Technology

The Internet is a powerful learning tool that students of all ages may benefit from. As professionals and housewives join online universities, doctors and nurses use Personal Digital Assistants and nursing informatics that are based on the Internet not only to ease communicationbut also to access critical information. As a matter of fact, all professions that rely on ongoing education may benefit from the Internet. No longer is classroom education considered a necessity. Moreover, research findings have revealed that students are nowadays increasingly using the Internet as a fundamental study aid both inside and outside the classroom (Lenhart, Simon,  Graziano, 2001).
 In the year 2000, a study was conducted by Pew Internet  American Life Project to understand the benefits of the Internet in education. A total of 754 students between the ages, 12 to 17, were interviewed as part of the study. According to the findings, 94 of students were using the Internet to conduct school research, while 78 believed that the Internet truly assists them with school work. Additionally, 71 of the students reported that they were using the Internet as an important source for their school reports as well as projects. A total of 41 mentioned that they used the Internet to contact their classmates in addition to teachers with essential questions related to school work. What is more, 34 of the students reported that they had downloaded online study aids, while 58 reported their use of websites that had been set up especially for their schools or particular classes (Lenhart, Simon,  Graziano).
 I believe that more students must be using the Internet today.  Besides, the benefits of the Internet for students are not limited to teenagers. College and university students are similarly known to benefit from the Internet. I, too, am one of those fortunate students, and intend to go on using the Internet for lifelong learning.
Email Ethics at Work
     Certainly, electronic communication is superior to paper communication and word of mouth, its main advantage being speed.  Schedules and individual assignments are easily communicated by electronic means.  If, for example, a technical support team must deal with a matter urgently, email notifications are speedier for everybody to retrieve.  In fact, members of the team that are online could be reached instantly by email.  It may be chaotic without emails notifying staff to organize themselves according to the situation at hand.  What if a junior organizational member had to be sent to knock on each team members office door to call his or her attention to the problem at hand
     Although electronic messaging is meant to reduce organizational errors as staff receives updated information directly from managers  depending on the stresses faced by staff, it is quite likely for at least some of the communication to turn unprofessional, especially if there have been problems with schedules.  If an organizational issue goes bad and fiery words are exchanged by means of email, regardless of the nature of the problem it is bound to get worse as people react to online messages with speed and emotion, which is why face to face communication is considered superior in such situations (Vleck, 1995).  In professional emails, therefore, each member of the organization is required to mind his or her manners watch his or her tone be to-the-point or concise ask whether the receiver is willing to open attachments (unless the job at hand requires them to be sent) and check for spelling and grammar mistakes.  What is more, personal email communication may consist of emotions or even emoticons, which professional communication must not consist of (McKay, 2009).  In short, it is work ethic that matters most in organizational emails.  I hope I never forget to observe this rule in my professional life.  
Business Made Easy with Business Intelligence Software
     I feel honored to be enjoying the Information Age, and look forward to my professional life with amazing application software to work with.  One of the technological breakthroughs is the business intelligence software.  Business intelligence refers to activities undertaken by a business to gather essential information about its competitors or the market.  Business intelligence systems, on the other hand, tend to be interdepartmental information gatherers.  With an emphasis on speedy retrieval of information, these technologies rely on data fed into them by data gatherers to relay to departments that require this information.  But, these systems may also perform the data mining function on their own before crunching that data in a highly efficient manner.  For example, business intelligence software may be designed to gather important information about competitors (McGuigan, 2009).  Likewise, this technology makes it possible for the business to predict future scenarios with predictive analytics, combining data mining and statistical analysis (Kelly, 2009). 
     Thus, business intelligence software is not only useful in collecting and disseminating information between separate departments, running reports, and making predictions based on past performance but also in conducting analyses of the external environment of the company, including market analysis based on latest economic trends (King, 2009).  Moreover, this technology is meant to help the organization with customer relationship management.  After all, employees using the system are able to speedily retrieve necessary information in order to satisfy customers (Jasra, 2009).  I would add that this software must undoubtedly satisfy both the user and the customer.  Business efficiency must undoubtedly benefit everybody.


All Files Reduced to the Size of a Thumb
     I have been using the C drive to manage all of my files for college. This is because the thumb or flash drive lacks compatibility with the operating system installed on my computer Windows 98. However, I have learned that I may purchase a thumb drive that is equipped with the software required to install a Windows 98 drive on my computer within sixty seconds (What is a Thumb Drive, 2009).
 Although I am not a user as yet, I understand that the thumb drive could provide great benefits to the student who uses it to store coursework. Using the thumb drive, a student may store his or her coursework for an entire year or even longer (Burns, 2007). The thumb drive may accommodate up to eight gigabytes, although most students may want to settle for 256 to 512 megabytes. Besides, the thumb drive is almost never scratched. It is the size of a thumb, so therefore students may carry it anywhere they want (What is a Thumb Drive). And, if their computers ever crash, the thumb drive would continue to hold their course material for them.
 Another important advantage of the thumb drive for students is that the drive is re-writable. Students do not have to buy new drives once they have completed the courses that they used their drives for. The material for their new courses may be stored into the old drives, allowing them to save money (What is a Thumb Drive). At the same time, however, students must be careful not to lose their thumb drives. Because these drives are exceptionally small, it is easy for students to misplace them. Hence, I would not recommend the thumb drive to a friend if he or she happens to be an absent minded individual.  Then again, components of the system unit require care and management lest they fail us.  My absent minded friends would automatically learn this lesson if they misplace their thumb drives containing important assignments.

Technological Power and Abuse of Power
     Rob Milliron, a construction worker, was enjoying his lunch in an entertainment area of Tampa, Florida, when a government camera equipped with face recognition technology took his photograph.  The photo was used without Millirons consent in an article published in the U.S. News  World Report.  When a woman in Oklahoma misidentified Milliron after seeing that photo and contacted the police to have him arrested on child neglect charges, the man in the picture was forced to explain his innocence to law enforcement agencies.  He told a newspaper once his explanation had been accepted They made me feel like a criminal (Alexander  Richert-Boe). 
     This case raises ethical concerns regarding use of facial recognition surveillance.  Although common use of this technology is yet to be realized, its future in areas of security and public safety appears rather promising.  However, as Millirons case shows, there are issues of legality with reference to face recognition surveillance.  We have to bring into consideration the Fourth Amendment to understand these issues (Bennett, 2001).  
     The United States Supreme Court held in Katz v. United States that the Fourth Amendment would afford constitutional protection in those areas in which an individual reasonably expects privacy (Bennett).  Of course, Milliron should not have expected privacy in a public place.  Even so, his photograph was used without his consent.  It was an invasion of Millirons privacy to publish the photo.  Hence, this case shows that the power of input devises such as face recognition technology must not be abused.  Damaging individuals with computing devices is a crime, regardless of the identity of the criminal.  Let us hope that everybody using powerful input devices  including my community  bears Milliron in mind.  I would not want to be in his place.
Imagine Workplaces without Printers
     Although there are various models provided by textbooks to understand and measure organizational effectiveness, the basic meaning of organizational effectiveness remains unchanged It is for the organization to be doing everything that it knows how to do, and to be doing it well.  The organization knows how to manage its employees, and manufacture the products or provide the services that it originally set out to manufacture or provide.  However, in order to be effective in its operations, the organization should be managing its employees well, and manufacturing good quality products or providing high quality services to its customers.  What is more, in the business environment today, the organization that is effective in its operations must be efficiently and productively using information technology.  This is, in fact, one of the requirements of organizational effectiveness (Helms). 
     Computers, with their input and output devices, help to organize plans, letters, legal documents, articles, and countless other files including indispensable information.  In other words, computing helps to modernize as well as simplify the whole process of working with documents.  Thus, the organization is able to do its job well, seeing that computers are designed to perform routine tasks that humans might perform only with mistakes because they dislike and get easily wearied with monotonous assignments.  What is more, time is money in the business world.  By using computers to handle routine tasks with speed, the organization is using its human resources for jobs that only skilled human beings would be able to handle.  Hence, everything at the organization runs well. 
     Can you imagine a workplace without printers  I certainly would not agree to work there.  I know that an organization that lacks access to a basic output device such as a printer is an ineffective one.  I would buy a printer for that organization if I must work there.  
Storage of Personal Data Positive or Largely Negative
     The fact that computer privacy is endangered in the era of abundant usage of information systems sheds negative light on the use of these systems. Unsurprisingly, countless individuals and organizations must shirk the use of information systems for this reason. Organizations where computer privacy is at risk may have to pay a heavy price for security breaches.
     Hollinger (2006) writes about a law in New Hampshire to fight the dangers of breach of data and information through the use of information systems. In effect since January 1, 2007, new sections to the right-to-privacy statute require businesses to promptly inform individuals that are likely to be affected by a breach of data and information (Hollinger). Even if a business is unsure that the stolen information would be misused, this requirement of the law stands. Individuals whose personal data has been stolen may be informed in writing, by email, or by telephone with a description of the incident, date of the breach, type of personal information accessed, and a telephone contact (Hollinger). If there are more than one thousand people who may be affected by the breach of data and information, and the total cost to be borne by the business for notifying them exceeds 5,000, the law allows statewide publication of the incident through a newspaper, website or electronic newsletter. Moreover, regulated businesses must inform their primary regulators about the security breach. Other businesses are required to inform the New Hampshire attorney generals office (Hollinger). If a business fails to meet all requirements of the new law, it may be subjected to severe penalties (Hollinger). 
     Of course, the organization also loses community goodwill if such a case is publicized.  Thus, storage of information on computerized systems could be very costly, even though the nature of the business may require storage of personal information about stakeholders.  I would feel very anxious if my doctor or bank informs me about a security breach that affects me.
The Miracle of Computer Communication in Coping with Disease
     Computers do not only connect people in business, schools, and healthcare centers, but also in their homes.  Individuals suffering from a particular disease may form their own support groups to gather invaluable information that may help them cope with the disease.  I personally know an individual who has had first-hand experience with such groups.  According to this person  a terminally ill patient  such groups are essential because family and friends may not always understand or have time to comprehend the psychology of the patient.  Chat support groups for women that are suffering from breast cancer have been scientifically proven as successful.  These support groups are known to have helped women suffering from breast cancer to experience a reduction in depression.  I have been further informed that even pain reactions may be reduced when many women suffering from the same illness use the Internet to chat with each other, thereby forming unique support systems for themselves.
     An Internet-based support system allows ailing individuals to feel safe, as they may hide their real identities if they must.  Chatting with some of the individuals using the system reveals that safety and anonymity are matters of great import for a terminally ill patient.  Because some of the patients believe in keeping their illness an absolute secret  to the extent that even their family and friends are unaware of the real problems they are confronting  computer communication using the Internet is an avenue for such individuals to get the emotional support they require, regardless of their face-to-face, personal relationships. 
     I commend the developers of such chat rooms.  In fact, I am urged to call them Christ-like.  Computer communication is, indeed, a miracle.  Moreover, it allows us to remember that we are never alone, regardless of what we face in our personal lives.  Computer communication connects us with the entire world.