Dear Class:

This project is a research report!

For the individual project you can either do Assessing the Credibility of Websites or Ethical
Dilemmas. For the Ethical Dilemmas make sure you do all the cases. Use MS Word to write
your research project; and submit the project in Blackboard. The project should not exceed six
pages. Use heading, subheading, sections etc. to organize your writing, thoughts, and logic. Also,
include references and citations

Note: The deadline for the project is on Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 11:59PM. Make sure
your project is well formatted/professional.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions,

Dr. Efosa C. Idemudia

1) Assessing the Credibility of Websites

PART 1
Test your ability to think critically about material published on the Web. Check out the
following websites and determine which ones are reliable sources for a research paper
(assuming you needed to do research in these different fields):

http://www.dhmo.org/
http://www.zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
http://www.improbable.com/airchives/classical/cat/cat.html
http://www.mcwhortle.com/

PART 2
Read through the resources at this website:
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/credibility1.html

PART 3
Use the resources above to assess the following sites:  (I've updated this to add the
numbers.)
Post your evaluation in the appropriate Discussion Board forum.
1. http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/werewolves.html
2. http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/werewolves
3. http://www.thebulletin.org/content/doomsday-clock/timeline
4. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spacewatch/
5. http://www.psc.edu/science/MacLow/MacLow.html
Evaluate each website as to whether it is credible and authoritative (worthy of use in a
research paper).

Here are some questions to be asked about each website. You can use this as a guide
when making notes about the websites.

6. Has clear, credible, authoritative authorship.

7. Has a clearly identified, credible, respectable publishing organization.
8. Lists a way to contact the author or publishing organization.
9. Is current (frequently updated with few instances of ‘linkrot’).
10. Has clearly defined, stated goals for the website.
11. Fairly presents all sides of the issue.
12. Has graphics that focus on and are consistent with and relevant to the
text.
13. Has information in the text that is as consistent with and as well presented
as any graphics.
14. Has a no clearly observed bias with regard to the material presented.
15. Has clearly stated sponsors.
16. Has clearly stated sponsors with no bias or underlying motives with
respect to the material presented.
17. Exhibits and in-depth understanding of the issues.
18. Has internal links providing quick reference to the main section of the
document or website.
19. Clearly acknowledges other sources of information (has appropriate
reference/citation).
20. Has a complete list of references (a bibliography) with links to online
sources (where they exist).
21. Uses appropriate theories, schools of thought, or generally accepted
techniques in the discussion of material standard in the field.
22. Clearly describes any new theory or approach presented and compares
and contrasts it to current standard theories or approaches.
23. Has material that can be compared to other relevant, related sources.
24. Clearly describes the author(s) methodology so that it could be evaluated
and replicated.
25. Is well written with few grammar, spelling, or typos.
26. Was easily discovered via a search engine.
27. Was well rated by the search engine (if that search engine rates hits).
28. Was marked by the browser or security software as not safe to visit.
29. Any general comments about the website?
 2) Ethical Dilemmas

This is an example of an approach to an analysis of a situation that presents

an ethical dilemma, particularly with respect to information systems. 

1. What is the ethical dilemma?

Can you identify and describe the ethical or moral aspects of a problem or
whether the problem itself is, essentially, an ethical concern. Usually this
means that there are conflicting needs, that harm or pain may be possible in
the situation, or that loss may occur.
 
2. What are the perspectives and concerns of the various
stakeholders?
Consider both sides of the issue. In fact, there are usually much more than
two sides ... there are often multiple stakeholders involved. Broaden your
thinking to everyone who might be impacted by the situation and any
solution adopted.

3. What are potential alternative solutions and how does each

solution impact each stakeholder?This is where creative thinking ...
thinking 'outside the box' ... is very useful. Keeping the various perspectives
in mind will sometimes suggest possible alternatives. This is also where
compromise is important.
 
4. What ethical reasoning principles might apply to this situation? 
Note: I don't care if you use the name of the principle. That would be nice
(and be evidence that you are college-educated), but being able to state the
principle itself is sufficient.
 Do to others what you'd like done to yourself. (Golden Rule)
 Greatest good for the most people. (Utilitarian)
 Least harm to the least number of people (Risk Aversion)
 If it's not right for some people, it's not right for all people. (Kant's
Categorical Imperative)
 If it's not right to do all the time, everywhere, or all the way, it's not right
to do at all. (Descartes' Rule of Change or the ' slippery slope')
 All objects (tangible or intangible) are owned by someone else unless
explicitly stated otherwise. (TANSTAAFL or There ain't no such thing as a
free lunch!)
 Impact, diffusion, and immediacy of consequences
 Stay within the law
 Professional code of ethics (cite which one)
 Society's opinion
 Others? (from Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, etc.)
5. Are there legal or professional issues involved? From a technology
viewpoint, do any of the Fair Information Practices (FIP) apply to this situation?
 Fair notice/Awareness. The individual should be able to know that
information is being collected, kept, or distributed (sold, given away);
who is collecting it; what it is; and how it is being used.
 Choice/Consent. The individual should be able to choose whether
information is collected and for what purpose (chance to opt out or opt
in).
 Access/Participation. The individual should be able to view the
information being kept on him or her and be able to contest its accuracy
and completeness; individual should be able to correct mistakes or
append a note of disagreement or an explanation.
 Integrity/Security. Those who collect, store, or release information
have a responsibility to make the information as accurate, complete, and
secure against unauthorized access or theft as is possible.
 Enforcement/Redress. There should be someone specifically charged
with the responsibility of implementing and enforcing these principles who
can be held accountable. Individuals should have some specific process or
mechanism to complain and otherwise enforce these principles.
6. What are the likely consequences of these alternatives on each of the
stakeholders?
You probably won't be able to please everyone, but you should consider the
potential harm or loss that could be caused by an alternative before you adopt it
as a solution.
7. What do YOU think is right? Why?
You can't just say 'it's the right thing to do' or 'that's wrong'. You must
provide a rationale. Use the points above to support an argument about why
your solution is the best.
Cases
 Employees sometimes spend a great deal of time at work accessing their
personal email and using the Internet for personal reasons (shopping,
Facebook, checking their stock portfolio, following the news, watching
YouTube videos, etc.). Sometimes this activity results in contamination of the
company's computers and network with adware, viruses, and spyware.
Offensive material may be displayed or distributed around the office.
Sometimes the network's response time is slowed by this activity. On the
other hand, these employees are working long hours (often 10-14 hours per
day), limiting their ability to handle personal responsibilities during business
hours. Should employers restrict their employees' ability to use e-mail and to
access the internet for personal reasons while at work? If so, should
management impose any restrictions or put into place any policies about such
activities?
 
 Suppose you fully intend to spend the evening working on an individual Excel
assignment that is due the next day. Then a friend calls. Your friend is
stranded miles from home and desperately needs your help. It will take most
of the evening to pick up your friend, bring him home, and return to your
studying. Not only that, but you're very tired when you get home and just fall
into bed. The next day your friend, who completed his assignment earlier,
suggests you just make a copy, put your own name on the cover, and hand it
in as your own work. Should you do it? Isn't it only fair that since you helped
your friend, the friend should do something about making sure you don't lose
points because of your generosity? What if your friend promises not to hand
in his or her own work so that you can't be accused of copying? Your friend
wrote the assignment and would give it to you, so there's no question of
copyright infringement.
 
 You are working on a difficult individual software application assignment in
the library computer lab. You notice that a group of classmates is working on
the same assignment together. One person is explaining most aspects of the
assignment while the other students are applying that person's solution to
their own assignment. Should you join the group?  Should you just keep
working on the assignment by yourself?  Should you inform the instructor that
some classmates are working on the assignment as a group?
 
 A university assistant vice president of academic computing announced that
students would receive public recognition if they successfully compromised
the university network from computer lab desktops. Students were urged to
report the weaknesses they found. This created an atmosphere of casual
game playing and one-upmanship in attacking the system. A student found a
means of compromising the system and reported it to the assistant V.P..
However, nothing was done to correct the vulnerability and the student
continued to use his advantage to obtain computer resources that he was not
authorized to access. He used this access to look at confidential data about
other students, faculty, administrators, and staff, and he continued his attacks
to find more vulnerabilities. Should the student continue to to use his
advantage?
 
 A programming manager received a directive to develop a set of programs
that would circumvent the normal accounting controls in his employers'
business. It was explained to him the purpose was only to test new business
functions. He protested to his senior manager, but was told that the dangers
of circumventing the controls had been assessed and a decision had been
made to proceed as planned. Should the programming manager implement
the programs?