What new threats to privacy are likely to develop from new computer and Internet applications in the next five years? Include discussions on Smart-Phones, iPhone, iPad type devices, GPS-enabled vehicles etc.,

7. What new threats to privacy are likely to develop from new computer and Internet applications in the next five years? Include discussions on Smart-Phones, iPhone, iPad type devices, GPS-enabled vehicles etc., (Chp.2)

The integration of social media into devices and applications beyond what currently exists is probably the greatest threat to privacy. The amount of information that individuals willingly expose to social networking sites, without any thought of the consequences, is staggering to me. The trend to integrate these services into electronics such as the iPhone means that more and more personal information is transmitted and stored on a frequent basis. My new LCD television even comes with a Facebook widget preinstalled so that you can monitor your Facebook page while you watch TV. With the continuing trend of making computing devices more portable and easier to use, there is the additional danger of personal information physically changing hands.

What does re-identification mean?

6. What does re-identification mean? Give an example. (Chp.2)

Re-identification is the process of identifying an individual from sets of anonymous data. By itself, many kinds of information collected from an individual could not be used to identify that person. A birthdate could belong to millions of individuals. A zip code could belong to hundreds of thousands of people. However, if you could combine those two records, everyone living in a specific zip code with the same birth date, you could significantly reduce the number of individuals covered. 

http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/student-papers/spring01-papers/reidentification.doc

What does the term secondary use mean?

5. What does the term secondary use mean? Give an example. (Chp.2)

Secondary use is the use of personal information other than the one for which it was supplied. A pizza vendor who collects the home address for delivering a pizza, and then uses that address to distribute out marketing materials is an example of secondary use. Places which collect this type of information are required to disclose what they intend to use the information for and provide mechanisms to allow individuals to opt out of such data usage.

Baase, S. (2008). A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing and the Internet. 3rd. ed. New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Briefly list and explain the following (a) Right, wrong, and okay; (b) Distinguish wrong and harm; (c) Separating goals from constraints; (d) Personal preference and ethics; (e) Law and ethics.

4. Briefly list and explain the following (a) Right, wrong, and okay; (b) Distinguish wrong and harm; (c) Separating goals from constraints; (d) Personal preference and ethics; (e) Law and ethics. (Chp.1)

a) The difference between right, wrong and okay and ethically right and ethically wrong is that sometimes there are many ethically acceptable decisions of which none are required over the others. Those decisions would be considered okay.

b) The difference between harm and wrong is that harm is a consequence of an action and wrong is the ethical characterization of that action. An action that is considered wrong may not cause harm but would still be unethical. An example would be trespassing. Likewise an ethically correct action may cause harm as a side effect. Reporting the location of a wanted criminal could result in loss of income, food, or housing for that person’s family.

c) The easiest way to distinguish goals from constraints would be to characterize them as the Whats vs. the Hows. The goals are what you are trying to achieve or the milestones that you are trying to accomplish. The constraints are how you intend to accomplish those goals. A goal in and of itself is not necessarily unethical. It is how the goal is achieved that indicates if it was reached ethically or not. 

For example, a game of golf has the end goal of getting a golf ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible. The ethical constraint would be to count each stroke fairly and practice until one got the fewest strokes possible. An unethical constraint would be to cheat and alter the scorecard when nobody was looking.

d) Personal preference impacts ethics in that individuals often characterize the positions they support or disagree with as being morally right or wrong. By characterizing their position in ethical terms, they seek to strengthen their position.

e) Laws may enforce ethical rules (theft for example) or they may be independent of any ethical issue and be the result of societal or special interest demands. An example would be the law which bans flavored cigarettes but permits menthol cigarettes. Health rights activists lobbied to get flavored tobacco sales prohibited, but tobacco manufacturers used their influence with lawmakers to exempt menthol cigarettes, which are predominantly supplied by U.S. tobacco companies. Statistically, the law had little impact as menthol smokers far outnumber the smokers of other flavored cigarettes.

Saul, S. (2008). Cigarette Bill Treats Menthol With Leniency. The New York Times [online]. 513, [Accessed 4/17/2011 ], p.B5-B6. Available from: <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/business/13menthol.html?pagewanted=1>.

Which kind of ethical theory, deontologist or consequentialist, works better for arguing that it is wrong to drive one's car on the left side of the road in a country where people normally drive on the right?

3. Which kind of ethical theory, deontologist or consequentialist, works better for arguing that it is wrong to drive one's car on the left side of the road in a country where people normally drive on the right? Explain. (Chp. 1)

I think the consequentialist theory works the best for arguing whether it is wrong to drive ones car on the left side of the road in a country where it is the norm to drive on the right side. A deontologist point of view would state that it is always wrong to drive one’s car on the left side of the road because deontologist view right and wrong as absolutes. Driving on the right side of the road is the rational course of action in a country where that is the norm, therefore that is the right action.

A consequentialist point of view would take into account the possible consequences of only driving on the right side of the road, and situations where it might be better in some cases to drive on the left side. For example, a consequentialist might determine the morally right action to take would be to drive on the left side of the road to avoid an obstacle so long as the action did not negatively affect others.

Baase, S. (2008). A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing and the Internet. 3rd. ed. New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Give an example of a law that implements an ethical principle. Give an example of a law that enforces a particular group's idea of how people should behave?

2. Give an example of a law that implements an ethical principle. Give an example of a law that enforces a particular group's idea of how people should behave? (Chp.1)

An example of a law which implements an ethical principle is Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 1111: Murder. This law specifies whether a killing is considered murder and the degree. This law implements the ethical principle that it is wrong to murder another person. 

An example of a law which enforces a particular group’s ideas of how people should act would be the various blue laws that are implemented throughout many southern states. In many counties in the South, merchants are not allowed to sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays. These laws were originally passed by Christians who felt it was wrong to be able purchase alcohol on the Sunday Sabbath. 

Wikipedia (4/17/2011). Blue Law [online]. [Accessed 4/17/2011]. Available from: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_law>. 

FindLaw [online]. (2011) [Accessed 4/17/2011]. Available from: <http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/18/I/51/1111>. 

Baase, S. (2008). A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing and the Internet. 3rd. ed. New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.