Question 1 -
See if you can find an example of a privacy breach that was reported in the Australian or international news in the last 6 months. What were the consequences? i.e. legal, political, financial, personal etc. What action was taken in response to the privacy breach?
The article I have found about a privacy breach is the article “Online leaks splash confidential medical details on net” by Anna Caldwell. The article discusses how over 250 patients details were leaked. Such information as their ‘names, phone numbers, addresses and medical histories were exposed’ (Caldwell, 2009). This is a major breach of privacy due to all the information is private. The consequences of the breach were legal although no fines could be placed unless one of the affected parties (patients) lodged a complaint (Caldwell, 2009). Such issues as privacy breaches usually result in legal and financial ramifications. The people who have been affected could sue the business because their privacy has been breached and leaked onto the internet. The actions which have been put into place are that Privacy commission is looking into the issue. There have been more privacy breach issues which have been reported causing the Privacy Commission to look into more breaches (Caldwell, 2009).
Question 2 - Have you been using Turnitin software this semester? If you have was it a positive or negative experience and why?
This semester I have not used turnitin although my first semester at university I used Turnitin. It has been a few years since I have used it although I must say I have mixed feelings about the process. Such as since everyone’s work has been submitted to the program any similarities are picked up considering the assignments are meant to be similiarish. Little things get picked up such as a sentence is similar to someone in another country who has a similar question which they have answered and sent to Turnitin. A rather bad aspect of the whole process is sometimes it takes days for turnitin to generate the result. This causes a lot of concern because the time that it takes to wait for the result there might be a few changes which you want to make. The time it takes to wait can also become alarming if the assignment is due within a couple of days. When your whole class has to submit through turnitin the process takes longer and become rather frustrating.
Caldwell, A.(2009). Online leaks splash confidential medical details on net. Retrieved May 25, 2009 from: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,25266776-3102,00.html
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Week 10: Trust
a) Have a look at the following websites. What are some of the elements that have been incorporated to increase your trust in the sites? If there are also some aspects which decrease your level of trust describe them as well.
Ebay have certain elements which have been incorporated to increase trust such as having certain precautions as:
· Having Trust and Safety area on the website which consumers/buyers/sellers can read which explains precautions eBay has placed to protect clients.
· eBay has a feedback area which allows buyers and sellers to tell eBay about their experience and fairness of transactions.
· When making a transaction eBay recommends using such payment programs as Paypal which protects both the seller and the buyer.
· eBay have placed a security centre so people can have guidance when purchasing or selling items.
Ebay is rather formal which gives consumers and sellers more sense of trust. When a website looks rather professional and states how to be protected there is more of a sense of trust (eBay, 2009).
ANZ is a banking website which needs to give its clients and potential clients a sense of trust. ANZ has client’s details and banking details over the internet which causes a sense of worry. ANZ has to have precautions to ensure that clients feel that their information is protected. The bank has precautions such as:
· Security and privacy statements
· ANZ privacy statement
· Information explaining bout personal information
· Information about information collected
· The collection of the IP address
· Use and disclosure of information
This ensures clients feel safe and know what is happening with their information (ANZ, 2007).
Paypal is a transaction site which deals with sellers and buyers of products. Trust needs to be in place since there is a transaction of money. Such precautions Paypal uses to ensure clients trust are:
· An overview of the process
· What information is collected
· The use and disclosure of information
· Information security
· Accessing and changing information
· How to contact the company
Overall there has to be trust within these websites because these websites are all dealing with transactions. If a website does not look professional and does not evoke trust then people would not want to make a transaction (Paypal, 2009).
http://www.eBay.com.au
http://www.anz.com.au
http://www.paypal.com.au
b) Find a web site yourself that you think looks untrustworthy.
There are a few websites which I have looked into that seem trustworthy in which they look professional but yet there are still some sense of doubt. Certain websites which I have looked into such as TV series on DVD show that while the website looks good do not necessarily mean that everything is legitimate. I’ve looked at these sites and made a decision that i would not purchase the items because of my sense of doubt.
Paypal.(2009).Policies. Retrieved May 22, 2009 from: https://www.paypal.com/au/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_privacy-outside
eBay.(2009). About eBay. Retrieved May 22, 2009 from: http://pages.ebay.com.au/aboutebay/trustandsafety.html
ANZ.(2007). Website security. Retrieved May 22, 2009 from: http://www.anz.com.au/Help/ANZs-Web-Site/ANZ-Web-Site-Security-And-Privacy-Statement.asp
Ebay have certain elements which have been incorporated to increase trust such as having certain precautions as:
· Having Trust and Safety area on the website which consumers/buyers/sellers can read which explains precautions eBay has placed to protect clients.
· eBay has a feedback area which allows buyers and sellers to tell eBay about their experience and fairness of transactions.
· When making a transaction eBay recommends using such payment programs as Paypal which protects both the seller and the buyer.
· eBay have placed a security centre so people can have guidance when purchasing or selling items.
Ebay is rather formal which gives consumers and sellers more sense of trust. When a website looks rather professional and states how to be protected there is more of a sense of trust (eBay, 2009).
ANZ is a banking website which needs to give its clients and potential clients a sense of trust. ANZ has client’s details and banking details over the internet which causes a sense of worry. ANZ has to have precautions to ensure that clients feel that their information is protected. The bank has precautions such as:
· Security and privacy statements
· ANZ privacy statement
· Information explaining bout personal information
· Information about information collected
· The collection of the IP address
· Use and disclosure of information
This ensures clients feel safe and know what is happening with their information (ANZ, 2007).
Paypal is a transaction site which deals with sellers and buyers of products. Trust needs to be in place since there is a transaction of money. Such precautions Paypal uses to ensure clients trust are:
· An overview of the process
· What information is collected
· The use and disclosure of information
· Information security
· Accessing and changing information
· How to contact the company
Overall there has to be trust within these websites because these websites are all dealing with transactions. If a website does not look professional and does not evoke trust then people would not want to make a transaction (Paypal, 2009).
http://www.eBay.com.au
http://www.anz.com.au
http://www.paypal.com.au
b) Find a web site yourself that you think looks untrustworthy.
There are a few websites which I have looked into that seem trustworthy in which they look professional but yet there are still some sense of doubt. Certain websites which I have looked into such as TV series on DVD show that while the website looks good do not necessarily mean that everything is legitimate. I’ve looked at these sites and made a decision that i would not purchase the items because of my sense of doubt.
Paypal.(2009).Policies. Retrieved May 22, 2009 from: https://www.paypal.com/au/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_privacy-outside
eBay.(2009). About eBay. Retrieved May 22, 2009 from: http://pages.ebay.com.au/aboutebay/trustandsafety.html
ANZ.(2007). Website security. Retrieved May 22, 2009 from: http://www.anz.com.au/Help/ANZs-Web-Site/ANZ-Web-Site-Security-And-Privacy-Statement.asp
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Week 8: Auctions
Q1: eBay is one of the only major Internet "pure plays" to consistently make a profit from its inception. What is eBay's business model? Why has it been so successful?
Ebay is a website which allows people to buy and sell objects over the internet. EBay business model is the broker model. The broker model is when people buy and sell over the internet making a transaction. EBay has been rather successful because most people have a rather good experience. EBay is a website which tries to ensure that people are being genuine. If and account seems to be fraudulent then eBay would delete their account. EBay has safety measures to ensure that people are not being ripped off.
Q2: Other major web sites, like Amazon.com and Yahoo!, have entered the auction marketplace with far less success than eBay. How has eBay been able to maintain its dominant position?
EBay has been able to maintain its dominant position because of how eBay has been operated. Amazon allows consumers go onto the website and buy items which Amazon has in stock. Amazon is more of a company where as eBay allows anyone to put items up for auction. After an item has been sold on eBay, the website receives a commission from the sale. EBay allows consumers to bid for items and who ever offers the most for the item wins the bid. EBay taps into people competitive nature which for some consumers makes it more worthwhile to bid and try to win.
Q3: What method does eBay use to reduce the potential for fraud among traders on its site? What kinds of fraud, if any, are eBay users most susceptible?
EBay has such methods of having information on their website to ensure that people know about security on their website. Such information on their website is in the security centre. The security centre tells consumers and sellers about what to do to reduce risk such as using Paypal. This is a function which eBay trusts and has a protection element for buyers and consumers (eBay, 2009). Such programs as Paypal are put in place to protect buyers and sellers if they use this program on eBay. If the buyer/seller uses another paying method then the Paypal protection does not apply to them (eBay, 2009). EBay also relies on feedback to know about who is being fraudulent. This allows EBay to know about people trying to scam the system.
The types of fraud eBay users are susceptible to are:
· Identity thief
· Sellers fraud
· Buyers fraud
· Fraudulent emails
Q4: eBay makes every effort to conceptualize its users as a community (as opposed to, say "customers" or "clients"). What is the purpose of this conceptual twist and does eBay gain something by doing it?
EBay does this because eBay wants people to come back onto the website. EBay interacts as a community to give people a good experience since people can buy and sell not having to rely on a shop. EBay allows people to search for items which might be unusual or items which you cannot purchase in stores. This means people rely on trying to sell products. Such items as concert tickets people try and sell for the best price because the tickets may be hard to get. People sell items on eBay such as tickets to try and receive a profit. EBay gains because more people will come back to eBay since items are different and ordinary everyday people sell the products.
Q5: eBay has long been a marketplace for used goods and collectibles. Today, it is increasingly a place where major businesses come to auction their wares. Why would a brand name vendor set-up shop on eBay?
In my opinion brand name vendors would set up shop on eBay because more people are buying items online. With the internet being more convenient more people are shopping online. With eBay increasing in popularity it would be logical to think that more businesses would sell on eBay to increase in popularity and increase recognition. EBay would allow consumers to buy brand items at a bidding price which might not be extremely high.
eBay.(2009). Security centre. Retrieved May 22, 2009 from: http://pages.ebay.com.au/securitycentre/index.html
Ebay is a website which allows people to buy and sell objects over the internet. EBay business model is the broker model. The broker model is when people buy and sell over the internet making a transaction. EBay has been rather successful because most people have a rather good experience. EBay is a website which tries to ensure that people are being genuine. If and account seems to be fraudulent then eBay would delete their account. EBay has safety measures to ensure that people are not being ripped off.
Q2: Other major web sites, like Amazon.com and Yahoo!, have entered the auction marketplace with far less success than eBay. How has eBay been able to maintain its dominant position?
EBay has been able to maintain its dominant position because of how eBay has been operated. Amazon allows consumers go onto the website and buy items which Amazon has in stock. Amazon is more of a company where as eBay allows anyone to put items up for auction. After an item has been sold on eBay, the website receives a commission from the sale. EBay allows consumers to bid for items and who ever offers the most for the item wins the bid. EBay taps into people competitive nature which for some consumers makes it more worthwhile to bid and try to win.
Q3: What method does eBay use to reduce the potential for fraud among traders on its site? What kinds of fraud, if any, are eBay users most susceptible?
EBay has such methods of having information on their website to ensure that people know about security on their website. Such information on their website is in the security centre. The security centre tells consumers and sellers about what to do to reduce risk such as using Paypal. This is a function which eBay trusts and has a protection element for buyers and consumers (eBay, 2009). Such programs as Paypal are put in place to protect buyers and sellers if they use this program on eBay. If the buyer/seller uses another paying method then the Paypal protection does not apply to them (eBay, 2009). EBay also relies on feedback to know about who is being fraudulent. This allows EBay to know about people trying to scam the system.
The types of fraud eBay users are susceptible to are:
· Identity thief
· Sellers fraud
· Buyers fraud
· Fraudulent emails
Q4: eBay makes every effort to conceptualize its users as a community (as opposed to, say "customers" or "clients"). What is the purpose of this conceptual twist and does eBay gain something by doing it?
EBay does this because eBay wants people to come back onto the website. EBay interacts as a community to give people a good experience since people can buy and sell not having to rely on a shop. EBay allows people to search for items which might be unusual or items which you cannot purchase in stores. This means people rely on trying to sell products. Such items as concert tickets people try and sell for the best price because the tickets may be hard to get. People sell items on eBay such as tickets to try and receive a profit. EBay gains because more people will come back to eBay since items are different and ordinary everyday people sell the products.
Q5: eBay has long been a marketplace for used goods and collectibles. Today, it is increasingly a place where major businesses come to auction their wares. Why would a brand name vendor set-up shop on eBay?
In my opinion brand name vendors would set up shop on eBay because more people are buying items online. With the internet being more convenient more people are shopping online. With eBay increasing in popularity it would be logical to think that more businesses would sell on eBay to increase in popularity and increase recognition. EBay would allow consumers to buy brand items at a bidding price which might not be extremely high.
eBay.(2009). Security centre. Retrieved May 22, 2009 from: http://pages.ebay.com.au/securitycentre/index.html
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Week 7: Automata
Write a one paragraph describing the Turing test and another paragraph describing an argument against the Turing Test, known as the about the Chinese room.
Turning test:
The turning test can be described as a way to test a machines (system) “capability to demonstrate thought” (Turning, 1950). This demonstrates a computer/system operating without the need of a user (operator). The turning test, tests “whether or not a system is intelligent” (University of Alberta, n.d). When looking at turning testing Alan Turning came up with the test and described it as when a person/human is having a conversation on the computer/system. If the person/human cannot “distinguish the machine from a human” (University of Alberta, n.d) the system would be deemed as intelligent. This can be interpreted as when a person is on a computer and receives replies the person does not know it is a computer not another person replying to their instructions.
University of Alberta.(n.d). Dictionary of cognitive science. Retrieved May 3, 2009 from: http://www.bcp.psych.ualberta.ca/~mike/Pearl_Street/Dictionary/contents/T/turing_test.html
Chinese room:
In contrast the Chinese room argument shows that if the system uses Chinese symbols then the system would pass the turning test. This argument shows that if the system replies with Chinese symbols the user may think it’s another human which it is not. This in theory would be a successful turning test but the system might just send out Chinese symbols but the symbols do not make sense with the question or conversation. Searle states that a Chinese speaker communicates with the system can the system responds in Chinese the person might think it is another person but the system might not actually be intelligent (Eliasmith, 2004). This demonstrates that the Chinese speaker may think it is another speaker who may not know how to read the symbols properly.
Chris Eliasmith.(2004). Chinese room. Retrieved May 4, 2009 from: http://philosophy.uwaterloo.ca/MindDict/chineseroom.html
Can virtual agents succeed in delivering high-quality customer service over the Web? Think of examples which support or disprove the question or just offer an opinion based on your personal experience.
There are many different categories concerning agents. Such categories are:
· Mobile agents
· Distributed agents
· Autonomous agents
· Intelligent agents
· Fuzzy agents
Knox,I.(2009) Automata week 7 power point presentation.
When discussing whether or not a virtual agent can succeed in delivering high quality customer service over the web, there are a few different things to consider. The internet has many virtual agents. Such companies as Google have agents which when a user/customer put in a word or question into the search engine the agent gives a reply with similar websites relating. This can be successful but also frustrating in my experience. When putting in a word of phrase into the search engine the response is not necessarily correct and might not even be completely relevant. In such cases as Google and other search engines which require agents this demonstrates not always does the agent give high quality customer service. The agent ideally gives the best customer service it can but does not always give the customer what they ideally want (Rappa, 2005).
Rappa,M.(2005) Automata. Retrieved May 2, 2009 from: http://digitalenterprise.org/transcripts/automata_tr.html
Turning test:
The turning test can be described as a way to test a machines (system) “capability to demonstrate thought” (Turning, 1950). This demonstrates a computer/system operating without the need of a user (operator). The turning test, tests “whether or not a system is intelligent” (University of Alberta, n.d). When looking at turning testing Alan Turning came up with the test and described it as when a person/human is having a conversation on the computer/system. If the person/human cannot “distinguish the machine from a human” (University of Alberta, n.d) the system would be deemed as intelligent. This can be interpreted as when a person is on a computer and receives replies the person does not know it is a computer not another person replying to their instructions.
University of Alberta.(n.d). Dictionary of cognitive science. Retrieved May 3, 2009 from: http://www.bcp.psych.ualberta.ca/~mike/Pearl_Street/Dictionary/contents/T/turing_test.html
Chinese room:
In contrast the Chinese room argument shows that if the system uses Chinese symbols then the system would pass the turning test. This argument shows that if the system replies with Chinese symbols the user may think it’s another human which it is not. This in theory would be a successful turning test but the system might just send out Chinese symbols but the symbols do not make sense with the question or conversation. Searle states that a Chinese speaker communicates with the system can the system responds in Chinese the person might think it is another person but the system might not actually be intelligent (Eliasmith, 2004). This demonstrates that the Chinese speaker may think it is another speaker who may not know how to read the symbols properly.
Chris Eliasmith.(2004). Chinese room. Retrieved May 4, 2009 from: http://philosophy.uwaterloo.ca/MindDict/chineseroom.html
Can virtual agents succeed in delivering high-quality customer service over the Web? Think of examples which support or disprove the question or just offer an opinion based on your personal experience.
There are many different categories concerning agents. Such categories are:
· Mobile agents
· Distributed agents
· Autonomous agents
· Intelligent agents
· Fuzzy agents
Knox,I.(2009) Automata week 7 power point presentation.
When discussing whether or not a virtual agent can succeed in delivering high quality customer service over the web, there are a few different things to consider. The internet has many virtual agents. Such companies as Google have agents which when a user/customer put in a word or question into the search engine the agent gives a reply with similar websites relating. This can be successful but also frustrating in my experience. When putting in a word of phrase into the search engine the response is not necessarily correct and might not even be completely relevant. In such cases as Google and other search engines which require agents this demonstrates not always does the agent give high quality customer service. The agent ideally gives the best customer service it can but does not always give the customer what they ideally want (Rappa, 2005).
Rappa,M.(2005) Automata. Retrieved May 2, 2009 from: http://digitalenterprise.org/transcripts/automata_tr.html
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