Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
come to telemed' and 'email so they do not have to come here' (
male trainee doctor
and e-librarian
)
.
The workers and doctors available to the researcher were all Kosovan Albanian;
after the war in the region, the Albanian and Serbian communities were much
divided. The centre and the technology were introduced at a very sensitive time,
'not easy for them - us' (
male doctor and director
). Where mediation between
the workers at the centre and the doctors played a role in closing the gap between the
medical community and the technology in the centre was not as successful with the
Serbian medical community, '100% political barriers', 'fully political issue' (
male
doctor and director
). Initially there was interest from the Serbian medical community,
'Serbian doctors nurses came to lectures but not as much'
.
However, permission
was not granted from the Serbian authorities in Belgrade, 'So keen to have this but
had to get green light from Belgrade' (
male doctor and director
).
7.4
The Technology Has a Right to Visit but Not to Stay
(the Right to Say Yes or No to Technology)
The interviewees who embraced the technology described it as a tool to be used if
they wished to use it, demonstrating their right to say yes or no to the technology,
'More than an Internet connection - can be very useful good tool in our hands as a
doctor. I can see professor in Tirana, talk to them, consult with them if I have the
desire' (
female doctor
). The female doctor also described how they could use email
to consult with doctors in other countries rather than more expensive specialised
equipment they had been exposed to in the earlier days of the centre, 'costs to use
Vital Net, but email, no costs' (
female doctor
)
.
7.5
If the Technology Is Perceived as Hostile,
the Host Will Treat It as an Enemy
The doctors who embraced the technology saw it as a means to educate themselves
in their chosen medical fi eld and be part of a previously longed-for future. There
was no perceived hostility. Before the war there was no means for the Kosovan
Albanian community to obtain a complete medical education, 'Pre-war we were in
a deep sleep - not well educated as country with someone on top of you'. The
telemedicine centre and the technology within it became a means to obtain this
education, 'This (telemedicine) is a sign that we are in the future', 'enables you to
think deeply, this is the future of the world' (
female doctor
)
.
Working at the centre allowed them to be part of the rebuilding for the future of
Kosovo. This rebuilding went beyond medical future; the benefi ts were educational
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