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Karen M

Armies of Expensive Lawyers, Replaced by Cheaper Software - 4 views

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    The stakeholders in this article are lawyers, clients, the software developers, and law firms. The social and ethical issue is people and machines, more specifically, the fact that software is replacing the work of "armies of expensive lawyers." The area of impact is business and employment. The issue here is that law firms are now starting to use this new software in order to replace spending a lot of money of many lawyers to get the same job done. Law firms are able to save their money by investing in this software instead of multiple lawyers. They are also able to save time because the software is able to go through information faster than humans are able to. Clients are also able to save their money because they are paying law firms less to get the same job done. This is a chain reaction. The software developers are also able to make more money now that this is becoming more popular because they are able to continue building on and improving the software they have now and then selling it later on. The issue is that lawyers are being replaced by this new software. A job that used to take 500 lawyers, could now take 1 lawyer, along with this new software. This is an important issue to pay attention to because eventually it might lead to unemployment, even though there are no signs of it now.
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    This was a pretty interesting article and I actually enjoyed reading it. You seem to have hit all the points and from the article what really stood out to me was when Bill Herr said,"People get bored, people get headaches. Computers don't." This is basically the issue that we are faced with when losing jobs. For those jobs that are repetitive is is more efficent and time saving to have a robot rather than a person doing the job. You hit this point by saying, "A job that used to take 500 lawyers, could now take 1 lawyer, along with this new software." Though I wonder if this is completely a bad thing. You say it is and important issue because it can lead to unemployment, but isn't it also the case that new jobs would arise? Would those jobs be able replace or be more than what was lost?
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.
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.
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
sarah d

AML Case Study: New Way to Fight Fraud - 3 views

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    The IT system is the behavior-based software that uses artificial intelligence. the stakeholders are the bank implementing this software and the customers of the bank. The area of impact is business and employment, specifically banking. The issue with the use of this system is reliability. If this software is not reliable, then the customers at the bank are less protected from fraud. Also an issue that arises from the use of this system is security. The use of this system is to protect against fraud. However, if the computer becomes insecure, fraud would not be detected. 
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    This is a really interesting case. Although it's not robots that one can see that are being used, banks are using artificial intelligence to help them recognize patterns and catch fraudulent people. Small banks are the real stakeholders in this case, and they want to protect their customers and their finances. The automation of the fraud-catching has given the banks more time and makes it easier to handle all the paperwork necessary for a case.
Kristin O

Cyberthieves Silently Copy Your Passwords as You Type - New York Times - 1 views

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    new technique for stealing passwords from users uses special key stroke software that reads the password. In brazil 50 people were arrested for using this software to send peoples infromation to gangs in the area
Kristin O

BBC NEWS | Business | HSBC bank 'to offshore more jobs' - 0 views

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    This article is about HSBC's pplans to keep outsorucing clerical jobs in diferent countries. This has many owrkers upset because they feel this is eliminating their jobs and putting caps on their wages. THe social and ethical issues involved are Equality of Access and Policies and Standards. There are impacts on the Bank as well. There is the economic impact, they are saving alot of money for setting up call centers they save about $20,000 - $30,000 per job it moved into the call center. There is a psycological impact the bank has to deal with and that is of their unhappy workeres in their base country. Finally there is a global impact, with more call centers the bank may be able to gain new customers in those countries. THe relevant stakeholders besides the banks are, the workers of HSBC bank, customers of the bank, politicians and media, other countries where centers are set up. This includes, India, China, Malaysia, Phillipines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The primary IT System are the call centers. This involves the use of WANs and LANs. There are also vairous ways in which call centers can be set up. They can use cloud computing or even be created virtually through the development of software as a service. The employee would only have to susbscirbe to a software that would allow them to work in the center, this makes it easier to receive updates as well.
Ariel A

EHR Software- Electronic Health Care Record Software System - 0 views

shared by Ariel A on 07 Feb 11 - Cached
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    EHR software is basically a program that allows the user which can be a patient or doctor to update information regarding there health issues. This program is secure for only the doctor and patient and not viewed in public. This information remains private with fast accessibility and easier use of storing data. EHR solves the problem of losing paper and pen sheet information that is valuable. One can just go to the doctor and the information can be placed as fast as searching for the best way to handle a certain sickness more effective with an online source of various information that would enhance better results in curing a sick patient. EHR Reliability is safe in the sense that its use of functioning for organizing data as been beneficial for the medical industry as a whole.
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    Ariel, this is not a news source. Stick to vetted newspapers or very reputable bloggers who are considered journalists. Also, I expected that you would use the ITGS Triangle to guide your summary.
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.
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Software blocks car phone users - 0 views

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    "A safety device which prevents drivers using mobile phones by automatically intercepting calls and text messages when they are moving has been unveiled. The software tells callers the person they are trying to reach is driving and asks them to leave a message. "
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
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Europe | A supermarket, but not as we know it - 0 views

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    With free software from the supermarket, the telephone has been transformed into a mobile shopping assistant. Using the camera on the phone, Dagmar can scan the barcodes of her own shopping.
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    With free software from the supermarket, the telephone has been transformed into a mobile shopping assistant. Using the camera on the phone, Dagmar can scan the barcodes of her own shopping.
Mariam B

How Good Software makes us Stupid - 1 views

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    This article discusses the drawbacks of using digital technology as a mode of acquiring knowledge. Although many believe that the emergence of digital technology allows individuals to increase their knowledge through the use of navigation devices and laptops, studies show how our intellectual capacity of storing and memorizing information is suddenly decreasing due to our dependancy on such devices.
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    Within our current society, individuals are very dependent on their digital devices in order to provide them with knowledge. However, studies prove that the more reliant we become on this technology our ability to calculate, process, and store information decreases. We resort to our laptops, cellphones, and navigational system devices in order to find out how to get to a certain location or to quickly gain some information about a certain topic. This article investigates the social and ethical concerns involving people and machines: individuals are able to access knowledge, gain answers to their questions, and fulfill their curiosity using digital devices. This is beneficial in the way that we able to expand our knowledge on a variety of separate topics in a generally fast and efficient way. However a drawback that is triggered through the continuous use of this technology is the dependancy on using it as the only mode of gaining information. Traditional means of reading a newspaper or book have been abandoned and many individuals have resorted to search engines on the internet. This alternately limits our in-depth knowledge on a focused subject. The stake holders in this case are taxi driver who would usually memorize highways and routes to various places within a city have adopted to using their GPS as a easy guide to reach their destination. Additionally students, parents, and many organizations also often just use their digital devices such as the GPS, cellphones and their laptops to get quick answers. This article explores the use of IT in the process of teaching and learning. We are using our digital devices to learn from online forums and research from search engines like google. Individuals immediately turn to technology to search up the answer to a question that they have. Additionally it concerns the idea of mapping virtual globes through the use of GPS, taxi cab drivers are able to locate the destination that the passenger wants to arrive at.
Elisavet M

Offshore Outsourcing's Next New Wave: How High? - 1 views

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    The emergence of Business process outsourcing has transfigured the ways in which companies in developed nations, expand their services globally to businesses in developing nations. Although the cost for labor to support the extension of company engagement in third world countries is acknowledged as being relatively low (a beneficial advantage to most established business corporations), it has come to the attention of the participants (Businesses of developed countries) that it is of major importance to fully recognize the boundaries of business practices, culture, and level of intellectuality and experience within the hired portion of developing nation populace. Companies of information technology services, such as Dell, have come to form heightened concern about such global barriers, having attempted to transition call center labor in India and then deciding upon the withdrawal of such communication employment (due to the lack of consideration of business and cultural differences that impact business results). Based upon the data provided by NASSCOM (Indian software and services trade association), the conclusions drawn positively indicate that Business offshore processing has an overwhelming potential to grow in the next couple of years; although there is much room needed for consistent business growth (developing businesses, such as BPO in India, must rise at least 30 percent), the progression lies mainly upon the driving increase of skillful and educated information technology workers within India. The stakeholders, Information technology businesses in developed nations, surely stand by their statement supporting the increased use of qualified employers in the business environment of developing nations' companies (considered to also be additional stakeholders), for this will lower the cost involved in the off shoring process. The main social and ethical considerations lie upon reliability of developing nations'
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    My entire post was not posted on diigo, so here is the continuation: business functions, as developed countries' companies increasingly form reliance and trust upon the promise of the elevating skilled labor class, for it is a major component that supports the foundation of software and hardware services and networks on a globally connected basis. The reliability built within the business partnerships and bonds established in two differing cultural environments, is founded upon the agreement of mutual advancement and progress in regards to the establishment of skill by developing nations' employees. Although, the system of globalization and cultural diversity surface the obstacle of continuous intellectual and business development for developing nations, it is the gesture of surpassing cultural and business ideology that will truly trial both stakeholders involved.
Madeline Brownstone

Telemedicine: the gift of time - 4 views

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    "What IBM has shown is that with some simple off-the-shelf components and some clever software, telemedicine can give patients back one of the most precious things their treatment takes from them: their time."
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    But not everyone on dialysis now needs to visit the hospital every other day. Jonas Drawitsch lives 40km from Heidelberg's children's clinic but thanks to a system set up by IBM, he puts in his six hours of dialysis during his sleep and doctors check his progress at a distance. Every day Jonas takes his blood pressure and weighs himself. The measurements go via bluetooth to a mobile phone which then sends the information to the hospital.
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Norway tests laptop exam scheme - 0 views

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    "The secondary students are given a laptop by the government when they turn 16 to help them with schoolwork. During exams the specially-tailored software springs into life to block and record any attempt at cheating. "
Madeline Brownstone

BBC NEWS | Technology | Helping the deaf to 'see sound' - 0 views

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    "Deaf children have been testing software that enables them to see a visual representation of sound waves. Called Lumisonic the software translates sound waves into circles that radiate on a display. It creates a real time representation of sound and is designed to elicit responses quickly in the human brain. "
Madeline Brownstone

BlackBerry Spy Software Hits the Market | Reuters - 2 views

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    Can't be a good portfolio article because it is a product announcement.
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    Interesting software. BUT!! Can't be a good portfolio article because it is a product announcement.
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