MIS Assignment #16 - Sexting Now Almost Commonplace

MIS Assignment #13 - Tablet take their place in the PC market

Question 1

Computers, using some AI techniques like those we discussed in Chapter 4,can learn. In the classroom while a child is using a tablet PC to learn the basic of addition, how can software be developed to aid in the learning process?

The software can be develop to encourage the kids skills and interaction with learning application. The correct usage of Audio and Visual aid will attract students learning.

“In a supervised environment, children as young as four or five are able to engage in learning activities using smartphones and tablets of all kinds,” says Jeannie Galindo, supervisor of instructional technology for the Manatee County School District in Florida. “In an unsupervised environment, I wouldn't recommend a smartphone or tablet purchase for a child until at least between the ages of 11 and 13.”

Does this mean that teacher are no longer needed for some subjects?

It depends, if guidance and teacher's supervision required.  Not all subjects can be on students self-initiative

Are teachers needed ,in earlier grades while computers-based training can take over in later grades?

Some exclusion can be applied to with proper guidance.

Why or why not

For school-age children, a smartphone or tablet can give them an additional learning layer, beyond the traditional classroom or book. “Smartphones and tablets provide students with multiple opportunities to access content and engage with curriculum,” Galindo says. “They connect students to the world beyond the four walls of their brick and mortar buildings and give them access to real world experts solving real world problems in real time. Technology makes their learning relevant.”

Human emotion and psychological interaction needed to social with the students

Question 2

End-user systems, like those that allow patrons to order meals on an iPad, must be “idiot proof.”  (We apologize for the crudeness of that term.)  That is, systems must be usable without training and created in such a way, for example, that a patron at one table can’t accidentally change the order of a patron at another table.  What does this mean for systems development?

Proper analysis regarding the systems to build, understanding the workflow and documenting the business requirement to ensure it meet the expectation. Prototyping, can help to give first hand of the product experience.

Can complex and complicated end-user systems be developed and deployed on tablet PCs so that people can use the systems without training and without intervention by a knowledgeable person such as a waiter or waitress?

Yes. The business can outsources the new application  development to the third party to expedite the process.

Question 3

What security issues are involved in allowing people to pay with tablet PCs?  Does this payment process make it easier for someone to steal your credit card information?

The securities issues involved can be the identity theft and expose the users credit card information with others in the shared tablet PCs.

Yes, it will be much easier if any chance the tablet PC already being compromise by virus and rootkit.

Are you comfortable using a restaurant-supplied technology to enter your credit card information?  Why or why not ?

Personally I am not comfortable. There are no guarantee the devices is secured and reliable.

Question 4

What will happen to offshore outsourcing for software development?  

Offshore third-party outsourcing is a strategic tool for some software companies, if it is properly timed, executed and managed.

Can outsourcing firms in India and China for example be expected to develop software systems for use in U.S. schools?

It depends, proper due diligence and analysis by the firms may help to develop the software system with the required skills.

Can those same firms be expected to develop systems that meet FAA rules and restrictions ?

It will be challenging but doable, these outsourcing activities were primarily undertaken to help company reduce its cost structure and/or move non-core development activity outside the organization, so the company could focus on its core architecture development.

Proper guidelines can mitigate the non-compliance.

MIS Assignment #15 - Denver Health Operates with a Private Cloud and Thin Clients

Q1: Privacy laws and regulations require medical facilities to take measurable steps to ensure the confidentiality of patient information. From the case study, can you tell what Denver Health has done to ensure the confidentiality of its patient information?
All processing and information storage are maintained in Denver Health's multi-tenancy private cloud and the use of smart card, log-on name and password. 

Q2: Think about your school. How could it use the ThinIdendity solution to support the technology needs of 1) faculty and 2) students such as yourself?

ThinIdentity can be implemented as single sign-on station for both students and faculty for quick access to student records. As a student I could then see if what classes are open for registration, fee management, examination management, library management, and complaint and feedback all from the thin client. As a faculty they would allow for greater manageability in terms of sharing or disseminating information such as news, announcements and events.

Q3: In thinking about cloud computing (focusing on the public cloud), what role could it play in business continuity planning for Denver Health? That is, how could the public cloud act as a backup for Denver Health's private cloud?

The public cloud could be used as a disaster recovery solution for Denver Health’s private cloud. Denver Health could work with a public cloud provider such as VADS Berhad to create a backup cloud. 

Q4: If Denver Health were to give each patient a smart card, log-on name, and password, which functions, features, and information could benefit patients?
Patients can access their medical records and the doctors can communicate timely with patients about their health status for appropriate treatment and diagnosis.

What security would have to be in place to ensure that patients have access to only their own information?
• Individual authentication of users 
• Access controls 
• Tracking of access and changes to records 
• Protection of remote communications links and access 
• Limited data sets 
• Data use agreements 
• Procedures for access to sensitive information in emergency situations 
• Providing patients access to and ability to amend information 
• Communication of privacy practices 
• Organizational approaches to fostering privacy and security awareness


Q5: How could Denver Health extend the ThinIdentity solution beyond its brick-an-mortal walls?

Denver Health can access patient’s medical information remotely out of Denver Health’s premises through the use of the public cloud over the Internet and the use of web browser to access online web-based portal. 

How would it work (i.e., need to change) to have doctors and nurses log on from home or use a mobile device such as a Blackberry or iPhone?
In order to allow the doctors and nurses to access from home or use a mobile device, Denver Health should develop a lightweight, simplified and easy to use mobile application or web portal that cater for mobile browsers.

Q6: The reduction in physical log-in time is an efficiency metric. What are some effectiveness metrics that could justify Denver Health's use of ThinIdentity?
Effectiveness metrics measure results of the technology or application of ThinkIdentity. Measuring things such as the number of new patients registered, length of time a patient stay active, number of medicine stockouts and excess inventory, etc, 

MIS Assignment #14 - Public "Personal" Clouds

Q1: 
Do some research on Amazon's Cloud Drive. What is the amount of free storage space?
Everyone gets 5 GB free. 

What is the annual cost for additional storage?
20GB at USD10 per year. 

What about Apple's iCloud? Is it still free?
By default you get 5GB of free storage with the basic account. 

Does Microsoft charge anything for use of its SkyDrive cloud service?
OneDrive is the new name for SkyDrive and each account gets 7 GB free. Additional 50GB will cost USD50, additional 100GB at USD100 and additional 200GB at USD200. 


Q2:
Putting all your personal information in the cloud means letting go of some control over information like you tax files, personal photos that you might not want anyone else to see, term papers you're currently writing, and so on. What is your level of concern for the security of these personal digital assets in the cloud? Explain why you level of concern is high or low. 
My level of security concern is high. This is because, most Cloud Storage providers do not provide at rest data encryption security. Therefore, any personal digital assets are vulnerable to privacy violation by unethical Cloud Storage providers' storage administrators. 


Q3:
As we move more of our personal storage needs to the cloud, will computers really need disk storage space?
Yes. The local disk is still required for the operating system and offline applications. 

Is it possible that we're in the early stages of an outrageous industry transformation?
Yes. Currently we are in the Internet and Cloud phenomenon. 

Who are the major manufacturers of disk storage for personal computers and laptops?
Western Digital, Seagate, and Toshiba.


Q4:
If you choose to store all you personal information in the cloud, you'll need a personal continuity plan, much like organizations have business continuity plans in case of some sort of disaster, Suppose that right now you begin storing all your personal information only in the cloud. Of that information, what will you also back up onto a flash drive? 
Information that are not being required to be synchronized and accessed anywhere and anytime can still be backed up onto a flash drive. 

How often would you perform the backup up process?
Ideally, information should be synchronized real time. However, the backup up process frequency depends on the recovery time objective (RTO) and the recovery point objective (RPO) requirements.   

How often do you currently back up information on your computer's hard drive?
Twice a day via a backup tools scheduled to backup at lunch time and at end of business day. 


Q5:
Do some research on personal cloud providers. What sort of service level agreement (SLA) do they offer?
The most common covers the monthly service uptime percentage and financial backing whenever the the service uptime percentage is not achieved.

Are you willing to store you information with a personal cloud provider that offers no SLA? Why or why not?
Yes, if the information are no much important and can be retrieved else where if need be. 

Lab Assignment

ASTRONOMY FACTS

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THE 5 CLOSEST STARS TO THE EARTH

Traveling at a speed of 25K miles per hour (which is faster than any human has ever traveled), it would take you a little over 110,000 years to reach the Earth's Closest star, excluding the Sun, The 5 closest stars are:

1. Proxima Centauri - 25 million miles
2. Alpha Centauri - 25.5 million miles
3. Bernard's Star - 35 million miles
4. Wolf 359 - 45.5 million miles
5. Lalande 21185 - 48 million miles

LARGEST METEORITES FOUND IN THE UNITED STATES

Throughout the history of the Earth, it has been literally pounded by meteorites. In the U.s alone about 1,200 meteorites have been recorded to reach the surface. The 10 largest meteorites have been found in the following states:

• Arizona - 3
• California - 2
• Kansas - 2
• Oregon - 1
• Nevada - 1
• Georgia - 1

MIS Assignment #11 - The Mobile Commerce Explosion

MIS Assignment #10 - When You Are Big, You Can Be Your Own B2B E-Marketplace