Tsedey Pretto

Mini Research Proposal

With all of the new technology that is constantly being created, it has become

increasingly important to stay on top of these new innovations and incorporate them into our

daily life. As a student who belongs to a middle-class family residing in the United States, I have

access to some of the latest technology that money can buy, but this is not the case everywhere

someone could go. There are many people, both within and outside the United States, who do not

have access to this technology that is becoming more ingrained in daily life. Many factors

contribute to this unequal distribution of technological access, such as race, gender, income, and

education level. An example within the United States would be an eleven-year-old child who

does not have access to a computer at home when their teacher assigns them homework that

needs to be completed online. An example from outside the United States would be an eleven-

year-old child who does not have access to running water in their house or adequate lighting after

sunset.

The topic of inquiry I chose was originally quite broad. It started with the term “global

access” and from there it seemed to become more specific. There were a few areas within global

access that I was stuck between, but eventually, it narrowed to global access to technology. A

question that I continue to think about asking is, “why is there an unequal distribution of access

to technology, particularly when comparing developed and developing nations?”

The topic of global access to technology initially interested me because I realize that not

every country is at the same point in their development and some countries have more

accessibility to advanced technology. I wondered what could be done about this because why, as

global citizens, are we not seeking to expand and share our resources. I did not understand why
different areas of the world are granted different levels of access to resources that can help solve

problems faced all over the world. The main question that I will be focusing on for the purpose

of my research is “why is there an imbalance in the ability to access technology internationally?”

This will be followed by questions such as “what factors contribute to this unequal distribution

of access” and “how can more developed countries aid in closing this gap?”

In order to answer these questions, I plan to use a variety of sources. They will range

from newspaper articles, such as the Washington Post, to scholarly, peer reviewed academic

journals, like those found on NC Live or Ebsco. The sources I currently have range from TEDx

Talk videos to scholarly articles. The first source I plan to use is “Intel's John Davies on Global

Access to Technology” by John Davies. John Davies is the vice president of the Sales and

Marketing Group and the general manager of Intel World Ahead Program at the Intel

Corporation. This video discusses not only the importance of having affordable and globally

spanning technology in an increasingly digitized society, but also discusses some of the ways

that a company like Intel would go about trying to combat this issue. This video will allow me to

gain a better understanding of a few of the factors that contribute to the discrepancy as well as an

idea of potential solutions. The second source that I used is “Technology can reinforce the

global divide. Let's use it to bridge the gap” by Niall Dunne. This source also discusses a

potential solution to the issue or at the very least, a starting point that can later lead to a solution.

It explains that while the prices of new technology have decreased in price, there is still some

progress to be made if providing everyone with access to technology, especially in the form of

computers or cell phones, can be a reality. Niall Dunne is the Chief Sustainability Officer of the

BT Group (British Telecommunications) and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader

(YGL). From this, I can use his article to explore yet another potential solution as well as
understand the background and progress that can be made. The third source that I have is “Re-

engineering access to global health care with mobile technology” by Nahush Katti. Nahush Katti

is a. Katti’s video discusses some of the ways that new technology can be beneficial, such as

providing easier access to healthcare by way of virtual meetings with patients in rural areas. This

will allow me to form a basis of not only what the new and advanced technology is, but also its

purpose and positive impact on society. These three sources that I plan to use, along with others,

will allow for me to have a base understanding of a few ways that the spread of technology is

unequal between several different groups well as some ways that this problem can be solved.

By choosing this topic, I hope to have clear and realistic solution to the problem. I hope

to also gain a better understanding of sociology and how a sociologist would view this issue. I

may not have a resounding conclusion that is absolutely amazing and completely unheard of, but

I do hope to have a realistic and feasible solution. One realistic solution to this problem could

include more developed countries donating any surplus technology to these developing nations.

As I continue with my research, I hope to identify more potential as well as feasible solutions to

the imbalance in distribution of technology across the globe.

 References

Davies, J. (2014). Intel's John Davies on Global Access to Technology. (2014). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPQB67-YKM0
Dunne, N. (2017). Technology can reinforce the global divide. Let's use it to bridge the gap.
https:// Dunne, N. (2017). Technology can reinforce the global divide. Let's use it to
bridge the gap. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/technology-
can-reinforce-the-global-divide-lets-use-it-to-bridge-the-
gap/www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/technology-can-reinforce-the-global-divide-lets-
use-it-to-bridge-the-gap/
Katti, N. (2013). "Re-engineering access to global health care with mobile technology" Nahush
Katti at TEDxCoMo. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpqFmlJc7E4&t=408s
Logue, D., & Edwards, M. (2013, Fall). Across the digital divide. Stanford Social Innovation
Review, 11, 66-71. doi:
http://ezproxy.co.wake.nc.us/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1460983782
?accountid=14867
Thomas, E. Technology and Global Health: Closing the Loop: Evan Thomas at TEDxSantaCruz.
(2014). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0IUCMzmtXo&t=322s