Second-hand Computer Research Articles

Remanufacturing Technology Innovation for Second-Hand Computer

The volume tendency of in-use and second-hand computers in China were analyzed, the emerging danger of second-hand computers by incorrect treatment was summarized, the integration disposal technologies based on remanufacture and reuse technology aiming at monitors, electronic devices, metals, plastics materials, and overall computers were put forward, the economic and social benefits were also analyzed. The results show that the integration disposal process of second-hand computer is an optimum approach to save the resource of electromechanical products. Remanufacturing and disposal 100 thousands second-hand computers per year could create profits about ￥10 millions and provide employment for 300 persons. It can be deduced that there are great potential opportunities for the second-hand computers disposal industry containing recycle, remanufacture and reuse engineering.

MAKING MUSIC, MAKING MONEY: INFORMAL MUSICAL PRODUCTION AND PERFORMANCE IN VENDA, SOUTH AFRICA

ABSTRACTThis article presents an ethnographic analysis of the popular economy of informal musical production in the Venda region of South Africa. It focuses on the activities surrounding the Burnin' Shak Studio, a recording house that specializes in reggae music. Reliant on second-hand computers, pirated software, borrowed instruments, networks of trust and cycles of debt, musicians and producers in the Burnin' Shak occupy a distinctly peripheral position in South Africa's music industry. Unlike artists in the formal sphere of musical production, who sign deals with specific record labels, musicians in the informal sector seek out sponsors – usually young local businessmen – to fund their recordings with local producers. Marketing and distribution is the sole responsibility of the artist and the sponsor, who often develop a ‘patron–client’ relationship. And yet whilst the artists' entrepreneurial activity often earns them significant airplay on local radio stations, and associated cultural capital, the financial benefits are slim. In order to convert their cultural capital into cash, musicians in the informal sector must compete in the market for performances at government-sponsored shows. These shows are well funded by lucrative tenders, but they present musicians with a double-edged sword. To secure a contract with tender holders – or to entertain hopes of regular paid performances – musicians must ensure that these performances do not express critical political sentiment. As purveyors of a genre renowned for its critical social commentary, reggae musicians are particularly affected by this expectation of self-censorship. Informal musical production in the post-apartheid era thus affords musicians little artistic freedom. Rather, whilst the products of this culture industry may appear to be part of a ‘secondary’ economy, removed from the spheres of formalized production and control, they are in fact regulated and standardized through the process of tender allocation.

Mapping the Invisible and Real "African" Economy: Urban E-Waste Circuitry

E-waste is a more than $7 billion industry. Trans-border shipments of e-waste occur in international circuits, typically originating in the United States and Europe, but now also from China, and connect to accumulation sites in particular networked cities in Africa and elsewhere. Debates about the material and environmental weight associated with uncontrolled dumping are now emerging in Africa. We diverge from those debates by concentrating on the economic footprint of e-waste in a Ghanaian context by studying the largest and most prominent e-waste market—Agbogbloshie. This Accra site has achieved notoriety in the global media and among nongovernmental organizations (NGOS), but has received little research and policy attention. In an attempt to remedy this deficiency, a preliminary mapping of e-waste flows of second-hand computers into Ghana is presented. We then map the spatial organization of the e-waste hub and assess meshworks of e-waste activities, elucidating worlds of informal work. This research involved site reconnaissance, 80 questionnaires, and 40 interviews with key stakeholders. Our key finding is that e-waste activities connect Agbogbloshie directly and indirectly to various international circuits, and, most important, thereby articulates a market within a wider urban space-economy. The emphasis is on the intersections of various e-waste conduits as well as shared space within urban informal-formal circuitry.

Is importing second-hand products a good thing? The cases of computers and tires in Cambodia

Is importing second-hand products (SHPs) good for Cambodia? To answer this question, one must seriously consider environmental and social effects. The main objective of this study is to identify and assess the economic, social, and environmental impacts of imported SHPs to determine whether or not Cambodia benefits. Imported second-hand computers (SHPCs) and second-hand tires (SHTs) were selected as cases for the study. The study used a scaling checklist to identify significant impacts of these two imported items. Significant impacts were ranked and rated into a single value (score) for integration. Integrated impact assessment showed that imported SHPCs create a very small positive impact (+ 0.1 of + 5) and imported SHTs generate a large negative impact (− 2.83 of − 5). These scores are mainly the result of environmental impact, predominantly waste issues. Thus, current imports of SHPCs and SHTs do not really benefit Cambodia, but instead cause serious environmental problems from their waste issues. The import serves as a channel to transfer waste into developing countries.

Combating Adverse Selection in Secondary PC Markets

Adverse selection is a significant contributor to market failure in secondary personal computer (PC) markets. Signaling can act as a potential solution to adverse selection and facilitate superior remarketing of second-hand PCs. Signaling is a means whereby usage information can be utilized to enhance consumer perception of both value and utility of used PCs and, therefore, promote lifetime extension for these systems. This can help mitigate a large portion of the environmental impact associated with PC system manufacture. In this paper, the computer buying and selling behavior of consumers is characterized via a survey of 270 Irish residential users. Results confirm the existence of adverse selection in the Irish market with 76% of potential buyers being unwilling to purchase and 45% of potential vendors being unwilling to sell a used PC. The so-called "closet affect" is also apparent with 78% of users storing their PC after use has ceased. Results also indicate that consumers place a higher emphasis on specifications when considering a second-hand purchase. This contradicts their application needs which are predominantly Internet and word-processing/spreadsheet/presentation applications, 88% and 60% respectively. Finally, a market solution utilizing self monitoring and reporting technology (SMART) sensors for the purpose of real time usage monitoring is proposed, that can change consumer attitudes with regard to second-hand computer equipment.

An Evaluation of Personal Health Information Remnants in Second-Hand Personal Computer Disk Drives

Background The public is concerned about the privacy of their health information, especially as more of it is collected, stored, and exchanged electronically. But we do not know the extent of leakage of personal health information (PHI) from data custodians. One form of data leakage is through computer equipment that is sold, donated, lost, or stolen from health care facilities or individuals who work at these facilities. Previous studies have shown that it is possible to get sensitive personal information (PI) from second-hand disk drives. However, there have been no studies investigating the leakage of PHI in this way.Objectives The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which PHI can be obtained from second-hand computer disk drives.Methods A list of Canadian vendors selling second-hand computer equipment was constructed, and we systematically went through the shuffled list and attempted to purchase used disk drives from the vendors. Sixty functional disk drives were purchased and analyzed for data remnants containing PHI using computer forensic tools.Results It was possible to recover PI from 65% (95% CI: 52%-76%) of the drives. In total, 10% (95% CI: 5%-20%) had PHI on people other than the owner(s) of the drive, and 8% (95% CI: 7%-24%) had PHI on the owner(s) of the drive. Some of the PHI included very sensitive mental health information on a large number of people.Conclusions There is a strong need for health care data custodians to either encrypt all computers that can hold PHI on their clients or patients, including those used by employees and subcontractors in their homes, or to ensure that their computers are destroyed rather than finding a second life in the used computer market.

The Royal Flush Saga

Miranda Genet was the daughter of my next-door neighbor. She was a beauty. There's no other way to say it. Seventeen, blond hair, a round, young face so quick to smile. Twinkling eyes a color that makes me think of the ice on Lake Superior where Jigger and I used to go fishing every winter. When I was younger, I would have been smitten. But, geezer that I am (sixty next January), it was impos sible for me to see her as anything but a child. She was the sort of young person who makes you smile when you see her. Bright, ambitious, and good-looking, undoubtedly the cream of the somewhat stunted crop we produce in what we call the north country, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Her father, Jack Genet, would sometimes tell me, his voice swelling with pride, how she got top marks in math, how she planned to take the Advanced Placement test for French, or how she was reading The Odyssey, not even for a school assignment, for fun. I had a firsthand demo of how smart she was when she showed me how to use the secondhand computer I'd bought so Jigger could send me e-mails from Iraq. Her father was the town doctor, but Miranda's love was music. At odd times of the day you would hear the sound of a piano drift ing from her house. The classical stuff I recognized vaguely from Interlochen Public Radio as Shubert or Chopin or one of those guys. Or there'd be jazz standards like Ain't Misbehavin' or St. Louis Blues, tunes she would just throw together, she told me one time, because she never played them the same way twice. Hi, Mr. Nelson, she'd yell from her porch when she saw me drive the oP septic truck into my driveway after a day of pumping tanks, and when I waved back she took it as an invitation to tell me about

Data Management: Data Destruction and Preservation, Part 1

Planning to auction off your old computer on eBay? Or more likely, give it away to charity? Or send your damaged computer out for repairs? You might want to take a closer look at your disk drive first! Have you ever bought a used computer, possibly at a failed dot.com auction or as government surplus? Ever taken a look at what's on the hard drive? There are many stories about people retrieving confidential information from secondhand computers.