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Chapter 14 Exercises

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Principles of MIS

© 2005 by Jerry Post
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
  1. Research the tools (hardware and software) available for a new employee of yours who is blind. List the sources, capabilities, and costs.
  2. Should people be allowed to use the Internet anonymously? Should ISPs be required to pay for hardware and software that can track individual usage in case of a lawsuit or criminal charge? Is it possible to prevent anonymous use of the Internet?
  3. Do you think governmental agencies should share data about citizens? For example, should the FBI be able to access IRS records to locate suspected criminals? Should the FBI be allowed to access files from state and local governments? For instance, should all arrest records be automatically relayed to a central database? Should medical records be accessible to law enforcement agencies? Say that it is technically possible for the FBI to build a national database that contains DNA records for all citizens. If all medical records (from accidents, blood tests, and medical treatment) were computerized and automatically forwarded to the FBI, the agents could easily locate virtually any criminal.
  4. Research the issues involved in electronic voting. What problems need to be overcome? What technologies could be useful? Does an electronic voting system have to be perfect, or simply better than the existing manual system?
  5. Should vendors be allowed to charge different prices for online products, or should everyone pay the same price? Answer the question both from the perspective of the consumer and as a vendor or artist.
  6. Should consumers be able to sue software companies for security failures or other problems with the software? What limits these lawsuits now?
  7. What aspects of education would you prefer to have online or automated? What elements would you prefer to keep in person?
  8. Should nations restrict the use of encryption technology? If that is not technologically possible, what other rules or actions can governments take to reduce problems due to encryption?
  9. Find at least five news sites on the Web. Evaluate them in terms of (1) style/presentation, (2) accuracy, (3) believability, and (4) balanced news.

    10. Technology Toolbox

  10. Find at least two translation sites and test them with sample text. If you read the second language, comment on the results. Translate the text back to the original language and comment on the quality.
  11. Find at least two foreign exchange sites and convert $100 (USD) into a different currency. Then convert that value into a third currency. Compare the results. How can they be different?
  12. Assume that you have a website that needs to be written in at least one other foreign language. How much will it cost to have the pages translated? Can you use machine translation to reduce the costs?
  13. Assume that you want to start a business in your state. Using the Internet, find the forms and cost to incorporate a new business. Choose a name and verify that the name is available. Find the IRS forms that you will need.
  14. Find the text of the federal CAN-SPAM law and list the elements that must be included in an unsolicited commercial e-mail. What penalties can be applied if these items are missing? Research the current status of the national “do-not-spam” list?

    15. Teamwork

  15. Team project: Split into two groups. Individuals in each group will type a page of text into a word processor (pick any full page from the textbook). To start, everyone will work on the project independently, but there is a deadline of no more than two days. Second, team members will pair up and type the document a second time. This time, while one person types the document, the other one will time his or her performance and count mistakes at the end. The goal is to find the team member who is fastest and makes the fewest mistakes. The trick is that each person’s work will be monitored at all times. Now, when all members of the team have completed their tasks, get the team back together and answer the following questions: Was there more pressure while you were being watched? Were you nervous? More attentive? Were you faster the second time? Did you make more mistakes? Would you object to working under these conditions on a daily basis?
  16. Assume that you are selling a new release for popular music. Create a silent auction and have everyone write down the price they are willing to pay for the music. Add up the numbers to get the total revenue you would obtain. Now, look up an average price for a similar item. Assume that each person who was willing to pay at least that amount would actually buy the item, and the others would not. Count the number of items sold and multiply by the fixed average price to get revenue. Compare the two values for total revenue.
  17. Have each team member select a developing nation. Research the information technology available in that country. How do people get access to the Internet? What percent of the people have used the Internet? Combine the results and create a list of options that might be used by other nations to improve Internet access.
  18. Split the team into two groups to participate in a debate. The proposition is that programmers and developers should be licensed. One group should find evidence and arguments to support the proposition, the other to defeat it. If possible, conduct an actual debate. Otherwise, outline your arguments, and compare them in writing.
  19. Examine the arguments against electronic voting. Divide the arguments among the team members and have each person research existing technologies and proposals. Identify the methods used to avoid or minimize the stated problem. Combine the results and write a proposal defending the use of electronic voting.

    20. Rolling Thunder Database

  20. What privacy problems might exist at Rolling Thunder? What rules or procedures should be enacted to avoid problems?
  21. Your boss says that, with the decline in sales, it would be wise to cut costs and suggests that you could buy only a single copy of some of the office software and install it on multiple machines. What do you do?
  22. Find financial data for a publicly traded competitor to Rolling Thunder. Compare the basic financial ratios of the two companies.
  23. The management at Rolling Thunder is thinking about trying to get a patent for an online process of configuring and ordering a custom bicycle. Search the patent records to see if anyone already has a similar patent, and estimate the probability of obtaining such a patent.