Information Systems/Social Issues

< Information Systems

This lesson covers social issues related to information systems.

Objectives and Skills

Objectives and skills for the social issues portion of CLEP Information Systems include:^[1]

Property rights (intellectual, legal ownership of materials, open source software)
Effects of information technology on jobs (ergonomics, virtual teams, telecommuting, job design)
Technology’s influence on workforce strategies (globalization, virtual teams, telecommuting, outsourcing, insourcing)
Careers in IS (responsibilities, occupation, career path, certification)
Social networking (benefits, risks, ethics, technology, Web 2.0)

Readings

Read Wikibooks: Introduction to Computer Information Systems/Ethics.
Read Wikipedia: Science, technology and society.
Read Wikipedia: Intellectual property.
Read Wikipedia: Ergonomics.
Read Wikipedia: Telecommuting.
Read Wikipedia: Professional certification (computer technology).
Read Wikipedia: Social networking service.

Multimedia

Activities

Review TeachingCopyright.org: Peer-to-Peer File Sharing. Research legal issues and potential penalties related to illegal peer-to-peer file sharing.
Review Microsoft: Computer Ergonomics Guide. If necessary, adjust your workspace to provide a healthy work environment.
Review Creating IT Futures: IT Career videos. For one or more IT career job titles, use the BLS.gov: Occupational Outlook Handbook and Salary.com to research job prospects, education requirements, and current salary ranges for positions that interest you.
Explore the many types of IT certifications and view career possibilities with the CompTIA: Interactive IT Roadmap.
Complete one or more of the GCF LearnFree: Social Media tutorials.
Review the lesson summary, key terms, review questions, and assessment below.

Lesson Summary

Technology impacts society through innovation and improved communication, resulting in both positive and negative consequences.^[2]
Intellectual property is a term referring to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly is assigned to designated owners by law.^[3]
Some common types of intellectual property rights are copyright, patents, and industrial design rights; and the rights that protect trademarks, trade dress, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets: all these cover music, literature, and other artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.^[4]
Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.^[5]
Computer ergonomics are important because, believe it or not, working at a computer for prolonged periods of time can actually be harmful to your overall health.^[6]
Telecommuting, remote work, or telework is a work arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, but instead work from home or use mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or other locations.^[7]
Professional certifications in computer technology are non-degree awards made to those who have achieved qualifications specified by a certifying authority to establish that an individual holding a certification is technically qualified to hold certain positions within the field.^[8]
A social networking service is a platform to build social networks or social relations among people who share interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.^[9]
Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, pictures, posts, activities, events, and interests with people in their network.^[10]

Key Terms

computer-based training (CBT): The effective use of computers in learning through educational technology.^[11]
copyleft: The practice of offering people the right to freely distribute copies and modified versions of a work with the stipulation that the same rights be preserved in derivative works down the line.^[12]
copyright: A legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution.^[13]
cyberbullying: The act of harming or harassing via information technology networks in a repeated and deliberate manner.^[14]
cyberstalking: The use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, a group, or an organization.^[15]
digital rights management (DRM) software: Software used to protect and manage the rights of creators of digital content, such as art, music, photographs, and movies.^[16]
digital watermark: A subtle alteration of digital content that is not noticeable when the work is viewed or played but that identifies the copyright holder.^[17]
e-learning: A learning environment which uses information and communication technologies as a platform for teaching and learning activities.^[18]
ergonomics: The practice of designing products, systems or processes to take proper account of the interaction between them and the people who use them.^[19]
forum: An online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.^[20]
globalization: The process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture.^[21]
hashtag: A type of label or metadata tag used on social network and microblogging services which makes it easier for users to find messages with a specific theme or content.^[22]
insourcing: The commencement of performing a business function that could be contracted out internally.^[23]
instant messaging: A type of online chat which offers real-time text transmission over the Internet.^[24]
intellectual property rights: The legal rights to which creators of original creative works (such as artistic or literary works, inventions, corporate logos, and more) are entitled.^[25]
Luddite: One opposed to industrialization, automation, computerization or new technologies in general.^[26]
lurker: A member of an online community who observes, but does not actively participate.^[27]
MOOC: An online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web.^[28]
online chat: Any kind of communication over the Internet that offers a real-time transmission of text messages from sender to receiver.^[29]
outsourcing: The contracting out of a business process to another party.^[30]
right to privacy: A human right and an element of various legal traditions which may restrain both government and private party action that threatens the privacy of individuals.^[31]
technophobia: The fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers.^[32]
telecommuting: A work arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work.^[33]
trolling: Sowing discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.^[34]

Review Questions

Technology impacts society through _____.

Technology impacts society through innovation and improved communication, resulting in both positive and negative consequences.
Intellectual property is _____.

Intellectual property is a term referring to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly is assigned to designated owners by law.
Some common types of intellectual property rights are _____.

Some common types of intellectual property rights are copyright, patents, and industrial design rights; and the rights that protect trademarks, trade dress, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets: all these cover music, literature, and other artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.
Ergonomics is _____.

Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.
Telecommuting, remote work, or telework is _____.

Telecommuting, remote work, or telework is a work arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, but instead work from home or use mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or other locations.
Professional certifications in computer technology are _____.

Professional certifications in computer technology are non-degree awards made to those who have achieved qualifications specified by a certifying authority to establish that an individual holding a certification is technically qualified to hold certain positions within the field.
A social networking service is _____.

A social networking service is a platform to build social networks or social relations among people who share interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.
Social networking sites allow users to _____.

Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, pictures, posts, activities, events, and interests with people in their network.

Assessments

Flashcards: Quizlet: Information Systems - Social Issues
Quiz: Quizlet: Information Systems - Social Issues

References

This article is issued from Wikiversity - version of the Sunday, January 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.