Q: What was the economic importance of Computers? especially in the 90s. Was it because it expanded the market or what b/c i'm not exactly sure. Pwease helppp mee?
A: Despite the growth and obvious importance of the Internet and distributed computing systems, it is the mainframe computer that has provided the greatest economic benefit. Mainframes are able to store and process vast amounts of data extremely quickly,
The article cites two studies that indicate that when computers and Internet access are provided to students for household usage – either subsidized or not – home-based ICT does not have any measurable educational benefit, even reducing test scores in math and English in low-income students.
First, from Romanian data, we have Ofer Malamud and Cristian Pop-Eleches writing in Home Computer Use and the Development of Human Capital that:
“We collected survey data from households who participated in a unique government program in Romania which allocated vouchers for the purchase of a home computer to low-income children based on a simple ranking of family income.
Children who won a voucher had significantly lower school grades in Math, English and Romanian but significantly higher scores in a test of computer skills and in self-reported measures of computer fluency. There is also evidence that winning a voucher increased cognitive ability, as measured by Raven’s Progressive Matrices. We do not find much evidence for an effect on non-cognitive outcomes.”
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Computers, The Life Story of a Technology In this book, Eric G. Swedin and David L. Ferro offer an accessible short history of this dynamic technology, covering its central themes from ancient times to ... |
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