According to Alexander Vo, an associate professor in preventive medicine and community health, telemedicine is a helpful measure to be taken in order to help patients from a remote location. However, he says that problems have arose when telemedicine was used in relation to diaster relief. One example given is the earthquake in Haiti, when many technologies were donated by companies in order to promote the use of telemedicine for immediate disaster relief. Vo says that this technology was not used, especially within the first few weeks, because the locations were staffed with enough doctors. Further, even if the technology could be used, the doctors were not trained to use it, and there was no time to train them at that moment.Only after the voluntary doctors went back to their home towns could they be of any use in regard to telemedicine. The patients in need of special care could then connect with the doctors in the remote areas, however, there could be problems if the internet was down, or if the necessary hardware was destroyed due to the diaster. Even though the egagement in telemedicine was not the best for Haiti, it was seen to be of great help for a hurricane in Texas recently. Vo explains that telemedicine was successful because it was already established within the communities. The technology was available throughout the affected areas, and could be put to use immediately. The use of cell phones was also crucial, because many of the patients had pre-established access to doctors who could help diagnose and alleviate the problems of the patients in affected areas. Because the protocols were established prior to the disasters, the care was planed out to be available to the most amount of patients. Plans in advance can also taken into account the problem of damaged internet service, cables, and networks, and determine what the best plan of action is given the situation. Thus, the relief would allow the affected area to be back on track quickly, and efficientl

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

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.

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

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.

This article is primarily concerned with the announcement of two companies, Tieto and Siemens, joining in an outsourcing contract. According to the article this is done in order to increase the business benefits. In the perspective of business, the move is more profitable, and allows both companies to expand globally in term of the audience. The two companies are well known, especially for certain groups of people, so by joining some aspects of their business, they will be able to join their individual audiences. By the companies working together and using employers from both businesses then they will be able to generate a larger acceptance and recognition. Globalization makes this possible, and optimizes the profit and efficiency of both companies. However, it can lead to problems involving the jobs of the people who work at either of the two companies. Tieto, specifically, is using forty of the workers from Nokia Siemens. This means that jobs will be lost from the people who work at the original company. Instead of giving the jobs to people at the headquarters, the jobs will go to the people off site. This will benefit the companies, as it is the most beneficial business scenario, but will take a toll on the lives of the unemployed. However, the amount of jobs that are being added in one company and taken away in the other company is very small in comparison to a much larger company that needs to expand greatly. The use of VOIP and the internet itself allows the smooth interaction between the two companies and with the growth of IT, more and more methods will be introduced for the companies to interact without leaving their respective office. Because Nokia and Tieto have been partners for several years, they have been utlizing these methods of communication that are different from having everything on site and going to meetings in person. Yet, they have decided that the partnership, using outsourcing, is the best possible way for both companies to grow. Thus, outs

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.

Elisavet's post had to do with the censorship of China. Personally, I think that being in America has had a great effect on what we think is fair and unfair in relation to freedom. We have never had censorship to the extent that it is in China, even if we are faced with some in school or other places. Information has always been on our finger tips, even some that criticizes the government or other events that occur in America. It is very interesting to see all of the sides of the story, and to make our own opinions of it, rather than to just believe the one and only source of information that the government provides us. This is a very important right that we have in our society, what would we do if we didn't have it anymore?

The article is primarily about the increased usage of social networking sites for altruistic advances. Sites like Twitter and Facebook have become sources of information for people to discuss and come up with relief for the disasters occurring all over the world. Due to the increased usage of these networks, the perfect "central" location to reach out to many groups of people seems like the best option. According to the article, this is a great advancement and benefit for situations such as the disaster in Haiti. Facebook has reported that they have raised "hundreds of thousands" of dollars for the cause through "status updates, chat and micropayment systems." Twitter, specifically, is a method for people to share their motivational bits in their short Tweet updates. The article also brings about current effort of raising awareness and gaining a greater volunteer network for the upcoming Martin Luther Day holiday, for the Corporation for National Community Service. Most importantly, the end of the article brings about a great benefit of using the social networks to connect anyone in the world who wants to help, even if they are thousands of miles away. As seen, the hours spent online every week can be finally put to use for the greater good.

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."

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

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."