Walmart Future Plan

Table of Contents

Report Title..................................................................................................................1
Approval Page………………………………….…………………………………………...2
Title of Contents…………………………………………………………………………….3
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..4-5

TIME PLAN………………………………………………………………………...…...……6
JOURNAL……..………………………………………………………………..….….......7-8
REASEARCH AND FINDINGS…………………………….......................................9-16
CONCEPT MAP……………………………………………………….….….……......17-29
STORYBOARD………………………..………..……………………………….…..........30
CONCLUSION……………………………………………….……………..................31-32

PROJECT REVIEW……………………………………………………………………33-34
MARKING KEY WORKING SHEET………………………………………….…….……35
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………….36-37

APPENDIX ,

Introduction

Since the dawn of modern technology, more and more people have counted on the efficiency and the speed that is being offered by the various modern machines. Production has increased dramatically and better quality products came to exist. Now, things and creation that were just once a part of the mind’s imagination, became a reality.

In the world of communication, the Internet has done a lot. People from all over the globe are now within reach. With just a few strokes of the fingers and those who reside in far-flung places, granting that they can be reached by the Internet, can be talked to. This phenomenon has also influenced the businesses and has paved the way to the concept of globalization. Shopping, paying bills, transacting with banks, and money remittance are just some of the benefits that people can take advantage of, all courtesy of the Internet.

As connecting to most parts of the world became possible, the youth has ushered in social networking. Young people who were eager to meet new friends and learn about new things from other places in the world wholeheartedly embraced social networking. Aside from meeting friends and sharing their ideas, social networking also made it feasible for the youth to share photos and videos, play games, chat with their peers and keep abreast of the events that are happening in their lives.

Nowadays, people from other age groups have also started using social networking for business purposes. Those who have seen the advantages of the wide reach of the Internet has taken advantage of this fact and has used various social networking sites to promote their products, services and companies. There are also those groups which advertise to encourage more people to join. Advertisements have now become an ordinary sight on social networking sites.

There are also some people who belong to the older generation who turned to social networking for their personal purpose. Some of these include finding a partner, looking for employment, or learning new things that will enhance their personalities. These are the common reasons cited why more and more people turn to social networking.

In a glance, social networking has been playing an important role in everyone’s lives and its purpose keeps on expanding as people try to find more ways to take advantage of its popularity and usefulness. With this, it is then imperative for people to learn about the different facets of social networking to find out how it can be used to benefit people more. There are also some privacy and online crimes that are now very prevalent and as the users are the primary target, it is then imperative for them to know more about these to be able to protect themselves well.

Time Plan

Task Title: Social Networking and Ethics
Due Date: June 3, 2011

Activities
Working Dates

13
14
17
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21
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27
29
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31
1
2
1
Introduction
a ok 2
Journal

a b c ok 3
Research and Findings a b b b c c c c d d ok 4
Concept map a b c c d Ok

5
Storyboard
a ok 6
Conclusion

a c d d d d ok
7
Bibliography a a b c c c c c d d ok Legend of Status:

Ok - Finished
A 10-30% - just started
B 40-50% - average
C 60-70% - progressing
D 80-90% - almost there

Journal
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Identify any skills, hardware or software you might need to develop

As it was almost pure research, there was no hardware involved with this task except printer. As for software, Microsoft Word was used as usual and Microsoft Excel was used to come up with graphs that represent data from her survey which is primary source. Other than those, to use primary source, she had to have skills to come up with questions that had to be on survey paper to get users thoughts about her chosen social networking site, Facebook. As for secondary sources, she was required to read articles from the Internet, newspapers and books, especially for articles from the Internet, she had to be critical and wise whether the sites are trustful or not.

ICT issues

Issues with the use of social networking sites

1. Addiction: with the use of social networking sites can also arouse addiction issues. Users who always feel to be online in their favourite social networking sites not just with Internet but also through mobile phones or other devices that can get users to be connected with social networking sites. It has become big issues since, Internet access is always needed when people are working or studying. They tend to do their work while they are chatting or putting comments.

2. Privacy: As long as Internet concerns, information moves faster and further to people whom you don’t even know. People should be careful of the information that they post online. It might be seen to people whom you don’t want to share your information with.
3. Predators: It usually arouses confusion. Especially with young innocent people, can be stalked or entrapped by malicious people with wrong promises. For this issue, people should be sceptical and doubtful about the information or people from the Internet social networking site or chatting rooms.

4. Security of information: As every data put on social networking sites is stored in databases, the issue of security rises. It is because the information can be used by social networking sites that users might not like about. For this issue, users should not put very detailed information about him or her that he or she doesn’t want to spread.

5. Cyber bullying: As it implies, it refers a form of bullying that occurs in online sites. It can be done with numerous ways such as by email, online social networking, mobile-phone texting, instant messaging and so on and so forth. For this issue, people better not to respond and contact to police or other authority.

6. Copyright issues: People tend to take a video and post it to online whether that belongs to other people or not. However with this line, the one who was in that video would not like about the fact that the video he was in is posted online. Here is the copyright issue involved. The one who were in the video has right to ask the one who posted or website owner for it to be removed.
Research and Findings

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Define and describe social networking
Define and describe ethics in terms of technology including examples
Define and describe privacy, intellectual property and copyright laws in Australia

1. Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups. With the advent of the Internet, more and more people have turned to it in order to meet more people as millions go there to achieve the same purpose. Nowadays, social networking has also expanded into gathering and sharing first-hand information and experiences, developing friendship or professional alliances, finding employment, and business-to-business marketing. People can also share photos and videos, as with the case of some sites like YouTube and Vevo.

Since social networking came to exist, a lot of people have been joining the various social networking services available. At first, there are only the younger generation who are into it, but as time passed by, more and more features are added and being offered to the users, the number of people which is not only limited to the younger ones, started joining them. Some of the most popular social networking sites today include Facebook, Friendster, Twitter, MySpace and Multiply. These social networking services are online services or sites which are focused on building and reflecting social network or social relations among people who share the same interests or activities. Most of these social services, such as those mentioned, are web based. They provide various means for the users to interact with each other through the internet by e-mailing and instant messaging. These are just one of the features that mainly attract people to join in these social networking services.

2. Ethics, also called moral philosophy, refers to that branch of philosophy that addresses questions regarding morality. This has to do with the concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, among others. In technology, ethics is the commitment that should be given to the products of technology. Included in this is the question of how these products should be made and used. As these products and technology are made by people or group of people, ethics is then set by them. Ethics is divided into two and these are, 1) the ethics which discusses whether it is right or wrong to develop and implement new technology and 2) ethical questions regarding the participation of technology in curtailing or extending the power of individuals.

3. Privacy, as defined by the Privacy Act of Australia, refers to the protection of the personal information of the people. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is generally concerned with the privacy issues that have to do with a person’s personal information. This information may include privacy issues that are associated with a person’s location, health and body, and a person’s communication with others.

Personal information is any information that identifies or could identify a person. This information includes the most obvious ones which are a person’s name or address, and also medical records, bank account details, photos and videos. Others that may also be included in this are the person’s likes and dislikes, opinions or where s/he works. Personal information, according to the office, does not really have to include a person’s name. Just the date of birth and post code will do in identifying a certain person.

Simply put, the Privacy Act of Australia is:
"... information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion."

One of the key roles of the Office in implementing the Privacy Act of Australia is to respond to complaints made by individuals. This they do by doing an investigation to see if an agency or a certain organisation has done something that can be considered a breach of the Privacy Act. It is also within the authority of a Privacy Commissioner to do an investigation eve without someone making a complain. This usually happens when the media has reported about a serious breach of privacy. Actions can be taken by the Office even before someone files a complaint. The Office also acts on preventing breaches of the Privacy Act by regularly conducting audits, monitoring data-matching an issuing guidance materials to various agencies and organisations to aid them in complying with the Act.

The intellectual property rights of Australia, on the other hand, represent the property of one’s mind or intellect. When used in the business world, this is equivalent to one’s proprietary knowledge. There are many types of intellectual property and one of them is the patent. Patent is a right granted to any new, inventive and useful device, method or process, or substance. This gives the owner an exclusive right to commercially take advantage of an invention for the life of the patent. Patents also serve as protection to those technological inventions which have the prospect of leading into a product, process or composition that has long-term commercial gain. However, artistic creations, plans, schemes, mathematical models, or other purely mental processes cannot be patented.

Trademark refers to a letter, number, word, phrase, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or any combination of these that are used to distinguish goods and services of one trade from another. As such, this implies that one cannot register a trademark which is directly describing one’s goods or services. However, the Australian intellectual property law states that even if a trademark is not registered, the owner can still use it though registering is highly suggested for the creator to have the exclusive rights to use, license or sell it within Australia for the goods and services for which it is registered.

Design is also something that has to do with the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation that when applied to a certain product, gives it a unique appearance that can give it its identity. The Australian government encourages creators of designs to have them registered granting that it is new and distinctive. These registered designs have the potential of becoming valuable commercial assets. The owner also gets the exclusive right to use, license or sell the said design.

Among all these types of intellectual property rights, copyright are perhaps the most talked about. Copyright provides protection for original expression of ideas instead and not the ideas themselves. These materials may include original works of art and literature, music, film, sound recording, broadcasts and computer programs from getting copied or for some other uses. However, copyright is not registered in Australia but a copyright material enjoys the protection under the laws of other signatory countries wherein Australia is a member.

Protection of copyright is provided through the Copyright Act of 1968. This provides exclusive rights to license others that have something to do with copying the work, performing it in public, broadcasting it, publishing it and making an adaptation of the work. The rights granted vary as determined by the nature of work. There is a difference between the rights granted to those of artistic works and those for literary and musical works. These medium are the usual target of piracy or the reproduction of copyright materials. This act of copying of copyright materials is termed as an infringement of exclusive rights, but the government also permits copying on certain amount.

The law in Australia states that an idea that has been granted a copyright is not really protected from independent creators of similar works, especially so in works such as films, broadcasts and multimedia products. Copyright notice bearing the name of the owner and the date is not really necessary; it may be helpful in proving one’s ownership of the copyright. This is especially beneficial in establishing copyright in a few overseas countries aside from the fact that it can help in keeping away potential infringers.

With the big role intellectual properties play in protecting one’s creation, people in Australia are encouraged to protect their intellectual property rights.

Primary and secondary sources identified

Primary source: survey on main stakeholder, users
Secondary sources: Book, Internet, Article

Survey on Social Networking Site

1. Do you know what social networking is?

2. Do you use Facebook?

3. Do you use any social networking aside from Facebook?

4. Have you encountered any offensive incidents while using Facebook?

5. What do you usually do in Facebook?

6. Do you think using Facebook is safe?

7. How many hours do you use Facebook in a week?

8. Do you think using Facebook is useful?

9. Do you think Facebook is addictive?

10. If you are going to rate Facebook (10 as the highest), what would it be?

*survey summary

The 10 respondents were consisted of 3 teachers, 5 students and others (school nurse and school counsellor).
For the convenience of the readers, percent will be used to further explain the results. All of the respondents use Facebook but 10% of them were not aware of the term social networking. In addition, 80% of the respondents use other social networking aside from Facebook. As to the question asking if there are any offensive incidents that they have encountered while using Facebook, 50% of the respondents answered yes while the other 50% answered no. For the reason why they use Facebook, 70% of the respondents do Facebook to put comments followed by to share information which is what 20% of the respondents do. 10% of the respondents use Facebook to view commercial links. Ask about the safety of using Facebook in relation to security, 50% of the respondents answered yes, they believe that Facebook is safe to use while the other 40% answered that for them, it is not safe to use it. Moreover, 10% of the respondents answered 'not at all '. When the respondents were asked how many hours do they use Facebook in a week, 60% of them answered more than 4hours while 30% answered less than 1 hour. As for the usefulness of using Facebook, half of the respondents answered yes, while half of the remaining 40% answered 'very much ' and the other 20% answered 'not at all '. 10% of the respondents answered no. When it comes to addiction as a possible effect of using Facebook was
asked, half of the respondents answered yes, 30% answered 'not at all ' and 20% answered no. Lastly, for the rating of Facebook, half of the respondents rated 7-9, 30% chose 0-3 and 20% rated it 4-6. In other words, no one rated Facebook as a perfect social networking site.

Concept map

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Brief history given of social networking site
Timeline of major events included

Facebook today has more than 500 million users worldwide, making it the top networking site. a product of the mind of a bored and heart-broken Harvard University student, Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg, a 19-year old student at that time, used The Facebook to post two pictures and have the other students vote to choose which one is hotter than the other. This, in the long run, he called “Hot or Not”. Simply put, Facebook was primarily set up to build an online community for Harvard students where it was well-received by the students. Later on, it spread to other universities such as Yale and Stanford and it was also received well by the students. Now, anyone who is over the age of 13 can join Facebook. Along with his classmates and roommates, Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, they hacked into Harvard’s and stole everyone’s private dormitory identification.
There was still no computerized system that holds all the students’ records so they clung on to its idea wholeheartedly. After the hacking and stealing were discovered by the University administration, Zuckerberg was charged with breach of security, copyrights and individual privacy, Zuckerberg faced expulsion for two days. The charges were eventually dropped and a year after, Zuckerberg added some new features which included the Comments section, among other things. By this time, the site has already been well-received in other Ivy League universities such as New York University, Boston University and MIT, among others, making it officially a national network phenomenon. However, since it has gained a lot of popularity and has been reeking in money, a lot of controversies have plagued Zuckerberg. Some seniors in Harvard have accused him of stealing ideas, but this charge was settled out of court. There was also the case filed by ConectU, a very similar social network which also had its roots from Harvard. According to ConnectU, Zuckerberg stole some source code while he was still an employee in ConnectU. This was denied by Zuckerberg which lead to the dropping of the
case.

The company became incorporated in 2004 and had its base moved to Palo Alto, California where it is still currently based. In August, 2005, thefacebook officially became Facebook and the domain facebook.com was purchased for a staggering $200,000. One of the most noted primary investors of the company was one of the cofounders of PayPal, Peter Thiel.

It was in September of 2006 when Facebook became open to those who had an email address and was over the age of 13. This became the beginning of Facebook’s popularity in the global level, motivating Microsoft to buy a 1.6% stock in the company which amounts to $240 million. Users of Facebook know that its core service is totally free and is supported by ads. In August of 2006, Facebook signed a three year deal with Microsoft to provide and sell ads on their site in return for a split in the revenue. There was also the agreement with Apple made in the same year which states that Apple will be giving away 10 million free iTunes samplers to all Facebook users. Another deal which provides Facebook with credit cards was also signed.

Comparison of technology given including similarities and differences

Facebook
Other social networking sites
Has many easy to use sections found on the profile page such as Information, Status, Friends, Friends in Other Networks, Photos, Notes, Groups and The Wall
Has many to use sections on the profile page but does not include Friends in Other Networks and Notes, unlike Facebook (Multiply)
Allows unlimited loading of photos that they can also share with other users
Allows users to upload up to 16 photos (MySpace)
Uploading photos is easy and allows users to modify who they want to see the uploaded photos
Uploading photos is, at times, difficult and does not provide users the opportunity to control who they want to see their photos (MySpace)
Can upload photos and videos
Allows photos to be uploaded but only after they were made into slideshows or clips (YouTube)
Posts can be as long as the user wishes to
Posts are limited to a certain number of characters (all of them above)

Facebook users enjoy a lot of features that it offers. One of the most striking differences that it has as compared to other networking sites such as YouTube and Multiply is its profile page. Now, users can share more information than before. Facebook profile is made up of a number of various sections which include the Information, Status, Friends, Friends in Other Networks, Photos, Notes, Groups, and The Wall. These are very easy to use for they are self-explanatory but there are some which are specific to Facebook.

Users of Facebook also enjoy unlimited uploading of their photos which they also get to share with other users. Uploading photos can be done through the users’ cellular phone or through its Java-based web interface. As compared to MySpace, which only allows a user to upload up to 16 photos, Facebook users can upload as much as they want. However, a restriction which only lets 60-photos-per-album is being implemented by Facebook. There is also the issue of the ease in uploading the photos. Facebook users simply have to create albums which they can assign limitations which may be visible to friends only, visible to all, or have it modified to choose the specific people who a user wants to see the uploaded photos, and upload the photos within them.

With over 1.5 million photos uploaded daily, one of Facebook’s most popular features has been the ability to upload photos. Users can upload unlimited photos from their cell phone or through its Java-based web interface. Facebook is one of the few services to offer an unlimited quota with their only restriction being a 60-photos-per-album limit – this is much appreciated by Facebook’s college demographic.

The process of uploading photos is very simple. Users create albums which they can assign limitations to (e.g. visible to my friends only) and upload photos within them. The album is then put into their profile, and other users with right credentials have the ability to see and comment on them. Facebook also gives the feature to share the photos with a simple web link or send them via AIM or by e-mail. What’s more, users can also order prints online through a simple integrated interface. YouTube is another networking website that allows users to upload and share photos but only after the photos were made into slideshows as YouTube only allows uploads of videos and clips.

Facebook also allows its users to join groups where they share common interests with the other members. There is also the privilege for users to join one which already exists or form a new one that can be modified according to their desires. Forming or joining groups will enable the students to collaborate on a university project and have an opportunity to have closed discussions, among others. Events can also be advertised in Facebook through its “events” feature. This offers its users the opportunity to organize, be part of, and plan for events. A lot of its users have already reportedly benefited a lot from this feature especially when it comes to organizing successful events. Twitter also offers the same feature but as Facebook has a larger number of users, posting and organizing events is found to be more helped when done in Facebook. Not only do the users join and organize events, but they also have the option to invite and recommend others to an event. Though it has faced a lot of controversies since it was launched as a result of some college and university students joining and organizing drinking sessions, it still is one of the site’s most popular features as compared to some competing products such as Twitter and MySpace which are also made for the same purpose.

As compared to Twitter, status and other shout outs in Facebook can be as long as the user wishes for them to be. Twitter provides its users to post whatever they wish to but only with a limited number of characters. Facebook users, on the other hand, are free to post as many posts as they wish to with as many characters that they want to use.

Perhaps one of Facebook’s most important features that they are offering to their users is the Facebook Developer. This feature offers everyone an access to the network’s internals, allowing them to create widgets, mashups, tools and projects which are based around Facebook. Facebook was the first social network to do this and through this feature, the site was able to create some applications which can also be helpful to its users. One of which is the FaceBank, which allows users to keep track of debts and shared expenses with friends. There is also lickuacious which allows the users to rank their friends according to their Facebook wall popularity.

Facebook’s Notes, a feature which lets its users to write a Facebook blog, is one addition that has been attracting a lot of users. These notes are found displayed in the user’s profile and members who wish to add comments are free to do so. Notes possesses the ability to import and syndicate an external blog as compared to Technorati, which doesn’t allow one to claim one only to him/her. This can also be attached with photos or have it posted via cell phone which can be done by sending one’s notes to [e-mail]. Tagging, also another feature offered by Facebook, allows its users to tag a post with a username which will automatically be sent to that specific user.

Stakeholders and major use outlined

Facebook has different functions among its users and what makes it popular among almost everyone is the fact that it has something to offer to suit everyone’s needs. The most important of these functions is perhaps that it allows people to reach out to each other. Communication became easier and constant as a lot of its features people to keep in touch with whatever is happening with each other’s lives that they share through their status. People who are in faraway places are able to find each other even after not keeping in touch with each other for a long time. Chatting is also one way for people to minimize distance and improve communication. Anyone who wishes to chat with whomever they want to can do so as long as both are online. Sharing photos and videos is another major function of Facebook. Users can share as much photos as they want to their friends just by simply uploading and tagging them to those who they wish to share them with.

As Facebook was primarily created to be a social website that can be shared by university students, one of its stakeholders are the students. With the features offered by the site, students can benefit from them in improving their studies, as can be contributed by Facebook Groups, as well as expand their market when it comes to promoting school events as offered by Facebook Events. There are also the companies who are into promoting their events and new products by placing advertisements on Facebook. It has been established that with the large number of the network’s users, companies and advertisers have found a good opportunity in finding another good place way of making their products known to a larger number of people. Online businesses have also been given a good chance to develop their business, which prompted other established businesses to offer online services.

As people of all ages are taking advantage of the features and the popularity that Facebook has to offer, government agencies have also started making their Facebook accounts in order for the members of the public to be able to reach them easily and fast. This also helps for them to reach out to the people and make them aware of the projects and policies that they are implementing so as to make the dissemination of the said information faster.

Summary given of policies

However, a lot of controversies have surrounded Facebook, and this has mainly to do with its policies. According to Facebook, the information that users provide upon signing in on their network will be visible only to their friends. Users also have the choice to choose the information that they wish to share when they sign in. The content that users can share on the website are also made public and known to those friends that users have. Uploaded links, photos, videos, groups, comments, and other information that can be shared are seen by people but should a user not wish for Facebook to store a metadata of the content uploaded, users are advised to remove the metadata first before uploading it. Some of the users’ actions in Facebook are also being logged and this may be creating a photo, commenting on a friend’s wall, or “liking” something.

Facebook also retains details of transactions or payments that a user has made on Facebook. However, if the user did not want it to be so, the user can go to payments page and remove his/her payment source account number. Facebook also uses cookies for easier use of the site. These are also used to keep track of when a user is logged in and the things that they do when they are playing games in Facebook. Users who are accessing Facebook from a computer, mobile phone, or other device, may also find that some of their information are collected from that device. These information include a user’s browser type, location, and IP addresses, and so are the pages that s/he has visited.

There are a lot more that is stated in the policies of Facebook but in a nutshell, Facebook allows its users to choose the people that they will allow to see their profile and other related information about them through controlling their settings. Information such as names, profile pictures, genders and user names are made available to people as these are essential in order for other people to find you. Hometowns, activities, and experiences are also accessible to users for these are also needed in connecting with friends. Other applications and websites can also be controlled by users. They can choose to view their applications, remove, or turn them off completely. There is also the choice for the user to block people from interacting or seeing information about a user or control who they want to show their posts every time they make one.

Risks outlined with laws included

Facebook has implemented, and still continues to modify its privacy policies, to protect its millions of users from all over the world. As all users know, there are certain information that are posted on Facebook regarding them that might put them in danger should they get to the wrong hands. Information such as names, zip code, date of birth, photos, videos, among others that are needed in Facebook can be used against the user. With this, it is therefore imperative for every user to be more cautious of what they are sharing and posting. The Privacy Act of Australia deals with issues of privacy, including those in the Internet. Facebook encourages its users to share and connect with people, but some of the things that the users need to divulge can be used against them. This can be risky when the Privacy Act is to be considered as this access to other user’s information may lead to something more dangerous.

With a lot of negative onslaught regarding the site’s privacy and security settings, Facebook is working on modifying them without really diminishing its purpose, and that is for people to be closer to each other. As part of their risk prevention regarding privacy, Facebook has made certain changes in their privacy clauses. They have also made and are continuously making some minor and major changes on their tools and features to make their users enjoy visiting the site instead of fearing it.

Generally, users have the choice about who they want to share the information that they post in Facebook. However, a lot of issues were still raised regarding their privacy policies. One of the issues that caught the attention of many of its users states that “Facebook also collects information about you from other sources, such as newspapers and instant messaging services. This information is gathered regardless of your use of the Web Site.” This clause has unsettled some of its users and has caught the attention of some critics as they perceive this to be a source of data-gathering project. Another policy that has caused controversies to many users is the policy statement of Facebook which states that “We may use information about you that we collect from other sources, including but not limited to newspapers and Internet sources such as blogs, instant messaging services and other users of Facebook, to supplement your profile.” This caused a stir in the networking community and has the people thinking that Facebook is using their information to their own purpose. Due to the controversies, Facebook now states “We may use information about you that we collect from other Facebook users to supplement your profile (such as when you are tagged in a photo or mentioned in a status update). In such cases, we generally give you the ability to remove the content (such as allowing you to remove a photo tag of you) or limit its visibility on your profile.” The terminology which pertains to the use of collected information from other sources which includes the newspapers, blogs, and instant messaging has been removed.

Facebook’s privacy clause once also includes “We may share your information with third parties, including responsible companies with which we have a relationship.” Facebook addressed this issue by stating that they “have never provided our users’ information to third party companies, nor do we intend to.” In the end, Facebook just deleted this clause from its privacy policy.

Risk prevention outlined

Considering the issues that became controversial since Facebook’s inception, these issues are concentrated on the user’s privacy. As stated by Australia’s Privacy Act, personal information is anything that can be used to identify a person. This could be a name, date of birth, medical records, bank account details, photos, videos, or even just a post code. In the case of Facebook, information such as date of birth, name, photos and videos are made known to many and this makes its users vulnerable to many kinds of Internet crimes. In relation to the Privacy Act, the way Facebook users take advantage of the services that the site is offering is, in a way, against the Privacy Act. However, as Facebook argues, users are aware of the information that they are sharing and that this information is made public. As such, according to the site, this cannot be considered an invasion of the users’ privacy.

ARTICLE

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9071458/Update_Facebook_fixes_security_lapse_that_exposed_photos

An article that questions the security that they can offer the users regarding their privacy was put to test when, just after the unveiling of their privacy upgrades, Facebook exposed some restricted photos to those who are using the site, and this was according to a report received by the Associated Press in March of 2008. The tip came from Byron Ng, a computer technician who claimed that he was the one who discovered the said lapse. According to Ng, he started looking for the site’s weaknesses after they announced that the site has developed new means for members to limit the access to content in their personal profiles. However, Ng continued, he was able to find private pictures of Paris Hilton. He also sent AP a template which will allow the company to access Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook’s co-founder and CEO’s, photos.

This security lapse is a direct violation of Australia’s Privacy Act which states that “any information that identifies or could identify a person. This information includes the most obvious ones which are a person’s name or address, and also medical records, bank account details, photos and videos.”

Facebook’s spokeswoman said that right after the lapse was discovered, their engineers did tests on the scenario and discovered that it was a bug. Right after it was detected, according to the spokeswoman, the engineers fixed them immediately. The company also added in their statement that security is something that they take seriously.

Ethical issue and appropriate laws identified
Issues described and also how it is being fixed

According to the Privacy Act of Australia, privacy is protecting people’s personal information. Anything that makes a person identifiable to others are considered personal information and with this case cited, celebrity photos were exposed. This is a clear breach in their privacy and as such, users have the right to fear for their own privacy.

This privacy issue, among others that Facebook has been complained about, are being solved by Facebook by implementing new privacy issues that will give its users more control over the information that they are sharing. They have also added new features in their privacy options to give the users more privacy control over their information and what they are sharing. Over the years, Facebook has already made a lot of modifications in their privacy settings and one of them is the New Privacy Interface. However, upon the release of this new interface, people started complaining about the complexities of how it can be applied to every user’s account. With this, Facebook moved on to simplifying the instructions and providing more detailed information on how to use their new tools and features.

With the launch of the New Privacy Interface last year, Facebook made sure that every user will be able to understand and apply them. Through a link that will bring them to the Privacy Guide. This page contains graphic laden summary of changes to make the users understand the new changes better. As part of Facebook’s goal, they want their users to be able to share information without being scared of losing their privacy.

This is just one of the steps that Facebook has taken over the years to address the concerns of the users, which mainly has to do with their privacy. As they maintain, they want the users to be excited about sharing and connecting to others and not worried about privacy.

Opinion given

Facebook offers both good and bad things to its users. One of the best things that it offers is in finding people. Friends and relatives who the users were not able to see and communicate with for a long time can be found easily in a short period of time, granting that s/he has an account in Facebook. However, when it comes to protecting the users’ privacy, there are some doubts as to how far Facebook can protect them.

The site’s privacy policies have undergone a lot of improvements and looking at them now, it can be said that they have come a long way. Users now have better control over their information and data. Friends can also be protected as with some clicks and modification on the settings, they can also be hidden from other people who don’t belong to one’s network of friends. The site’s policies have now become friendlier as well, making it easier for its users to understand how things work and how they can take full advantage of the features offered without having their privacy violated. This is probably one of the reasons why despite the numerous law suits and privacy issues that the site has encountered, a lot of people still subscribe to it. This is a classic example of the old saying that says, “There are two sides to every coin”. Facebook offers something for people to enjoy and the benefits can either be for the users’ benefits or not.

Other appropriate ways to fix included

It is a fact that Facebook has done a lot of modification to what they are offering but there are still lingering doubts as to how safe a user’s information really is when they subscribe to the site. A lot of changes were made to its settings to make the people understand first what they are getting into and giving them a lot of options on how they want their information to be handled. However, despite these changes, it is perhaps best for Facebook to continuously work on how to fix these privacy issues for the users to be more at ease every time they visit and put something on their account.

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Facebook’s Log In page

Conclusion

As the current task has been accomplished, the researcher can conclude that she was able to get valid definition of social networking, ethics in terms of technology and Australia’s privacy, intellectual property and copyright laws. The researcher also learned how to get primary sources when doing a research and how to interpret the said researches in relation to the topic given.

In addition, the researcher also got to know about current issues regarding ICT, especially issues that have to do with privacy and ethics. In line with this, further researches also lead the researcher to the solutions for the said issues. As for social networking sites, she found numerous features and tools that some of them are offering, some of which she had not been aware of especially those sites that she does not subscribe to. With regards to the researcher’s chosen social networking site, Facebook, she would like to consider herself an expert when it comes to its policy, features and other facts.

Through this research, the researcher was able to understand the risks of joining social networking as well as the laws that apply to these risks. The said laws were able to point out the ways to apply them in relation to the privacy and security issues she discovered through the researches. Through a social networking article, the researcher was able to apply what she has learned by scanning, analysing, interpreting and giving opinions about it.

As a conclusion, the current research made the researcher realize how social networking affects people’s lives. The researcher also learned about the importance of the ethical, privacy and security issues that social networking sites pose to the users. The information that she gathered provided the researcher a better understanding of the overall issues and facts revolving around social networking.

Project review

What you were asked to do?

The current task had the researcher researching general meaning of social networking, ethics in terms of technology and privacy, intellectual property and copyright laws in Australia. In addition, the researcher was also asked to choose one social networking site with a brief history including timeline of major events which happened from its introduction till the present. In line with this, the chosen social networking site by researcher was asked to be compared with other social networking sites with similarities and differences in terms of what they offer to their users. Primary and secondary sources had to be used to research about the chosen social networking site. The researcher was also asked to outline the chosen site regarding stakeholders and the major purposes of the site; the potential risks related with using the chosen social networking site with appropriate laws protecting the user and how the risks can be prevented earlier and find the any privacies of it. Lastly, she was asked to find an article talking about an ethical issue related with her chosen social networking with her comment.

What steps did you take to achieve your final product?

First of all, the researcher made a list of things she was asked to accomplish. The next step was that she set the dates for each research. To define terms, she checked various sites to be sure about the accuracy of information. She also carefully investigated about Facebook, her chosen social networking site for quite a long time. From that investigation, she was able to get a brief history of Facebook and major events. As for the comparison with another social networking, she chose YouTube, Twitter and MySpace which have similarities and differences compared with Facebook. Also, from a short investigation of the sites mentioned, the researcher gathered information for the comparison. Risks that might occur while using Facebook were also gathered and outlined with laws that are involved with them. She also found an article related with ethical issues that occurred with her chosen social networking site and mentioned any law that can be applied to the situation. She also made a survey paper which was accomplished by 10 people regarding her chosen social networking site to include thoughts about main stakeholders of the social networking site. After that, she made use of Microsoft Excel to make graphs presenting the data from the survey.

What you would do better next time?

As it was pure research paper that did not require any product aside from documentation, the researcher didn’t think that there were numerous things to be improved for it to be better. However, if there were more time to browse other secondary sources such as newspapers, radios and so on and so forth, it would have been better. In addition, the researcher’s survey which was identified as a primary source, there is room for her to enhance the research. To do better next time, she would increase the number of respondents for the survey. Statistically speaking, 30 is the minimum number that could be used to come up with a good result for a survey. Since she had no enough time for this; she would do better with this next time.

MARKING KEY Unit 2B AIT
Task 1: Investigation Total: 80

Items
Possible
Mark
Actual
Mark
Research
20

Define and describe social networking and;
4

Define and describe ethics in terms of technology, including examples with your answer and;
4

Define and describe privacy, intellectual property and copyright laws in Australia.
6

Primary and secondary sources identified
2

Appropriate sources referenced
2

Variety of sources in research
2

Report
9

One document
1

Cover page
1

Table of Contents
1

Headers/footers
1

Page numbers
1

Appendix
2

Clearly written (spelling and grammar)
2

Clear formatting
2

Content
43

Brief history given of social networking site
3

Timeline of major events included
3

Comparison of technology given including similarities and differences
6

Stakeholders and major use outlined
6

Privacy or other policies sourced
2

Summary given of policies
4

Risks outlined with laws included
3

Risk prevention outlined
2

Social networking article sourced
2

Ethical issue and appropriate laws identified
4

Issue described and also how it is being fixed
4

Opinion given
2

Other appropriate ways to fix included
2

Journal
8

Timeline
2

Skills, hardware and software
3

Project review – what asked, steps taken, what do better next time
3

Course Weighting
15

Total
80

Teacher Comment:

Bibliography

-Australian Government, 2011, What is Intellectual Property?, What is Confidentiality / trade secrets?, Commonwealth of Australia, viewed May 14, 2011,

- Australian Government, 2011, What is Intellectual Property?, An Introduction to Intellectual Property, Commonwealth of Australia, viewed May 14, 2011,

-Facebook, 2010, Facebook’s Privacy Policy, viewed May 18, 2011,

-Shelly, Gary B. Thomas J. Cashman and Msity E. Vermaat. 2008, Discovering Computers 2008 Introductory, Thomson Course Technology, Boston, Massachusetts.

-Keane, Therese, Michael Fitzpatrick, Margaret Lawson and Antonia Caridi, 2011, Information Technology vce units 1 & 2, fifth edition, Nelson Cengage Learning, Australia.

-Rahul Thadani, 2010, History of Facebook, Facebook Hisotry Timeline, Buzzle.com, viewed May 21, 2011, < http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-facebook.html>

-Sid Yadav, 2006, Facebook – The Complete Biography, Mashable.com, viewed May 22, 2011, < http://mashable.com/2006/08/25/facebook-profile/>

-James Farrar, 2008, Stakeholder face-off in the Facebook age: the board chaalenge ahead: Be better prepared to use the Web proactively and reactively, Entrepreneur.com, viewed May 23, 2011,

-Tony Bradley, 2011, Facebook Erodes Privacy and Tightens Security, Security Alert, Pcworld.com, viewed May 24, 2011,

-Electronic Privacy Information Center, epic.org, Facebook Privacy, Latest News/ Events, viewed May 25, 2011,

-New Tools to Control Your Experience, 2009, Ruchi Sanghvi, faceboo, viewed May 28,