Value of the Internet (13)
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Hello Jeff,
Sunday September 14 1997, cochrane@IGC.ORG writes ..........
But I would argue that there are competing demands for funds, so we
need to know the degree to which individuals, organizations, and
even society values the services that the Internet brings.If I had $100 to spend, should I spend it on Internet access for an
agricultural research station or on the salary of an extension
agent working directly with farmers? Should I purchase a modem for
a pest management resource center or a sterilizing unit for a hos-
pital?In addressing these choices it is not enough to say that the Inter-
net is valuable. How valuable is it? And to whom?Personally I generally agree with Dan's comment above. But there
are certainly those who disagree. I'm now on the hunt for firmer
evidence to support one side or the other. Anyone else have any
clues? What is the value of participation? Anyone got a paradigm
in their pocket?
My comment.......
I have followed this discussion with great interest. The questions
you pose above quite often come up when some of us are promoting
Internet access to professionals in health sector. There are no easy
answers to them. However, one needs to consider these `needs' at dif-
ferent levels:-
Needs that threaten survival have to be addressed first; then those
that improve the quality of continued survival come next. In your
analogy above, a sterilising unit is of utmost importance to the sur-
vival of a hospital (?patients). By the same token, Internet access
to the same hospital will ultimately have a profound effect on the
quality of care of patients (?hospital).
It is therefore important to stratify these needs in order to put
internet access in a proper perspective especially in this part of
the world where some resources are very scarce.
Regards,
Dr. Fred Bukachi,MD
HealthNet - Kenya
mailto:FBukachi@ken.healthnet.org
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