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Madeline Brownstone

NOVA Online | Cracking the Code of Life | Watch the Program - 7 views

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    Please use this bookmark to post your reflections. Using a Paper 2 style approach, CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues. CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). CRITERION C) Evaluate the impacts on society -- both positive and negative or from differing stakeholder's P.O.V. CRITERION D) Evaluate the efficacy of a solution to the problem.
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    Criterion A- The IT system (research DNA database) that allows medical researchers to record and track medical histories throughout generations, arise a variety of issues. One of these issues is privacy, where the database holds genetic information that many ethical doctors call a "future diary". These medical databases can be analyzed by a variety of people and those who have access to this information are handling private information. The major stakeholders were those patients who gave up their DNA because their genetic information put into the hands of these medical doctors creates the privacy issue. This information needed to be well stored and doctors take implications such as encoding social security numbers and no names are used. Criterion B- These research DNA databases begin with the obtainment of genetic information. In a relational database, there are several tables containing various information. Each table contains data that all have attributes related to the subject of the table. All of the tables might be interconnected, as well. For example, a retail business using a relational database would likely have one table containing data regarding employees, another with data regarding customers, another table listing inventory and so on. A database user could run a report to find connections between data in different tables, such as the customer table and the inventory table. Criterion C- From the point of view of the major stake holders (patients who given up their genetic information) the IT system (research DNA databases) (Not done)
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    Criterion A) The IT system is a database. This database is a link of DNA records, health records, and family trees. Major stakeholders of this issue are citizens of Iceland who agree to let their information be put on these databases and analyzed. Criterion B) The database works in parts. First, there is already a database of family trees in place. This family tree generator works by inputting an individual's social security number. After this is in place, the name of many generations of ancestors of this individual is shown in a tree. Then, the creator of the database asks for the permission, of family members, to add the DNA code and the health record of each person. This allows for a social security number and a disease to be input at the same time. With this, the scientist can see those who have it, and those who don't. Then, with the use of the DNA codes, they can "hunt down" genes that cause certain diseases. The database is related to an issue of privacy. This is because those who allow their health records and DNA code, are letting the medical team and users of the database know all things about them. With just a social security number, a user that has access to the database may learn more things about you than you may want: such as your family, what diseases you may have, and many other things. Another issue is in reliability. There is the possibility that the medical teams that try to track genetic code differences between those with a disease and those without it, may come to realize that a difference they find is only a coincidence and not helpful. (not completed)
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    The IT system being used is the DNA database that are being kept on the Icelandic people. The DNA database holds a lot of information of the people in the database and even things that they do not know such as their DNA and what it means. The major stakeholder is the people that are sending their DNA information, blood samples, medical histories and family trees. The issue of privacy is then involved because of the personal information that others can go through by accessing the database. The database is run by first getting the blood sample of the patient who willingly gives permission to give their DNA information to the company, deCODE. The information is then entered into the database which organizes the information by each person's social security number. The relational database is used to organize the information. (Cont.) The impacts of the database is both negative and positive. The database can be
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    CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues. * The IT system described in this video is a medical database. The major stakeholder are the doctors who manage the data of patients in the relational databases. CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). * A relational database, there are several tables containing various information. Each table contains data that all have attributes related to the subject of the table. All of the tables might be interconnected, as well. For example, a retail business using a relational database would likely have one table containing data regarding employees, another with data regarding customers, another table listing inventory and so on. A database user could run a report to find connections between data in different tables, such as the customer table and the inventory table. CRITERION C) Evaluate the impacts on society -- both positive and negative or from differing stakeholder's P.O.V. * One of the positive impacts of these medical databases are that the family tree is in a database and all health records can be found for each patient and because this is a relational database, all of the patient's information is linked to their families and other people who have similar diseases. This is beneficial because experts can see trends in the people who have a certain disease and once they figure out the "spelling" of the genetic code with the disease, they can work on coming up for cures for that particular disease. A negative impact of the medical databases can be privacy. The doctors have access to every patients information and they can know everything about a certain person or family if he/she wanted to. This would then raise an issue of integrity.
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    CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues. The IT system is the database and the issue is who has access of the Database which has medical records of individuals. The major stakeholders are the Doctors and Patients. Doctors are trying to find information on specific DNA that create sickness and diseases. Finding the relationship between the family members and there DNA, can possibly improve medicine and also allow doctors figure out what an individual can have(sickness) in future references, making inferences of what might happen. CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). A data base function is that it is a computer stored software that contains tables of various information and organizes all the data into categories. One subject/category can be related to another with little difference. This is why the database makes it easier for information to be viewed and interpreted much faster. By entering data on the tables one can interlink topics in order to find specific information needed. The person who enters the data can use software like Openoffice to create a database to view DNA and the relationship with the other individuals. CRITERION C) Evaluate the impacts on society -- both positive and negative or from differing stakeholder's P.O.V. The primary issue of the negative impact on Databases, have on the skateholders for DNA purposes is Privacy. Privacy has a big part in the stakeholders because many of the patient give away there Social Security number which is something private to them. With the Social Security Number the doctors can have access to other information not related in there investigation of finding a cure. This can cause reliability with the doctors to decrease. The database would have information of all sort on there medical records which should not be something that would be public for eve
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    CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues: The IT system in these videos were medical databases containing records of many patients. Specialists use these databases to help them identify where a certain disease came from and whether or not it could be treated. they do this by viewing the patients ancestors records and seeing who had the disease in that family tree. CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). Specialists (with the permission of the patient) insert a patients social security number into the medical database and let the database generate the patients entire family tree. Using this family tree, doctors were able to "hunt" down the origin of diseases, by looking at the genes of the ancestors. That way, by matching the DNA of the patient affected by a certain disease with the DNA of one of his/her ancestors DNA that suffered the same disease, and looking for similarities or patterns. CRITERION C) Evaluate the impacts on society -- both positive and negative or from differing stakeholder's P.O.V. There were several positive and negative impacts regarding this "hunting down" of diseases. By looking at family trees specialists and doctors would be able to determine what caused the disease and possibly come up with a cure or treatment for it. However, many patients are concerned with doctors going through their records and DNA due to there being a lack of privacy. If patients grant permission, specialists would be able to find out and know absolutely everything about their health history. Specialists argue that it would be of great benefit to detect diseases early so they could be treated by doing this. Chips are being created were thousands of babies genes could be looked at to look for any abnormalities. Some people argue that even if a disease were detected, there's two possibilities, one
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    Criterion A) The IT system at work here is the database run by the company deCODE. This company created a medical database in order to determine human diseases present amongst family. This leaves the stakeholders to be the Iceland citizens who use this system. The relationship between the Iceland citizens who use this system and the issue is that there is a security issue. The company, deCODE, paid a sum of one million dollars to the government for access to the medical history's and information of the Iceland citizens. This could be stolen by others or it could be hacked by an outsider. Criterion B) This system works through a series of steps to figure out what medical diseases are passed on throughout the family tree. In this case it would be a relational database. This database works by first obtaining permission from the Icelandic citizen to use their social security number and their medical history. This is put into the system and the medical records are accessed. Then the family records and past can be seen. This is multiple tables containing different pieces of information. Each table has something that is related to the previous table. Then make sure that the database is easily navigational. When the social security number is entered into the database the company must have it in the record. If the social security number is not properly encoded then the social security card could be stolen by and employee of an outside hacker. This is related to security if the hardware or software is not properly secured it can be obtained by a criminal. This can lead to identity theft and loss of financial security. Another issue would be privacy. The medical records and DNA code is allowed full use to the company. The social security number could be used in ways that the civilian did not agree to and is not known by the civilian. Criterion C) This system can cause many positive and negative impacts. One positive impact would be that this would help the patient know who e
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    Criterion A) The IT system at work here is the database run by the company deCODE. This company created a medical database in order to determine human diseases present amongst family. This leaves the stakeholders to be the Iceland citizens who use this system. The relationship between the Iceland citizens who use this system and the issue is that there is a security issue. The company, deCODE, paid a sum of one million dollars to the government for access to the medical history's and information of the Iceland citizens. This could be stolen by others or it could be hacked by an outsider. Criterion B) This system works through a series of steps to figure out what medical diseases are passed on throughout the family tree. In this case it would be a relational database. This database works by first obtaining permission from the Icelandic citizen to use their social security number and their medical history. This is put into the system and the medical records are accessed. Then the family records and past can be seen. This is multiple tables containing different pieces of information. Each table has something that is related to the previous table. Then make sure that the database is easily navigational. When the social security number is entered into the database the company must have it in the record. If the social security number is not properly encoded then the social security card could be stolen by and employee of an outside hacker. This is related to security if the hardware or software is not properly secured it can be obtained by a criminal. This can lead to identity theft and loss of financial security. Another issue would be privacy. The medical records and DNA code is allowed full use to the company. The social security number could be used in ways that the civilian did not agree to and is not known by the civilian. Criterion C) This system can cause many positive and negative impacts. One positive impact would be that this would help the patient know who e
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    CRITERION A) identify the IT system and describe the issues. Identify the relationship of the major stakeholders to the issues. The IT system involved is the DNA database system, identified as an organized collection of age old family trees, accompanied by state of the art DNA analysis and computer technology. Systematically, genetic information (DNA) is stored in related tables, distinguished by individuals' own security number codes. One centralized ethical and social consideration is privacy, mainly a major concern of the involved DNA suppliers (the public), that place their given personal information (genetic data, reference to family origins, medical history etc) in a national database system, from which the accessing of medical records and history of one's entire family can become manipulated or misused. In addition to the elevated risk of data misuse, once the involved participants (Icelandic citizens) give access to their personal information, there are no limitations placed on the utilization of the data within the national database, as it becomes accessible for the government, medical researchers and operating staff. Thus, the implications are straining to the individual donor, unable to determine when, how and to what extent the information given is shared amongst other groups. Furthermore, the privacy of the participants undesirably opens access to the medical information of related family members, as cross-referencing and data matching give the research staff operating the DNA database, access to retrieve a plethora of other members' data mainly for the purpose of effective data mining (the retrieval of hidden predictive patterns, as a diagnostic tool to decode the occurrence of genetic disorders/diseases). CRITERION B) Describe step-by-step how the system works and describe how the system is related to the issue(s). With the possession of participant's medical data, including blood type, isolated samples of DNA, medical health records e
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    The primary IT system in use is a DNA database, which includes information about patients, illnesses, and virtually one's make up as a human. DNA databases allow researchers to find patterns in a human genome, by looking at the DNA from various family members and determining the difference or similarities between the DNA of family members. This is done through database functions such as data mining, and data matching. Locations such as Iceland, have a database that traces back all of the people within the country to their Viking ancestors. These family trees have been paired with DNA analysis in order to trace diseases back to their start. Some more tests could be conducted in order to determine which of the living relatives of one family with arthritis, for example, have the disease. Then, the DNA can be compared in order to identify the exact gene that is at fault for the disease. This process is very easy to do because the database with all of the ancestral information is accessible with the presence of one of the family member's SSN. A simple data query can then bring together all of the person's information. Moreover, DNA, health records, and the family trees of Iceland were proposed to be linked. This could be very beneficial because new drugs could be made available to suit the specific disease of a patient. It could also be a way for diagnosed patients to take early preventative measures. This could increase the probability for a cure, and in general this would increase the life expectancy of certain areas. However, some doctors in Iceland opposed to this linkage, because the information is representative of each person's medical history, and potentially their future medical history. This information, according to the plans of the linkage of medical records and the family tree, would be available on a central database that would bring together private information about a person and connect it to all of their family members, past, present, and future. T
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    There is another issue along with this involving the ability of researchers to have full access to the information about anyone. Many people want to maintain their right to privacy, but others argue that this could lead to new knowledge about diseases, and the development of new medicines. For those who are afraid of risking their privacy, there are standards developed in order to protect them. Their information, such as SSNs are encoded for security reasons and the DNA part of the project is voluntary, and not imposed. However, ethicists are still afraid of this database. They claim that the future of DNA is a valuable thing because it can predict the probability of diseases, life expectancies, etc. But all copies can be made available to the FBI, schools, etc. at the time of birth. For the Biotech Industry, this is seen as a huge advantage because people an be tested for hundreds of diseases. The awareness of the disease is a great thing, because it could lead to early prevention. However, the system is faulty because it sometimes doesn't provide certainty of a disease and it limits a person's privacy. Other times, there is no cure for the disease, so the patient cannot do anything even if they know. In relation to this, there also will arise severe psychological impacts of a person knowing that they have the possibility for getting a life threatening disease. If this is a disease that will affect them later on in life, it would be detrimental for a person to live their life without the hope of a prosperous future. A solution to this problem could be giving patients the choice of knowing or not.
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    Criterion A - The IT system is the DNA database containing information about the genetic past, present, and future of the patients. The primary issues associated with this database are of privacy and anonymity. These issues arise when patients, who are one of the major stakeholders, feel that that the information in these databases shouldn't be accessible to others, or anyone for that matter. While some believe this is private information, others believe that the information should not be known by anyone because of the ethical issues associated with knowing what will come in the future. Criterion B - The medical database is a relational database meaning that it establishes relationships between different tables in the database. The smallest building blocks of a relational database are items. Items are individual pieces of information in tables. These items are organized into fields and records. Fields are columns in a table that that represent different categories of information. Records are rows that represent all the information for a specific patient. At the cross-section of a particular record and field lies the item associated with a specific piece of information related to the specified patient. These tables are related to each other through links which are established by unique primary keys assigned to each patient. This system is related to the issue of privacy because the information contained within it is considered by many to be privileged and access to it should be very limited or altogether eliminated. Criterion C - The impacts of such a database on society are varied. Some people are very against the entire idea of a genetic database because of its ethical concerns. When people have their blood analyzed for DNA, they are giving up their genetic make-up. The information that can be obtained from such tests is considered by many to be privileged, and by others to be completely unethical in every way. Often people are against very private medical
Madeline Brownstone

Electronic health records raise doubt - The Boston Globe - 11 views

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    "Google Health and others in the fast-growing personal health record business say they are offering a revolutionary tool to help patients navigate a fragmented healthcare system, but some doctors fear that inaccurate information from billing data could lead to improper treatment."
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    This article provides a possible service that can be used in the east African country our case study is on. Google health is a free service that would give all patients the opportunity to store their health records digitially, making it easier for doctors to access it. Especially if telemedicine were to be used, having electronic health records would be a great benefit. However, the issue of reliability is especially troubling when it comes to using services like Google health in this context. There have been many reported errors with the diagnoses of patients using this service, and it is crucial that the records are checked by both patients and doctors to ensure that all information listed is correct. Literacy rates are much lower in rural African settings, creating a problem for patients who may be unaware of inaccurate information on their records. Especially for individuals in critical conditions, fatal mistakes can therefore be made.
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    Electronic Health Records are also used in the case study. Patients and doctors rely on these records for accurate data, but it is rather difficult, due to the lack of reliability with which Google Health updates patient's health data. In order for Dr. Ogola's plan to work (face the challenges, create a modern health system), he must implement such health records that will store patients' information on an accessible, secure and easy to use database. This would help patients, doctors and nurses share data without having to travel long distances. Data would be secure and also accessible to the three parties. However, this would require a reliable system (more than Google Health) so as to not provide inaccurate data to the patients. Patient involvement in the care of his/her own data would be required for an such an erroneous system, as would a reliable source of healthcare information on the patients. Unreliable sources can potentially damage the whole system.
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    The use of Electronic Health Records in this article can be applied to our case study. Firstly, it would make the transfer of patient data easier and faster, this would increase the quality of care that the hospitals and clinics offer to their patients. These Electronic Health Records can also keep data from different doctors in order, for example if a patient visits several Doctors all of their information will be in one place and ready to access when ever necessary. In the case study if doctors had a more accurate picture of the patients medical history they would be more prepared to make diagnoses, especially when they are working with strange cases. This would also help to increase the quality of treatment that the patient would receive. Digital Health Records are easy to update both the patient and the doctor can edit the Electronic Health Record, it also can keep track of test results, and medications that the patient is currently using. Electronic Health Records allow patients to be more active in their health care allowing them to see and have access to all of their medical information. Even though this IT system is ideal for our case study there are some things we should take into consideration. In our case study we would have to make sure that equality of access is equal for everyone, there may be some people living on the outskirts of villages that might not have access to Digital Health Records. We would also have to assume that everyone would know how to use the Digital Health Record. Meaning how to update it and how to look for errors. Lastly we would have to assume that the patient would make good use out of having an Electronic Health Record. They would have to constantly be updating and checking their records to see if there is any missing information or any errors within their data. Lastly, the coding system would have to be revised, it is confusing and very inaccurate, there should be a new coding system that makes understanding your own records
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    In this article, the use of electronic health records is discussed. However, some problems arising from their use are also introduced, including inaccurate patient information. In the world of the case study, this IT system, electronic health records. is quite relevant and can be useful. EHRs can be used in Africa to connect rural doctors to hospitals and other professional health care workers in better facilities. This way patients' records can be reviewed, diagnoses can be made and other help can be given. However, if this system is taken advantage of in Africa, its users must be certain that the information in the records is accurate and comes from a reliable source. This is because if the information in a record is inaccurate, incorrect diagnosis and/or medication can be given as was the situation in the article. These kinds of mistakes can be detrimental to some patients.
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    This article elaborates on the drawbacks of electronic health files. Although the IT System, Google Health, seems that it will make getting quality health care much easier and quicker, there is a major issue of possible inaccurate information. These inaccuracies or exaggerated diagnoses on Google Health may prevent patients from receiving the care they need, and Google Earth is prone to human error as real people are responsible for inputting insurance billing codes or mislabeling a lab test with a disease that is hoped to be ruled out. This has an impact on our African case study as this article illustrates one of the highly potential problems that arise from the use of telemedicine. Although medical centers in Africa would be able to eliminate the tedious process of paper work by instantly communicating records over the internet, these records can be inaccurate and therefore compromise an already sick patients health even further. However, for the case study, EMR's prove to be a very feasible solution for the lack of communication and distances between villages and health centers, but a solution must be made in order to counteract the potential misdiagnoses'. One solution could be that patients would check their EMR's for accuracy, but with the poor conditions of living in the African villages and poor or no internet service, this solution does not seem possible for the case study.
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    This article is about a man getting his health information in an electronic health records massed up. There's an issue with the EMRs in the sense that they are sometimes unreliable. In regard to the Case study, as they want to place EMRs into their hospitals and clinics they ma have this issue with reliability. But it has shown signs of improvement from paper records. But the hospitals and clinics in the East African cities will need to hire more staff to make sure these records are up to date and accurate. As for the health of the patients, EMRs has its benefits and drawbacks. If the information is accurate then a life could be saved and that person could be properly cared for in a more timely fashion, but if the information isn't accurate they could be given unneeded surgery or given the wrong drugs. The EMRs could help the efficiency of the hospitals and clinics because they could work faster and get to more patients without wasting countless time looking through paper records.
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    This article arises a social and ethical issue of integrity of electronic health records. In this article, Dave deBronkart faced this issue when he transferred his medical records to Google Health. His information was inaccurately transferred because of the incorrect coding that insurance companies use. The database then used this incorrect coding and stated that Dave had other health problems, which he never had. The lack of codes makes the database more likely to make an inaccurate diagnosis. It also suffers from reliability because if the information, doctors can't rely on it to make correct diagnosis. Electronic databases are very useful and can be used in Oobunta if its integrity is improved. It will allow patients in villages that can't afford travel to share their symptoms and past medical history with doctors in the hospital. This will cut costs for both doctors and patients because they won't have to pay for transportation. It will also benefit the patients because it will let them be diagnosed accurately especially if they don't have enough resources or medical care in their village.
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    This article covers a recent problem that has risen from the use of Electronic Medical Records. Google's new Google Health, a service that gathers e-health records for patients all in one place has become unreliable. Google Health gathers medical information from billing records, which is an inaccurate source of information. The medical records on the site also do not distinguish between recent illnesses and past illnesses, and does not indicate the level of severity for the health issues. The diagnostic medical coding is to blame for inaccuracies in information gleaned from insurance data, mostly because it is clunky and includes tests for diseases that doctors hope to rule out, not for diseases that the patients necessarily have. The problems that the unwieldy code and medical records in Google Health bring up are enormous. Information is inaccurate and out of date, and this is potentially deadly when patients are being treated. The issue of reliability is that data in the records is out of date, and entered incorrectly, which could be the difference between life and death for patients with dangerous diseases.
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    This article was about electronic medical records. They allow patients to share their health information with doctors over the Internet, using Goggle Health. However, this application is not completely accurate. It takes information from insurance bills. These insurance bills may not be precise in describing the treatment of a patient because of their lack of codes. This raises the issue of reliability of the electronic health records. Inaccurate records could stop a doctor from performing a life saving procedure on a patient. The article relates to the case study because it talks about the drawbacks of having electronic medical records. In order for issues with reliability and integrity to be avoided in Oobunta, patients should regularly check their records to ensure their accuracy. Doctors and patients should also communicate more to eliminate problems within the health records.
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    In this article, a new electronic health system arose. In order for one to use this newly aged system, their personal health records must be transferred. According to the article, "accuracy gets lost in translation" (Wangsness). Due to the fact that certain information is getting lost in translation, many issues have been brought up, such as reliability. Health records are vital for every individual because they contain information that cannot be found anywhere else. A loss in data, such as certain dates, can lead to many problems for the patients during treatment. As a solution, people are asked to do one thing. They are told to check out their record and see if everything is accurate. There is a positive side for this new system and it relates directly to our case study. These Google health records are easily transferable. If one needs to send out their information to a hospital for a diagnosis, they can do so in no time. In the case study, people in Africa are having trouble getting to a hospital because of the expenses and lack of transportation. By using these Google electronic health records, the people would be able to e-mail their record to a hospital for a direct prognoses. This would save them so much money and time because they would be able to complete this task in the comfort of their own home, or anyplace with internet access. These electronic health records can solve many problems in Africa.
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    This case study tackles the issues of Integrity and Reliability. The article talks about inaccurate health records and it effect on patients who want to follow updates on their health status. The stakeholders in this articles are patients because they are the ones who need accurate information, doctors because patients come to them when they read inaccurate information about their health and the people who control the information in the databases because they are the ones responsible for whether or not the information is accurate. Integrity is an appropriate Social and Ethical Issue because the information in the databases have a been changed accidentally, in turn affecting accuracy. Reliability is even better because is directly about accuracy of data, if it is entered incorrectly. If data is entered wrong patients lose trust in them. This is especially relevant to databases which is the major IT system discussed in this article. In relation to the case study it is important to find a solution for the patients of Africa, that is as efficient as possible. In a place like the one described in the study it is important to save time by being as accurate as possible and making sure that patents and doctors can understand the information on databases, ensuring more successful treatments for the patients.
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    In the East African city, the medical facilities all contain databases that their patient's health records are recorded on, however the platform for each database varies between each clinic and the main hospital. This in turn makes it more difficult to exchange health records between each clinic and the main hospital.This article brings up a solution to the health records exchange problem that are within this East African Region. Google Health is a database that is in the cloud and makes it possible to exchange health records through the internet. This form of exchanging data for a patient helps to keep a patient's data up to date. Now though this could be a great solution it comes with many drawbacks from the system and the lacking materials from the East African region makes it difficulty to better utilize it.
Mohammad A

iPhone takes a trip to \"return to sender\" - 1 views

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    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.
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    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.
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    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
Saida K

Google: Internet freedom is declining - 1 views

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    The Government censorship has expanded outside of China.
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    This news item meets the requirements for ITGS because it includes all strands of the ITGS Triangle: Social/Ethical Issues, Application to Specific Scenarios and IT Systems. The Social and Ethical issue includes security, the digital divided and equality of access and surveillance.The government has decided to block certain videos from youtube, or articles from other websites regarding the negativity of the country. In other words, citizens and residents of that country won't be allowed to access "negative news" about the country they're currently living in. The digital divide and equality of access is relevant in this case because many other countries can see what different countries have blocked, meaning that for example, a person living in Germany that was not allowed to access information over "neo-Nazi content" may find information that was banned in Thailand about "the Thai king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, with feet near his head." Surveillance also is considered a social impact because the government is monitoring the actions of others, in terms of what they're posting online. The application to specific scenarios would be politics and government since the government is controlling the use of information through censorship. In all, the article explains what the government has controlled over the internet in company with Google, which includes Blogger, YouTube, AdWords, Google Maps and others. But the fact that the government is isolating the amount of information does not suffice the statement that people have the right to have their internet freedom.
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    This is really interesting! I didn't know about this digital censorship around the world. I knew about how most information is censored in different places in the world, but not in regards to places such as Germany. There are various methods of censorship and more ways than one of being able to get past them; one example is the use of proxies. Again this strikes me as something absurd. I have never heard of digital censorship in a country such as Germany, where there are so many sources for access to data. Why the government would ban such information I still cannot fathom, but the impacts that this arouses are serious, especially in regards to surveillance and the digital divide and equality of access. But ultimately, this was a very captivating post.
Madeline Brownstone

India in talks with BlackBerry maker for access to corporate email service | Technology... - 1 views

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    This article Talks about Research in motion, the company of blackberry in talks with India about the services that the phones provide
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    This article meets the standards of ITGS. From assessing this article through strand 1 we see that their are a number social and ethical conditions to be considered in this story. Security is a major issue here, RIM's encryption is so secure that not even powerful governments can't crack. This brings up the issue of security because countries like India are worried that this secure network can be abused by the terrorists. This brings up the issue of the digital divide and equality of access. This issue is brought up because India was threatening to disrupt Blackberry access because India did not have access to some features that blackberry users from other countries have. This leads to another problem, Reliability and integrity. Since RIM's network is the most secure network that even the most powerful governments can't crack, because of this many Corporations use Blackberry, RIM fears that if they(RIM) allow governments get a little more access, they will lose their reliability of their majority steak holders. This brings up the number of steak holders, the steak holders are RIM. their customers, India, and other middle eastern countries who are threatening to cut off service due to inequality of access. The IT systems that are mentioned are cellphones, and RIM's network. The applications that apply to the article are Business and employment, and governments control and use of information.
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    Nick originally posted this article, but did not cache it.
Kim T

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Is that cellphone kosher? - 1 views

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    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.
  • ...5 more comments...
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    This article meets the requirements for ITGS because it mentions the three strands related to the ITGS triangle. The social and ethical significance includes the digital divide and equality of access, policies, people and machines and digital citizenship. In this article, members of the Haredi community in parts of Israel were restrained to usages of the internet and cellphones. There are a few people who do use what we consider all the normal features of the internet and cellphone but many others use "kosher" cellphones that do not allow texting, internet usage or even calling numbers that are of non-kosher cellphones. For those who use the government's internet, they have to follow the policies set up by the government's filtered internet service provider and are unable to go on many websites. Because of their limited access as well as for many youths who are given restrictions, they are on one end of the digital divide. Once they may actually have control to use the internet freely as some people may choose to do in their area, they will have to learn self control and stay within the boundaries of digital citizenship because they were not familiar to the use of IT growing up. Furthermore, the use of internet raises concern in the Haredic community and some members look down on others for using it because the internet may interfere or give them "unsafe" images against their religion, therefore relating to people and machines. All these are related to the interference for those who do business online and need access to certain websites and the government's censorship on the internet.
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    It really makes me wonder about the things that people do because of their devotion to God and religion. However, people who need it for business should be able to surf the net without having the "urge" to do anything else but do research. Filter or no filter, it's up the person to make those smart decisions and not look up anything inappropiate other than what their top priorities are for even going online. Even if filters are installed, some people who are a whiz at computers could easily use proxies or unblock any material they want. But it's all up to the person and how strong their values and beliefs are.
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    Dear Kim, All I have to say about this article is...WOW. I think that this article is very interesting . I didn't know that in order to sign up a child for school you would have to have a certain cell phone number in order to call the school or for the school to call you. The school also requires a certain cell phone. I think this is a little extreme to allow your child just attend the school. I also find it a little crazy to constrict the internet as well. If a child has a school assignment based on something not found in that service package, they would have to go to very far lengths to do the assignment.
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    Wow this is amazing. I have never heard of such a thing, and it intrigues me that there is such a thing as phone's influenced by RELIGION. It's new and strange to me because I can't believe a religion would take it as far as making phones with such restrictions. It intrigues me though, and it makes me very curious as to how the restrictions so many things have on childrens lives will affect them. Will they grow up like any other child or will they come out different and strange?
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    Wow, this is simply the most fascinating article I have ever read. It's interesting how the Haredi community isolates themselves from the use of technology. But of course, as times modernize, it's important to be in contact for safety reasons. This kosher cellphone is quite unique, only for the kosher stamp found in foods as well, because it's basically a smaller cellphone version of the ones that first came out. But this community surprisingly reminds me of the Amish, how they choose not to use any technology, the only difference being that Amish don't use electricity at all, where the people of the Haredi community do. But I don't think it's easy living without technology these days, now that everything is going to involve technology in the future. Like the Shift Happens Video: Did You Know 3.0 "We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist...using technologies that haven't been invented...in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet."
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    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?
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    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.
nicholas n

BlackBerry denies India email access deal as struggle continues | Technology | guardian... - 0 views

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    This is a news report that RIM(research in motion ) I denying claims that India is now able to access the messages that many send through RIM secure network. This access includes company messages. However RIM refutes these claims and states they don't have access to any of this information. This is one part of a greater story India's government is not the only government that had problems with RIM due to lack of equality of service and the fact that RIM has the best encryption on their messages. There are many stakeholders such as RIM who are running a business that desires to make a profit and realize on their reputation on security, any company that uses blackberry service. The government that wants to have access to the messages to protect their national security, and finally the average consumer that loves using blackberry for their everyday lives. for the primary stakeholder which is RIM social and ethical issues are security, and reliability and integrity. Security refers to the protection of the blackberries encrypted network. The reliability and security concerns RIM's reputation for their secure networks. the primary scenario in this case is business and employment from various points of view, and the IT system is the blackberry cell phones.
Madeline Brownstone

Latest Studies Show Consumer-Directed Telemedicine Solutions Like Consult A Doctor Lowe... - 0 views

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    "New studies determine that telemedicine is the key to transforming healthcare by making medical care more accessible and convenient to patients while reducing cost. Solutions are needed in response to the following problems that plague patients and practitioners in today's inefficient U.S. healthcare system: * Doctors are hard to see. As many as one-in-three people have trouble seeing their primary care physician, and nearly one-in-four have problems taking time from work to see a doctor. * Patients have trouble contacting physicians by telephone or e-mail. Very few doctors will consult by telephone and less than one-in-four are set up to communicate with patients electronically. * There are too few doctors in rural areas. Compared to metropolitan areas, there are fewer physicians serving rural patients and patients must travel further for office visits. * Patients overuse emergency rooms. Because their primary care physicians are inaccessible by telephone or after hours, many patients turn to hospital emergency rooms. More than one-half of all ER visits are for non-emergency health problems. * Patients have difficulty getting information during office visits. More than one-third of physicians do not have the time to deliver enough information to their patients during office visits, and 60 percent of patients later say they forgot to ask questions during their visits. * Convenience. Telephone medical consults support healthcare consumerism with a proven solution that is easy to access. "
Noreen C

Keeping Secrets WikiSafe - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    WikiLeaks has led to several problems related to privacy and security of government data. The legal debate weighs whether the posting of this data is against Constitutional laws, but many others in the Government fear the magnitude of this problem. Some people ask, what would the founding fathers have done....but the world of the internet is a whole other ball field. The latest on the WikiLeaks threats claim that Assange still has more documents which were uploaded onto the website. However, the files are encrypted. Many people have access to these files, but because they are in cipher text, they cannot be read. As soon as Assange, or anyone who has access to the information publishes the Public Key, the encrypted documents will be decoded, using the same software that Assange used to encrypt it. If these documents have material in them that could threaten national security, then the USFG will have a stronger case against Assange on the basis of a privacy breach. Because of the high security, and the reliability of the encryption software, these documents have little value at the moment. The Obama Administration is clearly keeping an eye on the situation, because they wish to protect the privacy of the documents, but also because they want to find a way to take down the documents before they create damage. However, there is an extreme level of difficulty in decrypting the data, which is protected by a mathematical algorithm specific to the software that Assange initially used. The intersection of the privacy of the Government and the reliable security that Assange used comes to show that the IT world is constantly expanding, beyond the prediction of one business, or even the Government. But these Assange and the USFG aren't the only ones involved. Many people around the world are trying to attain access to these documents, primarily in the US in order to understand national secrets that have been held back from the public. The internet as a form of media has transfo
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    continued.....transformed the notion of what is private and what isn't, and clearly now more than ever privacy needs to be secured. Maybe the USFG should look into some high security protocols such as encryption, and their data files wouldn't be intercepted and posted on the internet.
nicholas n

TOPIC: Net Neutrality-Issues of censorship or equality of access and the digital divide - 20 views

On Mohammad post I learned how the people in Iran used Twitter in the Election of the President to bring information out to the rest of the world and organize rallies within the country. This is an...

sarah d

Rural Doctor finds benefit in Electronic Health records - 1 views

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    22 Feb 2010 "Rural Doctors Find Benefit in Electronic Health Records" by: Milt Freudenheim www.nytimes.com ITGS Triangle- Area of Impact: health Social and Ethical issues: equality of access, global and cultural diversity; electronic health records allow patients' information to be more easily accessed by professionals. IT system: Electronic Health Records Stakeholders: Patients and professional health-care workers. Professionals can share and access patient information more easily and readily. Presentation of Issue-- If a professional cannot switch to electronic health records, they are at a disadvantage. The playing field is not even for all professionals. Some professionals were switching their written records to electronic records to make access and use of records easier. While some professionals made the switch, others were having difficulty succeeding. This issue affected some doctors severely. For example Dr. Michael Ferris had a problem with his expensive system continuing to crash. This put his practice in jeopardy.
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Malicious insider attacks to rise - 0 views

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    ""The malicious insider is classed as the greatest security concern because they have access, and relatively easy access, to corporate assets," said Mr Leland."
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Sat-nav to aid disabled motorists - 1 views

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    "Gowrings Mobility - a specialist in adapted vehicles - is marketing the BB Nav, developed by Navevo. The system contains a database of Blue Badge parking bays, accessible toilets, disabled-friendly petrol stations and accessible accommodation. "
Alex F

Regulations and Security Concerns Hinder Asia's Move to Cloud Computing - NYTimes.com - 0 views

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    In this article it talks about how the organization known as "The Youth Olympic Games" were hosting their games in August. But they have done something different this year. Unlike what they have done every year, purchasing their items all the time and selling them or giving them away for free; they have now would have an third-world country who has the equipment do their job if they were to buy it. By that I mean they would used a system called "cloud services", and the group in charge of working would be Asia and they would have the data of everyone who is watching, performing and workers of the organization. Therefore these are the stakeholders in with this program that because they are having someone else from a different country; without knowing if they are someone who wants to steal their identity has full access. The IT system in this "cloud services" would be cloud computing since someone that may be from home, or sitting in an office has control over the organization and the data. The issue in this would be security, that because the people that are using "cloud services" are in Asia; therefore they are in a different having control in the U.S. The scenarios in this would be the fact that everyone identity would be stolen since the controls would be in Asia and they wouldn't be tracked since they are in a different country. They also couldn't be charged since they were given permission to have access to the data.
Daniell S

"Telemedicine" Helps Argentine Doctors Cure Patients at a Distance - 2 views

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    This is similar to the video we watched in class a while ago. This tells me of a doctor who is helping people who are out of reach. This indicates how tele-medicine decreases the cost for patients to gain medical help. There are very few large hospitals spread over Argentina. Tele-medicine also allows hospitals to communicate with smaller clinics. The clinics can send the hospitals the symptoms of their patients. Then they can diagnose the patient and send over the results. The patients and doctors in this situation would be the stakeholders. This would be solving the social and ethical issue known as the digital divide and equality of access. By using tele-medicine doctors can access almost anyone, this cuts the problem of cost as well. This allows anyone to have access to a doctor. As said in the article "even patients in rural areas can have access to the best medical care, without the expense of traveling". This shows that even people who cannot afford to travel long distances to get the doctor. This also allows people who need the help of a specialist to use telecommunications to contact the specialist from their local doctor. However, as said in the article, the hardware needed would need to support audio, and visual components. By having visual aids, the doctors can look at the patients physical health and possibly diagnose them. The audio aids would help the doctors talk to the patients to allow them to figure out what's wrong with them. I think the best thing to use would be a webcam. This supports audio and visual aid.
nicholas n

U.S. Tries Open-Source Model for Health Data Systems - NYTimes.com - 1 views

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    This article is about the idea of putting all existing medical records into electronic form. This would cut the costs needed for storage of such information, this would also increase how fast a medical official can access the records of a sick patient. However, as listed in Strand 1, there are many positive and negative social/ethical issues. One such issue is security. By making the records digitized and put into the hospital database, people without the proper authorization would not be able to gain access to the data. This can also coincide with authenticity. The information that relates to the patient should be accessible by the patient. The patient would need to be able to get through the encryption of the data. Another social/ethical issue would be the equality of access, this would allow only certain people the ability to look at the data. Even with these positive social/ethical issues there are some negative issue. One negative issue would be integrity. There are people who can hack the encryption of this data and tamper with it. This would cause the data to be different in other places and a breach in security. This would be a great help to organizing data. Using a paper file system, the doctor would have to go through a lot of papers and cabinets to find the patient's medical history. By using a paper file cabinet documents are more likely to go missing or get mixed up with another patient's records. However, by using a database this data is much more organized. There is a smaller chance of losing the patient's data, by using back-ups the data could be easily restored. There is also a much smaller change or mixing up multiple patient's data. If the wrong data was use for the wrong person, the person may not have the correct medical treatment they need. With databases the information is much more organized. The patient's data can be found very fast, compared to a paper file system (this could take more than an hour depending on the amount of patients).
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    Continued...The hardware involved with creating databases in the health industry would be a DBMS Engine. This is also known as a Database Managing System. This takes the logical request from DBMS subsystems and converts them to physical equivalents. This also requires interactive processing. This replaces batch processing. This allows users to interact with data through terminals and view values online in real time. By having real time the doctors can give the patients what they need at the moment the patient needs it. The stakeholders in this specific case would be the hospitals adapting the database managing system and the patients whose information is stored in this database. If the database is tampered and there are not back-ups the patient would not have his/her medical history. This could cause the patient to be on a delay for an operation that is extremely important to their life. This could also place a lawsuit on the hospital.
Madeline Brownstone

Telecom: Tools connecting the world and communicating about HIV - 0 views

  • The explosion of mobile technology presents a great opportunity to scale up the AIDS response in poor countries.
  • hrough mobile technology, the millions of people in developing countries who had been left behind by the digital divide are now able to access health information and healthcare services at their fingertips. Mobile phones are being used as low-cost tools for HIV testing, data collection, epidemic tracking, and training of health workers, HIV prevention and treatment support.
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    Through mobile technology, the millions of people in developing countries who had been left behind by the digital divide are now able to access health information and healthcare services at their fingertips. Mobile phones are being used as low-cost tools for HIV testing, data collection, epidemic tracking, and training of health workers, HIV prevention and treatment support.
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    Through mobile technology, the millions of people in developing countries who had been left behind by the digital divide are now able to access health information and healthcare services at their fingertips. Mobile phones are being used as low-cost tools for HIV testing, data collection, epidemic tracking, and training of health workers, HIV prevention and treatment support.
Santiago P.

BBC News - Ice proves an unlucky break for hospital - 2 views

  • At Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's accident and emergency department, this has caused major problems.
    • Santiago P.
       
      The hospital directors are also stakeholders. They benefit from telemedicine, since not as many patients have to flood the hospital but instead can be treated or diagnosed thoguh telemedicine.
  • She was seen by a local doctor who then decided to link up by video with specialists at the A&E department in Aberdeen.
    • Santiago P.
       
      Health is the Area of Impact that this article deals with. It deals with health services and telemedicine.
  • The number of people arriving there with bones that are broken, fractured or dislocated has risen dramatically - and it has stretched resources to the limit.
    • Santiago P.
       
      These patients are the stakeholders, who benefit from telemedicine and don't have to travel all the way to the local hospital.
    • Santiago P.
       
      Many people are getting hurt because of the weather conditions. All these people must travel to the nearest hospital, which is 40 kilometers away, to receive medical attention.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • After assessing the injury they decided Mrs Watt needed to travel the 40 miles into the city to have the break properly reset and plastered. Mr Ferguson explained that the use of telemedicine had proved crucial.
    • Santiago P.
       
      The IT System involved is telemedicine. It is being used to help people who cannot easily access medical attention and must therefore rely on technology.
    • Santiago P.
       
      The social and ethical issue is equality of access. Telemedicine helps people access medical help rather than having to travel a long distance to see a doctor. This saves time, money, and energy.
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    "Mrs Watt's local hospital is in Fraserburgh. She was seen by a local doctor who then decided to link up by video with specialists at the A&E department in Aberdeen. After assessing the injury they decided Mrs Watt needed to travel the 40 miles into the city to have the break properly reset and plastered. Mr Ferguson explained that the use of telemedicine had proved crucial. "All the local casualty departments throughout NHS Grampian have got a video conferencing link through to us. "Already today we've seen more than 20 patients that way and only three have had to come into Aberdeen. "All the rest have been treated locally which of course saves people travelling in this weather and saves time and resources here.""
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    "1"
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Alarm sounded over wi-fi networks - 1 views

  • Surveys of consumer use of wi-fi routers suggest that a maximum of 40% of the machines use encryption to limit who can use them. In addition, most people do not change the default password the device ships with making it easy for attackers to get access.
  • few routers have lock out mechanisms that stop endless attempts to guess passwords
  • The team recommended that people be forced to change default passwords and encouraged to use encryption - both of which can limit the ability of wireless-borne malware to spread.
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    "Surveys of consumer use of wi-fi routers suggest that a maximum of 40% of the machines use encryption to limit who can use them. In addition, most people do not change the default password the device ships with making it easy for attackers to get access. "
Madeline Brownstone

Activists utilizing Twitter, Web proxies to sidestep Iranian censorship - The Boston Globe - 0 views

  • Derek Lowe and his Iranian-born wife were appalled by the violence that came in the wake of Iran’s disputed presidential election, and by the Tehran government’s attempts to censor news of the upheavals. And so they joined the protest, as best they could from their home in Acton. They decided to become members of the legion of Internet activists fighting the Iranian government’s aggressive attempts at post-election censorship. Armed with their computers and Internet access, they are helping Iranian protesters get the words and images out of their country for the world to see.
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    "Derek Lowe and his Iranian-born wife were appalled by the violence that came in the wake of Iran's disputed presidential election, and by the Tehran government's attempts to censor news of the upheavals. And so they joined the protest, as best they could from their home in Acton. They decided to become members of the legion of Internet activists fighting the Iranian government's aggressive attempts at post-election censorship. Armed with their computers and Internet access, they are helping Iranian protesters get the words and images out of their country for the world to see."
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