Deck 4: Ethical and Social Issues in Information Systems

Question 1

Despite the passage of several laws defining and addressing computer crime, accessing a computer system without authorization is not yet a federal crime.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Spyware is software that comes hidden in downloaded applications and can track your online movements.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Advances in data storage have made routine violation of individual privacy more difficult.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Protection for trade secrets is enforced at the federal level.

Question 5

The key concepts in patent law are originality, novelty, and value.

Question 6

Privacy is the right to be left alone when you want to be, without surveillance or interference from other individuals or organizations.

Question 7

Most American and European privacy law is based on a set of five principles called COPPA.

Question 8

Trade secret law protects the actual ideas in a work product, not just their manifestations.

Question 9

A cookie is a small file containing information about you and your Web activities that is deposited on your hard disk by a Web site.

Question 10

Professionals take on special rights and obligations because of their special claims to knowledge, wisdom, and respect.

Question 11

The drawback to copyright protection is in passing stringent criteria of nonobviousness.

Question 12

Most Internet businesses do very little to protect the privacy of their customers.

Question 13

The most common type of computer-related RSI is CTS.

Question 14

Technostress is a computer-related malady whose symptoms include fatigue.

Question 15

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.

Question 16

Insofar as software is essentially an intangible good, producers of software cannot be held liable for any damages that their software unintentionally causes.

Question 17

According to the courts, in the creation of software, unique concepts, general functional features, and even colors are protectable by copyright law.

Question 18

P3P encrypts or scrambles e-mail or data so that it cannot be read illicitly.

Question 19

Copyright is the legal protection afforded intellectual property, such as a song, book, or video game.

Question 20

The European Parliament has passed a ban on unsolicited commercial messaging.

Question 21

Accepting the potential costs, duties, and obligations for the decisions you make is referred to as

A) responsibility.
B) accountability.
C) liability.
D) due process.

Question 22

NORA is a

A) profiling technology used by the EU.
B) federal privacy law protecting networked data.
C) new data analysis technology that finds hidden connections between data in disparate sources.
D) sentencing guideline adopted in 1987 mandating stiff sentences on business executives.

Question 23

Which of the following best describes how new information systems result in legal gray areas?

A) They work with networked, electronic data, which are more difficult to control than information stored manually.
B) They result in new situations that are not covered by old laws.
C) They are implemented by technicians rather than managers.
D) They are created from sets of logical and technological rules rather than social or organizational mores.

Question 24

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.

Question 25

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.

Question 26

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.

Question 27

The four key technical trends responsible for current ethical stresses related to information technology are (1) doubling of computer power every 18 months, (2) data analysis advances, (3) declining data storage costs, and (4) ________.

A) advances in wireless networking
B) international standards for data protection
C) networking advances and the Internet
D) increased ease in file sharing and copying

Question 28

The ethical "no free lunch" rule 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) everything is owned by someone else, and that the creator wants compensation for this work.

Question 29

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.

Question 30

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.

Question 31

Which of the following is not one of the five steps discussed in the chapter as a process for analyzing an ethical issue?

A) Assign responsibility.
B) Identify the stakeholders.
C) Identify the options you can reasonably take.
D) Identify and clearly describe the facts.

Question 32

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

Question 33

The feature of social institutions that means mechanisms are in place to determine responsibility for an action is called

A) due process.
B) accountability.
C) the courts of appeal.
D) the judicial system.

Question 34

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.

Question 35

Which U.S. act restricts the information the federal government can collect and regulates what they can do with the information?

A) Privacy Act of 1974
B) Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999
C) Freedom of Information Act
D) HIPAA of 1996

Question 36

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.

Question 37

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

Question 38

According to the ________, you should take the action that produces the least harm.

A) Categorical Imperative
B) Risk Aversion Principle
C) Utilitarian Principle
D) Golden Rule

Question 39

The feature of political systems in which a body of laws is in place that permits individuals to recover the damages done to them by other actors, systems, or organizations is referred to as

A) accountability.
B) responsibility.
C) due process.
D) liability.

Question 40

A classic ethical dilemma is the hypothetical case of a man stealing from a grocery store in order to feed his starving family. If you used the Utilitarian Principle to evaluate this situation, you might argue that stealing the food is

A) acceptable, because the grocer suffers the least harm.
B) acceptable, because the higher value is the survival of the family.
C) wrong, because the man would not want the grocery to steal from him.
D) wrong, because if everyone were to do this, the concept of personal property is defeated.

Question 41

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

Question 42

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.

Question 43

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

Question 44

The most common source of business system failure is

A) software bugs.
B) software errors.
C) hardware or facilities failures.
D) data quality.

Question 45

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.

Question 46

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

Question 47

A(n) ________ model of informed consent permits the collection of personal information until the consumer specifically requests that the data not be collected.

A) opt-in
B) opt-out
C) P3P
D) PGP

Question 48

The Internet has made the protection of intellectual property

A) more difficult, because of the lack of enforcable regulations.
B) easier, because of the proliferation of creative and professional software.
C) more difficult, because of the ease of copying and transmitting digitized media.
D) easier, because of the ability to track user behavior and visits to Web sites and file-sharing services.

Question 49

One of the difficulties of patent protection is

A) that only the underlying ideas are protected.
B) digital media cannot be patented.
C) preventing the ideas from falling into public domain.
D) the years of waiting to receive it.

Question 50

The robotics startup you work for has developed an AI-controlled robotic nurse, intended to care for end-of-life patients who are often unconscious. Which of the five moral dimensions does this raise?

A) system quality
B) quality of life
C) accountability and control
D) property rights and obligations

Question 51

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

Question 52

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.

Question 53

When a cookie is created during a Web site visit, it is stored

A) on the Web site computer.
B) on the visitor's computer.
C) on the ISP's computer.
D) in a Web directory.

Question 54

The P3P standard is concerned with

A) controlling pop-up ads based on user profiles and preventing ads from collecting or sending information.
B) allowing users to surf the Web anonymously.
C) scrambling data so that it can't be read.
D) blocking or limiting cookies.

Question 55

European privacy protection is ________ than in the United States.

A) less far-reaching
B) less liable to laws
C) much less stringent
D) much more stringent

Question 56

A limitation of trade secret protection for software is that

A) it does not protect against copying the underlying ideas behind the software.
B) it is difficult to compare one piece of software to another.
C) it is difficult to prevent the ideas in the work from falling into the public domain.
D) few software programs contain truly unique elements.

Question 57

It is not feasible for companies to produce error-free software because

A) any programming code is susceptible to error.
B) it is too expensive to create perfect software.
C) errors can be introduced in the maintenance stage of development.
D) any software of any complexity will have errors.

Question 58

"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.

Question 59

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.

Question 60

Intellectual property can best be described as

A) intangible property created by individuals or corporations.
B) the expression of an intangible idea.
C) unique creative work or ideas.
D) tangible or intangible property created from a unique idea.

Question 61

Web ________ are embedded in e-mails and Web pages to monitor user behavior at the Web site or sending e-mail.

Question 62

The "do anything anywhere" computing environment can

A) make work environments much more pleasant.
B) create economies of efficiency.
C) centralize power at corporate headquarters.
D) blur the traditional boundaries between work and family time.

Question 63

The moral dimension of ________ is concerned with the standards that data and systems should achieve in order to protect individual rights and the safety of society.

Question 64

The commission of acts involving the computer that may not be illegal but are considered unethical is called ________.

Question 65

CVS refers to

A) eyestrain related to computer display screen use.
B) carpal vision syndrome.
C) wrist injuries brought about by incorrect hand position when using a keyboard.
D) stress induced by technology.

Question 66

________ refers to the existence of laws that permit individuals to recover damages done to them by other actors, systems, or organizations.

Question 67

The ethical principle called ________ asks you to put yourself in the place of others, and think of yourself as the object of the decision.

Question 68

The U.S. CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

A) makes spamming illegal.
B) requires spammers to identify themselves.
C) has dramatically cut down spamming.
D) does not override state anti-spamming laws.

Question 69

Software presents liability problems in terms of legal protections for users because

A) of the difficulty in classifying its role as a machine, a service, or a book.
B) of the inability to review the actual programming behind the software.
C) of its inherent similarity to books and periodicals, and therefore it is protected by the First Amendment.
D) there are so many parties involved in its creation and distribution.

Question 70

The practice of spamming has been growing because

A) telephone solicitation is no longer legal.
B) it is good advertising practice and brings in many new customers.
C) it helps pay for the Internet.
D) it is so inexpensive and can reach so many people.

Question 71

________ is permission given with knowledge of all the facts needed to make a rational decision.

Question 72

Re-designing and automating business processes can be seen as a double-edged sword because

A) increases in efficiency may be accompanied by job losses.
B) increases in efficiency may be accompanied by poor data quality.
C) support for middle-management decision making may be offset by poor data quality.
D) reliance on technology results in the loss of hands-on knowledge.

Question 73

Descartes' rule of change, that if an action cannot be taken repeatedly, it is not right to take at all, is also known as the ________ rule.

Question 74

________ can be induced by tens of thousands of repetitions under low-impact loads.

A) CTS
B) CVS
C) RSI
D) Technostress

Question 75

The principles of right and wrong that can be used by individuals acting as free moral agents to make choices to guide their behavior are called ________.

Question 76

The ________ model prohibits an organization from collecting any personal information unless the individual specifically takes action to approve information collection and use.

Question 77

Two of the three principal sources of poor system performance are

A) software bugs and errors and outdated standards.
B) hardware or facility failures and malware.
C) hardware or facility failures and poor input data quality.
D) poor input data quality and insufficient integration with legacy systems.

Question 78

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

Question 79

The term "________ divide" refers to large disparities in access to computers and the Internet among different social groups and different locations.

A) computer
B) technology
C) digital
D) electronic

Question 80

A(n) ________ is a private, self-regulating policy and enforcement mechanism that meets the objectives of government regulators but does not involve government enforcement.