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The impact of computer technology 1 Running Head: The impact of computer technology Life learning assignment for CIT 312 In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Bachelor of Business Administration Degree By Matthew Dotson Professor: Daniel Mays Cohort 19 July 22, 2008 The impact of computer technology 2 Has computer technology enhanced our society or has it crippled our ability to function ethically? Computer technology has affected the workplace and compromised our privacy leaving us exposed for unauthorized use of our personal identity.
Our world has become less ethical and it has become very difficult to trust or determine what is authentic. In today’s world we are totally living in a computerized world and we have lost the human element. Many companies have transitioned their information totally to computers and software packages that has moved many people out of jobs. We are completely dependant on computers and our ability to do task on our own has become very limited. Listening to music has become very difficult to appreciate today because of digital equipment that can enhance sound and give the impression of a great artist when indeed it is just the computer.
Computer generated music takes away the authenticity of a musician. Technology is necessary but has it exposed and invaded our privacy? In our society most everything we do requires the use of personal information. Our personal information in the hands of the wrong person could be detrimental. The impact of computer technology 3 Hacking is unauthorized access to a computer system intentionally releasing computer viruses, according to (Baase 2008). Hacking remains one of the largest forms of theft with millions of dollars being stolen yearly.
Hacking, for many early years did not have such negative impact on our society or was not taken as serious as it is today. Hacking in earlier years was glorified by young teens and even movies made about it. Hacking has become instrumental in identity theft today. For example my identity was stolen and a business account was opened with the cell phone company Alltel. Upon receiving correspondence that the account was opened, three years later there were many steps I had to take to initiate solving the problem.
Contacting the police and filing a police report followed by contacting the Federal Trade Commission were the initial steps. An avadavat stating the charges were not mine and contacting the three credit bureaus were the next steps. The final step was to place a block on my social security number to prohibit any additional fraud. Upon taking all the steps necessary to clear my profile I am still faced with the battle of The impact of computer technology 4 removing the information from my credit report. According to (Baase 2008), “Identity theft affects millions of people.
It can disrupt a victim’s life for years”. New technology such as the internet, cell phones, and even global positioning system (GPS) devices continues to cause many risk to our personal privacy. When personal information is entered in a database, such purchasing a home, divorce, marriage, bankruptcy or foreclosure, this information becomes public knowledge and easily assessable for fraudulent behavior. In 2007 a major retailer TJ Maxx realized that their computer system had been compromised as far back to 2005, releasing personal information about customers.
Initially they did not think names and addresses were included however; later realizing that information was revealed along with bank information. Cases like this make it very difficult to totally trust technology despite what programmers say. It is very important for individuals using the internet to realize what information can be stored about them while browsing. Downloading information is instrumental in unauthorized users gaining information The impact of computer technology 5 about an individual, usually the software reveling information retrieved from other sites the customers frequent.
Storing information in cookies is another procedure hackers use to gain personalized information about users by storing files for future references. Many companies use cookies to customize a frequent shopper habits in an attempt to make shopping easy and efficient. Initially this caused a major uproar because companies did not inform users this was taking place and users became extremely suspicious, not knowing what other information was exposed. This procedure increases the opportunities for an invasion to occur. Today everyone is looking for a good deal.
Using the internet for shopping or auctions is very popular. The largest auction site today is ebay, in existence since 1995 with billions spent yearly however; large amounts of personal information is needed to register and still reported as one of the top areas of fraud according to the Federal Trade Commission. Inaccurate and misinterpreted information in data bases is also a major issue with technology and computers. Our The impact of computer technology 6 government requires sex offenders to register with local municipalities to notify the public that they are residing in a particular neighborhood.
There have been several cases where outdated information has caused people to be harassed and killed. According to (Baase, 2008) A family was harassed, threatened, and physically attacked after its state posted an online list of addresses where sex offenders live. The state did not know the offender had moved away before the new family moved in. A man murdered two sex offenders in Washington State after retrieving information from the state’s database. These events were horrible, heinous and irreversible and nothing can replace the hurt to family member.
But the fact remains is other than the physical attacks and murders there were no laws broken however; it does bring to question the easy accessibility of information getting in the wrong persons possession. With the world constantly changing computer technology will continue to evolve, I believe our society has to continue to change with technology. Though there are many The impact of computer technology 7 disadvantages to computer technology I believe our society could not function without it. My grandfather often said “the Jet has made the world a smaller place” I believe the impact of computer technology has made the world even smaller.
With the excitement of the 2008 Olympics, computer technology has allowed officials to accurately determine winners of gold, silver and bronze metals. It was very exiting to see Michael Phelps win the butterfly by tenths of a second, probably using a under water camera system similar to the Poseidon. One of the larges impacts of technology is the medical profession. Computers have allowed doctors to perform surgeries that were once impossible. I am grateful for computers because technology prolonged my mother’s life.
In 2005 my family was traveling to Michigan visiting relative and within hours my mom was having an emergency stint installed in her heart artery. Through computer technology the doctors at the Henry Ford hospital were able to take pictures of the blockage and reveal it to us immediately. Additionally I am grateful for technology because the stint installed was a new medicated version The impact of computer technology 8 thus, reducing the amount of medication required post surgery. Our world has become dependent on computers and programmers have a responsibility to continue designing programs and procedures that would continue to protect us.
I believe engineers are following the (Software engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice) which consist of eight principles and identifies the ethical responsibility of anyone involved in programming. Cuyahoga Community College has played their part in reducing student identity from being stolen. Tri-C no longer use social security numbers as a way to identify student’s, they have attached a computer generated number to each student called an “S” number. Each student is responsible for creating a password to associate with the Identification number and the password has an expiration date to decrease the risk hacking.
Computer technology enabled me to be a better manager while working at Aldi foods. As a manager I had the responsibility of maintaining inventory. Cashiers were responsible for tallying the product manually and relying The impact of computer technology 9 on their memory to correctly ring up product. Human error was a contributing factor in large inventory shrinkage. For example, if there was a price change of pink salmon where it increased twenty cents and a cashier missed the price change, this could be devastating to my store losses. After working with Aldi for two years the company upgraded their system to scanners.
The new system improved my inventory and allowed me to concentrate on other management duties such as productivity, sales, projections and customer service. Since the terrorist attack in 2001, our government introduced the USA Patriot ACT which is an antiterrorist law that allows law enforcement agencies the ability to search telephone, e-mail, medical, and financial records without a court order in an attempt to control terrorism. I completely agree with this act because our freedom is very important this is what makes America a great place.
With the emergence of Google, wikipedia, and many new search engines has enabled our society to have access to information that once was the job of a librarian or countless hours to obtain. The software package Microsoft The impact of computer technology 10 office has made my experience returning to school a smoother transition. The portion I mostly enjoy is spell and grammar check. Being twenty years removed from college, I have lost a few technical skills and this program continues to refresh my writing ability.
Clearly we live in a technological world that continues to change daily. Computer technology will continue to expose us and we will continue to have many questions however; we have to trust that programmers and engineers are ethical and will do their part to protect us. Reference Page Baase. S. (2008). A gift of fire: social, legal, and ethical issues for computing and the Internet. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Needle D. 2007. Security woes snowball for TJ Maxx. Retrieved August 17, 2008 from http://news. earth