are saving workers small amountsof time each day. Whether these saved minutes actually result in improved worker produc-tivity is a matter for debate. Many analysts argue that workers merely use the extra timeto do some small task they didn’t have time to do before, such as respond to e-mail theywould have ignored. These minor gains make it harder to quantify the benefits of today’sIT investments on worker productivity.

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____ (also known as telecommuting) is a work arrangement in which an employeeworks away from the office—at home, at a client’s office, in a hotel—literally, anywhere. The goal of telework is to allow employees to be effective and productive fromwherever they are. A number of states have passed laws to encourage telework. For example, in Virginia,20 percent of eligible state workers must be teleworking by 2010. The state defines someonewho works out of the office at least once per week or 32 hours per month as a teleworker.Several states—California and Virginia, among others—and the federal government havebased their pandemic-preparedness plans on the widespread use of telework.20

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Telework

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factors beyond the GDP-based measurement of standard of living. Some of theseindicators are: Average number of calories consumed per person per day Availability of clean drinking water Average life expectancy Literacy rate Availability of basic freedoms Number of people per doctor Infant mortality rate Crime rate Rate of home ownership Availability of educational opportunities

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____ is a term used to describe the gulf between those who do and those who don’t haveaccess to modern information and communications technology such as cell phones, person-al computers, and the Internet.

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The digital divide

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____ was created through the TelecommunicationsAct of 1996. One of E-Rate’s goals is to help schools and libraries obtain access to state-of-the-art services and technologies at discounted rates.

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The Education Rate (E-Rate) program

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The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act ( NCLB), which was signed into law in 2002, is toend the achievement gap between rich and poor students and between white and minoritystudents, while improving the academic performance of all students. Recognizing that theability to use computers and access the Internet is a requirement for succeeding in theU.S. educational system and the global workforce, NCLB requires each state to have anEnhancing Education Through Technology (Ed-Tech) program. The Ed-Tech programhas the following goals: Improve student academic achievement through the use of technology inschools Assist children in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student istechnologically literate by the end of eighth grade Encourage the effective integration of technology with teacher training andcurriculum development to establish successful, research-based instructionalmethods

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___is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to providechildren around the world with low-cost (less than $100) laptop computers to aid in theireducation. The first version of its laptop, OLPC XO, was made available to third-worldcountries in 2007 and came with a hand crank for generating power in places whereelectricity is not readily available.

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One Laptop per Child (OLPC)

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Intel created a competitor to the OLPC called the classmate PC. The first generationof this notebook computer cost under $400 and was designed for use in kindergartenthrough high school classrooms in developing countries. The computer began shipping inearly 2007 to 25 countries, including Brazil, Chile, Nigeria, China, India, and Vietnam.A second-generation machine is now available.

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Cell phones have the following advantages over PCs in developing countries: Cell phones come in a wide range of capabilities and costs, but are cheaperthan personal computers. For example, one can purchase a cell phone in Indiafor the equivalent of $40 or less, and 500 minutes of use cost about $10 permonth. The OLPC XO-2 laptop computer will cost around $75. In developing countries, many more people have access to cell phones thanthey do PCs. Cell phones are more portable and convenient than the smallest laptopcomputer.Cell phones come with an extended battery life (much longer than any PCbattery), which makes the cell phone more reliable in regions where access toelectricity is inadequate or nonexistent. The infrastructure needed to connect wireless devices to the Internet is easierand less expensive to build.There is almost no learning curve required to master the use of a cell phone.Cell phones require no costly or burdensome applications that must be loadedand updated. There are essentially no technical-support challenges to overcome when usinga cell phone.

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___ is a summary of health information generated byeach patient encounter in any healthcare delivery setting. An EHR includes patient demo-graphics, medical history, immunization records, laboratory data, problems, progress notes,medications, vital signs, and radiology reports

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An electronic health record (EHR)

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___employs modern telecommunications and information technologies to pro-vide medical care to people who live far away from healthcare providers. This technologyreduces the need for patients to travel for treatment and allows healthcare professionals toserve more patients in a broader geographic area.

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Telemedicine

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_____telemedicine involves acquiring data, sound, images, and videofrom a patient and then transmitting everything to a medical specialist for later evaluation.This type of monitoring does not require the presence of the patient and care provider at thesame time, and having access to such information can enable healthcare professionals to recognize problems and intervene before high-risk situations become life threatening.

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Store-and-forward

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____ requires the presence of patients and healthcare providers at thesame time and often involves a video conference link between the two sites.

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Live telemedicine