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Supporting Digital Inclusion without Risking the Cost of Software Piracy
By Anthony Salin _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has revolutionized the workforce and high-minded the competency levels for many Americans. Digital inclusion provides for the ability to become part of a growing and demanding digital society, and Americans who are unable to afford inclusion may find themselves struggling in today’s workforce. My experience with software and computer literacy has developed through course work provided by the Onalaska High School, Onalaska, WI; Fox Valley Technical College, Osh Kosh, WI; and Minnesota State Community Technical College, Wadena, MN. Here, I have become experienced with the job market before acquiring computer skills and after acquiring computer skills. I can attest that the jobs I was offered before Technical College were all entry level positions and paid no more than $9.50 per hour. My wages increased to a maximum of $15.00 per hour after achieving a specific list of course work at accredited technical colleges. I have since spent hundreds of hours as an employment candidate looking for work by utilizing the resources provided by several Workforce Centers since May of 2004. I have overheard hundreds of individuals request for help with software applications that they claimed to be unfamiliar with. A percentage of those complaining were either disabled, did not own a computer, or they could not afford the software applications in demand. Here, I have been asked the same question over and over again: “Where can I get a free copy of the software applications in demand?” Obtaining free software and training through file sharing networks may sound tempting to struggling individuals, but chances are that the free software has been pirated, and this constitutes for illegal activity according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998. A promising occupational outlook stresses computer literacy, and in demand software applications cost low income consumers high percentages of their monthly wages, while file sharing networks tend to result in computer viruses and criminal offenses. A promising occupational outlook stresses computer literacy. Statistics prove that millions of American’s are looking for jobs and this makes for heavy competition in the fields related to ICT. 7.6 million employees lost their jobs since the beginning of the recession in December of 2007, and an estimated 15.1 million were left unemployed by October of 2009 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). The demand for construction, manufacturing, and retail is declining while health care employment continues to rise (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). Research firms, such as Gartner, report that the demand for Information Technology (IT) continues to climb toward billions of dollars worth of expenditures (Davis, 2009). This makes finding a job without basic computer skills a challenge for a variety of American applicants. Those who haven’t depended on computers to earn a paycheck in their prior occupations have been recorded among the percentage of those that are most likely to struggle in today’s workforce. The information age has trumped alternative work methods, and at least half of today’s American jobs require more than strength and manual dexterity. According to the United States Department of Labor, “Advances in the computer industry, coupled with those in telecommunications, have created the new information technology, or IT, industry and inaugurated an information age.” The United States Department of Labor states, “By 2006, nearly half of all U.S. workers will be employed in industries that produce or intensively use information technology, products, and services, according to U.S. Department of Commerce projections”. Half of the thirty occupations that were analyzed by the BLS during the 1996-2006 decade all required an education or training beyond high school (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.). Jobs requiring associate’s degrees were projected to grow faster than normal, and occupations that required bachelor’s degrees were expected to double in size between 1996 and 2006 (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.). The issue raised here has to do with the fact that employees working low-skill jobs continue to get paid a lot less than those who have achieved college degrees. Acs and Loprest (2008) used data from the 2007 survey of employers in the low-skill labor market to distinguish between entry-level jobs and “next-step” jobs. Acs and Loprest stated, “The average wage rate for entry-level jobs, $9.25, is significantly lower than the $13.85 average wage for ‘next-step’ jobs. Even relatively high-paying entry-level jobs pay less than the average next-step job”. Software applications cost low income consumers high percentages of their monthly wages Licensed software programs cost undefined percentages of wages for those who work entry-level and “next-step” jobs. The incomes provided by entry-level and “next-step” jobs generally provide individuals with just enough money to pay for their cost of living. Adobe design products cost anywhere from $449.00 for a single software application to $2,499 for an entire creative suite (Adobe, 2009). Microsoft Office products cost anywhere from $109.95 for a single software application to $679.95 for an entire software suite (Microsoft, 2009). Individuals falling into low-wage income brackets are virtually unable to invest into technological advancements such as software purchases. Low-income persons are typically left one, two, or several steps behind the competition that supersedes them in the workforce. There could be several reasons pertaining to the shortcomings of low-income persons, but many would be inclined to say that low-income workers tend to drop out of workforce competition due to lack of finance rather than the lack of intellect. Consider the cost of software programs that are in demand and the benefits of purchasing genuine software applications. Adobe has been criticized for its pricing practices with retail prices being as much as twice as high in foreign countries than in the domestic market (Barker, C., 2008). Microsoft has also been criticized for its business practices. Microsoft has been the main focus of controversy in the computer industry, because their company is said to practice anti-competitive tactics in the software publishing industry. These tactics have resulted in billion dollar lawsuits against Microsoft and the suits have been brought forward by other companies and governments. Both Adobe and Microsoft have been introducing new versions of their software applications and suites every two, three, or four years within this past decade. Keeping up with these technological advancements is extremely cumbersome for most computer users as the software upgrades usually provoke additional training and cost of ownership. The responsibilities of software ownership are almost always outlined in software license agreements, often referred to as end user license agreements (EULAs). Software license agreements are usually written statements from software producers choosing to exert their efforts in gaining control of their copyrighted material. Such agreements are between the producer and the purchaser, and the purchaser could easily breach the agreement by installing the same copy of the software on more than the allowed amount of computer systems. The allowed amount of installations is usually mentioned in the EULA and violations to the EULA are usually the result of the purchaser sharing a copy of the software with a friend. The problem with file sharing in this respect is that the software purchaser is the registered owner of the software copy and the friend would have to register the shared copy under the purchasers name in order to enjoy full benefits of using genuine software. Jeff Wuorio, of the Microsoft Small Business Center, wrote an article on the benefits of using only genuine software. Wuorio (2009) mentioned eight business benefits of owning genuine software. Here, consumers who purchase genuine software receive technical support. Purchasers get full documentation and access to upgrades. They also get to avoid unnecessary risks to their hard drives and networks. Purchasers of genuine software do not have to worry about being arrested for the use of illegal copies of software applications. Purchasing genuine software could contribute to more than one million new jobs and boost economic growth by hundreds of billions worth of revenue. Purchasers can maintain reputation and good social standing, as well as peace of mind knowing that they are not using illegal copies of published software. Technology based education improves the lives of many disadvantaged groups. Citizens need to see the vision concerning digital equality outlined by government bodies in both the United Kingdom (UK), and the USA, in order for each of us to create values for general skills; and make technological innovations available to disadvantaged groups, so that the underprivileged can construct themselves into assets that employers, communities, and nations can benefit from. Recent research related to centre-led projects conducted in the UK—has linked digital inclusion to social impact. This research and the centre-led projects were funded by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (Stevens, 2008). The Digital inclusion, social impact study was based on 20 social impact demonstrator projects that involved hundreds of local partners. These partners tracked the impact of informal learning about technology on the lives of at least 12,000 people between January of 2007 and March of 2008 (Wooderson, 2009). The projects were meant to accomplish two goals: (1) to explore and harden the relationship between digital inclusion and social inclusion, and (2) to develop the importance of the social impact that information and communication technologies (ICT) can enable (Milner et al., 2008). Learning about the everyday basics of today’s technological advancements has been said to improve the lives of many disadvantaged groups, such as: people with mental health issues, the disabled, and poverty struck families, teenage parents, and secluded elders. The link between digital and social inclusion connects disadvantaged people with technology that provides them with new information and sharpened skills that is said to help them perform well in a job scenario. Forty percent of the estimated 12,000 people involved with the centre-led projects progressed into further training, employment, and explored information, advice, and guidance. Digital exclusion provides for a negative impact on people with disabilities, because many disabled people already experience the negative impact provoked by the lack of education and income. Inaccessibility of information through the utilization of ICT creates barriers that block the disabled from accessing specific needs, social inclusion, and community involvement. The Department of Labor quoted President Roosevelt when he said, “No country, no matter how rich, can afford to waste human resource.” Paul M.A. Baker, Jarice Hanson, and William N. Myhill refer to digital exclusion of the disabled as the creation of a “digital divide” (2009). Baker, Hanson, and Myhill stated, “While muni WiFi systems can potentially bridge the digital divide, significant policy, economic, and technological barriers to access technologies still exist for more than 51.2 million Americans (about 18 percent of the population), who have some kind of long-term or conditional disability, including sensory, physical, mental, or self-care needs.” The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 mandates equal opportunity and benefit of municipal programs and services for people with disabilities. The Project Civic Access (PCA) is a program designed by the US Department of Justice and aims to aid undeserved communities to come into complete agreement with the ADA. The PCA has reviewed all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for ADA compliance concerning digital inclusion. Research constructed by Baker, Hanson, and Myhill examined “48 out of 320 municipalities where WiFi networks exist, are being planned or considered, to determine how well local government considered the needs of people with disabilities in developing municipal wireless networks.” The results indicate that two of the forty eight projects were discontinued. “One critical finding is that none of the forty eight projects received high ranking; that is, no projects explicitly mentioned or discussed people with disabilities as a community that could potentially benefit from this technology.” The United States needs to see that our nation must provide ICT services to the disabled, so that they can learn to achieve academic and occupational growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that they are going to be making changes to their Employment Situation News Releases, effective January 2010. According to the BLS, The Employment Situation will include two new tables: one for the household survey and one for the established survey. . . three new household data tables will provide information on the employment status of veterans, persons with a disability, and the foreign born. This makes the following quote, retrieved from the United States Department of Labor much more interesting: An additional challenge is raising the labor market activity of people with disabilities. Given their lower educational attainment rates, among other factors, persons with significant disabilities report lower rates of labor market activity. Among labor market participants, persons with disabilities—moderate or significant—were more likely than those with no disabilities to report that they were looking for work or were on layoff rather than working. Persons with moderate disabilities were nearly twice as likely to be looking for work or on layoff as people with no disabilities, and those with severe disabilities were nearly three times likely. Of persons 20 to 64 years old with severe disabilities, approximately 30 percent either worked, looked for a job, or were on layoff during the last four months of 1994—a stark contrast to the rates of 82 percent and 85 percent respectively for those with moderate or no disabilities. (United States Department of Labor, n.d.).
Conclusion Knowing that new job responsibilities require knowledge of specific software applications could escalate an applicants anxiety levels. Especially when one becomes familiar with the price tags associated with the software applications that are demanded by much of today’s work force. Some people may think that a hundred dollars, maybe even two hundred dollars is feasible, but frustration may set in once they acknowledge that the price tag reads anywhere between $500.00 to $2,500.00. The way around this may be file sharing, but the file sharing networks found over the Internet are said to be full of software piracy and computer viruses. Many people want a cutting edge on the competition found with today’s workforce and they may be willing to risk their hard drives without thought of risking their reputation, money, jobs, and freedom. Knowing how to utilize popular software applications may give employment candidates the cutting edge that they deserve. Those of us who earned our computer hardware, software applications, and educations honestly, do deserve to be on the cutting edge of employment competition, because we either worked for these assets, or we gained respect from someone who provided us with these assets. The desire in working for these assets, however, raises the daunting idea of cost. Are disadvantaged groups guilty of piracy when they are resorting to the only known methods that they can afford to obtain the resources required for them to obtain the tools and training required to advance in today’s workforce?
References Acs, G. & Loprest P. (2008), Entry-Level and Next-Step Jobs in the Low-Skill Job Market, (2) Retrieved on November 8, 2009 from http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411801_low-skill_job_market.pdf Adobe Systems, Inc. (2009), Products. Retrieved November 15, 2009 from http://www.adobe.com/products/ Baker, P., Hanson, J., Myhill, W., (2009), The Promise of Municipal WiFi and Failed Policies of Inclusion: The Disability Divide. Retrieved November 8, 2009 from EBSCOhost. Barker, C., (2008), Adobe Responds to CS4 Pricing Criticism. Retrieved November 15, 2009 from http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39497760,00.htm?r=1 Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). The Employment Situation—October 2009, 2-3. Retrieved October 30, 2009 from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf Davis, J. (2009). IT Was the Worst of Times: Gartner Says 2009 IT Spending Worst Ever, 1. Retrieved November 8, 2009, from EBSCOhost database. Microsoft, Inc., (2009), Microsoft Product Information Center. Retrieved on November 15, 2009 from http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/default.aspx?View=22 Stevens, A. (2008), New Research Links Digital Inclusion and Social Impact. Retrieved November 14, 2009 from http://www.ukonlinecentres.com/corporate/news-and-information/news-archive/503-new-research-links-digital-inclusion-and-social-impact.pdf United States Department of Labor (n.d.), 6—Technology, 1. Retrieved November 13, 2009 from http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/report/chapter6/main.htm United States Department of Labor (n.d), 1-The Workforce. Retrieved on November 14, 2009 from http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/report/chapter1/main2.htm United States Department of Labor (n.d), 2-Employment Wages and Benefits. Retrieved on November 14, 2009 from http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/report/chapter2/main.htm Wooderson, H. (2009), New Research Links Digital Inclusion and Social Impact. Retrieved November 14, 2009 from http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-10-08-New-research-links-digital-inclusion-and-social-impact Wuorio, J. (2009), 8 Business Benefits of Using Only Genuine Software, Article 5 of 56, 1-2. Retrieved November 15, 2009 from http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/technology/business-software/8-business-benefits-of-using-only-genuine-software.aspx#businessbenefitsofusingonlygenuinesoftwarIntroductio
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