Hand Held Computer

For hand-held computers generally, see Mobile Device.

Hand Held Computer (HHC) is the device used during the address canvassing portion of the 2010 Census conducted by the United States Census Bureau.[1]

2010 Census

By Constitutional edict, the United States Federal Government is mandated to provide the President with a census count every 10 years. Historically, the census was gathered via mailed forms. In order to acquire the most comprehensive list of addresses ever compiled, specifically designed, single purpose computers were used for the first time in 2009.

Paper cost

The driving force to use the Hand Held Computer was to lessen the enormous amount of paper used in prior census operations. Projected savings were hoped to be in the millions of dollars. Unexpected additional savings were gained due to the effectiveness of the HHC and the reduced (in terms of duration) salaries required. (The AddCAN task was projected to take 8 weeks but was completed in under 6)[2]

Security precautions

Main article: Device fingerprint

The HHC was manufactured by Harris Corporation, an established Department of Defense contractor, via a controversial[3][4] contract with the Department of Commerce. Secured access via a fingerprint swipe guaranteed that only the verified user had access to the unit. A GPS capacity was integral to the daily address management and the transfer of information that was gathered. Of major importance was the security and integrity of the personal and private information of the populace.

Success and failure

Enumerators (information gatherers) that had operational problems with the device understandably made negative reports. During the 2009 Senate confirmation hearings for Robert Groves, President Obama's Census Director appointee, there was much mention of contracting problems but very little criticism of the units themselves.[3] In rural areas there was a problem with transmission of data to and from the HHC. Since the units were updated nightly with important changes and reprogramming, operator implementation of proper procedure was imperative. Dramatic dysfunction and delays were caused if the units were not put into sleep mode overnight.

References

  1. ↑ Weinberg, Daniel. "Management challenges of the 2010 U.S. Census" (PDF). census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  2. ↑ House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives, "Chairman Clay Pleased With Census Address Canvassing Progress." June 08, 2009. Deadlink fixed via Internet Archive. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 Wade-Hahn ChanMar 28, 2008 (2008-03-28). "Have feds cheapened contract bonuses?". FCW. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  4. ↑ "Census getting back on course, lawmakers told - Oversight". GovExec.com. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.