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City of Seattle
NOTE: This news release has been retained for historical use ONLY! While the text was accurate at the date of the release, the contact information may be out of date.
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Results of study regarding impacts of technology on the community to be released
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
6/27/2000 |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Keyes - (206) 386-9759
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City to release ‘signposts’ for a technology-healthy community
Technology impact study results presented to City Council committee July 5
SEATTLE — The results of the first phase of Seattle’s study of the impacts of
technology on the community will be presented to the City Council Public Safety and
Technology Committee at 2 p.m. on July 5 by Seattle’s Department of Information Technology and
the Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB).
This first in the world set of "indicators for a technology-healthy
community" measures the overall impact technology is having on our community. These
indicators are already being seen as a potential national model for other communities.
"Technology in the modern age tends to become enmeshed in ever larger complex
systems that have major implications for society. There is a need to understand the
influence and directions of technology and technological systems, both positive and
negative," says Doug Schuler, author, teacher and former CTTAB member.
Seattle has created a new model for evaluating the impact — both positive and
negative — technology is having on our region. "We think of technology
indicators as ‘signposts’ that mark and measure our progress in developing a
technology-healthy city," says David Keyes, Seattle’s community technology
planner. "These indicators will become working tools for those who plan, fund and
implement programs intended to close the ‘digital divide’ and build a
sustainable community."
The Indicator Project is a two-phase effort measuring the impact of information
technology on the health and vitality of Seattle. The city and CTTAB worked with other
technology, education, and community leaders to develop this set of impact indicators that
will be used to measure information technology’s impact over time.
This set of indicators represents the completion of Phase I of the project. The next
step will be to collect the first set of data for these indicators. Data will be collected
and assembled from existing sources, surveying, and focus groups as appropriate.The
purpose of this project is to understand the influence and directions of information
technology and technological systems — both positive and negative — in the
Seattle region and to use these indicators to target programs and secure additional
resources. These indicators are intended to be measured over time, and the city currently
has a goal of collecting and publishing the data every two years. For more information,
visit the project web site at: http://www.cityofseattle.net/tech/indicators/
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Citizens
Technology and Literacy Access
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