The Door Starts to Slam on H-1B Computer Professionals

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Henry Ryskamp
Keyword(s):  
Computer Professionals

Introduction

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes Kukulska-Hulme
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
User Interface ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Computer Users ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Video Training ◽  
Computer Screen ◽  
Computer Professionals ◽  
On Line ◽  
Practical Recommendations

When asked about the purpose of human language, most people would instinctively reply that its main purpose is communication. Most of us take for granted our ability to communicate easily through language. It would be natural for us, as computer users, to expect the same degree of ease when we interact with systems and user manuals. But even computer professionals and other experienced users are often baffled by the explanations that appear in so-called “help” facilities; perplexed by the meanings of words in menu options, on toolbars, and buttons; and hampered in information retrieval by having to use terms that do not readily express their needs. Words on the computer screen can create a barrier to communication, yet users who turn to help files or documentation are frequently disappointed. Times columnist Lynne Truss speaks for many when, at the end of yet another unrewarding session on her computer, she declared: “I have even stopped looking at those files titled ‘Read This,’ because it’s sad but true; I have never yet opened one whose contents I could understand” (1996). Often, a frustrated cry of “I don’t understand the options on the screen” leads many users to just “try it and see what happens,” with potentially disastrous or time-wasting consequences. “I don’t understand the manuals” is another typical refrain, which provides an excellent reason for not reading them. It has been said so often (e.g., Smith 1992), that alternative ways of informing or teaching users are now being promoted; for instance, video training. This mode of delivery can make information more palatable, but it does not eliminate the problems created by confusing use of language in the user interface. The difficulties experienced by both professional and casual or new users are not inevitable; they are not something to be accepted as a feature of computer systems, manuals, and on-line documentation. Something can be done to improve the way that language is presented and used in these contexts. This book provides the necessary communicative framework as well as practical recommendations to make it possible to significantly improve user interface and documentation design.

scholarly journals RESERVA DE MERCADO: UM MAL ENTENDIDO CASO POLÍTICO-TECNOLÓGICO DE “SUCESSO” DEMOCRÁTICO E “FRACASSO” AUTORITÁRIO

2000 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Da Costa Marques
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Satisfactory Explanation ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Special Character ◽  
Computer Professionals ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
The Military

A oferta ao mercado de produtos tecnicamente defasados com preços altos e a pressão norte-americana são explicações insatisfatórias para que a reserva de mercado no setor da informática praticada no Brasil, nos anos 70 e 80, seja hoje uma experiência ainda mais intensamente rejeitada do que considerada fracassada. A situação requer explicações mais complexas. Este artigo oferece uma nova explicação para o fracasso e a rejeição e também para um pouco conhecido sucesso da reserva de mercado, colocando em cena três fatores sociotécnicos específicos: o caráter especial da comunidade de profissionais brasileiros de informática, a intervenção do SNI (a polícia política da ditadura) e o advento dos microcomputadores. A imbricação desses fatores problematiza de uma nova forma os vínculos entre a reserva de mercado, o caráter autoritário do regime militar e os ideais do liberalismo democrático. A abordagem de inclinação sociotécnica aqui adotada divide o período em duas fases em que esses vínculos diferem radicalmente. Com surpresa, a primeira fase da reserva do mercado dos computadores no Brasil mostra uma afinidade não explorada entre as formas democráticas e a possibilidade de sucesso de políticas industriais para o desenvolvimento das ciências e das tecnologias nos países em desenvolvimento. Abstract Supplying the computer market with technically obsolete and high priced products plus the American pressure do not provide a satisfactory explanation for the fact that the market reserve practiced in Brazil in the 1980-90 is today even more intensely rejected than just taken as a failure. The situation requires more complex explanations. This paper offers a new explanation for the rejection and failure of the market reserve, and for its little known success as well, by means of three specific sociotechnical factors: the special character of the community of Brazilian computer professionals, the intervention of the political police of the military dictatorship (SNI), and the appearance of the microcomputer. This paper runs against the mainstream opinion that does not sufficiently problematizes the links between the market reserve, the authoritarian character of the military regime, and liberal democratic ideals. The sociotechnically inspired approach here adopted performs a division of the period into two phases where these links differ radically. Surprisingly, the first phase of the computer market reserve presents a frequently denied affinity between the democratic forms and the possibility of successful implementation of industrial and scientific policies seeking the development of sciences and technologies in developing countries.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document