Group items tagged

ACKLING GLOBAL CENSORSHIP Last week tech companies and human rights groups launched guidelines designed to tackle censorship. Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft have all been heavily criticised for their business strategy in countries such as China. All have signed up to the new Global Network Initiative which aims to promote privacy and freedom of speech on the internet.

ACKLING GLOBAL CENSORSHIP Last week tech companies and human rights groups launched guidelines designed to tackle censorship. Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft have all been heavily criticised for their business strategy in countries such as China. All have signed up to the new Global Network Initiative which aims to promote privacy and freedom of speech on the internet.

Keeping the Internet Open, Innovative and Free

Keeping the Internet Open, Innovative and Free

Chinese people wait in line for each of the new Apple iPhone releases, buy them at premium price of $600, and send it back to where it was made to get it unlocked.

Chinese people wait in line for each of the new Apple iPhone releases, buy them at premium price of $600, and send it back to where it was made to get it unlocked.

This article meets the requirements for an IT article because, to begin with, it discusses one of the main IT systems, the cellphone (a sophisticated phone such as the iPhone however). It is reliable because it comes from a new source such as the New York Times, which has a reputation of giving reliable information to its readers. The time that the article was written is as recent as can be (less than 24 hour news, meaning that it involves one of the main issues and impacts that affect society on a greater scale today). There are stakeholders involved - the people responsible for the social/ethical issue(s), the people being affected by it, and the people becoming involved as a result of the impacts of these issues. Therefore it can be stated that this article meets all the requirements for ITGS. The social and ethical issues that result from this IT situation are significant to what it led to. One of the main issues that revolves around this issue is the digital divide and equality of access. Once the iPhone is "unlocked", the user has access to many digital streams of data; data in which regular iPhone users do not have access too, or they are unable to stream it. Integrity is also one of the main social and ethical issues; the IT device in question (an Apple iPhone) was "tampered with" and has therefore lost most of its value as well as its originality. People and machines, although it is a social and ethical issue that affects almost all IT systems, it can also be said that it is relevant to this situation as well. The people who are unlocking the iPhone are on this "digital treadmill" in which their life revolves around the database and access to digital information. Information that is so immense and updated so quickly that it can be overwhelming sometimes, yet provide the user with an extensive amount of knowledge, which is often put into good use. The specific scenario that this IT system and its impacts are based upon is politics and government. The act

The Haredi community limits their access and use of the phone and internet to protect themselves. However, this causes a separation between those who have different views on what extent the limitation should be put up to.

This is a very interesting article, I am still shock how religion still influences some people today. It is even more shocking because in the article that I picked, the situation was exactly opposite. People and governments were demanding equality of access. I am shocked at this people are voluntarily limiting themselves from the rest of the world. I wonder in this ever evolving digital age will these traditions last for much longer?

This article exemplifies the impact that technological integration has had on the preservation of traditional customs and morality from the Jewish perspective. Interestingly technology in this case also defines a person for the strength of his or her religious commitment, for example: if one does not have a "kosher phone", then he is not to be admitted into Jewish society because he is ultimately characterized as being immodest and immoral. Restraining one's self from the magnetism of the internet and the dangers it also possesses is illustrated once one takes certain measures to signify the act of taking a stand to secure the sacredness of religion and customs. But once I began thinking about this concept, I started to change my mind gradually. I believe that yes, technology is a potential threat to one's "beliefs", but it only becomes a problem once the user allows such practices to get out of hand. We come back to the same idea: technology has become a label, something that defines us superficially in the minds of others. Just because one may not have a kosher phone, does not have to mean that that person is sending inappropriate texts to another cell phone user. Our bond of trust and reliability upon others is destroyed once we enter the position of forming inconclusive judgements based on the type of technology used and the limitations it draws.

In this article Walt Augustinowicz has shown and proved many people in the public how they can be pick pocketed with out a single finger being laid upon them. They can have their credit cards, debit cards, and passports information stolen quite easily with a simply passing by of the scanner. With this advanced technology that makes paying for things easier, also makes it easier for others to pay for their things using the same card. The card number, the expiration date, the type of card, and even the person's name can be found out. This can show how the social/ethical issue involved is thus privacy - security is another possible issue. The IT system is the RFID tags/microchips. The stakeholders are the people whose information is getting stolen and the people who are stealing the information - people who make the RFID tags/microchips are also possible stakeholders. The area of impact is politics and government - but also can be business and employment. People's private information is at stake and electronic pickpockets can easily steal the information and order products.

This article talks about the security concerns related to RFID technology. RFID technology is susceptible to theft because it broadcasts radio frequencies about the information embedded in the card. This makes it very easy for thieves in possession of a card reader. A person with intent to steal information could just walk past a card carrier with a card reader and pick up the theft victim's credit card numbers, expiration dates and sometimes even the card owner's name. 20% of the card information that was stolen in an experiment has RFID chips. RFID technology increases the chance of identity theft, even passports have RFID implemented in them, this makes them very vulnerable. Passports carry very sensitive information and anyone with a RFID card scanner could wake pass a passport carrier and gain his or her personal information. The stakeholders in this issue include the card carrier or passport carrier whose security is endangered, the information thief who is gaining unauthorized access to a person's personal information and the businesses such as Visa or MasterCard whose reliability is being endangered. This is a security issue that has hampered the positive buzz surrounding RFID technology and its convenience.

This article discusses the issue of individual security and invasion of ones privacy through the use of RFID tags. With RFID tags on almost ever retail item, customers who are main stake holders, are questioning the motives of these tracking codes. A major item that is being tracked is a DVD from when it is first put into its cover and sent to the store, till the costumer purchases it. However the question remains, What is the purpose of this? Is it necessary to track how the costumer uses the items that they buy? Other stake holders include the large business corporations such as Walmart, who use these RFID codes to profit from studying the purchases and trends in other stores and areas. Additionally another stakeholder that is seen as a threat is the government who may eventually be able to spy or track down individuals based on these RFID codes on the items that they purchase. This issue relates to business and employment because companies are able to economically profit through this even though the individual privacy remains a threat. These RFID tags allow businesses to profit because they can use the codes to efficiently organize the purchasing of stock and selling of items. The RFID can be considered a network that allows the hardware which is the actual code to work. Without the network tracking and creating the code, the device is unable to function. Although the customer is able to open the wrapper such as in the case of buying a DVD and throw it away, the thought still remains of what will happen in the future with these tags? There is constant dispute and consideration on how the alternate user who is the customer that purchases these items, may become a victim of privacy invasion.

In big corporations such as Wal-Mart, the use of RFIDs has increased, but the disadvantages of RFID is now a serious issue. With the use of RFIDs on items, the customer is able to avoid waiting at a register, and the RFID will charge the person's credit-card. Yet the tags embedded in the items bought, such as clothing, can be tracked down by the store management systems, risking customers' security and privacy. Since RFIDs do not require a power supply or batteries to operate, all that is needed is a wireless scanner, which Wal-Mart's managing system uses to keep track of the items. Privacy has now become a major issue within the use of RFIDs for many Wal-Mart customers. Also, in many credit cards and "gas-cards", RFIDs are being used, yet the information on the tags also stays within the system. At airports, many modern passports are now using RFID tags that can be scanned from a range as far as 30 feet. Thus this results in chaos for the passengers, and an issue in being able to control the airport security properly.

Large scale businesses like Wal-mart and government authorities in passport make use of sophisticated RFIDs which make the data stored in them or to be accesses through them safe, which helps them keep their business data or data of the clients(in some cases passport holders) safe, however many corporates make use of cheap RFIDs which have a weak encryption code to protect them. This code can be broken easily and hence the client of that RFID is vulnerable to hackers. Ford for example makes use of RFIDs manufactured by Texas Instruments, in their car keys. These RFIDs are protected by very weak codes, hence it is easy for thieves to break the code and steal cars.

This article is about a book, and how it has ended the friendships between companies and employees. The article then goes into the topic of building a Boeing plane. A survey was sent out to the employees by the authors of this book to see if the company would make changes to its structure. However, many employees were laid off due to outsourcing. In the words of the article "Two aims of the outsourcing were to cut costs and to gain access to more foreign markets; both of those goals were largely achieved. " This shows that with outsourcing many people lost their jobs but the quality of the product was better than before. The 787Dreamliner had become much better with the technology used instead of the employees creating it. The employees were once treasured and considered themselves a family of sorts, but being replaced by Boeing they were obsolete and were easily expendable. The authors of the book say that anyone in top management should read this book and rethink their strategies for running the business. The book should also be read by the employees so they can work together to restore this idea of a family. The ethical issues in this idea of getting rid of workers so that better quality work can be done. By outsourcing jobs this allows the company to save more money than it would with having employees.