Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

Solution Manual for Fundamentals of Information

Systems 8th Edition by Stair ISBN 1305082168
9781305082168
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Solutions – Chapter 4

Ethical & Societal Issues

Safaricom’s Moves against Hate Speech

Discussion Questions

1. Safaricom issued guidelines to its clients that transmitted bulk SMS from political
candidates and parties, vetted the SMS content, and retained the right to refuse to
transfer messages with content that attacked members of a particular party or
tribe.

2. One could say that the steps were effective. The March 2013 Kenyan election
passed with only one attack, which killed six police officers. By comparison to
2007, the election was a great success for democracy and those who support
peaceful change, and some of the credit is due to Safaricom and other groups that
worked to stop the spread of hate speech and incitement.

Critical Thinking Question

1. Safaricom and other organizations could launch a campaign to reduce the level of
hate speech acceptance in the society.

2. Because Safaricom is only intercepting bulk SMS rather than peer-to-peer SMS,
privacy rights are not a concern.

Information Systems @ Work

Improved Insight via Clickstream Analysis

Discussion Questions
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

1. Student responses will vary. Google and other search engines would have the
information they need to modify their algorithms in order to improve search
results.

2. Learning from clickstreams could be useful in online education. It would discern

patterns that would allow students to learn more quickly and more easily. The
improved experience may affect students’ overall attitude toward learning.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Student responses will vary. Every time you navigate the Internet, you leave
behind a trail of information that when analyzed, can reveal personal data or your
identity. This is a serious privacy issue and online users should be able to opt out
of tracking.

2. Student responses will vary. As an online user, clickstream analysis helps you to
find relevant information more quickly.

Review Questions
1. A telecommunications medium is any material substance that carries an electronic
signal to support communications between a sending and receiving device. Media
types include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.

2. Network topology indicates how the communications links and hardware devices
of the network are arranged. The topology is the shape or structure of the network
so that the transmission rates, distances between devices, signal types, and
physical interconnection may differ between networks, but they may all have the
same topology. The three most common network topologies in use today are the
star, bus, and mesh.

In a star network, all network devices connect to one another through a single
central device called the hub node. A failure in any link of the star network will
isolate only the device connected to that link. However, should the hub fail, all
devices on the entire network are unable to communicate.

In a bus network, all network devices are connected to a common backbone that
serves as a shared communications medium. To communicate with any other
device on the network, a device sends a broadcast message onto the
communications medium.
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

Mesh networks use multiple access points to link a series of devices that speak to
each other to form a network connection across a large area. Communications are
routed among network nodes by allowing for continuous connections and
bypassing blocked paths by “hopping” from node to node until a connection can
be established.

3. A telecommunications protocol defines the set of rules that governs the exchange
of information over a communications medium.

4. Wireless telecommunications involves the broadcast of communications in one of

three frequency ranges: microwave, radio, and infrared.

5. In a circuit switching network, a dedicated circuit is first established to create a

path that connects the communicating devices. This path is committed and then
used for the duration of the communication. In a packet switching network, no
fixed path is created between the communicating devices, and the data is broken
into packets for sending over the network.

6. Two organizations that lead in the setting of communication standards are the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU).

7. A switch uses the physical device address in each incoming message on the
network to determine to which output port it should forward the message to reach
another device on the same network. A bridge connects two LANs together using
the same telecommunications protocol. A router forwards data packets across two
or more distinct networks toward their destinations through a process known as
routing. Often, an Internet service provider (ISP) installs a router in a subscriber’s
home that connects the ISP’s network to the network within the home. A gateway
is a network device that serves as an entrance to another network.

8. A personal area network (PAN) is a wireless network that connects information

technology devices close to one person. A network that connects computer
systems and devices within a small area, such as an office, home, or several floors
in a building is a local area network (LAN). A metropolitan area network (MAN)
is a telecommunications network that connects users and their computers in a
geographical area that spans a campus or city. A wide area network (WAN) is a
telecommunications network that connects large geographic regions. A WAN
might be privately owned or rented and includes public (shared users) networks.

9. While the terms Internet and Web are often used interchangeably, technically, the
two are different technologies. The Internet is the infrastructure on which the Web
exists. The Internet is made up of computers, network hardware such as routers
and fiber optic cables, software, and the TCP/IP protocols. The Web, on the other
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

hand, consists of server and client software, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP), standards, and markup languages that combine to deliver information
and services over the Internet.

10. ARPANET was broken into two networks: MILNET, which included all military
sites, and a new, smaller ARPANET, which included all the nonmilitary sites.

11. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard page description language
for Web pages. HTML is defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (referred
to as “W3C”) and has developed through numerous revisions. HTML tells the
browser how to display font characteristics, paragraph formatting, page layout,
image placement, hyperlinks, and the content of a Web page.

12. Each computer on the Internet has an assigned address called its Uniform
Resource Locator, or URL, to identify it to other hosts. Consider the URL for
Cengage, http://www.cengage.com/. The “http” specifies the access method and
tells your software to access a file using the Hypertext Transport Protocol. This is
the primary method for interacting with the Internet. The “www” part of the
address signifies that the address is associated with the World Wide Web service.
The “course.com” part of the address is the domain name that identifies the
Internet host site. Domain names must adhere to strict rules. They always have at
least two parts, with each part separated by a dot (period).

13. A Web browser is a Web client software such as Internet Explorer, Firefox,
Chrome, Safari, and Opera used to view Web pages.

14. Cloud computing refers to a computing environment where software and storage
are provided as an Internet service and accessed with a Web browser. Apple
Computer has developed a service called iCloud to allow people to store their
documents, music, photos, apps, and other content on its server.32 Facebook
provides social interaction and can store personal photos, as can Flickr and a
dozen other photo sites. Pandora delivers music, and Hulu and YouTube deliver
movies. Google Docs, Zoho, 37 signals, Flypaper, Adobe Buzzword, and others
provide Web-delivered productivity and information management software.

15. The following table summarizes different ways to connect to the Internet:

Access Method Advantages Disadvantages

LAN Server
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

Expense can be shared by Requires network

numerous LAN users/very card/cost can be as
fast/ hardware may already much as $2000 per
be in place on local stations month

Dial-in via SLIP or PPP Low cost/low hardware Slower speeds/at

requirements mercy of phone line
quality

On-line service with Low cost/additional services Access can be

Internet access provided/low hardware competitive/slow
requirements

16. Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of

information on the Internet.

17. When you visit a site, your clickstream is the sequence of pages you click as you
spend time on the site. Clickstream analysis is the process of analyzing many
clickstreams to understand visitors’ collective behavior. The goal of clickstream
analysis usually is to optimize a site for its users.

18. A podcast is an audio broadcast over the Internet; one might think of it as an
audio blog.

19. Four popular Web popular Web browsers include Mozilla Firefox, Google
Chrome, Opera, and Safari.

20. Content streaming is a method for transferring multimedia files over the Internet
so that the data stream of voice and/or picture plays continuously, without a
break. It also enables users to browse large files in real time.

21. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is
responsible for managing IP addresses and Internet domain names. One of its
primary concerns is to make sure that each domain name represents only one
individual or entity—the one that legally registers it.

22. A URL is an assigned address on the Internet for each computer. For example, the
URL for Cengage is http://www.cengage.com/.

23. An intranet uses Internet technology and WWW standards to develop isolated or
partially isolated internal networks. Examples of intranet uses include networking
mobile sales forces, developing on-line employee handbook applications, and the
protection of sensitive internal information. Anything that an organization doesn’t
want the general public to see can be placed on an intranet.
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

24. An extranet extends selected resources of an intranet out to a group of its

customers, suppliers, or other business partners. Like an intranet, it is based on
Web technologies.

Discussion Questions

1. With centralized processing, all processing occurs in a single location or facility.

This approach offers the highest degree of control because a single centrally
managed computer performs all data processing. With decentralized processing,
processing devices are placed at various remote locations. Each processing device
is isolated and does not communicate with any other processing device.

2. In client/server architecture, multiple computer platforms are dedicated to special

functions, such as database management, printing, communications, and program
execution. These platforms are called servers. Each server is accessible by all
computers on the network. Servers can be computers of all sizes; they store both
application programs and data files and are equipped with operating system
software to manage the activities of the network. The server distributes programs
and data to the other computers (clients) on the network as they request them. An
application server holds the programs and data files for a particular application,
such as an inventory database. The client or the server can do the processing.

Users can share data through file server computing, which allows authorized users
to download entire files from certain computers designated as file servers. After
downloading data to a local computer, a user can analyze, manipulate, format, and
display data from the file.

3. WANs often provide communications across national borders, which involves

national and international laws regulating the electronic flow of data across
international boundaries, often called transborder data flow. Some countries have
strict laws limiting the use of telecommunications and databases, making normal
business transactions such as payroll costly, slow, or even impossible.

4. With centralized processing, all processing occurs in a single location or facility.

This approach offers the highest degree of control because a single centrally
managed computer performs all data processing. With distributed processing,
processing devices are placed at remote locations but are connected to each other
via a network. One benefit of distributed processing is that managers can allocate
data to the locations that can process it most efficiently.
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

5. The use of social media in business is called Enterprise 2.0. Enterprise 2.0
applications, such as Salesforce’s Chatter, Jive Software’s Engage, and Yammer
enable employees to create business wikis, support social networking, perform
blogging, and create social bookmarks to quickly find information.

Not everyone is happy with social networking sites, however. Employers might
use social networking sites to get personal information about you. Some people
worry that their privacy will be invaded or their personal information used
without their knowledge or consent.

6. A primary concern is that each domain name should represent only one individual
or entity - the one that legally registers it.

7. Cloud computing offers many advantages to businesses. By outsourcing business

information systems to the cloud, a business saves on system design, installation,
and maintenance. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), for example, is
starting to offer cloud-computing applications that let customers pay for the
services and data they use on Euronext, a European market for stocks, bonds, and
other investments.

Cloud computing risks include:

 Vendor outages leaving you without access to data
 Cost-savings may disappear as demand grows
 There is little room for contract negotiation

8. Companies could use blogs and podcasts to inform its employees of different
company information, such as events, changes in policies, or new assignments.
Companies could also post blogs and podcasts informing the public of special
events or promotions.

9. Companies that are using the Web to conduct business include: Amazon, Target,
and Home Depot.

10. One of the defining characteristics of Web 2.0 sites is social networking. Social
network sites provide members with a personal Web page and allow them to post
photos and information about themselves. These sites also allow members to send
messages to each other and post comments on each other’s pages. Members
accumulate friends through invitation. Special interest groups can be created and
joined as well.
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

11. A virtual private network (VNP) is a secure connection between two points on the
Internet. VPNs transfer information by encapsulating traffic in IP packets and
sending the packets over the Internet, a practice called tunneling.

Advantages
 Secure communication
 Costs are lower than other configurations
 Scalable

Disadvantages:
 Design and implementation can be complex
 Connecting mobile devices to the network can cause security issues

12. Geolocation information does pose a risk to privacy and security. Many people
prefer that their location to remain unknown, at least to strangers, and often to
acquaintances and even friends. Recently, criminals have made use of location
information to determine when people are away from their residences so that they
can burglarize without fear of interruption.

13. In order for a Web site to receive frequent visitations, current, useful, and well-
organized information needs to be provided. To receive an initial visit, a Web site
must have the appropriate contents or keywords to be found by the search engine
software. Some hints for getting recognition for your site follow:

Search engines look for:

1. Keywords in the title.
2. Keywords on page or those repeated several times within the page.

Useful tip
Keywords: Choose three or more keywords representative of your page. Use these
words in your title and early in the text of the page. Too few keywords may limit
the relevance of your site. When possible, use synonyms to increase the chances
of your page being located. People seeking information will use many different
word combinations. Anticipating what words will be used as keywords in a search
is very difficult.

14. Student responseS will vary.

15. The Internet is a collection of interconnected networks, all freely exchanging

information. An intranet is an internal corporate network built using Internet and
World Wide Web standards and products; used by employees to gain access to
corporate information. An extranet is a network based on Web technologies that
links selected resources of a company’s intranet with its customers, suppliers, or
other business partners.
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

Problem-Solving Exercises
1. Students should identify new ideas for GPS applications and prepare a
PowerPoint presentation.

2. Students should do research on the Web to identify the three most frequently
visited non-U.S.-based social networking sites.

3. Students should think of a business that they might like to establish and use a
word processor to define it in terms of what product(s) or service(s) it provides,
where it is located, and its name.

Team Activities
1. Students should form teams and identify the public locations (such as an airport,
public library, or café) in their area where wireless LAN connections are
available.

2. Students should plan, set up, and execute a meeting with another team wherein
they do not meet physically but via use of a Web service. They should then
discuss the problems they encountered.

3. Students should try using the search engine Baidu to find information on several
topics.

Web Exercises

1. Students should research and report on the latest revelations about the NSA from
Edward Snowden.

2. Students should use the Internet to identify three organizations that make
extensive use of extranets to collaborate with their business partners.

3. Students should use the Internet to research three universities that extensively use
online or distance learning and submit a report their findings.

Career Exercises
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

1. Students should identify three telecommunications organizations that appear to

have excellent growth opportunities.

2. Students should explore LinkedIn, a social media network for professional

networking.

Case Studies
Case One: Rural Africa Reaches to the Sky for Internet Access

Discussion Questions

1. In Africa, only about 16 percent of the population has access to the Internet. By
comparison, about 63 percent of the population in Europe has Internet access.
Furthermore, Internet connectivity is plagued by the low bandwidth, unreliability,
and high cost.

2. Africa lacks terrestrial connectivity between the submarine cables, the Internet
exchange points—the infrastructure Internet service providers (ISP) need to
exchange traffic between their different networks— and “last mile” delivery
systems. As a result, individuals, organizations, and businesses rely heavily on
mobile telephony and satellite technology.

SkyVision has stepped into the African market and other emerging markets with
customized satellite-based virtual private networks that are supporting economic
development.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Student response will vary. SkyVision’s technology should allow the company to
have more success.

2. African governments need to remove the barriers to high-speed terrestrial networks.

Policy-makers also need to cooperate to facilitate cross-border terrestrial
connectivity and encourage private investment.

Case Two: War Games: Now More Real Than Ever

Discussion Questions
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

1. Massive multiplayer games can be used to develop skills necessary to succeed in the
real world.

2. Projects developed with EDGE produce life-like simulation in which objects and
people behave as they would in the real world.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Massively multiplayer games can be used to improve collaboration between different

groups of first responders—a valuable skill that is difficult to develop without
actually being in the field.

2. Artificial intelligence and advanced computational steering of objects could be adapted

to develop projects that serve federal, state, and local emergency agencies and private
sector partners across the nation in the event of a terrorist threat.

Questions for Web Case

Altitude Online: Telecommunications and Networks

Discussion Questions

1. Altitude Online will need to lease private data lines from a telecommunications
company. Routers will need to be installed at each location to ship data packets
across the WAN. By leasing a high-bandwidth connection between its offices that
could handle multiple Gbps, Altitude Online could support a unified
communications system that includes video conferencing capabilities.

2. Altitude Online will need to lease private data lines from a telecommunications
company such as AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon to connect its LANs together to
create a WAN.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Altitude Online plans to equip its sales reps with BlackBerry smartphones from
RIM. The smartphones would allow sales reps to access all communication and
information systems while traveling. The company has also set up a VPN, which
allows any employee to access the private corporate network securely over the
Internet from home or on the road.
Fundamentals of Information Systems, 8th Edition

2. Student responses will vary.

Altitude Online: The Internet, Web, Intranet, and Extranets

Discussion Questions

1. The decision to implement a new ERP will not impact the company’s public-facing
online presence. It will, however strongly impact the company’s intranet applications.
Jon and his team needed to design a dashboard application that provided employees
with access to pertinent corporate systems.

2. Besides core information systems, the dashboard would also provide access to
industry news, and Web 2.0 applications that supported knowledge managements,
and communication between workers.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Student responses will vary.

2. Student responses will vary.