As computers have become less expensive, they have been purchased by more and more families for their homes. As a result, more youths and children have started to use computers at earlier ages. Even if there is not a computer available at home, it’s guaranteed that the youth will come into contact with a computer somewhere else, such as school. This may have not been the case a couple decades ago and with that said, computers have been evolving (and still are).
The evolution of computers is all possible due to computer science.Computer science is defined to be “the study of ideas of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. ”[1] Computer science has many interesting topics, some still being discussed today, including environmental stewardship / sustainability, research areas related to computer science, postsecondary opportunities, as well as positive effects. Environmental stewardship and sustainability has always been a concern for computer science.One of the most compelling arguments of environmental stewardship is the impact of overexposure. The risk of getting a repetitive motion disorder, such as carpel tunnel syndrome, is even greater for children, as they have not fully developed their musculature and skeletal systems.
Other possible risks of overexposure include eyestrain (can cause blurriness and headaches) and exposure to electromagnetic radiation (a hidden danger emitted from the monitor).Through electromagnetic radiation can potentially be “…destructive to humans,”[2] there is, however, a lack of proof to state that the risk is real, and according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the risk of getting exposed to electromagnetic radiation is low anyway (if the user is positioned properly in relation to the monitor). With that said, overexposure can be a deadly factor in the environmental stewardship and sustainability of computer science, but keep in mind; it is not the only one. With today’s importance on the environment, people are always looking for ways to live a “greener” lifestyle.Through computers can spread awareness of environmental problems, they cause a lot of environmental problems as themselves. Pollution is caused by computer production, and dangerous chemicals such as mercury are required as well (so by buying a computer, people are essentially encouraging these chemicals to be created).
The average PC requires ten times the weight of the product in chemicals and fossil fuels. An additional environmental hazard is the fact that people often leave their computers on for entire days, never turning them off (consuming mass electricity).This is especially seen in areas such as computer labs, internet cafes, and libraries. Keeping all this in mind, it is no mystery why many conclude that computers cause an enormous amount of environmental problems; however, many argue back that working digitally can also help make many small contributions to save the environment. Asides from obviously saving paper while working digitally, a person can save gasoline by doing errands online (instead of getting inside his/her car). Without even knowing it, a person can help the less fortunate by simply going online.
Ad-clicking” is sometimes used by charities to raise funds (e. g. Free Rice), so simply creating an account on a charity site can actually help your favourite environmental cause(s). Not to mention, more and more organizations are launching computer recycling programs to help save the environment. These organizations include Free Geek, the Nonprofit Technology Resources (NTR), and TechSoup.
Since it began, computer science has spawned a large range of emerging areas of research such as cryptography.Cryptography is defined to be the practice and studying of hiding. Due to computer science, it is now much more complex, as not only does it allow encryption, it allows for encryption in any binary form (unlike older ciphers which only encrypted text). Other areas being developed by computer science include parallel processing/computing (using multiple processor cores to execute a program or computational threads/activities) and distributed computing (systems containing numerous independent computers which interact to obtain a common goal).
Computer science also has several collaborated research areas with other different fields, including fields like bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is defined to be “use of mathematics, statistical techniques, and computers to analyze biological data. ”[3] Some other fields computer science has collaborated with include geology (study of solid Earth and how its shape has/is going to change) and economics (the study of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services). Due to computer science, fields of research such as IBM’s research on the streaming nalytics solution (saving time and lives) and Microsoft Research are possible. Moving on, many people pursuit a computer science degree as they believe it is a great field for a career.
Waves of new students hit the books and compilers every year, and according to statistics, the majority of them will eventually replace retired workers (replacing retired workers accounts for 46% to 63% of hiring). Over a period of 2008 to 2015, Canadian employers will hire 126 400 to 178 800 ICT workers.The three occupations, information systems analysts, computer programmers/interactive media developers, and user support technicians will account for roughly half of those workers. Canadian opportunities for experiential learning such as the University of British Columbia’s Science Co-Op (includes computer science) and Concordia's Engineering and Computer Science Career Fair (co-organized by Counselling and Development's Career and Placement Services and the Engineering and Computer Science Association) help students get a feel the field, as well as learn at the same time.Post secondary programs such as Wilfrid Laurier University’s Physic and Computer Science and the University of Western Ontario’s Scientific Computing help guide students to careers relevant to computer science. On a side note, a topic that hasn’t really been discussed is the positive effects of computers.
As more studies reveal more risks of using computers, many studies show potential gain from them. There seems to be a link between the presence of a computer and achievement in school.However, the evidence is not strong enough to say that the presence of a computer makes a child smarter. Computers also can make a child jump on a number of development stages. Not only that, but the use of computers can improve long-term memory, mathematical skills, language skills and program solving skills.
Keep in mind through, a computer alone does not ensure the improvement of any of these areas. In conclusion, people can use computers in both efficient and positive ways, all because of computer science.Concerns and ideas such as environmental stewardship, research areas related to computer science, post secondary opportunities, and positive effects (of computers) have all strengthened and evolved computer science. Computers have gone a long way since they were invented, however, do not think this is anywhere near the end of computer evolution. Computer evolution will never end, as computers will never be “complete”.
They will grow, as long as there is still determination (and maybe a little imagination) left in computer science.
