Product Description
Do computers foster cultural diversity? Ecological sustainability? In our age of high-tech euphoria we seem content to leave tough questions like these to the experts. That dangerous inclination is at the heart of this important examination of the commercial and educational trends that have left us so uncritically optimistic about global computing.

Contrary to the attitudes that have been marketed and taught to us, says C. A. Bowers, the fact is that computers operate on a set of Western cultural assumptions and a market economy that drives consumption. Our indoctrination includes the view of global computing innovations as inevitable and on a par with social progress--a perspective dismayingly suggestive of the mindset that engendered the vast cultural and ecological disruptions of the industrial revolution and world colonialism.

In Let Them Eat Data Bowers discusses important issues that have fallen into the gap between our perceptions and the realities of global computing, including the misuse of the theory of evolution to justify and legitimate the global spread of computers, and the ecological and cultural implications of unmoving knowledge from its local contexts as it is digitized, commodified, and packaged for global consumption. He also suggests ways that educators can help us think more critically about technology.

Let Them Eat Data is essential reading if we are to begin democratizing technological decisions, conserving true cultural diversity and intergenerational forms of knowledge, and living within the limits and possibilities of the earth's natural systems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Extreme, but very interesting and certainly worth reading
I personally do not agree with a lot that Bowers has to say in this book, but it is worth reading to get the "other sides" point of view.If you can wade through all the apocalyptic rantings, he has some very interesting commentary on how computers and science has affected our culture.I only really liked reading chapters 2-4 (out of 6 total I think), but they were certainly worth it.Pick this book up if you have a chance, at the very least it will stimulate you to rethink your own arguement for or against technology.

Luddite rantings
Bowers is a Luddite.His book is a badly researched rant. He thinks that computers are to blame for every evil under the sun. He talks of our coming ecological Armageddon as if computers were the only thing in the world that polluted. Apparently the internal combustion engine had little to do with air pollution in the 20th century (he also fails to acknowledge that computers have helped develop a host of environmental improvements.Cars built today emit a small fraction of the pollutants of cars built only 30 years ago). He also displays some barely veiled racism in his condescending attitude towards non-industrial societies.He discusses at length the disadvantages that spreading technology will bring to non-European societies.Nowhere does he ask the question of whether those societies ought to have a choice. The omniscient Bowers knows what is best for the funny little wogs in India or Brazil, and modernity isn't it.This is almost as condescending as his assertion that the idea of the individual is a European one because, he claims, the pronoun "I" doesn't exist outside European languages (see page 34-I did a little informal research with multi-lingual friends and Indonesian, Javanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Mandarin and Balinese all have personal pronouns).Another of Bowers' rants is typical. He criticizes an elementary school story writing program because it allows students to create settings that aren't ecologically sound, such as a palm tree on an iceberg. Apparently Bowers does not realize that pens can create stories with fantastic settings and have been doing so for a lot longer that computers.What I find most objectionable about his criticism of the writing program is that it doesn't occur to Bowers that encouraging children to stretch their imaginations is actually a good thing. If a student might have the opportunity for a momentary thought that contradicts Bowers' rigid view of reality then that is something to fear and oppose. Apparently, students should all march in lockstep with Bower's ideas of reintroducing the ecologically sustainable medieval society that is the answer to all our problems. This book was required reading for me in a secondary education class. I am offended that this tripe was considered worthy of study.

Technology is an addictive drug...
Bowers' work is an excellent argument for careful reconsideration of "pushing" computing tools as a panacea. I was especially struck by hi intimation that technology is like a drug that causes addiction. Books of this type should be required reading for a variety of policymakers, and this particular book makes the issue of 'tech addiction" easy to understand.

A social analysis of the computer's effects on life
How do computers affect such diverse social issues as cultural diversity, educational quality and ecological systems? Let Them Eat Data provides a social analysis of the computer's effects on life, considering how computer-enforced cultural patterns contribute to global ecological problems. A unique, involving probe of some unusual effects of the new computer world.

Informative, insightful, & thought-provoking
In Let Them Eat Data: How Computers Affect Education, Cultural Diversity, And The Prospects Of Ecological Sustainability, C.A. Bowers discusses the issues that arise from the gap between common perceptions and the realities of global computing. These issues include the misuse use of the theory of evolution to justify and legitimate the global spread of computers. Bowers also covers the ecological and cultural implications of unmooring knowledge from its local contexts as it is digitized, commodified, and packaged for global consumption. Let Them Eat Data is informative, insightful, thought-provoking, and highly recommended reading for those with an interest in how the computer and the Internet are influencing popular culture, education, as well as creation and dissemination of information. ... Read more

Product Description

Kosmoski and Pollack conducted a two-year study that included surveys and in-depth interviews with more than 250 practicing teachers and certified school support professionals from urban, suburban, and rural schools and all socio-economic levels. The result is a comprehensive and highly applicable resource filled with real-life vignettes and practical, real-world analysis, including:

• Defusing the angry screamer
• Handling parents with blinders
• Curbing school gossip
• Dealing with public humiliation
• Neutralizing the influence of drugs or alcohol

A valuable and insightful resource that can take you from reactive to proactive.

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Trial, published by Association of Trial Lawyers of America on May 1, 2003. The length of the article is 455 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Repetitive motion can cause 'injury,' Georgia high court rules.
Author: Sara Hoffman Jurand
Publication: Trial (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2003
Publisher: Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Volume: 39Issue: 5Page: 92(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Review of Business, published by St. John's University, College of Business Administration on June 22, 1994. The length of the article is 2849 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The Republic of Georgia, similar to other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, is undergoing a difficult transition to market economy. A heavy educational investment in research and instructional programs in agricultural economics and agribusiness management is a requisite of this transition. Curricula reforms in both disciplines should include market-oriented economic and management theories. Moreover, a philosophical infrastructure supporting modern management practices must be instilled in the minds of Georgians. Educational reforms must include all educational levels.

Citation Details
Title: In support of reform: educational resources and needs in agribusiness management in the Republic of Georgia. (Symposium: International Business)
Author: Glenn C.W. Ames
Publication: Review of Business (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1994
Publisher: St. John's University, College of Business Administration
Volume: v16Issue: n1Page: p12(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of School Health, published by American School Health Association on October 1, 2001. The length of the article is 870 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Comparison of nursing roles. (The School Health Service).(Brief Article)
Author: Georgia P. Macdonough
Publication: Journal of School Health (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 2001
Publisher: American School Health Association
Volume: 71Issue: 8Page: 407(1)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This is a Leader's Guide designed to introduce teachers and other adults to a role they can play in helping young people learn about themselves and what they want in relationships with others. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, published by American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) on October 1, 1994. The length of the article is 1217 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The Urban Tree House is an urban outdoor learning center in Atlanta, GA, that was created by the USDA Forest Service Southeastern Forest Experiment Station to demonstrate the relationship between urban communities and forests. The program educates urban residents about natural resource concepts and careers. It includes scheduled 'factivities,' special events and passive recreation.

Citation Details
Title: The Atlanta Urban Tree House - a focus on fun and learning. (urban outdoor learning center) (Leisure Today: Our Environment in Crisis - We Can Change the Future) (Cover Story)
Author: Barbara L. McDonald
Publication: JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 1994
Publisher: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD)
Volume: v65Issue: n8Page: p34(3)

Article Type: Cover Story

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 3996 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Comprehensive and written clearly, the Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations features consistent coverage of all countries while allowingfor easy comparison on the different nations of the world. ... Read more