USA: +1 415 256 4347 
Sign in
Question
Research Paper Using Word 2010
This assignment has two goals: 1) have students increase their understanding of the concept of Protecting Personal Information (PPI) and other ethical issues related to the use of information technology through research, and 2) learn to correctly use the tools and techniques within Word to format a research paper including using Word 2010/2013/Office 365’s citation tools. These skills will be valuable throughout a students’ academic career. The paper will require a title page, NO abstract, three to four full pages of content with incorporation of a minimum of 3 external resources from credible sourcesand a Works Cited/Reference page. Wikipedia and similar general information sites, blogsor discussion groups are not considered creditable sources for a research project. No more than 10% of the paper may be in the form of a direct citation from an external source.
A list of topics from which students can choose is provided below.
Topics for Research Paper
- Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
- Social Engineering
- Employee Monitoring
- Information Privacy
- Electronic Medical Records
- Biometrics (in terms of ethical and privacy issues)
- Identity Theft
- Use of Cookies
- Privacy Laws related to Information Technology use
- Intellectual Property Rights; Copyright
If there is another topic that addresses ethical issues as related to information technology that is of special interest to you but one that is not in the list above, request permission from your instructor before selecting this alternate topic.
Writing Quality for the Research Paper
* All Grammar, Verb Tenses, Pronouns, Spelling, Punctuation, and Writing Competency should be without error.
Be particularly careful about mis-matching a noun and pronoun. For example, if you say “A person does this…” then do not use “their” or “they” when referring to that person. “Person” is singular; “their” or “they” is plural.
* Remember: there is not their, your is not you’re, itsis not it’s, too is not to or two, site is not cite, and who should be used after an individual, not that. For example, “the person WHO made the speech” not “the person THAT made the speech.”
* In a professional paper one does not use contractions (doesn’t, don’t, etc.) and one does not use the personal I,you or your. Use the impersonal as in the previous sentence. It is more business-like to say “In a professional paper one should not use contractions,” rather than saying, “In a professional paper you don’t use contractions.”
*Remember: spell-check, then proofread. Better yet, have a friend or colleague read it before submitting it. Read it out loud to yourself. Read it as if you are submitting it to your boss.
A note about the References tool in Word (based on Office 2010)
When you need to create a citation (giving credit for work that you are referencing), you click on References, then on Insert Citation. The next step is to add a new source. When you get to the “Create Source” window, it is suggested that you click on the “Show All Bibliography Fields.” Here is a sample Source screen.
Once you have entered all the source information, click on Bibliography and then Insert Bibliography.
This is the citation:
(Joseph, 2000)
This is how the source is entered into the References list:
Joseph, J. (2000, October). Ethics in the Workplace. Retrieved August 3, 2015, from asae-The Center for Association Leadership: http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/articledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=13073
Other fields on the source page would be used for a journal article or an article from a periodical.
Complete rubrics for this paper are found in the table on the next page.
Answer
Information Privacy
The progressive advancement in the information technology industry has proven to be quite useful in many aspects of the world of today. However, these new inventions have brought about ethical challenges that have continually threatened the privacy of information presented by various users. This essay focuses on addressing the entire concept of protecting personal information as well as the emerging ethical issues that arise from the use of information technology.
To begin with, personal information can be regarded as information that is used either independently or alongside other data with a sole purpose of identifying an individual, for instance, credit card, telephone numbers, and home addresses(Greene, 2014). The whole concept of personal information has become widespread in IT with the emergence of the Internet age. The latter has made it easy for cybercriminals to gather private information through security breaches.[1] It provides the basis for online scammers to gain private information and use it to blackmail the victims, or worse still, to steal their identities. In light of these growing incidences of security breaches, some countries including the United States have passed laws that require organizations to protect the personal information of their workers and to alert them whenever a breach occurs (Stevens,2012). However, this issue can be looked at as a legal rather than a technical one, hence the need to evaluate the relevance of the existing information privacy laws. In addressing legal aspects, it is worthwhile define a framework on how important markers are being used to identify individuals (Solove & Schwartz, 2011).With the increase in IT-related crimes such as hacking, and phishing, there is a need to establish and put in place stringent legal measures that will safeguard personal information.
Information privacy can be achieved in a number of ways. Most of the time, the success of such measures largely depends on how well Internet users implement them. Information protection is majorly concerned with efforts aimed at ensuring that information does not fall into the wrong hands and preventing unauthorized access to it.There are various ways to safeguard information from falling into the wrong hands, and they are discussed below.
Firstly, data encryption can be incorporated to protect delicate information. This basically involves converting information into a form that can be understood by authorized users only. It ensures that those who are not permitted to access a message cannot understand its nature and content. Secondly, users should embrace the use of strong passwords, which are the primary means of protecting against unauthorized access to information or computer systems. Theyrequire a user to enter a code that grants him/her permission to access a computer system. As such, persons who do not have a valid password cannot access the system, and this goes a long way in ensuring the security of data stored.
Thirdly, it is vital to critically read through all privacy policies outlined by any organization or system. They dictate how the information one presents will be used, disclosed, and managed by the organization or system. Ideally, a privacy policy should conform to the legal obligation of protecting client information.Unfortunately, scammers have come up with a way of tricking clients into providing vital and sensitive information by eliminating the disclosure clause in the policy. Therefore, caution should be exercised when reading these policies no matter how long-worded and boring they may appear.
Furthermore, security softwarehave become quite handy in modern computer systems. They comprise firewalls, anti-virus programs, malware detectors, anti-spyware systems. They offer the benefit of monitoring computer systems and checking for both potential and anticipated threats.This way, most security threats are neutralized and information is protected from destruction and illegal access. Additionally, suspicious e-mails should be avoided at all cost, an example of which is phishing emails, which usually contain virus-infected attachments.[2] Once opened, the viruses are activated, they enter the computer system, and immediately tamper with important personal data. Thus, such emails should be eluded at all cost to enhance the integrity and privacy of personal data and information.
On the other hand, there are myriad ethical issues that persistently affect the information technology industry. They have emerged due to technological innovation, and should be addressed appropriately.For starters, hacking has taken over the privacy of information systems. It refers to the illegal and unauthorized access of a security mechanism or system with the aim of acquiring sensitive information. It is among the biggest threats to information privacy and security. Incidentally, hacking is also one of the reasons computer viruses have become a widespread in today’s computer systems. These are malicious and destructive programs that are launched into a computer or information system, and they greatly contribute to massive damage of hardware and software systems in addition to unauthorized manipulation and loss of personal information.
Another ethical issue that has slowly crept in is digital disparities. This problem occurs when there is a gap between people who can access and effectively use the Internet together with its vast resources and those who have no knowledge at all of how computers run. It has often resulted to discrimination against, and social seclusion of, those who have no access to IT resources that facilitate information sharing in the pursuit of opportunities such as social media.
Moreover, IT-related advancements have led to many job losses. Workers are being displaced from their areas of work by computers and robots. Many organizations prefer using automated systems as opposed to hiring manual labor for cost reasons and level of precision in terms of the protection of personal information.However, this practice has far-reaching ethical implications because of the resulting impression of employers’ insensitivity to workers’ needs.
In conclusion, it is quite evident that technologicaladvancement has its own share of both positive and negative outcomes in equal measure. Moreover, the emerging issues related to IT have to be addressed accordingly to avoid them from spiraling out of hand and consequently causing more harm. Additionally, there is need for incorporation of sound mechanisms to tackle the threats to personal information in order to assure users that the information they present is well-protected against security threats.
References
Solove, D. & Schwartz, P.(2011). Privacy, Information, and Technology.New York, NY: Aspen Electives.
Greene, S. S. (2014). Security Program and Policies: Principles and Practices. Indianapolis, IN: Pearson.
Stevens, G. (2012). Data Security Breach Notification Laws.Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
[1] A security breach is an incident that involves bypassing security mechanisms and protocols to access information and data without authorization.
[2]Phishing; refers to an attempt to procure delicate information such as credit card numbers, and passwords for malicious reasons.
