Chapter 6: Part 2

Name Alexandra Esmonde                 Class time: 12-12:50

KEEP THIS TO 1-3 – PAGES LONG (excluding reference page)

Author: Sara Baase

Date of Publication: 2008

Book: A Gift of Fire

Sections read: 6.4, 6.5

1.     (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:

a.        Computers have opened the door for employees to steal large amounts of money from their companies (Baase 333).

b.       Monitoring systems can count every keystroke of clerks (Baase 336).

c.        There is not always a clear distinction between policies of a workplace and the law (Baase 337).

2.     (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?

 This chapter discusses the fact that now, more than ever, everything that people do on the computer can, and is being monitored. At work it is now possible to trace every word that an employee types and the employer can read all of it. There is not always a clear distinction between the policies that an employer enforces and the laws that protect privacy.  Employees have used faulty security or their information about their employer's computer systems to steal millions of dollars.  The computer has become an important tool in worker productivity but it has also proven to not be without risks, and sometimes people ask if the risks are greater than the rewards. 

3.     (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in  society or that you have experienced – be specific and explain?

 I think that there should be higher security on computer's so that workers cannot embezzle money so easily through technology.  If employers cut down on the "monitoring" of their employees every move then I feel as if employees would think twice about stealing money. Companies should put better benefits, or incentives in place to help make sure that their employees are not tempted to steal from them because they are doing fine on their own. New security and a different level of employee employer cooperation and arranging of benefits needs to be put in place as well.

4.     (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter  to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences. 

 The first step in remedying this problem is evaluating the situation.  After, synthesizing which would be combining the information from all different cases and analyzing what is going wrong and why.  Applying the information that has been gathered and the conclusions that have been drawn to solving the issue. Comprehending what is happening and why is one of the main steps towards solving the problem and finally knowing what to do and why.

5.     (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)?  What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?

I think the article is relevant because employers monitor their employees and employees do steal from their employers in real life. This just backs up the fact that with new technology there need to be new laws and safeguards in place. People need to be more aware that there are dangers that come with new technology, and things need to be done to protect people against hackers and losing their identity because someone hacked in to their computer.

6.     (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations (see Chap1-1.4 for exp of Ethics) or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter?  What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter?

 Ethically speaking I do not think that it is ethical to monitor every keystroke that employees make. There needs to be some form of trust that employees will come to work and do their job without needed to be monitored every single second. People need to realize that technology affects humans and humans will be prosecuted in court and the laws need to catch up to the technology.

References

A Gift of Fire By: Sara Baase

Chapter 6: Work

Name        Alexandra Esmonde          Class time:12-12:50

KEEP THIS TO 1-3 – PAGES LONG (excluding reference page)

Author: Sara Baase

Date of Publication: 2008

Book: A Gift of Fire

Sections read: 6.1, 6.2, 6.3

1.     (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:

a.        When computers were invented numerous people feared that they would be laid off and their jobs would be replaced by technology (Baase 308).

b.       The Internet helped to create 100,000 new Internet related jobs in 1996 (Baase 310).

c.        Technology and computers have increased the quality of life of Americans and have caused them to spend more money on luxury items such as cruises and larger homes (Baase 314).

2.     (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?

 This chapter discusses the effect that computers have had on the world and the effect that they were presumed to cause.  Numerous people thought that they would lose their jobs or technology would cause the creation of more jobs overseas (Baase 310).  However, computers created numerous jobs in engineering and system analysis jobs which require a college degree and a college degree which caused a larger amount of people to become more highly educated, thus increasing the standard of living (Baase 315).  Computers help with job training and step by step instructions that used to require extensive training (Baase 316).  Computers changed they way people live, in some ways that no one expected.

3.     (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in  society or that you have experienced – be specific and explain?

 The creations of forms of higher intelligence-such as computers always brings up the question: will technology replace human power and intelligence? For example, the newest phones that have come out could replace computers. Pretty soon all technology will be on one device and computers will be rendered obsolete. Also, the beginning creations of robots makes people wonder what will the world be like in ten years.  Technology keeps replacing itself and the need for human dependency.

4.     (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter  to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences. 

 The evaluation of what people need and how technology plays a role in daily life is important to realizing what people need and why.  Analyzing how specific technologies can aid in every day life is also important to the further development of technology and creation of better, faster devices.

5.     (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)?  What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?

I do agree with what is being said in this article because technology has played a large role in the development of the economy and the creations or abolition of jobs.  Technology is one of the largest aspects of the workforce and the better it gets the more jobs can be at risk or outsourced.  As much as technology can enhance the workplace it is also cheaper and more efficient, doesn't need sick days and can easily replace human labor.  It is important to realize the thin line between technology helping hobs and technology taking jobs away.

6.     (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations (see Chap1-1.4 for exp of Ethics) or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter?  What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter?

 It is relevant in today's society because people and businesses are faced with the dilemma everyday.  Ethically speaking in today's world it is never guaranteed if a computer is doing the talking, or the scheduling, or handling a compliant or if an actual human is. The world is becoming somewhat depersonalized and is it ethically correct for a computer or an automated system to be handling personal scheduling or complaints? Technology has taken over numerous human interactions and jobs which used to require personal face to face or human to human interaction. Is it ethical to have a computer take over all these personal, interactive jobs?

References

 A Gift of Fire by: Sara Baase 2008.

Chapter 4: Musicians Look For Pay In An MP3 World"

The ideas expressed in Sydel's video differ from Chuck D and Lars Ulrich because Sydel focuses on revenue that artist's lose ,while Ulrich said that they lose "mere pocket change."  The Sydel video proposed the idea of artists such as Coltham giving away their music but Ulrich would never agree with that because he believes that artists should have the right to control their music and their revenue.

Both videos agree on the point that technology plays a large issue in this debate. Ulrich knows that technology cannot be stopped, no matter how badly he wants it to be, and he realizes that artists and the rest of the world are trailing behind technology.  Sydel's video states the fact that technology has not yet reached the point where it can give people full connectedness to their music, meaning be able to listen and watch anything the consumer wants on any device at any time.  Both videos agree that technology cannot be stopped and yet it is not perfect.

Chapter 4: Chuck D and Lars Ulrich

Eric Schmidt believes that intellectual property is essential to Google, and the company  would not exist without intellectual property or intellectual property rights.  Schmidt believes that a balance of interests needs to be found, and analogous models that pertain to newspaper etc need to be constructed.

Chuck D disagrees with Ulrich because Chuck D believes that recording artists make their music in order for it to be heard. It will be heard whether or not the consumer pays to hear it, and Chuck D has no problem with the fact that people download music illegally, he just wants his music to be heard by anyone that wants to hear it.

Lars Ulrich does not support illegal downloading because he believes that he, and other recording artists worked hard to produce the songs and that they should get the revenue that they deserve. Ulrich says the main issue is about control, controlling what you own, controlling what is on the Internet, and he wants people to understand what is at stake.  He wants the issue to be that of public debate so that parameters can be set for the future because the artists have the right to control and own their music.

Chapter 4: Intellectual Property (Part 1)

Name Alexandra Esmonde Class time: 12-12:50

KEEP THIS TO 1-3 – PAGES LONG (excluding reference page)

Author: Sara Baase

Date of Publication: 2008

Book: A Gift of Fire

Sections read:4.1, 4.2, 4.3.1, 4.3.2

• (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter: 
•  There is a difference between patent and copyright, and once copyright expires the information is in the public domain and anyone can have access to it.
•  The goal in the development of copyright laws is to devise good definitions to extend the scope of protection to new technologies (Baase 204).
•  The challenge with copyright and copyright laws is that the benefits of easily available material want to be maintained on the Internet and the creative reuse of material is to be encouraged, but while protecting copyright (Baase 206).

• (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter? 

This chapter discusses the issues that copyright poses in terms of privacy and what should and should not be copyrighted. Property rights protect the physical property that each individual has and those rights include the right to sell it, to use it, and to prevent others from using it.  The chapter also discussed the rights that the U.S Copyright Law gives copyright holders, including: the ability to make copies of work, produce translations, movies based on books, distribute copies, perform work in public, and display work in public (Baase 204).  The chapter discussed the ways in which copyright is protected under laws and what happens when people violate copyright laws.

• (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in  society or that you have experienced – be specific and explain? 

A specific example of this issue is the Napster issue. When that high vole of people downloaded music illegally from Napster and it was not shut down, even though it was the most popular downloading site many people questioned if that was the end to copyright (Baase 209).  The issue was that by illegally downloading music it was taking away from the revenue that artists would have made off the sale of their songs or albums.  However, numerous people believed that songs and albums are overpriced and illegally downloading is doing nothing to hurt anybody, since the artists are already millionaires.  However, Napster was eventually shut down and there are strict punishments for illegal downloading that involve heavy fines and sometimes even jail time.

• (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter  to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences.  

Bloom's taxonomy applies to this case because the issue needed to be evaluated by all parties that it applied to, the issue needed to be addressed, and then laws and consequences needed to be applied.  The steps that the addressing the problem, determining a solution, and finally reaching doable solutions all followed the steps in Bloom's taxonomy.

• (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)?  What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material? 

I agree that the issue of copyright and copyright laws is one that is hard to identify and therefor enforce.  Since the laws have not yet caught

up to technology it is hard for infringements to be prosecuted and such if there is no law that really encompasses the violations.  The law needs to catch up with technology, and fast before the Internet gets out of hand.

• (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations (see Chap1-1.4 for exp of Ethics) or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter?  What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter? 

This topic is relevant in today's society because we use the Internet everyday. We download and listen to music every day, and every day music, videos, and other electronic games are downloaded and bought and sold illegally.  This issue is prevalent in today's society because it happens every day in every part of the world, and numerous people have learned how to exploit the law and make a large profit off of selling illegally pirated and downloaded music and so forth.

References

A Gift of Fire By: Sara Baase

Chapter 3: Questions from Dr. RSM

  --In your own words define the  phrase ‘least restrictive means’ . Why or why not? 2-4 referenced sentences.

Least restricitive means refers to the least invasive route that can be taken.  In the discussion of the chapter filters seem to be the most least restrictive means of Internet control without invading people's right to use the Internet for their own personal use (Baase 155).

             --Why is this term important?  How does it effect Freedom of Speech. Why or why not? 2-4 referenced sentences.

This term is important because everyone has the right to practice the First Amendment right to Free Speech.  This term means that the government has the right to intervene to protect children and others that can be harmed by offensive material on the Internet, by creating laws such as The Child Online Protection Act, but the government does not, or should not, have the power to regulate every one's Internet use and prosecute adults for looking at material that may be considered inappropriate (Baase 154).

             --Do you consider the Internet an appropriate tool for young children?  Why or why not? 2-4 referenced sentences.

I do not think that young children have any reason to go on the Internet.  Their homework, to the best of my knowledge, does not involve looking things up online, or typing a paper.  I believe that the Internet is a necessary tool for school and further learning but young children should be learning by interacting with each other and playing outside, not by using the Internet.

Chapter 3: Questions from Baase p. 189

3.1 A common carrier is the use of the postal system, telephone, or telegraph, a broadcast includes television or radio, and publishers fall under the category of print media including newspapers, books, magazine, and pamphlets (Baase 145).  In respect to freedom of speech and control of content, print media has the strongest First Amendment protection, which means that it experiences the least government regulation (Baase 2008).  Broadcast structures and the content of the broadcasting programs are both regulated by the government.  Broadcasting licenses are granted by the government, and they must meet governmental standards (Baase 145).  Finally, common carriers have broader and looser regulations but the Telecommunications Act of 1996 stated that "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider" (Baase 147).
3.2 Two methods that parents can use to restrict their children's web access to inappropriate materials are filtering systems, and the ability of Internet subscribers to lock their children out of certain sites.  Some sites develop policies to protect members-such as expelling users who post inappropriate material, removing offensive material, and aiding law enforcement with child pornography investigators (BAase 158).  By having the company or provider monitor the content that is being put on the site, parents can be more assured that their child is only viewing what they are supposed to on that given website (Baase 2008).  Filtering systems give parents the ability to block certain sites completely, or banning of certain words in to a search term box.  These filters help parents have more of a control over their child's Internet viewing because they can somewhat pick and choose what their child can and cannot look at (Baase 155).
3.8 I do not believe that television could outweigh the First Amendment.  The government already has control over television, as do service providers.  Movie channels such as HBO, premium channels, and adult movie channels all have to be paid for, and most require a password when purchasing a show or a movie.  Inappropriate material, such as (child) pornography is less easy to access on the television as it is on the Internet because the majority of channels require a password to gain access. If a parent does not want their child watching television then it is their job to monitor their child's use, or to take away the television completely.  However, on the Internet it is harder to control the content and what is being put out there because there are not as many filters or controls, and inappropriate sites do not need a password or require any sort of proof of age.  This is why the Internet should be more government regulated than television.