MIS4 – Flashcards
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Even in today's legal climate, there is little incentive for firms to cooperate with prosecutors investigating financial crimes at their firm.
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F
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The last step in analyzing an ethical issue should be to identify the stakeholders—people who have a vested interest in the outcome of the decision.
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F
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Data gathered by online behavioral tracking firms is limited to the user's behavior on a single Web site.
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F
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The Copyright Office began registering software programs in the 1990s.
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F
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The drawback to copyright protection is that the underlying ideas behind the work are not protected, only their reproduction in a product.
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T
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According to the courts, in the creation of software, unique concepts, general functional features, and even colors are protectable by copyright law.
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F
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The key concepts in patent law are originality, novelty, and value.
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F
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Any unsolicited e-mail is legally considered spam.
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F
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The 2012 FTC report on industry-best practices for protecting individuals' privacy focused on each of the following topics except A) mobile privacy. B) phasing out of self-regulatory codes. C) data brokers. D) large platform providers.
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B
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The introduction of new information technology has a A) dampening effect on the discourse of business ethics. B) ripple effect raising new ethical, social, and political issues. C) beneficial effect for society as a whole, while raising dilemmas for consumers. D) waterfall effect in raising ever more complex ethical issues.
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B
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In the information age, the obligations that individuals and organizations have concerning rights to intellectual property fall within the moral dimension of A) property rights and obligations. B) system quality. C) accountability and control. D) information rights and obligations.
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A
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In the information age, the obligations that individuals and organizations have regarding the preservation of existing values and institutions fall within the moral dimension of A) family and home. B) property rights and obligations. C) system quality. D) quality of life.
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D
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The use of computers to combine data from multiple sources and create electronic dossiers of detailed information on individuals is called A) profiling. B) phishing. C) spamming. D) targeting.
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A
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Which of the five moral dimensions of the information age do the central business activities of ChoicePoint raise? A) property rights and obligations B) system quality C) accountability and control D) information rights and obligations
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D
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NORA is a A) profiling technology used by the EU. B) federal privacy law protecting networked data. C) data analysis technology that finds hidden connections between data in disparate sources. D) sentencing guideline adopted in 1987 mandating stiff sentences on business executives.
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C
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The process in law-governed societies in which laws are known and understood and there is an ability to appeal to higher authorities to ensure that the laws are applied correctly is called A) liability. B) due process. C) the courts of appeal. D) accountability.
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B
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A colleague of yours frequently takes for his own personal use small amounts of office supplies, noting that the loss to the company is minimal. You counter that if everyone were to take the office supplies, the loss would no longer be minimal. Your rationale expresses which historical ethical principle? A) Kant's Categorical Imperative B) the Golden Rule C) the Risk Aversion Principle D) the "No free lunch" rule
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A
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Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative states that A) if an action cannot be taken repeatedly, then it is not right to be taken at any time. B) one should take the action that produces the least harm or incurs the least cost. C) one can put values in rank order and understand the consequences of various courses of action. D) if an action is not right for everyone to take, it is not right for anyone to take.
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D
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FIP principles are based on the notion of the A) accountability of the record holder. B) responsibility of the record holder. C) mutuality of interest between the record holder and the individual. D) privacy of the individual.
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C
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The Federal Trade Commission FIP principle of Notice/Awareness states that A) customers must be allowed to choose how their information will be used for secondary purposes other than the supporting transaction. B) data collectors must take responsible steps to assure that consumer information is accurate and secure from unauthorized use. C) there is a mechanism in place to enforce FIP principles. D) Web sites must disclose their information practices before collecting data.
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D
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Which of the following is not one of the practices added in 2010 by the FTP to its framework for privacy? A) Firms should build products and services that protect privacy. B) Firms should increase the transparency of their data collection. C) Firms should require consumer consent and provide clear options to opt out of data collection. D) Firms should limit the length of time that any personal data is stored to six months or less.
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D
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Which of the following U.S. laws gives patients access to personal medical records and the right to authorize how this information can be used or disclosed? A) HIPAA B) Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act C) Privacy Protection Act D) Freedom of Information Act
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A
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The U.S. Department of Commerce developed a ________ framework in order to enable U.S. businesses to legally use personal data from EU countries. A) COPPA B) P3P C) PGP D) safe-harbor
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D
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Flash cookies are different from ordinary cookies in that they A) are installed only at the user's request. B) are not stored on the user's computer. C) cannot be easily detected or deleted. D) monitor the user's behavior at a Web site.
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C
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The Online Privacy Alliance A) encourages self-regulation to develop a set of privacy guidelines for its members. B) protects user privacy during interactions with Web sites. C) has established technical guidelines for ensuring privacy. D) is a government agency regulating the use of customer information.
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A
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A(n) ________ model of informed consent permits the collection of personal information until the consumer specifically requests that the data not be collected.
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B
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Which of the following statements about trade secrets is not true? A) Trade secret protections vary from state to state. B) Any intellectual product, regardless of its purpose, can be classified as a trade secret. C) Software that contains unique elements can be claimed as a trade secret. D) Trade secret law protects the actual ideas in a product.
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B
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What legal mechanism protects the owners of intellectual property from having their work copied by others? A) patent protection B) intellectual property law C) copyright law D) Fair Use Doctrine
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C
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"Look and feel" copyright infringement lawsuits are concerned with A) the distinction between tangible and intangible ideas. B) the distinction between an idea and its expression. C) using the graphical elements of another product. D) using the creative elements of another product.
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B
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The strength of patent protection is that it A) puts the strength of law behind copyright. B) allows protection from Internet theft of ideas put forth publicly. C) is easy to define. D) grants a monopoly on underlying concepts and ideas.
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D
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Which of the following adjusts copyright laws to the Internet age by making it illegal to circumvent technology-based protections of copyrighted materials? A) Digital Millennium Copyright Act B) Privacy Act C) Freedom of Information Act D) Electronic Communications Privacy Act
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A
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In general, it is very difficult to hold software producers liable for their software products when those products are considered to be A) part of a machine. B) similar to books. C) services. D) artistic expressions.
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B
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________ are not held liable for the messages they transmit. A) Regulated common carriers B) Private individuals C) Organizations and businesses D) Elected officials
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A
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The most common source of business system failure is A) software bugs. B) software errors. C) hardware or facilities failures. D) data quality.
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D
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Which of the five moral dimensions of the information age does spamming raise? A) quality of life B) system quality C) accountability and control D) information rights and obligations
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A
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A tiny software object embedded in a Web page and used by tracking programs to monitor online user behavior is called A) spyware. B) a super cookie. C) a Web beacon. D) a cookie.
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C
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Which two of the following issues are privacy advocates and advertising industry most in conflict over? (Select two of the following.) A) an opt-in policy required at all sites B) a national Do-Not-Track list C) an opt-out policy required at all sites D) disclosure and transparency in the use of Flash or super cookies
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A,B
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________ can be induced by tens of thousands of repetitions under low-impact loads. A) CTS B) CVS C) RSI D) Technostress
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C
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One of the capabilities of Internet communication is the ability of the individual to appear essentially anonymous by using made-up user names. Is anonymity the same thing as privacy, and should it be a right? What ethical issues are raised by increased anonymity?
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Student answers will vary, but should include a definition of privacy and an attempt to differentiate between anonymity and privacy, as well as an understanding that anonymity can result in a breakdown of clear accountability or responsibility for actions. A sample answer is: Privacy is the claim to be left alone, free from surveillance. This is different from anonymity, in which nobody knows who you are or what actions you take even in a public arena. Some individuals, if they feel they are anonymous, may have lapses in ethical behavior because anonymity means they are no longer accountable for their actions. I don't know if anonymity should be a right, but perhaps anonymity should not be permissible for some types of communication.
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List and describe the five moral dimensions that are involved in political, social, and ethical issues. Which do you think will be the most difficult for society to deal with? Support your opinion.
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The five moral dimensions are: 1. Information rights and obligations. What rights do individuals and organizations have with respect to information pertaining to them? 2. Property rights. How can intellectual property rights be protected when it is so easy to copy digital materials? 3. Accountability and control. Who will be held accountable and liable for the harm done to individual and collective information and property rights? 4. System quality. What standards of data and system quality should we demand to protect individual rights and the safety of society? 5. Quality of life. What values should be preserved? What institutions must we protect? What cultural values can be harmed? Individual answers for determining the most difficult for society to deal with will vary. One answer might be: Quality of life issues will be most difficult for society to deal with in societies that are comprised of many different cultural and ethnic groups, such as the United States. It is difficult to regulate concerns that are based on subjective values.
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Discuss at least three key technology trends that raise ethical issues. Give an example of an ethical or moral impact connected to each one.
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Key technology trends include the following: 1. Computer power doubling every 18 months: ethical impact—because more organizations depend on computer systems for critical operations, these systems are vulnerable to computer crime and computer abuse; 2. Data storage costs are rapidly declining: ethical impact—it is easy to maintain detailed databases on individuals—who has access to and control of these databases?; 3. Data analysis advances: ethical impact—vast databases full of individual information may be used to develop detailed profiles of individual behavior; and 4. Networking advances and the Internet: ethical impact—it is easy to copy data from one location to another. Who owns data? How can ownership be protected?
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Define the basic concepts of responsibility, accountability, and liability as applied to ethical decisions. How are these concepts related?
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Responsibility is the first key element of ethical action. Responsibility means that an individual, group, or organization accepts the potential costs, duties, and obligations for decisions made. Accountability is a feature of systems and social institutions. It means that mechanisms are in place to determine who took responsible action; i.e., who is responsible for the action. Liability is a feature of political systems in which a body of law is in place that permits individuals to recover the damages done to them by others. These concepts are related as follows: I will assume the blame or benefit for the actions I take (responsibility); this blame or benefit accrues to me through the requirement that I be able to explain why I have taken the actions I have (accountability) for actions traceable to me by defined mechanisms in the organization, and if those actions result in harm to another, I will be held by law to reparations for those actions (liability).
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What are the steps in conducting an ethical analysis?
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The steps are: 1. identify and describe clearly the facts; 2. define the conflict or dilemma and identify the higher-order values involved; 3. identify the stakeholders; 4. identify the options that you can reasonably take; and 5. identify the potential consequences of your options.
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List and define the six ethical principles discussed in your text.
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The six ethical principles are the Golden Rule, Kant's Categorical Imperative, Descartes' rule of change (slippery slope), the Utilitarian Principle, the Risk Aversion Principle, and the "no free lunch" rule. The Golden Rule proposes: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative proposes, if an action is not right for everyone to take, it is not right for anyone. Descartes' rule of change says: If an action cannot be taken repeatedly, it is not right to take at all. The Utilitarian Principle is: Take the action that achieves the higher or greater value. The Risk Aversion Principle is: Take the action that produces the least harm or the least potential cost. The ethical no free lunch rule says: Assume that virtually all tangible and intangible objects are owned by someone else unless there is a specific declaration otherwise.
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What are the major issues concerning privacy in the information age? Do you believe the need for homeland security should overrule some of the personal privacy and information rights we have previously taken for granted? Why or why not?
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One answer might be that we should depend upon the Federal Trade Commission Fair Information Practice Principles and that as long as these principles are not ignored or overset, personal privacy does not conflict with homeland security. This is a weak argument. Other issues involve online privacy, employee monitoring, tradeoffs between security and privacy and good business results versus privacy.
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How does a cookie work?
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A cookie works as follows: A user opens a Web browser and selects a site to visit. The user's computer sends a request for information to the computer running at the Web site. The Web site computer is called the server, since it allows the user's computer to display the Web site. At the same time it sends a cookie—a data file containing information like an encrypted user ID and information about when the user visited and what he did on the site. The user's computer receives the cookie and places it in a file on the hard drive. Whenever the user goes back to the Web site, the server running the site retrieves the cookie to help identify the user.
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What do you consider to be the primary ethical, social, and political issues regarding the quality of a software product?
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Student answers will vary, but should include a description of the software manufacturer's responsibility in software quality and an understanding of the difference between social concerns (culture, lifestyle effects) and political concerns (legal, institutional effects). A sample answer is: The central quality-related ethical issue that software quality raises is what responsibility does a software manufacturer have in the performance of its software? At what point can the manufacturer conclude that its software achieves an adequate level of quality? The leading social issue raised by quality is: how is our society affected by low-quality software, and is this a concern? How much accountability should the software manufacturer have? The central political concern raised by software quality is whether and how to enforce software quality minimums and standards, and what institutions are thus also held accountable.
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How does the use of electronic voting machines act as a "double-edged sword?" What moral dimensions are raised by this use of information technology?
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Electronic voting machines can be seen as beneficial by making voting easy to accomplish and tabulate. However, it may be easier to tamper with electronic voting machines than with countable paper ballots. In terms of information rights, it seems possible that methods could be set up to determine how an individual has voted and to store and disseminate this knowledge. Manufacturers of voting machines claim property rights to the voting software, which means that if the software is protected from inspection, there is no regulation in how the software operates or how accurate it is. In terms of accountability and control, if an electronic voting system malfunctions, will it be the responsibility of the government, of the company manufacturing the machines or software, or the programmers who programmed the software? The dimension of system quality raises questions of how the level of accuracy of the machines is to be judged and what level is acceptable? In terms of quality of life, while it may make voting easier and quicker, does the vulnerability to abuse of these systems pose a threat to the democratic principle of one person, one vote?
