Group items tagged

1.11_people_machines 1.12_digital_citizenship 2.2_edu_training 2.2_hw_networks_classroom

1.11_people_machines 1.6_digital_div_equ_access 2.2_IT_teach_learn 3.2 _software

Stakeholders: Students Advantages for students Productivity applications and textbooks are available to download online - easy global Access. the files are digital, so they can be transfered easily The online texbooks are safe from physical dangers, such as fires Convenience - being able to access iTunes U (university level resources) and the internet Saving time - files in an electronic format can be edited, searched and backed up easily. Disadvantages for students Although the files are safe, the iBook itself is still susceptible to physical damage The files may be corrupt Battery power failures and technical problems (they don't happen with physical notebooks) Access to internet and resources may depend on whether the space has wireless Access to games and rich interactive productivity applications can become the norm. Thence users' attention span may decrease The cost of product, of electronic textbooks and applications is the major issue From an evaluative point of view, I think that using a portable electronic device in place of a physical textbook would not benefit the students very much. The values a teacher is looking for are the ability to focus and listen, and the iBook could encourage the student to run parallel tasks at inappropriate times. The device would not be suitable for younger audiences, and in my opinion, it would contribute to a child being spoiled. Rather more mature users would benefit from this product, because they are more conscious of its function and, most importantly, the price they had to pay for it. Other stakeholders may include Apple, educators and digital course material publishers.

1.11_people_machines 2.3_environment 2.3_ewaste 3.1_hardware

1.11_people_machines 1.9_policies 2.3_ewaste 3.1_hardware

I could never thought that such things could lead to such problems! This social and ethical issue (people and machines) is surely affecting the world around us, not only use but the environment as well. Not everyone is aware of this, that these electronics can lead to a lot of harm! Yet, even if more people would be aware of this, I don't think anything special would be made to reduce so many pollution and harm to the society as people are becoming so dependent of technology that eventhough they would like to reduce such pollution, they wouldn't abdicate their electronics in order to reduce pollution (in my opinion) Furthermore, technology has been increasing rapidly and will continue to increase even more. This means that more pollution due to more electronics will be made. The question is, for how long will Earth continue 'alive'? Because by this passe, how technology and pollution is increasing drastically, not many more centuries.

Year 13 please suggest tags

Apple is my first choice for Mp3 players, laptops etc therefore it is good to see that they are concerned with the environment and has put in a lot of effort to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions especially now that Global warming is a major issue in society. However, it would also be nice to see Apple produce their products in a way which did not affect workers rights. I found a story which claims various Chinese workers are exploited, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/apr/30/apple-chinese-factory-workers-suicides-humiliation

Interesting link Jorge.

"This is an innovative technique which is going to bring a great advance,"

Here's a proof of how technology is increasing. Who would think, lots of years ago, that such thing would be possible. This technique consists of "implanting a microchip into the human brain to translate the nerve pulses into electric pulses, making it possible for the patient to move robotic prosthetics" which means that technoogy has increase to the point that even microchip's can by implanted in order to be able to move robotic prosthetics! Would this mean than in unknown years time, our body will be taken over by robotic implants, therefore humans would be taken over by robots? Yet, despite that, this is a great advantage for people who don't have arms or have arm problems, with this, they will be able to do what they always wanted with their robotic arm just like normal people!

I do not think that "humans would be taken over by robots". As long as we keep our emotions and all the other things that makes us human, we will not become robots. Anyway. This is a great leap forward in prosthetic and one, if successful, will help a great many people. It is going to take time to perfect though, at the moment I doubt they are able to do this without bugs. Here is a link to a duke article on "Monkey Adapt Robot Arm as Their Own" http://today.duke.edu/2005/05/monkeyrobot.html

The main social and ethical issue that this article brings up is that of people and machines. The fact that Kodak has declared bankruptcy is hardly surprising, as though they were the company who worked so hard to develop the world of photography, they have failed to develop themselves in order to adapt to the new world of photography, while other companies such as nikon, samsung etc, have by constantly creating new digital cameras with new attractive features. This article is recent story of how Kodak are trying to sue Samsung for potentially infringing one of their patents: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16631710 This article is prime example of how having an innovative idea is simply not enough to be successful over an elongated period of time: Just because Kodak had the idea of digital photography, that does not mean that they did not have to compete with other companies to remain the leading brand in photography. It seems to me that Kodak's complacency after having had the idea of digital photography led to their downfall. Explain the relationship between the IT system (digital photography) and the social/ethical (people and machines) The article shows how for the the public to continue to have an interest in machines such as digital cameras, they must continue to be developed, improved, updated and upgraded, as the appeal of new technology attracts customers. In this case, Kodak failed to keep up with the rate at which the world of digital photography is evolving.

http://gigaom.com/2012/01/19/why-kodaks-bankruptcy-should-scare-nokia/ Is Nokia the Kodak of the mobile phone world?

"For more than two years, the disappearance of Air France Flight 447 over the mid-Atlantic in the early hours of June 1, 2009, remained one of aviation's great mysteries. How could a technologically state-of-the art airliner simply vanish? "

This article presents us the feedback system of the airplane's autopilot. According to the reliable source of wikianswers, feedback is when The input is adjusted based on the output of the system so as to achieve a certain end, like minimizing disturbance, cancelling echo (in a speech system) and so on. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_feedback_system#ixzz1jUMOZkrU Here is how the autopilot system works: Through the various sensors and measuring instruments located in the body of the airplane, data such as "such as groundspeed, altitude, engine settings, and rate of climb" is logged in real-time. This data is sent to the processor of the pilot's computer It is then processed and the computer stipulates what controls to actuate in order to stabilise flight "The Airbus is a fly-by-wire plane; the control inputs are not fed directly to the control surfaces, but to a computer, which then in turn commands actuators that move the ailerons, rudder, elevator, and flaps." (the processor requests the output controls to be carried out)

As technology is increasing, robots are becoming more and more used in our society. This has impacted our world in many ways such as more machinery is being used in order to produce goods. This can lead to unemployment since less people are required to work in this industries as machines have taken the role. "The latest version of Honda's Asimo robot is reported to be able to distinguish between the voices of three different people spoken at once by using a combination of face recognition and sound analysis" By this quote taken from this article, we can see that robots are starting to resemble more to humans such that they can now distinguish between voices of three different people spoken at once. This is a social and ethical issue since machines such as robots are taking the role of human beings. The question is, for how long more is technology going to continue to increase? Are human beings on their way to extinction?

As the article states, there are numerous robots that could perform tasks such as serving drinks (Asimo), teaching psychology (Nao), and replacing infantry (Petman). There is a danger of becoming overly dependent on technology. As we have discussed in class, the inherent characteristics of computers are that they will only do what they programmed to, regardless of the identity and intentions of the user. Also, both the computer and the user (if not equipped with appropriate technical know-how) become very vulnerable if the system malfunctions in a way that was not predicted. In tasks too dangerous to be directly undertaken by human beings, such as operating valves at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, robotics become essential. Companies need to strike a balance between commercialisation and what is truly necessary for the benfit of humanity.

In the field of medicine, robotic surgery is becoming increasingly popular: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/13/10150612-robot-surgeons-may-get-upgraded

Also, here's a link to another article explaining about how google's self-driving car works.

I'm a bit curious Jorge, how would this invade the privacy of some? This is an amazing technological improvement, it will be interesting to see what happens in the future with this. This is a quite good article on how it works http://news.discovery.com/autos/how-google-self-driving-car-works-111018.html

Because the car records it's position using the GPS, if a black hacker is able to get hold of this information the owner of the car could be put at risk.

Someone reportedly tampers with a demo iPhone 4S so that when a 12-year-old boy picks it up and asks Siri a question, she is not amused or amusing. She tells him to 'Shut the f*** up.' Read this blog post by Chris Matyszczyk on Technically Incorrect.

The main social and ethical issues are integrity of the system, security, and people and machines. Although I do not own an iPhone 4S, I would imagine it the product had been hacked and its set-up instructions had been reprogrammed by a user who is extremely knowledgeable on issues such as encryption and programming know-how. Perhaps because the iPhone referred to in the news story was a "demonstration" version, I suppose its encryption levels are not as powerful as the real product (Apple would have to invest less money in manufacturing). However, there is a much simpler explanation, according to "MacTrast" (http://www.mactrast.com/2011/12/siri-tells-twelve-year-old-to-shut-the-fck-up-after-pranksters-tamper-with-display-iphone/): Simply changing the name in the contact card by verbalising it (asking Siri "Call me (insert ridiculous statement here)") allows the user to tamper with the phrase voiced by Siri, without having to deal with complicated encryption or validation processes. This means the system itself is integral and works correctly, but the given primary contact's nickname is has been inappropriately altered. To solve this problem, the company should enforce the security of its demo versions of the Siri for iPhone 4S by impossibilitating a deliberate change of contact names and redistribute them across retailers.

"Koreans are really interested in converging and cramming many different functions into a single gadget, and mixing technologies, in order to find novel ways to complete ordinary tasks,"  "Our customers are really busy and many don't have the time to go to the supermarket to do their shopping (...) so our virtual store allows them to save time." Will the virtual store and smartphone app replace the traditional concept of shopping?

"A new ultrasound device could make it easier to detect a potentially life-threatening condition". An excellent example of data-logging applied to a practical real-life situation.

The invention of this device will drastically improve the monitoring of brain related injuries and in particular the one mentioned in the article - vasospasm. The fact that nearly 50% of soldiers who sustain blast injuries can potentially develop vasospasm is more than enough reason for there to be plenty of funding towards the development of this device. It says in the article that "the company plans to make a more rugged version of its commercial device for the battle field." If the company manages to actually develop this, the amount of soldier deaths in the battle field will decrease as the soldiers will be able to get treatment sooner. Within this development the company could have the data be live streamed to the doctors so that they can analyze the data to see if there is any problem. The data can then be stored so that the patient's development can be recorded. As the device is measuring the blood flow in the brain this could also be used to analyze the soldiers brain whilst on the field. This could contribute to developments in other studies of the brain like post-traumatic stress.

"With streaming services now established and a number of web-first companies investing heavily in bespoke and exclusive content, is it time we started speaking of YouTube or Netflix in the same breath as the BBC or Sky?"

Criterion B . Describe, step by step, how the IT system works. 1. Surgically implanted nerves are connected to electrodes placed on the chest area. 2.The nerves prompt electrical signals from the brain to the electrodes. 3. The electrical signals are then interpreted by a micro-processor, into natural movements. More information on how bionic arms work: http://thetartan.org/2008/9/22/scitech/howthingswork

Outline how this IT system works: Essentially, this system consists of hardware (electrodes) that replace the nerves going to and from the brain. Electrodes are connected to the chest muscles which control 6 motors that move the prosthetic joints. When the mind sends a message through the nerves to move a muscle in the arm, the signal causes a muscle in the chest to contract, which activates a certain electrode to tell a motor to move a part of the bionic arm. A more detailed account of how mind-controlled bionics works is here: http://science.howstuffworks.com/bionic-arm.htm This story is a prime example of how IT is being used to radically develop medical research and treatments.

The main social and ethical issue in this article is People and Machines. This new bionic arm which is controlled by the mind is an important development, in this technology, now allowing people who have had to have limbs amputated to have new arms/legs that they can control as they would their original arms/legs. However, due to the fact that it is very new and expensive technology to develop, although it points to the future, at the moment almost no one that would need a bioninc arm would be able to afford it. This means that although it is an essential step forward, at the moment it will not be something that can help the majority of people who most need it. As well as this, the bionic arm, although it is controlled by the mind, it will never be as fluid and will never work as intuitively as your arm.

I agree with the fact that Apple factories are going to face independent inspections. Everyone deserves a good to work at a safe environment, just like Apple's chief executive stated "Workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment.". I think it is a good idea to do so since suicides have occurred in the past and also because "137 workers in eastern China were injured after they used a poisonous chemical - n-hexane - to clean iPhone screens". This shows that the work environment isn't completely safe therefore I agree that Apple factories should be independently inspected.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16832106 This link is explaining that factory conditions for Apple are poor

As Ines pointed out there are some issues with the use of chemicals in Apple factories which make the work environment unsafe to work in however, I believe that if Apple's factories are independently inspected then all other factories should also go through the same process to ensure other factories aren't making employees work in unsafe environments.

Well there is always the fake ipad 3 video to watch: http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/254586/fake-ipad-3-video-likely-more-exciting-next-weeks-real-one