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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.
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...

Elisavet M

"Virtual Reality tackles tough questions" - 1 views

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    Scientists in Barcelona have constructed a technological device, enabling users to engage and "live" within a virtual reality; this digital world however, is bound by the oppressive and devastating human conditions experienced by the victimized individuals of physical and verbal maltreatment. The device, although it may conjure ethical realizations within the user's mind, also poses as an ethical dilemma for it brings the cruel severity of the downtrodden and exploited people into visual and mental display terrorizing the emotional stability of the participants.
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    Technological breakthroughs in decoding the human mind have blossomed ever since the invention of a device through which users are immersed within a virtual reality, to live and experience the trauma and distressing scenarios of people victimized by physical as well as emotional abuse. Developed by a team of Spanish scientists, this device is breaking down the mind's irrational judgement in relation to discriminatory or wrongful perceptions against others. The user of the device, once transported into the anguished lives of the virtual characters, comes face to face with the agony of living through abusive violence, and begins to form a clearer impression about the effects of such experiences upon the lifestyle, behavior and well being of any victim. In doing so, the participant ultimately widens the boundaries of his mental state of thought, and begins to appreciate and acknowledge the peace given by a happy life rid of gnawing internal complications. However, in engaging with such a virtual reality the user becomes an unshielded target of bitter misery, felt and illustrated by the depictions seen through the device. The software that is included in this article is the technological device that offers an entrance into the virtual world for the user. The stakeholders within this article are the users of the device, whose mental and emotional stability is controlled by the virtual reality developed by the scientists. The scientists hold the success of the entire experiment in the palm of their hands, and really are the source of the effect upon human behavior. One has to take into consideration the physical and psychological considerations (in "Health" scenario) of technology on the user of this particular device; although this device does help others modify their morality as they expand their considerations for the factors that have made people what they are today. The device however, does inflict the same trauma and terror depicted by the gestures and movements
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    I agree with the ethical and social concerns involved within your article. Although there are some benefits of recognizing the pain and violence inflicted on others, it can cause emotional stigma and trauma upon the person who is using this technological device. Technology controls our ethical morality, in developing software that explores the way the human brain works we destroy this boundary of what is right and wrong because we begin to focus on research and forget the effects involved. In this case, those involved in the experiment are unaware of the effects that this virtual reality exposed to the user will eventually have on them mentally and emotionally.
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.
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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.
Noreen C

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

  • easily and securely share information
  • A fancy electronic patient record, unconnected, is just an expensive way to capture data.
  • Getting many different health care providers and suppliers of specialized software to agree on how to do that is no simple task.
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  • The solution the group agreed to is essentially Internet-based e-mail and public key encryption technology, tailored for health care.
  • For health care technology companies, the data-sharing standards, experts say, should stimulate the market for electronic health records and allow them to focus their efforts on making their individual offerings more affordable and easier to use.
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    This article is primarily about setting standards and protocols so that an electronic health records could world easily and securely for many health care providers and suppliers. The reason the introduction of an EHR hasn't worked before, is that there were no data-sharing standards, which would ensure that the data is transmitted securely across the internet. These standards are also in accordance of many of the interests of all of the health providers and stakeholders involved, which was a major problem previously. Without the issue of connecting the EHR from provider to provider, then the records would be a "fancy...way to capture data," and it's full potential would never be recognized. However, these new standards and protocols, filled with secure transactions based on encryptions, have made the introduction of an electronic health record possible. There are many benefits to the use of an EHR, including productivity and financial improvement for the companies and the employees. For example, doctors/nurses no longer need to spend time pulling a patient's file, or writing the details of the visit afterwards. There are also fewer repetitive tasks, and improved communication between doctor and nurse, or doctor and another doctor. Quality of care may also improve because doctors have quick access to a patient's information, there is better monitoring and discovery of chronic illnesses, and doctors can return phone calls/ provide medication refills immediately. Also, in general, the electronic charts allow for a more efficient office, which leads to a less stressful environment and more attention on the patients' care rather than searching for their charts. This can only be done through the introduction of an EHR, leading to easier queries, instant reorganization, and file management that could be transmitted to both the patient and any other doctors. This minimizes the ambiguity of not having tests results from one doctor, and allows all doctors treating a p
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    patient to see all of the patient's history. This is important in having a correct diagnosis and treatment. However, there are also some drawbacks. Initially, doctors who chose to engage in the implementation of a EHR, see some decreases in productivity. This is because entering information and learning how to use the software takes some time. Some doctors also do not have the money to invest in such software and accompanying hardware to, and others no not want to because they are accustomed to their hand-written charts. There are also some security issues, leading to greater privacy issues. The EHR maintains very personal data about a patient, and if the records are breached, then the privacy of the patient may be put at risk. There is also the issue of interoperability, which was brought up in the article. Many of the companies in different countries wishing to engage in the implementation of EHR have different standards involving the usage. This could harm the usage of an international EHR.
Elisavet M

An Unforeseen Complication of Electronic Medical Records - 0 views

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    This article focuses specifically upon the negative implications that surface with the installation and adaptation of electronic medical records (EMR) for medical professionals targeting specifically the level of doctor/patient relationships. The author, a medical specialist within a facility, talks about his experience with the proven efficiency of the EMR system's effective retrieval of patient medical history and advanced medical database, but further accentuates emphasis on the system's flawed influence upon medical professional and patient relations. One of the primary stakeholders, the medical doctors and physicians complain that the system itself places limitations upon doctors' interactions with patients during the time of consultation (a critical part of constructing medical diagnoses); the author places emphasis upon the way he had to consistently go back and forth from the patient to the computer, in order to type in the retrieved information gained from the conversation. The act of going back and forth between patient and technological system (EMR) discouraged and urged the patient into silence, thus limiting conversation with the doctor, due to the lack of complete face to face, non interrupted evaluation and reflection of medical symptoms, history, prior experiences from the perspective of the patient. Thus, the second primary stakeholder, the patient himself, feels that he or she is not properly or fully being examined; more importantly this places the patient into the position of feeling less significant, as if his/her perspective doesn't truly matter when in reality it is the patient's responsibility to be clear and coherent with the medical professional, to help navigate the doctor into generating the correct diagnosis that will help save patient lives. The IT system involved is the EMR (electronic medical record) system that operated with the help of dozens of computer terminals that were positioned in individual workstations (hardware com
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    (continuation) component) and worked on the same networking service. The software programming that came with the system helped improve the retrieval and sharing of patient medical history, organization of data, efficiency and flexibility of keying in and updating medical information etc. In connection to the scenario of Health, the limiting influence forced upon doctor/patient relationships sourced from the integration of EMR systems targets a flaw in the advantage of having instant connection to patient medical information. Not only are doctors forced to focus on correctly typing in the necessary information, thus avoiding or diminishing patient relations, but the great magnitude of medical information stored and available in EMR systems, "can push some doctors into what one EMR expert refers to as "cognitive overload" while trying to balance patient input with medical history data on the spot. Furthermore, the system's software tool, such as the fee-for-service payment system, which helps tabulate symptoms while simultaneously facilitating the billing process, continues to discourage doctors from executing patient consultation. One major issue that surfaces is reliability; the EMR system itself consists of hardware and software components that transition the doctor's attention from the patient directly onto the transferring of information into the system while in the mode of confrontation. The correspondence of data with the real world comes into significance, as the data may become unreliable due to the fact that it may be entered incorrectly (the doctor may have been focusing more upon data transmission, rather than what the patient actually stated), and additionally the use of EMR systems increase the risk of data becoming outdated, for it is solely up to the doctor's skills and attention that medical history, symptoms, side effects of the patient be kept at a steady consistency once entered into the system. Thus, although physicians and he
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
Lenny H

Barack Obama and the Facebook Election - 0 views

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    This article describes the election of the 2008 election for President. Obama's election will go down as symbolic and inspiring victory for coming generations. A large amount of Obama's victory was due to the youth vote. With the rising of facebook and social networking Obama's ground swell support came from this generation of people on facebook and using social networks. He attempted to interact with American voters via online social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace. Obama teamed up with Chris Hughes, a facebook co-founder in order to podcast and mobile messaging. Obama is a natural Facebook politician. On his personal Facebook profile-which featured his "Our Moment Is Now" motto-Obama named his favorite musicians as Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan and listed his pastimes as basketball, writing, and "loafing w/kids" (note the hip shorthand aimed at appealing to young voters). The 72-year-old John McCain, by contrast, never managed to connect on Facebook. He gave one of his pastimes as "fishing" and listed Letters From Iwo Jima among his favorite movies. McCain even got "punked" by a Facebook prankster who posted a phony policy announcement right on McCain's online profile: "Dear supporters, today I announce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage ... particularly marriage between two passionate females."
Madeline Brownstone

Schools creating new rules for social networking policies - USATODAY.com - 2 views

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    "beginning of the academic year warning them of social networking issues. Source: Individual schools * Share * Yahoo! Buzz * Add to Mixx * Facebook * Twitter * More o Fark o Digg o Reddit o MySpace o StumbleUpon o Propeller o LinkedIn * Subscribe * myYahoo * iGoogle * More o Netvibes o myAOL * By Kyle Oppenhuizen, USA TODAY More college athletic departments are developing or publicizing online social networking policies for student athletes, experts say. USA TODAY researched social networking policies for 27 schools in six major conferences, including the University of Iowa, which will implement a new monitoring policy Friday. Last fall, pictures emerged on Facebook of two 19-year old Hawkeye football players holding cash and liquor bottles. Five of these schools already have specific monitoring policies in effect - Auburn, Iowa State, Ohio State, Miami and North Carolina. Others warn athletes of the potential dangers of sites such as Facebook and MySpace through student-athlete handbook policies, meetings, coach's discussions and even letters. Some schools don't have a specific policy but allow coaches to monitor at their discretion, or take action if inappropriate material online is reported. Iowa's policy puts senior leaders in charge of monitoring profiles of athletes' on their team and bring problems to administrators, who then work with the athlete, associate athletic director Fred Mims said. Administrators will not get involved, Mims said, unless issues are brought to their attention, in which case they will talk to the athlete about addressing the issue and check out the profile, public or private. Ohio State, on the other hand, requires athletes to have a public profile or add coaches and administrators as friends (which gives access to the private profile). Fred Stutzman, a Ph.D. cand
Lenny H

Telemedicine Healing Haiti Earthquake Victims, Puts Healthcare on the Map - 2 views

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    This articles with the solutions that were created by telemedicine during the disastrous earthquake. Much similar to victims in Argentina or those in Argentina who don't have telemedicine, those victims in Haiti are being treated through telemedicine. After the unfortunate earthquake in Haiti, the University of the Miami took into their own hands to set up various tents around Haiti. Besides having very little medicine, Haiti also had a communication problem. These from the University of Miami were not able to communicate with those from the United State. Therefore, they set up real time technology as a form of communication in order to consult colleagues at the University of Florida. Two devices about the size of a laptop were donated to them, and the satellite telephone, internet and video camera contained in each allowed the doctors to communicate with each other. These satellites allowed doctors to conduct and give prescriptions as well as well as communicate to other doctors of those patients who needed to evacuated from the are and taken to the United States for Health care. This article also talks about doctors who are using cellphones in order to take pictures and perform x-rays. There are a variety of stakeholders in relation to the satellites that are allowing the doctors from the University a Miami to perform their real time operations for their consultations and for prescribing medicine. One of these stakeholders would be the people or victims in haiti. After the Earthquake, many were left in dangerous need of assistance, and without these satellites, there would be no way in which they could communicate with people in the United States (The University in Miami) in order to get proper prescriptions. These are very important stakeholders, because if the people of Haiti aren't provided with this form of telemedicine, they would not be able to get treated for the illnesses/injuries that occurred to them during the earthquake. Another stake holder is the U
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    niversity of Miami. Without these satellites, they would not be able to do their job. This is the only form of communication they have with their fellow doctos in the United States. In the Article, is specifies that the doctors had a hard time creating forms of communication in Haiti, therefore if the satellites do not function, the doctors from UMiami, would not be able to prescribe medicine to the victims, and the victims would not be able to get their treatment. Social and Ethical issues then arrive from the Article and the IT system. These satellites that allow for communication and telemedicine are breaking down the digital divide. Specifically in the article, it states that Haiti did not have doctors and that form of technology in order to perform telemedicine. These satellites and bringing them to Haiti was breaking down a digital divide, in which it was giving them the IT that other countries were already familiar and working with. Another Social/Ethical issue that arrives from the IT system is Globalization. In the way in which it breaks down cultural, economic, or divisions causes by a countries location to another. The IT system allows for those in Haiti to communicate with those in the United States. Therefore, it is creating or breaking down any divisions that were previously there because of their location as countries. Another major Social/Ethical issue that arrises is Reliability. The doctors from the University of Miami are relying on these satellites in order to perform their job. If there is an issue on their reliability, it would be catastrophic to the worked (not having any form of communication with their colleagues) as well as the people who would no source of medicine through the real time consultations.
Jaymee C

Facebook, Inc. News - The New York Times - 1 views

  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
  • Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances.
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    for assitance in portfolio 1
Noreen C

More Than Half of Mobile Apps Not Secure, Report Says - 5 views

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    An article about the unsafe nature of many mobile phone applications including commerce and finance related apps. This article allows the reader to see the increasing problem of security holes of these apps and sites like Twitter who were hit with the same problems, such as "cross site scripting."
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    Security in this day an age has become a major problem. The protection of hardware, software, machines, and networks from unauthorized access is becoming increasingly harder because hackers have gotten smarter in identifying the security holes of these programs. Mobile phone applications are just one of their latest hits. More than half of the applications on mobile phones are considered unsafe and therefore vulnerable to security attacks. Third party codes were even more devastating with a "81 percent failure rate." Commerce and finance related apps did just as poorly, both exceeding just about the half way mark. The process of fixing these security holes has become quicker over, however, not quick enough. It takes sixteen days on average to fix the problems and this is rather long time in a society that can get and bit of information in the palms of their hands in nano seconds. Hackers are also going into other user's profiles, or creating fake profiles in order to spread "cross site scripting." This was recently seen as a problem for Twitter and it's users. Tweets were changed into different colors, and there were unwelcomed pop-ups that would appear to users when they clicked on a Tweet. This would then publish the original script on that user's page without their knowledge, or consent. This is a problem that has taken over mobile apps, resulting in "51 percent of all vulnerabilities." The stakeholders of this issue are mainly the users. However, it is also a problem for the companies who created the application and those who are fixing it when it goes down, if not the creator. In the world of applications on mobile phones, things are expanding quickly and largely. However, with this great expansion, there are downsides when more than half are deemed not secure. Although there are various apps that are safe, our need to have everything in our sight available to us, even the most seemingly useless app, has driven us to put our devices, privacy,security, and
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    Please go back and "cache" this page.
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    It will not let me, it says I need to upgrade my subscription in order to do so. Also, the last part of the comment is cut off. Here is the continuation: "authenticity at risk. The coolest apps that are so desired, many not be the coolest things on the market these days. Let's not let our wants surpass our judgment of these problems."
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    Actually, if you click on the link to the article (the one in blue) and bookmark it again (it won't loose your previous work) you can click the Cache box and it will actually cache it. Try it. Normally, you would cache it the first time you bookmark it, but that technique works after the fact.
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    In a way, downloading an app or downloading anything in fact is like interviewing a book or finding a reliable source. It's always better to pick from an author or publisher you know about. Usually, more well known companies will release an app and if there are a lot of people complaining about it, then they will fix it. It takes patience and control to wait for a better version to come out so that you know its safe. Additionally, people should take more caution into the apps they are using and what kind of information they are registering in it.
Noreen C

TAGSYS Develops Airline Industry's First Reusable RFID Baggage Tag for Qantas | Busines... - 1 views

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    In airports nationally and internationally, flyers have to stand in line to wait to check in. The process is anything but welcoming for those who are running late, dislike crowds, and are just simply impatient. The process is just has grueling for the workers who have to deal witht the annoyed customers day after day. Luckily, the ticket kiosks have made the check in time shorter, being great for those who have no luggage to check in, but still just a part of the process for those who do. With RFID tags, the check in process isn't as dreadful. Companies are now begining to use reusable RFID tags that can track up to four flights at a time for each luggage, and can be programmed to track upcoming flights. This technology reduces the check in time, and increases effciency as the luggage is already associated with the flyer, and it's location is known at all times. Lost luggage can be found easier, and the manual labor needed for check in is cut down. There is also less paper being used, since the RFID tags only involve electronic mediums. For both the flyer and the company, the RFID tags can be a bright future. However, with more and more ways to eliminate time and human error, it is possible that the jobs of the people at the check in will be reduced. This seems to be a problem with many technologies, but this is the way in which our future is going. But, even though technology seems to be super efficient and a lot better than humans, it has it's flaws. RFID tags are read by radio rignals. If the tags are broken, or placed in an area where the radio signals cannot reach, then the tags are useless. There also needs to be new technology that allows airline companies to begin to use the tags, which may be costly. Another major issue is that in order to increase efficiency, all of the customers must be on board. There is no guarantee that this will happen any time soon, or that all of the airline companies will wish to use the technolgy.
helen g

The Hindu Business Line : ArcelorMittal may tap Indian IT cos for infrastructure play i... - 0 views

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    The issue of globalization and cultural diversity is raised in this article which deals with the realm of business. Steel Maker ArcelorMittal is planning to outsource certain IT infrastructure to India and smaller European countries such as Poland in order to be able to save money and reduce costs. The stakeholders in this situation are the CEO's of ArcelorMittal, the local IT companies in India and the small European countries being outsourced to, as well as the governments of India and the small European countries, the current IT workers of ArcelorMittal, the IT workers in India and the small European Countries, and the people who buy steel from ArcelorMittal. The IT systems involved in this scenario are PCs, servers, data centers, and networks. IT workers in India and small European countries such as Poland will be working with ensuring privacy on these systems as well as taking care of their maintenance. A positive issue that results from the outsourcing of ArcelorMittal is that the company will be able to save money by paying its workers less. This would lead to a decrease in steel prices as well, which would be beneficial for the consumer. Also, outsourcing gives good job opportunities to people in the countries being outsourced to. However, through outsourcing many current IT workers of the company will most likely loose their jobs. Indian workers are also being exploited due to the fact that they are being payed less than a worker in a more developed nation would be payed. Lastly, local IT companies need to compete for workers.
Elisavet M

In Haiti, Practicing Medicine From Afar - 0 views

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    (NOT FINISHED) After the devastation of Haiti's earthquake, impoverishment plagued the millions of patients, in dire need for medical assistance and resources. The "low tech" equipment failed to meet the needs of the population, so tele medicine is being adapted.
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    Medical facilities in Haiti are in essence trying to integrate satellite connection and internet service (along with increased bandwidth) in order to greatly expand the distribution and administering of medical services. Donated by the other organizations in Miami, the Haitian hospitals are now given the opportunity to form intercommunication via a wireless regional network system (internet service provided by neighboring countries, such as the Dominican Republic). One of the primary stakeholders, the patient and injured Haitian individuals required to maintain necessary medical help from the American doctors and medical professionals (other primary stakeholder). Such IT systems, enable the patients suffering from the devastating results of the earthquake to retrieve an increased amount of help and attention from doctors and other medical health professionals in other parts of the world, specifically recruiting medical help centralized in the United States. The adapted procedures of tele health already in American hospitals, including the use of internet messaging, x rays, scans, and medical reports all enable doctors to obtain confrontation and collaboration with Haitian patients on accurate and more reliable grounds. The scenario included in the article is Health, and the main theme is"medical information administration and marketing sales" for this pertains to telemedicine as a branched off aspect. In regards to the social and ethical considerations, the issue of the digital divide and equality of access is greatly highlighted in the article; telemedicine linked medical services found in another nation, to the needy Haitian population thus diminishing global boundaries placed up by the differences in development and advancement in certain regions of the globe. The digital divide that took control over Haitian lives( due to the catastrophic events of the earthquake) eliminated sources of internet connection, hardware and available software equipment to run teleme
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    In Diigo, you can always go back in and edit your own postings. It's only in the moodle that there is a time bomb that causes you to comment on your own reflections if you go back later to expand upon your initial thoughts.
Jialin C

Twitter worm was unleashed by 17-year-old Australian - 1 views

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    This article is about a 17-year old teenager had wanted to put Javascript code in a tweet. But then, others picked up the code and hacked Twitter by leading to viruses and pornography sites. It wasn't his intention to spread the worm to any users, but he wanted to see if it was possible to break the 140 words challenge on a tweet.
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    This news post provides information regarding to three strands of the ITGS triangle. It's based on home and leisure and due to many privacy issues. Stakeholders are the Twitter users who have posted tweets and received viruses on their computers. Privacy and anonymity determines whether a user wants to post certain tweets regarding him/her and the anonymity would be how this teen had caused the spread of this worm onto other's computers which was a severe consequence for many. Tweets are meant to be secure, however any users that have accessed Twitter and clicked on the harmful link which have caused damages to their computers. The lack of security measure is terrible because it's suppose to prevent employess and users from having access to hacking; but it had done the opposite. The topic of people and machine is the benefit of Twitter. Users who have tweeted are somehow 'addicted' to posting personal information online and to their friends. It's a daily habit and a routine that most people do almost every five minutes each day. Twitter hits 50 million tweets a day and not only that, but people are very much attached to their cyber life nowadays. The internet is definitely not the safest place to talk about your daily life and the worm was spread across the cyberspace because of a advertisement that advertised for colored tweets on profiles, which was a mistake to click on.
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    Poor guy! was my first thought, at the age of 17 and caused such a problem on twitter. This makes me think about how technology can go wrong so fast, which is why we shouldnt become so dependent on technology all the time! A simple java script on a tweet and bam! A worm was caught by all the other twitter users. And it wasnt even done intentiionally, imagine if it were done? The numerous things that can occur. Well thanks for sharing!
Lenny H

Electronic Record- Keeping Alone May not Boost Health Care - 3 views

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    This article deals with the situation of Electronic Health Records in relation to Health Care. The use of this Information Technology according to the article has done very little to improve the health care service and those who have health care. Records and studies have proven that the use of this software has be associated with western states. Stanford researches have shown that the increase use of Electronic Health Records has not improved the quality of heath care services. This is caused because of the software's highly complicated software that is currently being interacted and used with doctors that aren't well trained with the system. Because of this lack of knowledge and skill of the system, doctors could not use all of the capabilities of the system. Overall, the article argues that the government should focus more on the quality of the Electronic Health Record software in relation with how doctors approach it, rather than just getting and replacing Health records with Electronic technology. There are a variety of stake holders in relation to the Electronic Health Record software. Those doctors who do not know how to fully interact with the system are the main stakeholders. The lack of training and the lack of full interaction with the system does not allow for the doctors to use the software to it's full capabilities. Another stakeholder would have to patience who have their medical records on these Electronic software systems. They have to rely on the doctors using the software to keep their data and to keep their records to date. However, another main stakeholder would be the government who is currently trying to create a better health care system by providing doctors with the Electronic Health Records. Because the government has good intentions to create a better health care system and a better medical situation for patience, they are being affected when they are unaware that this software is not being used to its full capabilities. Because of this,
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    the health care system is not changing or becoming better. Social and Ethical issues are presented in the Article. The first Social and Ethical Issue presented would have to be Reliability. The government is relying on these Electronic Health Record systems in order to create a better health care service for those in the United States. However, this reliability is currently being challenged when doctors and those who work in relation to the IT system are not able to work with it to its full capabilities because of its challenging and highly technical operations. Another Social and Ethical issue that arises is digital divide. The government is in pursuit to allow and get all doctors to use this system in order to remove the divide and create a better health care service. Solutions are given in the article, where current researches at Stanford say that they should focus on training those doctors to operate their systems or the Electronic Health Records to create a better health care service.
Mitchell Springer

The Precautionary Principle - A Realistic Solution to Cell Phone Radiation? - 0 views

  • Cell Phone
  • those who frequently use cell phones on a certain side of their head are 50% more likely than non-cell-phone-users to develop a tumor in the salivary gland on that side of the head.
    • Mitchell Springer
       
      people are frequently on their cell phones for many reasons and most of the time they have the cell phone on a specific side of their head without the knowledge of the radition coming from the cell phone can be harmful to their body
  • the precautionary principle suggests practices such as using a wired headset instead of a Bluetooth earpiece, and enabling the speaker function rather than holding the phone to your ear. In addition, rather than storing the cell phone in your pocket, keep the phone away from your body between calls. Paramount to the precautionary principle is to limit the use of cell phones whenever possible. Make fewer calls and make shorter ones. Choose a cell phone with low-radiation and limit children's cell phone usage, since their brain cells may be more sensitive to the effects of cell phone radiation.
    • Mitchell Springer
       
      suggested solutions are that wired headset to be used over bluetooth earpiece, placing the phone on speaker when in a call, keep the phone away form the body in between calls, give childreen cell phone that emitt low-radiation and limit their cell phone usage since their brain cells are more senstitive to the radiation effects at a young age
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Cell phones and other hand held devices are rapidly becoming a part of our culture. Cell phones are everywhere. They are used by 87 percent of Americans and over 4 billion people worldwide. Students in high school and now even grade school children are using cell phones to talk to each other, and text messaging has become a social norm. We are addicted to cell phones.
    • Mitchell Springer
       
      introducing cell phones to younger children can create a risk factor on their health in the future. since they would want to be more so engaged with the cell phone now that they obtain one, the radiation will spill out faster onto them and it may have a greater effect on the body than to an older person
  • New technologies are emerging to shield the electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from cell phones and other electronic devices. Certain chips can be attached to cell phones and earpieces to counteract the EMR, and special paint coated on your walls can limit EMR from adjacent apartments seeping into yours. These shields may help you if you stay behind them. Those who like to roam can wear special headbands, clothing, hats, gloves, and pendants designed to protect the wearer against radiofrequencies and EMR
    • Mitchell Springer
       
      cell phone accessories can be used to help prevent the EMR (elecrtomagnetic radiation) from being emitted from the cell phone onto the users body
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    i claim this article in the name of the father, the holy ghost, the mitchell and the springer
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    Research for Criterion D--evaluate the solution
Jialin C

Google Reports on Government Requests and Censorship - NYTimes.com - 2 views

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    Google has came up with a tool in which people can view the government's censorships. It keeps track of how many times the government has requested for Google to take down certain information due to privacy.
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    Strand 1: 1.2: Security: Google isn't secure if they put statistics and a counter on how many times they were asked to take information down. 1.7 surveillance: Governments don't want to be monitored and therefore, many of them refuse to share whether or not their censorship demands. 1.3 Privacy and anonymity: Google created this tool which keeps track of how many different countries would want their government "secrets" and policies to be taken down; there fore, google does respect that to a certain extent. Although, many countries do make a huge number of requests for their data to be taken down. Strand 2: 2.6:This Google transparency tool can be used to view the demands and requests of data been removed by specific countries and their governments. Stakeholders: Google is the organization that created such a tool. And it's main purpose was to show the world that censorship and privacy is asked for by many. The governments around the world are asking for either data requests to be taken off, or data requests based on their country from the transparency tool. Strand 3: 3.4 Internet: it plays the main role of how Google puts up too much information and due to privacy and surveillance issues, the IT system is shown as a map that organizes the lack of information that can be seen by viewers and the amount of information that are taken off due to requests.
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    Please go back and "cache" this page. I see by the URL that this is a blog. Although the lines between bloggers and journalists are somewhat blurred these days, blogs are usually opinion pieces and not considered journalism in the same way as edited news items. For example, this summer, you blogged on the NY Times site. That wasn't "news" it was your opinion about what you read about what was happening.
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