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Introduction to Information Systems
People Technology and Processes 3rd

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Introduction to Information Systems, 3e (Wallace)
Chapter 8 Collaborating with Technology
1) When IMAP is used, incoming mail is maintained and organized on a server.

Answer: TRUE
AACSB: Information Technology
Chapter LO: 1: Describe the major collaborative technologies, and explain the features that each
one offers for communication and productivity.
Difficulty: Easy
2) IMAP is useful only for users who use a single device to access their mail.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
3) The vCard is a file format which is used to exchange business card information electronically.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
4) Discussion forums are moderated for the purpose of nurturing discussions and blocking users
who violate the rules.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
5) Instant messaging is an open system in which anyone can send messages to anyone else
regardless of which IM software they both are using.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
6) Text messages multiply the power of informal networks by allowing users to broadcast
information not yet available through traditional means.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
1
Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
7) Group decision support systems were designed to get rid of anonymity.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
8) Lower-end interactive video chat systems create a greater sense of telepresence than higher-
end ones.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
9) A drawback of the centralized document library in a shared workspace is that it creates

confusion and duplication when team members send revised versions back and forth over email.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
10) Blogs help organizations market their products and create an intimate connection with
suppliers and customers.
Answer: TRUE
Chapter LO: 2: Identify and describe Web 2.0 technologies that facilitate collaboration.
Difficulty: Easy
11) A high volume of posting is an important characteristic of popular and influential blogs, but
it tends to create a lot of junk.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
12) Wiki software requires users to know HTML in order to add or edit web pages.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
2
13) A microblog is an example of photo software with which large photos can be reduced in size
without blurring their resolution.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
14) The virtual world is a graphical, often 3D environment in which users can immerse
themselves, interacting with virtual objects and with one another using avatars.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
15) The simple interfaces used in virtual worlds enable quick customer visits.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
16) The primary function of a context indicator is to display the exact geographical location of a
user to his or her contacts through the GPS navigation system.
Answer: FALSE
Chapter LO: 3: Explain how unified communications contribute to collaboration.
Difficulty: Easy
17) Media richness measures how well a communication medium can generate revenues.
Answer: FALSE
Chapter LO: 4: Describe features of online environments that can affect human behavior and
group dynamics, and identify strategies to make virtual teams more productive and successful.
Difficulty: Easy
18) Media richness is usually starkly lower online than during face-to-face.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
19) Disinhibition is extremely high in relatively anonymous text-based online environments.

Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
3
20) The online world tends to flatten out hierarchies and equalize status.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
21) Which of the following is true of SMTP?

A) It is a protocol for storing incoming mail.
B) It is used for handling outgoing mail.
C) It uses microformats to store metadata.
D) It is used for exchanging contact management data.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
22) Which of the following is the function of an SMTP server?

A) It handles and sends outgoing email.
B) It translates metadata into microformats.
C) It manages address books and business cards.
D) It stores incoming mail received by users.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
23) Which of the following mail protocols is commonly used to handle outgoing mail from
users?
A) simple mail transfer protocol
B) Internet message access protocol
C) post office protocol
D) quick mail queuing protocol
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
4
24) Which of the following is true of IMAP?
A) It is an outdated protocol for organizing outgoing mail.
B) It allows access to mail only from a single device, thus ensuring privacy.
C) It requires installation of client software and cannot work on web browsers.
D) It maintains mail on a server instead of on a single machine.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
25) How does IMAP differ from SMTP?

A) IMAP handles incoming messages while SMTP handles outgoing messages.
B) IMAP handles outgoing messages while SMTP handles incoming messages.
C) IMAP handles both incoming and outgoing messages while SMTP manages contacts.
D) SMTP handles both incoming and outgoing messages while IMAP manages contacts.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
26) Which of the following is an advantage of IMAP?

A) Mail can be accessed from a number of systems.
B) Mail can be accessed only from a single system, ensuring information safety.
C) Mail can be accessed only using installed client software and not from any browser.
D) Mail is not saved on the server, which ensures privacy.
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
27) An SMTP server is a server that handles outgoing email, where SMTP stands for ________.
A) short mail transfer protocol
B) simple mail transfer protocol
C) social media transfer protocol
D) short message transfer protocol
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
5
28) Which of the following is a web-based email service that was built from the ground up to
work within browsers rather than with client software installed on computers?
A) Scribd
B) Gmail
C) Lotus Notes
D) GroupWise
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
29) Which of the following is a file format used to exchange contact management data
electronically?
A) .ics
B) iCalendar
C) .exe
D) hCard
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
30) What is a vCard?

A) a file format used to exchange business card information electronically
B) a file format for purchasing products online through debit or credit cards
C) a software tool that encrypts sensitive business information
D) a file format that helps make online money transfers using debit or credit cards
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
31) Which of the following is true of a vCard?

A) It must be scanned and saved in a contact management system before use.
B) It requires the use of optical character recognition software for accessing business card
details.
C) It is used to exchange business card information electronically.
D) It relies on the XML family of standards to represent metadata.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
6
32) The term ________ refers to a set of formats that rely on the XML family of standards to
represent metadata in HTML code.
A) hashtag
B) microformat
C) mashup
D) HTML format
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
33) Which of the following is true of microformats?

A) They can store all types of data, except metadata.
B) They cannot be emailed or exchanged over Bluetooth.
C) They can be exchanged over wired networks, but not wireless.
D) They rely on XML standards to represent metadata in HTML.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
34) What is the function of microformats like the hCard?

A) the electronic exchange of business card information
B) the creation of multimedia files and cards
C) the storage and retrieval of incoming emails
D) the maintenance of a database of a user's web history and business card details
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
35) Microformats represent metadata in ________.

A) HTML
B) IMAP
C) SMTP
D) HTTP
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
7
36) The .ics extension indicates that a plain text file contains ________ code.
A) HTTP
B) SMTP
C) iCalendar
D) hashtag
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
37) Which of the following is true of iCalendars?

A) They analyze the success rate of events.
B) They flag events that stretch over months or years.
C) They create advertising tools for events.
D) They help budget and maintain the costs of large-scale events.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
38) Which of the following is true of asynchronous discussion forums?

A) They help users to communicate via interactive video chat.
B) They do not allow users to post anonymously, thus enhancing safety for users.
C) They are never moderated, thus enabling users to post freely.
D) They allow users to post text messages and reply to others at any time.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
39) Which of the following types of websites allows users to undertake many of the same
activities as bulletin boards?
A) discussion forums
B) iCalendars
C) blogs
D) instant messaging
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
8
40) Which of the following is an advantage of asynchronous discussion forums?
A) They are not moderated and hence allow users to speak freely.
B) They do not allow "lurkers" to participate in the activities of the forum.
C) They do not allow users to use pseudonyms and require real-world contact details.
D) They allow users to reply to topics at any time.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
41) BTC, a consulting company with offices across the United States, began an employee
discussion forum on its website. A few employees began criticizing the company on the forum
and undermining its morale. BTC does not want to limit employee interaction, but at the same
time, it would like to limit what employees can write. Which of the following features of a
discussion forum will help them achieve this?
A) anonymity
B) telepresence
C) version control
D) moderators
Answer: D
AACSB: Information Technology; Analytical Thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
42) Athena Jolene, a human resources executive at Thomas Griffith, wants to collect ideas from
the company's employees for an upcoming company-wide event. The company has offices
spread across the country. Which of the following techniques will best help Athena receive
suggestions from employees, while also allowing employees to share their ideas with one
another?
A) instant messaging
B) discussion forum
C) texting
D) emailing
Answer: B
Difficulty: Hard
9
43) ________, also known as "chat," consists of real-time text-based interactions over a network.
A) Microblogging
B) Emailing
C) Instant messaging
D) Blogging
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
44) Which of the following is an example of a free IM software client?

A) Skype
B) Excel
C) WordPress
D) Linux
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
45) Which of the following is a difference between IM and email?

A) Unlike emailing, IM allows people to send messages to anyone regardless of the IM software
being used.
B) The switching costs for emails are much higher than those for IM.
C) Email providers allow more interoperability than IM providers.
D) Each email product uses different protocols, while all IM products operate using a single
protocol.
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
46) Which of the following is true of instant messaging?

A) It helps users add and edit interlinked web pages.
B) It allows people to use simple text editing tools to create knowledge databases.
C) It allows greater telepresence than discussion forums and video conferences.
D) It allows users to display their current status to their contacts.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
10
47) What is the purpose of the "presence awareness" feature on instant messaging software?
A) It allows users to upload photos and videos that help them increase their online presence.
B) It allows users to display their current status to their contacts, colleagues, or buddy list.
C) It allows users to search for common friends by browsing their buddy lists.
D) It allows users to view the real-world contact details of everyone on their buddy lists.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
48) The ________ feature introduced by instant messaging shows whether a person is logged in
and available to answer a question, pick up the phone, or stop by for a brief meeting.
A) presence awareness
B) telepresence
C) media richness
D) telecommute
Answer: A
49) Which of the following functions is performed by texting?

A) synchronous collaboration among users
B) telepresence between users
C) transfer of photos and videos
D) creation and maintenance of databases
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
50) What advantage does instant messaging have over phone and conference calls?
A) It is more informal and saves time by reducing social courtesies during interactions.
B) It offers users a greater sense of telepresence than phones or conference calls do.
C) It is more personal than phone calls and conference calls and offers greater media richness.
D) It is a collaborative technology that allows a number of people to participate at the same time.
Answer: A
11
51) The term "war room" refers to a(n) ________.
A) area in which members of a project work together, surrounded by tools to facilitate smooth
collaboration
B) room in which a company's management interacts with representatives of labor unions
C) online space in which brainstorming sessions between interdepartmental teams take place
D) online room in which new employees undertake orientation programs before getting on board
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
52) What is a group decision support system?

A) a collaborative technology that reaches out to large groups of customers and is used to market
products
B) a software that supports employee-customer interaction to help a firm collect feedback on
product performance
C) a collaborative technology that helps teams brainstorm and exchange views about a topic to
come to an agreement
D) a technology that allows the top management to interact with customers from various
segments of their markets
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
53) Which of the following is true of group decision support systems?

A) They allow users to collaborate with each other asynchronously, saving time and effort in
coordination.
B) They allow users to express independent viewpoints that may differ from those of others in a
group.
C) They do not support anonymity and require users to use their real names, to increase
accountability.
D) They give high-status individuals within a group a disproportionate influence on decisions.
Answer: B
12
54) Which of the following is a software tool that allows synchronous collaboration and allows
online meetings via the Internet?
A) microblogging
B) emailing
C) web conferencing
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
55) Which of the following is an example of a browser-based software tool that allows web
conferences and webinars?
A) Excel
B) Tumblr
C) WebEx
D) Wordweb
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
56) The impression created when remote participants in an interactive video meeting are almost
life-sized and images are vividly clear is known as ________.
A) virtual reality
B) telepresence
C) augmented reality
D) disinhibition
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
57) A ________ is an area on a server in which team members can post documents, maintain
membership lists, feature news and announcements, and collaborate on edits and updates.
A) shared workspace
B) command center
C) war room
D) tag cloud
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
13
58) Colin Mackay Inc., a software company with its head office in Amsterdam, has employees
across three continents. The company's project teams across different countries frequently
exchange documents over email, with multiple users making changes to a particular document.
As a result, there are often multiple copies of a particular document in existence. Which of the
following will allow the teams to share documents in such a way that they can keep track of the
changes made to a particular document and note the team members who make the changes?
A) blogging
B) shared workspace
C) instant messaging
D) cross-linking
Answer: B
59) Microsoft's Sharepoint includes features for ________, which ensures that older copies of
documents are maintained and no changes are lost.
A) mashup
B) cross-linking
C) version control
D) telepresence
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
60) Which of the following is an example of a blogging tool?

A) WebEx
B) Gmail
C) Wordpress
D) Groupon
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
14
61) A ________ allows users to maintain a website with ongoing commentary, images, and links
to other online resources in which posts are displayed in reverse chronological order so that the
most recent appears on top.
A) hashtag
B) blog
C) wiki
D) tumblr
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
62) Which of the following is true of a blog?

A) It allows synchronous discussions among participants.
B) It displays posts in a chronological order.
C) It can be accessed online as well as offline.
D) It encourages cross-linking.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
63) ________ simplifies the task of creating one's own website to review products, discuss
hobbies, or express opinions about any subject.
A) Instant messaging
B) Emailing
C) Blogging
D) Web conferencing
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
64) For which of the following purposes can blogs be used?

A) sending electronic mail
B) communicating through interactive voice chatting
C) creating connections with customers
D) sending instant text messages
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
15
65) Which of the following is a technology that facilitates end-user contributions and allows
collaborative editing by allowing users to add and edit interlinked web pages?
A) wiki
B) hashtag
C) blog
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
66) ________ is a publicly accessible website that allows users to add and edit interlinked web
pages and make contributions from their own personal experience to update existing articles with
current information.
A) Ebay
B) Amazon
C) Wikipedia
D) Monster
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
67) Which of the following functions do wikis perform within an organization?

A) creating a substantial base of knowledge
B) creating interactive discussions between employees and clients
C) establishing communication between members of a team through instant text messaging
D) creating telepresence between employees working across the globe
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
68) Donald Garner Inc., a manufacturing company in California, recently recruited a large
number of employees for its new branch office in the city. The company wants to create
knowledge storehouses that employees can edit as needed, adding contributions from their own
personal experience or updating existing information. Which of the following can the company
use to create such a substantial base of knowledge for its new employees?
A) wiki
B) blog
C) hashtag
D) tumblr
Answer: A
Difficulty: Hard
16
69) Which of the following is the primary function of a wiki?
A) It allows users to join online groups in order to buy a particular item.
B) It allows users to add and edit interlinked web pages.
C) It allows users to communicate through instant messaging and electronic mail.
D) It allows users to interact synchronously and make decisions together.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
70) Which of the following is a drawback of Wikipedia?

A) It has an open structure which allows scope for inaccuracy and bias.
B) It has a complicated navigation system that makes it difficult for users to operate.
C) It cannot be accessed without an ID and a password.
D) It features an overload of ads which takes focus away from credible content.
Answer: A
71) A profile in a social networking site consists of ________.

A) interactive video chatting and connection details
B) photos, hobbies, and other details
C) war rooms and virtual worlds
D) shared workspaces
Answer: B
72) Which of the following is a social networking site that allows users to post updates, adding
commentary, links, or images about current happenings?
A) Photoshop
B) Wikipedia
C) iTunes
D) Pinterest
Answer: D
17
73) For which of the following reasons are companies most likely to use social networking sites?
A) to encourage leisure activities like gaming at work
B) to encourage friendly interaction between employees while at work
C) to connect with customers and announce new products
D) to formulate marketing and organizational plans
Answer: C
74) Poise, a fashion apparel brand, intends to increase its online presence by creating online
communities with its customers as members. The customers can interact with each other as well
as the company. The generated information can then be used for developing future products.
Which of the following is the company most likely to make use of?
A) electronic mail system
B) instant messaging system
C) social networking system
D) video conferencing system
Answer: C
Difficulty: Hard
75) ________ are a form of web logging in which posts are quite short, containing a brief
sentence fragment and, at times, a link to another web resource or video.
A) Mashups
B) Microblogs
C) Instant messages
D) Hashtags
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
76) Which of the following is true of microblogging?

A) Entries in microblogging sites must always be on business topics.
B) Microblogging is rarely used by advertisers to promote their products.
C) Users can reply to others' posts but cannot repeat them.
D) Users can post links to web resources or videos.
Answer: D
18
77) Which of the following is true of microblogging?
A) Entries in a microblogging site appear in chronological order.
B) All posts on a similar topic include a keyword prefixed by a @, which is called a mashup.
C) Entries in a microblogging site have no space constraints.
D) Users themselves have added their own conventions to make microblogging more useful.
Answer: D
78) ________ is the microblogging website with the largest number of users in the world.
A) Tumblr
B) Twitter
C) Flickr
D) Blogger
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
79) A ________ is a microblogging tool in which posts on a similar topic are indicated by a
keyword prefixed by a certain special character on microblogging websites.
A) mashup
B) tag cloud
C) hashtag
D) wiki
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
80) On microblogging sites, a hashtag is used to indicate that ________.

A) a set of posts are on a similar topic
B) users are away from their systems
C) a post links away from the site
D) a user posts objectionable content
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
19
81) ________ describes what people experience when some of their sensory input is not from the
real world, but from a computer-generated one.
A) Telepresence
B) Disinhibition
C) Presence awareness
D) Virtual reality
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
82) A graphical, often 3D environment in which users can immerse themselves, interacting with
virtual objects and one another using avatars is known as a(n) ________.
A) virtual world
B) intranet
C) virtualization engine
D) walled garden
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
83) ________ integrates multiple applications and interactive channels into a single interface,
accessible from many different devices.
A) Unified communications
B) Integrated marketing communication
C) Virtual reality
D) Augmented reality
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
84) Which of the following is a function of unified communications?

A) enabling a company to communicate with all its customers at the same time
B) collecting and storing data from multiple users and building a database
C) integrating multiple applications and communications channels into a single interface
D) maintaining a record of individual changes made on shared documents through version
control
Answer: C
Difficulty: Easy
20
85) Jennifer, a client services manager in an advertising agency, is on vacation. Her smartphone
lets her clients and subordinates know that she is available for hands-free cell-phone
conversations at certain times of a day, and at other times communicates that she is available for
IM or videoconferencing, depending on her activities at the vacation spot. Which of the
following technologies is Jennifer's system using?
A) integrated marketing communications
B) unified communications
C) enterprise resource planning
D) customer relationship management
Answer: B
Difficulty: Hard
86) What function does a context indicator perform?

A) It indicates the changes that should be implemented in simulated business-context inputs.
B) It provides quick access to email, secure instant messaging, and voice and video calling.
C) It indicates the availability of data pertaining to certain contexts on a website.
D) It displays whether an individual is available for communication at a certain time or not.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
87) Which of the following pairs perform similar functions in the online world?
A) virtual reality and hashtags
B) vCards and HTML
C) microblogging and hCards
D) presence awareness and context indicators
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
88) Which of the following performs functions similar to the presence awareness feature found
in IM software?
A) a hashtag
B) a mashup
C) a context indicator
D) augmented reality
Answer: C
Difficulty: Hard
21
89) A ________ provides quick access to context indicators, email, secure instant messaging,
voice and video calling, conference calling, corporate RSS feeds, and more.
A) universal dashboard
B) group decision support system
C) hashtag
D) wiki
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
90) Which of the following is a characteristic of a universal dashboard?

A) It aggregates content from multiple internal and external sources on customizable web pages.
B) It integrates multiple pages onto one single screen by resizing them.
C) It provides a gateway to related sites through an index of links.
D) It provides quick access to instant messaging and voice and video calling.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
91) Sarah Jones is a communications assistant at Sustainable Living Inc., a nonprofit

organization in Las Vegas. Which of the following can give her quick access to emails, video
calling, and corporate RSS feeds that help her be in constant touch with the campaigners for the
organization?
A) virtual world
B) universal dashboard
C) enterprise resource planning system
D) social media information system
Answer: B
Difficulty: Hard
92) When compared to a face-to-face setting, an online environment offers ________.

A) greater anonymity
B) a well-defined audience
C) no context indicators
D) greater media richness
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
22
93) Which of the following is a characteristic of online communications?
A) fewer nonverbal cues to clarify meaning
B) a more well-defined audience than in-person interactions
C) less anonymity than in-person interactions
D) greater media richness than in-person interactions
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
94) ________ measures how well a communication medium can reproduce all the nuances and
subtleties of the message it transmits.
A) Virtual reality
B) Presence awareness
C) Telepresence
D) Media richness
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
95) Which of the following is true of media richness?

A) It is much higher online than during face-to-face interactions.
B) It is higher in text-based online interactions than in voice or video interactions.
C) It focuses on the richness and quality of message content, leaving out nonverbal cues.
D) It measures how well a communication medium reproduces the nuances and subtleties of a
message.
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
96) Which of the following collaborative technologies has the greatest amount of media richness
as well as interactivity?
A) face-to-face conversations
B) shared workspaces
C) social networking
D) text messaging
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
23
97) Which of the following is true of the psychological characteristics of online environments?
A) The larger the physical distance between people, the fewer risks they take with their words.
B) Anonymity can lead to problems because people feel less accountable for their actions.
C) An advantage of online interactions is the existence of a well-defined audience group.
D) As collaborative technologies add new capabilities, people find it easy to handle controls.
Answer: B
Difficulty: Easy
98) Which of the following is true of group dynamics in virtual teams?

A) The online world creates a sense of hierarchy and inequality in status.
B) Norms regarding the sharing of workload are difficult to enforce online.
C) Disinhibition refers to a situation where people express themselves less bluntly while online.
D) One important aspect of disinhibition is the avoidance of self-disclosure.
Answer: B
99) Arthur, a salesperson in a leading apparel store, is very courteous and friendly with
customers who visit the store. However, while interacting with customers through emails, he
tends to be rather blunt and aggressive, which has led to a couple of complaints being lodged
against him. Which of the following does the scenario illustrate?
A) virtual reality
B) telepresence
C) augmented reality
D) disinhibition
Answer: D
Difficulty: Easy
100) An initial face-to-face meeting between the members of a virtual team through interactive
video can ________ among the team members.
A) enhance trust
B) reduce trust
C) have no effect on the level of trust
D) enhance anxiety and tension
Answer: A
Difficulty: Easy
24
101) How do the iCalendar capabilities benefit users?
Answer: Adding calendars and appointment scheduling capabilities to email clients allows users
to receive alerts for upcoming events, synch with a smartphone, or flag recurring events that
stretch out over months or years. Like contacts, calendar events can be transmitted and
exchanged using standardized file formats. The iCalendar format is widely used to transmit
calendar data. The .ics extension indicates that the plain text file contains iCalendar code so the
programs can recognize it. The calendar's collaborative features eliminate much frustration for
event managers. Consider, for example, the struggle to schedule a team meeting, even with the
help of email. Asking people for the times and dates they have available can be fruitless and
time-consuming, with many false starts and delayed responses. But if everyone is sharing
calendars, "free" time for all is easier to identify. Personal preferences, cultural factors, and
corporate norms all affect the use of calendaring software and how much it adds to overall
productivity.
102) How do online discussion forums function?

Answer: Discussion forums evolved from the earlier bulletin board as an online site in which
people could post text messages, reply to others at any time, and discuss a topic of interest.
Forums may be moderated, with someone nurturing the discussion, deleting unacceptable posts,
and blocking users who violate the rules. The forum rules may allow people to post under a
pseudonym, so members feel more anonymous and less identifiable during discussions. Posters
and "lurkers" are both part of the forum community. Some people contribute the majority of
posts while others just read them. Employee discussion forums can be unpredictable. Most are
used productively, but occasional posts can tip in a negative direction.
103) What are the advantages of using instant messaging in a workplace?

Answer: Instant messaging in a workplace can be useful when quick answers are needed. An IM
is much faster than a phone call or conference call. It is especially useful for short questions, as it
requires none of the social courtesies or dedicated attention that phone calls demand. People can
also multitask during IM exchanges. It is a common collaborative tool for people in the same
building, who may keep the IM client active all day long to receive brief text messages from co-
workers in the next cubicle or around the world. IM software has introduced a critically
important collaborative feature called presence awareness, which allows users to display their
current status to their contacts, colleagues, or buddy list. The software shows whether a person is
logged in. Arguably, this feature is the killer app of IM, since it shows whether the person is
available to answer a question, pick up the phone, or stop by for a brief meeting.
25
104) What is presence awareness? How does it aid collaboration within an organization?
Answer: Presence awareness is a feature introduced by the IM software which allows users to
display their current status to their contacts, colleagues, or buddy list. The software shows
whether a person is logged in, and he can elaborate and let others know if he is available to
answer a question, pick up the phone, or to stop by for a brief meeting. Presence awareness
indicators add an important human element to online collaboration, and they are a key reason
people adopt the tool within organizations.
105) What are the advantages of text messaging in emergency situations?

Answer: Texting can help assist in emergency situations and disaster recovery since people
carry their phones wherever they go. They can be used when official communications on
television or radio are sparse and unreliable. Text messages also multiply the power of informal
networks by allowing users to broadcast information not yet available through traditional means.
The features of texting make it extremely valuable for real-time micro-coordination, letting
people know where and when activities are to be held.
106) What are the processes involved in group decision support systems?
Answer: The group decision support system software allows each member to type his or her
contributions anonymously as the group moves through the stages of identifying the problem to
be solved, brainstorming possible solutions, rating the alternatives, and coming to some
consensus about the best course of action. As the contributions, comments, and votes unfold,
they appear on the screen with no names attached.
26
107) Discuss web conferencing and the features offered by browser-based conferencing
software.
Answer: Web conferencing is a synchronous collaboration technology which supports online
meetings, sometimes called "webinars," via the Internet. Browser-based conferencing software,
such as WebEx or Go To Meeting, include features such as real-time video support, support for
PowerPoint or other slide presentations, interactive whiteboards, text-based chat, polling
software, web-based clients for both desktop computers and mobile phones, desktop application
sharing, in which the meeting participants or audience can see whatever application the host is
running on the desktop, archiving recordings so participants who missed the event can play it
back, and registration systems for fee-based enrollments.
108) What are shared workspaces? How do they enhance teamwork?

Answer: A shared workspace is an area on a server in which team members can post documents,
maintain membership lists, feature news and announcements, and collaborate on edits and
updates. The core of a shared workspace is the document library, where members can store
important information assets and keep track of all the edits. Some software for shared
workspaces, such as Microsoft's Sharepoint, includes features for version control to ensure that
older copies are maintained and no changes are lost. This centralized document library goes a
long way toward eliminating the confusion and duplication that arise when team members are
constantly sending revised versions back and forth over email.
109) What are blogs and how can they benefit organizations?
Answer: A blog, short for "web log," is used to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing.
A blogger maintains a website composed mainly of ongoing commentary, images, and links to
other online resources. The posts are displayed in reverse chronological order so that the most
recent appears on top. Blogging software, such as the free versions available through Wordpress
and Blogger, simplifies the task of creating your own website to express opinions, review
products, discuss hobbies, or just rant. Readers can add their own comments to the blogger's
posts, joining in the asynchronous discussion. For organizations, blogs are a popular means of
building knowledge bases. They are also used for marketing and communications, to create a
more intimate connection with customers and suppliers.
27
110) What are wikis? What functions do they perform?
Answer: A significant Web 2.0 technology that facilitates end-user contributions and
collaborative editing is the wiki, a website that allows users to add and edit interlinked web
pages. Wiki software usually offers simple text editing tools so users need not know HTML. It
keeps track of versions and lets users view the history of changes to each page, along with
discussions about the page's content. Users navigate within a wiki by doing a keyword search or
by clicking on the many embedded links to related wiki pages. Wikis have also emerged as
extremely valuable tools within organizations, especially to centralize documents and create
knowledge storehouses that employees can edit as needed. The wiki makes it easy for people in
any unit or any level of an organization to make contributions from their own personal
experience or to update existing articles with current information. Such wikis can become a
substantial base of knowledge for an organization, useful for training new employees and
organizing all the how-to guides.
111) Which is the best-known publicly accessible wiki? How does it function?
Answer: The online encyclopedia called Wikipedia is the best-known publicly accessible wiki.
With millions of articles contributed by volunteers around the world, the nonprofit Wikipedia is
the most popular general-purpose reference work on the net. People can update any of the
existing articles with current information. Critics point to problems with accuracy and bias,
exacerbated by the site's open structure that allows anyone promoting an agenda to edit articles.
Corporations and government agencies are known to quietly edit entries about themselves to put
out the best spin wherever possible. Occasionally, the site blocks people from changing an
article, especially when it deals with controversial current events.
112) What are the different purposes for which companies can use social networking sites?
Answer: For companies, social networking sites offer a means to support knowledge sharing in
the company and to reach people who may be interested in their products or services. Network
interconnections help messages leap from one network of friends to the next. Companies also use
ads which can be tailored to reach precise target groups based on their members' profiles.
Beyond advertising, organizations create their own profiles as a means to connect with their
customers, recruit new employees, announce new products, and generally promote their brands.
28
113) What is microblogging?
Answer: Microblogging is a form of blogging in which the posts are quite short. Posts in
microblogs contain a brief sentence fragment and perhaps a link to another web resource or
video. The posts appear in reverse chronological order. Topics in a microblog range widely, from
simple updates about what the poster is currently doing to informative links to resources about
current events, companies, services, and more. Users in a microblog can "follow" other users,
whose posts constantly appear on followers' computer screens or mobile devices. Microblog
users can also add their own conventions to make blogging more useful.
114) How does microblogging contribute to social networking?

Answer: Microblogging is a form of blogging in which the posts are quite short, containing a
brief sentence fragment and perhaps a link to another web resource or video. As in a blog, the
entries appear in reverse chronological order. The topics range widely, from simple updates
about what the poster is currently doing to informative links to resources about current events,
hobbies, companies, services, and more. The social media aspect exists because users are able to
"follow" other users, whose posts constantly appear on followers' computer screens or mobile
devices. Followers can reply to posts or repeat them for the benefit of their own followers. As
simple as it sounds, the real-time updates enrich online group dynamics with a level of
connectedness that many consider a significant leap for social media, especially since they
extend the advantages of text messaging to interconnected social networks.
115) How do advertisers make use of Twitter?

Answer: Of all microblogging sites, Twitter has the largest number of users, and its vocabulary
terms "tweet" and "re-tweet" are widely used to describe the basic elements of this collaborative
technology. As simple as it sounds, the real-time updates enrich online group dynamics with a
level of connectedness that many consider a significant leap for social media, especially since
they extend the advantages of text messaging to interconnected social networks. Advertisers
promote products on Twitter by relying on the social networks. For example,
SponsoredTweets.com is a marketplace that brings together people with large followings and
advertisers who want them to tweet something nice about their products. Companies also use
Twitter in creative ways to build stronger ties to customers. For example, Old Spice and Taco
Bell engaged and amused their followers by poking fun at one another.
29
116) Explain the concept of "virtual reality."
Answer: The virtual world is a graphical, often 3D environment in which users can immerse
themselves, interacting with virtual objects and with one another using avatars. These simulated
environments create virtual reality, a term that describes what people experience when some of
their sensory input is not from the real world, but from a computer-generated one. Advanced
virtual reality systems enhance the illusion of physical immersion in a virtual world even further
by adding other technologies. Stereoscopic goggles, for instance, can present aspects of the
virtual world that match the user's actual body posture, movements, or head turns. Specially
wired gloves can reproduce the sensations of actually touching and manipulating virtual objects.
117) What are some of the disadvantages of virtual worlds? How promising does the future of
virtual worlds look?
Answer: Virtual worlds have not caught on as expected for business, partly because the software
can be buggy and the interfaces too complicated for a quick customer visit. These worlds have
also been mainly used as social venues, so some inhabitants don't welcome commercial activity.
Businesses can be hesitant to invest in any case, because most virtual-world products and the
servers that host them are privately owned by software vendors, so if they go out of business, the
digital properties vanish, wasting the effort that went into building them. Despite rocky starts,
virtual worlds hold much promise for collaboration. Business users who want to hold meetings
are attracted to them as a way to simulate a live conference with speakers, breakout rooms, and
small-group sessions. Beyond 3D business meetings, virtual worlds can recreate any
environment for humans to explore, from a tiny blood cell to the vast emptiness of space. For
engineers, the ability to collaborate on the design of component parts, regardless of how small or
large, offers exciting possibilities. The opportunities for educators to simulate live classrooms are
equally intriguing.
118) What are some of the common themes that affect the online behavior of Internet users?
Answer: Some of the common themes that affect the online behavior of Internet users include:
(1) unfamiliar tools that are used to interact online over which users stumble in their efforts to
make interactions productive, for example, the QWERTY keyboard (2) media richness that
measures how well a communication medium can reproduce all the nuances and subtleties of the
message it transmits (3) physical distance and lack of physical presence, considering how online
interactions typically take place between people who are geographically separate, not just from
one another, but from other people as well (4) anonymity, which can considerably change the
behavior of people (5) the audience, which is blurry and undefined in the online world
30
119) What is media richness?
Answer: Media richness measures how well a communication medium can reproduce all the
nuances and subtleties of the message it transmits. Media richness is usually starkly lower online
than face-to-face. Many communications are text only, leaving out facial expression, eye contact,
voice pitch and tempo, gestures, body posture, and hand gestures. Although words carry
meaning, most of what people communicate is actually nonverbal.
120) How are group dynamics in virtual teams different from those in real-world teams?
Answer: In the online world, group members cannot perceive nonverbal cues, and hence, group
norms can be difficult to establish. Online environments also lead to disinhibition, in which
people express themselves more bluntly, abruptly, or aggressively than they would in face-to-
face settings. Their messages lack the verbal softeners and nonverbal nuances that smooth
interactions and make consensus easier to reach. Heightened self-disclosure also appears more
often in online interactions. The online world tends to flatten out hierarchies and equalize status,
partly because many of the cues used to establish status are less apparent. In addition to all this,
trust is not easy for virtual teams to create.
31
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"Phew! but it's low, an' dropping too," replied Bill, squinting into the
face of a small aneroid which they had saved from the Ocmulgee.
"Can you see under the squall?"
"No, it's black now, clear round the horizon."
"Wind seems to me to be increasing," commented Jack, feeling its
strength with his face.
"It's just like the start of that blow we had in the Moonbeam off
Rarotonga," called Loyola.
"That's bad!" commented the former. "I think, Bill, you'd better rig up
a sea-anchor for us to ride to. What do you say, Lolie?"
The woman flushed with pleasure at Jack asking her opinion, and
her eyes, shining with suppressed excitement, aroused in her by this
struggle with the elements, beamed fearlessly into the heart of the
storm.
"It's going to blow very hard, I'm sure of it," she answered; "but you
know best, Jack."
Thereupon they wasted no time in acting on the rover's idea. Three
oars were lashed together triangle-wise with a tarpaulin spread
between them. This was weighted by the small boat-kedge. Then,
with their strongest line attached, this contrivance was lifted over the
bows and the line paid out as the boat drifted down to leeward. This
had the effect of holding the boat's head up to windward, and caused
her to ride easier.
There was nothing more to be done but sit still and hope that the
gallant craft would succeed in weathering out the storm.
Leaving the post that she had held so well, Loyola seated herself
beside Jack in the bottom of the boat, where they were protected in
some degree from the howling wind.
Jack made her don a long oilskin coat to keep out the wind and rain,
as, slightly clad as they all were, the wetting caused a feeling of cold.
Now that the strain and excitement of the first strenuous fight were
over the woman felt somewhat limp and disheartened; but the
presence of her lover by her side, blind and helpless though he was,
proved a great comfort to her.
Shyly she sneaked her hand into his. He closed his fingers upon it
reassuringly and whispered in her ear,
"I'm very proud of you, Lolie, steering through that squall."
Such was the noise of the wind that, though the castaways sat
shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the gale, Jack, farthest aft,
could only hear Loyola speaking next to him by putting his ear close
to her mouth.
On the other side of Loyola sat Jim, the baler in his hand; whilst next
to him Broncho and Bill Benson exchanged remarks, Tari being in his
favourite place up in the bows.
"She rides well," muttered the bosun's mate, "an' if this kick-up don't
stir up the mud too much, we'll see another dawnin' in this old low-
degree turnip after all."
"You allows as how these perverse elements ain't goin' to get our
scalps then," drawled the cowpuncher. "The deal comes a bit florid to
me. The amount of agua we-alls contrives to gather at one time I
regyards as liable to have baleful effects."
"An' my idees were about the same gauge. It's the gal who pulls us
through the shindy. She's a bit o' dossy goods, wi' enuff nerve an'
savvy to make an' ordinary josser pipe low an' subdued."
"You're shore right a whole corralful. I feels plumb useless an' no
account when that 'ere squall rounds up on us, an' I near cuts loose
a howl; but when I sees how she's playin' the game so ca'm an'
easy, I cinches up my paltry feelin's an' whirls into the play with
renewed sperit."
"Poor ole Jack, too," observed Bill. "That blindness o' his cuts him to
the quick for sure. I watches 'im balin' with the blood runnin' from his
lips where he's bitin' of 'em. 'E's an old bird, is Jack Derringer; keeps
a stiff upper lip an' don' show much, but that blood lets out how
fretted 'e is an' gouged up in 'is innards."
Broncho nodded in silence, for Jack's misfortune hit his old bunkie
too hard for him to feel inclined to talk about it.
Suddenly a vessel was descried to windward, flying down upon them
under a close-reefed topsail, flinging the surges to right and left of
her and dipping to her cat-heads at each dive.
As she lifted her stern her deck could be plainly seen, crowded with
men, who crouched under her bulwarks in glistening groups. Her low
black hull battled in a field of raging foam, and her long topmasts
swung madly across the heavens as she rolled.
She was evidently an Island schooner.
"Jack, it's the Black Adder," cried Loyola nervously, after one glance
at the nearing vessel.
"Is she close?" inquired the rolling-stone.
"We'd be standin' by water-tight doors in the Dido," declared Bill.
"Near enough to throw the shorthorn steerin' with a thirty-foot rope,"
put in Broncho.
As the schooner surged by, her crew manned the rail, staring wild-
eyed at the whaleboat.
Aft by the helmsman stood a long, thin man with a scraggy beard,
and so near was the flying schooner that the movement of his jaws
could be seen as he chewed steadily.
Suddenly he bent forward, and shading his eyes with one hand,
gazed fixedly at the castaways.
"It's Dago Charlie!" gasped Loyola, with a horror in her eyes.
"By God, he's seen us!" yelled the bosun's mate wildly.
Sure enough the man began brandishing his arms in furious
gesticulations, and a deep roar reached the whaleboat from the
combined lungs of the stranger's crew.
"Bah! You swabs! We don't care that for you!" roared Bill Benson
savagely, standing up and snapping his fingers.
"Thar's squaws among 'em," exclaimed Broncho with surprise.
"Island girls," muttered Jack.
The schooner had hardly got a quarter of a mile to leeward when she
put her helm down and hove-to with a tarpaulin in the rigging.
"Goin' to lie by us till it moderates," said Bill. "Now he's spotted us he
won't let us go if 'e can 'elp it. 'E knows it's the gallows for 'im if we
gets clear, and 'e'll stand by to pounce on us. 'E'll get what he ain't
lookin' for if 'e comes protrudin' here."
"What for of a play would it be if we-alls sends some lead after him,
as a sorter hint to move on?" inquired Broncho.
"Wouldn't do!" pronounced Jack. "We'd get it all back with interest. If
it moderates at all to-night we'll put the horizon between us."
"I'm jest pining to shoot him up some," declared Broncho
bloodthirstily.
"Let 'im begin the action," said Bill grimly. "We'll finish it!"
Loyola said nothing, but cowered closer to Jack with big, anxious
eyes.
"We'll give him the slip, Lolie, don't you fear," cried the rover heartily.
Slowly the hours passed. The gale continued to blow with unabated
vigour, but the whaleboat rode it like a duck.
The castaways sat silent for the most part, and watched the
schooner down to leeward with various emotions.
Jack, handicapped by his blindness, lay back with closed eyes, deep
in thought.
Loyola, next to him, sat silent and troubled; whilst Broncho and the
bosun's mate tried to converse, but gave it up after a few efforts.
Jim, with the baler in his hand, busied himself with keeping the boat
free of water, for though she took no green water aboard, sprays and
spindrift flew over in a continuous shower-bath.
As evening came on they ate their slight, unpalatable meal and
struggled with damp matches to light their pipes in the screaming
wind. Then, as the darkness deepened, they all sat silently
expectant, waiting for the return of Jack's bewitched eyesight.
The rover sat up and sniffed round, turning his head slowly through
the points of the compass with straining eyes.
They watched him, fascinated by this queer freak of fortune, Loyola
in an agony of anxiety, the others curiously, but quietly confident.
Then, as the stars began to peep forth through the rushing clouds,
they saw his eyes suddenly brighten.
"I can see again!" he murmured, almost below his breath; though
they did not catch the words, all recognised that change in his face.
"Thank God!" burst forth Loyola half brokenly, for it was her great
terror that some day perhaps his eyesight might fail to return with the
nightfall.
A wave of intense relief rushed over the castaways, and as if some
great weight had been lifted from their spirits, they commenced to
talk, or rather shout, cheerfully.
The mere fact that their leader, if only for a few hours, was once
more restored to his usual self, gave renewed confidence to all.
With a swift, winning smile, Loyola tenderly grasped the rover's hand
and hugged it.
"So glad! so glad!" she cried joyfully.
"It's full moon to-night, Jack!" said Broncho casually, as if it were of
no importance, though he knew full well how anxiously he, nay, all
hands were looking forward to its advent as a slight chance of
release for Jack from his horrible affliction.
"I know," replied the rolling-stone very quietly; then more brightly,
"Now, let's have a look round. Ah! There's the schooner—rather too
close, I'm thinking. How far do you make it, Bill?"
"'Bout 'alf a mile."
"About that, I think," agreed Jack; then he turned and looked keenly
to windward.
"This dust-up will be over before dawn," he declared. "Let's see. The
moon rises about eleven; the sky is getting clearer every minute. But
that marooning hound needn't hug himself about that; he'll have to
catch us first and fight us afterwards, and if he gives me half a
chance to draw a bead on him before daylight, I'll put him out of
action for ever, and think no more of it than stamping on a
cockroach."
"That's bizness, Jack, that's the tactics! Kill the bloomin' swine an'
all's serene. One of us ought to be able to 'it the bull's eye," asserted
Bill keenly.
"Why, chucks!" exclaimed Broncho, "it's a cert if he comes mouchin'
'round he's due to get creased a whole lot. That yappin' wolf'll find it
a heap fatiguin', chasin' round ropin' after this outfit. I allow he's
some fretted now he pastured you-alls on the island so headlong an'
thoughtless. That play o' his is goin' to make him sweat blood."
FOOTNOTES:
[14] Nickname for the cooper.
CHAPTER XI
"A SEA FIGHT UNDER THE STARS"
By midnight both wind and sea had dropped considerably. At one
bell the castaways saw the schooner's fore-topmast staysail rise
slowly as her crew manned the halliards, and a second later her
mainsail raised its head.
Jack gave a quick look round, and then said sharply,
"In with that sea-anchor, boys; it's time we were flitting."
In a moment the inaction on the whaleboat turned to a keen, nervous
energy.
Hand over hand the oars were hauled alongside, and the sea-anchor
got in over the bows; then away they went to windward.
The boat lay over to it, heavily pressed under a close-reefed lugsail,
wallowing, splashing, crashing into the seas.
Jack, at the steering-oar, sailed her a "clean full," whilst the rest of
the castaways baled furiously.
All of a sudden a puff of white smoke flew away from the side of the
schooner, and the faint report of a gun reached them.
"A snot from his twelve-pounder amidships," said Jack calmly.
The ball screamed past overhead, and plumped into the sea a long
way off to windward.
"It'll be wild shooting in this jump of a sea," observed Bill.
"Shall I bring my pop-gun into action?" drawled Broncho almost
indifferently, as he fingered his Winchester.
"Yes, let him have it; he's not going to drop lead over us without
getting some back," returned the rover fiercely.
"Jump it into him, Broncho," cried the bluejacket eagerly.
"That I shorely will without any ondue delays," replied the
cowpuncher, and taking a rapid sight he fired.
"It ain't easy shootin' in this here turmoil," he muttered, watching to
see the effect of his shot. "Now he's scatterin' it loose," he went on,
as a whole volley blazed from the schooner.
"Twelve-pounder again and rifle-fire," commented the man-of-war's
man, as the bullets screamed overhead. "That vigorous josser will
have to lower his sights a bit if he aims to do us any damage."
"I allow that shot makes him chew his mane; he's gettin' some acrid.
He reckoned he was goin' to bluff us sports quick an' easy," muttered
Broncho, pumping another cartridge into his gun.
"Now, my frenzied hold-up!" he cried derisively, and fired again.
"Get into the firing-line, Bill," broke in their leader sharply.
The bosun's mate needed no second bidding, but seized his gun
eagerly.
"'Ere's 'santy' to you, Mister Dago Charlie," he cried out, and he
pulled the trigger.
"Here she comes again!" yelled Jim, poking his head over the
gunwale in his excitement.
As the schooner fired, all the castaways, with the exception of Jack
steering, bobbed down in the bottom of the boat, as the latter cried:
"Lie low everybody," at the same time pushing Loyola down on to the
floorboards.
This time there was a dull thud aft.
"Hulled, by God!" burst out the bluejacket.
"Torn my only pair of dungarees," said Jack coolly. "Rifle bullet clean
through us."
"Not hurt, Jack?" asked Loyola piteously, her voice trembling.
"No fear, Lolie; just a graze, that's all."
"Chance shot!" remarked Bill. "What range is you sightin' at,
Broncho?"
"Six hundred."
"Better make it five," advised Jack. "She's closed up on us a bit, but
the sea and wind are moderating every minute. Tari, come and take
the steering-oar. We'll bring all our battery to bear."
Whereupon the Kanaka changed places with Jack.
Seeing that he had utterly failed in his attempt to make the
whaleboat heave-to, the marooner now ceased firing for a spell; but
having put his hand in the fire, it was now too late to draw it out. It
was his life against theirs now, and he crowded sail in pursuit with
desperate purpose.
But the three riflemen in the whaleboat continued to pump lead in his
direction, hoping by a lucky shot to cool his ardour sufficiently to
make him sheer off.
Presently the schooner's maingaff dropped its peak.
"Halliards shot away!" exclaimed the rolling-stone.
Jim burst into a cheer.
"Easy, sonny, easy," said Bill gravely. "It's too early yet to begin
shouting."
The Black Adder soon had her mainpeak hoisted again, but the
whaleboat's success was too much for the pirate's temper.
Her helm was put up, and as she fell off her whole side burst into
flame. The water was cut up all round the whaleboat by the shower
of lead. It flew over the castaways, whining and humming through
the air, and the boat quivered under the shock of three hits.
"Gee whiskers! Shrapnel!" exclaimed Bill concernedly.
"Slugs and pot-legs," agreed Jack, shaking off some blood which
was running down his hand. "Any one hurt?" he continued.
"Why, you are, Jack!" cried Loyola in great distress.
"Only a scratch on the arm," remarked the former carelessly.
"Let me bind it up."
"No time now, Lolie. Well-aimed broadside that; 'bout four hundred,
isn't it, Bill?"
"Aye."
"Plug those shot-holes if you can, Jim," went on the rover in a most
unconcerned voice.
He knew that things were looking serious, but the last thing he
wished to do was to show the boat's crew that he thought so.
"He shore cuts loose some lead that time," muttered Broncho. "The
kyards is comin' some swift. Thar's nothin' tender about that 'ere
maverick; he's plumb wolf from away back."
"More cartridges here, powder-monkey," laughed Bill cheerily to the
boy.
Jim reached over to the bag, but Loyola was quicker, and held out
her two small hands with all they could hold in front of the bluejacket.
"Thank you, mum; I 'opes as 'ow you didn't think I wos a-callin' of you
a powder-monkey," said Bill, reddening.
"Why, don't you think I make a very good one?" smiled the intrepid
woman; then excitedly, as the schooner's deck showed, "There's
Dago Charlie! There he is, standing right forrard!"
All three rifles rang out.
The man sprang backwards and was hidden behind the bulwarks,
but soon reappeared brandishing a furious fist.
What with the difficulty of accurate shooting at night and in the rough
sea, neither side seemed to be doing much damage.
Jack, Broncho, and Bill Benson concentrated all their energies in the
endeavour to pick off the schooner's captain, who exposed himself
carelessly as he watched the whaleboat keenly through his
binoculars.
"That 'ere dago is a heap too obvious on the scenery; if this boat
would quit pitchin' so lively, we'd stop his sin-encrusted play some
rapid," observed Broncho, as he took a long, careful aim.
"Two hours to daylight," muttered Jack, reloading. "I'd like to see him
sheer off before dawn."
"So should I," said Loyola softly.
The woman was behaving with rare courage, and took no more heed
of the flying lead than an old campaigner.
She and Jim had managed to plug all the shot-holes, and now that
the sea was smoother they were able to take a spell at the baling.
"Lolie, you're a brick. Pluckiest little woman I've ever met," declared
the rolling-stone fervently, as he knelt beside her.
"Have we any chance, Jack?" she asked sadly.
"Why, of course! You don't want to give in, do you, dearie? I should
think you had seen about enough of the Black Adder."
"Me? I'd rather die than fall into the hands of Dago Charlie!" she
cried vehemently.
"I thought so," observed Jack, with a keen look of approval in his
eyes; and then went on almost gaily, "Then it's a fight to the finish,
isn't that so, boys? We won't give her up, will we? No surrender to
Dago Charlie for us?"
"Give her up? I'm a blasted grabby if we does any such thing,"
grunted Bill scornfully.
"I should smile," drawled Broncho. "What kinder skunks do you-alls
think we is? I don't drop out o' this deal till my lamp goes out or that
pesterin' snake yonder pulls his freight."
"We're never goin' to give you up to that fiend, mum," chimed in Jim,
with a ferocious frown of valour on his face.
"Why," whispered the bluejacket under his breath to Jack, "the dago
mighty near marooned us without 'er; an' if 'e got us now, it'd be over
the side for us, and worse for 'er. 'E'll run no more chaunces like last
time."
"You're right, Bill," agreed the rover; "that's my opinion."
The wind had now dropped to no more than a strong breeze and
was veering into the north, and no longer coming in gusts.
The whaleboat sailed well, but was steadily being overhauled by the
schooner, which, however, was some way to leeward.
The Black Adder now ceased firing, content with the knowledge that,
barring accidents, she was sure of her prey.
But for the man at the wheel, none of her crew showed above the
bulwarks, and after the castaways had wasted several rounds in a
vain attempt to hit the helmsman, Jack laid down his gun in disgust
and said,
"Let's cease firing and wait till he's a bit closer. It's no use throwing
away ammunition like this."
"I agrees," assented Broncho. "As the kyards lay we-alls is simply
wastin' chips. We'll hold our hand some."
"It's the perishin' day he's waitin' for," grumbled Bill, putting aside his
smoking rifle and coolly filling his pipe. "He'll just keep station till sun-
up, an' then the oratorio'll begin to play again."
The pursuer and pursued now raced along broadside to broadside,
less than three cables' lengths separating them.
The Black Adder, though she was pinched up in the wind all she
would bear, would not look up as close as the whaleboat, though she
went faster through the water.
Jack's arm was now attended to and skilfully bound up by Loyola. A
bullet had simply grooved through the flesh—not much more than a
graze, but sufficient to cause a good deal of bleeding.
Jack, whilst his hurt was being doctored, thought hard. If something
were not done soon, Dago Charlie's obstinate perseverance would
prevail.
"We'll worry him yet," began the rover.
"Shore, an' euchre him too," said Broncho confidently.
"The wind's light enough now to help us," went on Jack. "Let's try
some short tacking. We can go about three times to his one."
"That's good tactics, sure enough," commented Bill.
"Splendid!" cried Loyola. "Let's start at once."
"Right-oh! Ready about there, Tari. Bill, you ship an oar and help her
round. We three will manage the lugsail."
The castaways had the boat round smartly, and away they went on
the port tack, heading north-east.
The Black Adder was completely taken by surprise, and lost some
valuable minutes before she followed suit and put her helm down.
Compared with the whaleboat, the schooner was a long time coming
round.
Anxiously the boat's crew watched her as she rounded to with
flapping head-sails, bowing her glistening black hull to the long swell
with slow, dignified movements; then, as she felt the wind on the
other tack, she lay over and came smoking after them, a frothing
streak of white rolling away from her sharp stem.
She made a perfect picture for an artist as she cut through the
gleaming path of the moon, carved out in a hard, clean outline of jet;
and, forgetting her peril, Loyola could not help exclaiming upon the
beauty of the scene.
"Just look at her! What other work of man can approach a sailing-
ship for perfect grace and——"
"Ready about!" broke in Jack, with a queer smile and a muttered,
"Sorry to interrupt you, Lolie," and round came the whaleboat again.
This time the schooner was prepared, and as she swung in stays
she sent a ball from her twelve-pounder skipping after the chase.
The castaways saw the shot splash, and then with a whirr it
ricochetted over their heads and plunged into the sea beyond them.
"Good shootin', and that ain't no josh!" commented Bill Benson.
"You're shore right, son," agreed Broncho. "That shot comes plenty
close. This here Dago Charlie slings his scrap-iron too free an' easy:
an' though we disdains these fam'liarities o' his, I shore regrets we-
alls can't corral his game none. His scatterin' loose this-away is
a'most liable to make a Montana sheriff apprehensife an' gun-shy."
"He ain't hit us yet," spoke up little Jim bravely.
"If he does he'll let sunshine through us, like as if we was a plate-
glass winder," declared the cowboy.
Again the whaleboat tacked, and before the schooner got round, Tari
swung her up once more on to the original tack.
Confused by the rapid manœuvres of the whaleboat, the marooner
hesitated a moment too long whilst head to wind, and then
starboarded his helm in an attempt to fall off on to the port tack
again. But he was too late; the schooner had not enough way on her
to respond to her tiller, and in a moment she was all aback.
"My God! she's missed stays!" yelled the rover joyfully. "What luck!
What all-fired luck!"
"Shall we-alls burn some more powder on him?" proposed Broncho
eagerly. "I regyards this here as a speshul o'casion."
"I think we'd better hold on a bit, Broncho. The ammunition's none
too plentiful, and we'll want every cartridge presently," declared their
cautious leader.
"An' you thinks a show-down is some handy, Jack?" inquired the
cowboy.
"Well, the wind's dropping fast; that's all in our favour."
"Perhaps he'll tire of this and sheer off before daybreak," broke in
Loyola wistfully.
"I allow he's too mean-strain an Injun to break away afore he's rattled
us some consid'rable more; but don't you fear, missy, we euchres
him some way on the final deal," declared Broncho cheerfully.
"You bet! The time's comin' when we'll wag our tails an' send 'im
navigatin' over the horizon quicker'n if a hornet's stung 'im," chimed
in Bill heartily.
Thus with hopeful talk did each hide a sinking heart.
Taking her hand in his, Jack looked long and lovingly into Loyola's
eyes.
"Whatever happens, dear, you and I will not be parted—that I swear,"
he whispered.
"Dear Jack," she answered fondly, and smiled back at him with a
brave spirit.
"If it comes to the worst, we'll board and carry the wretched
schooner," he went on valiantly. "Three white men, not to speak of
you, Jim, and Tari, ought to be able to settle the mixed rabble on that
pirate. Never fear, Lolie, we'll pull through somehow."
Fainter and fainter grew the wind as the dawn approached. Still the
whaleboat doubled before the persevering schooner like a hard-
pressed hare, and by well-timed manœuvring the castaways
continued to hold their own, though the marooner hung out every
flying kite that would draw.
Presently, with the magic quickness of the tropics, the dawn spread
gloriously over the east and dimmed the brightness of the stars.
In the whaleboat a fresh anxiety showed itself on every face as the
light of day grew swiftly.
Then, as Jack passed his hand wearily across his eyes and slowly
shook his head, a groan of distress broke out amongst the
castaways.
"It's gone," whispered the rover hoarsely; then, groping clumsily
about, he slowly sank down in the bottom of the boat and sat there
miserably, with bent head and closed eyes.
A fierce oath burst from little Jim's lips, an oath such as he had not
used since the first days on the Higgins, and it started a flood of
lurid, blood-curdling blasphemy from the over-tried cowpuncher,
whose swearing vocabulary Bill Benson ably succeeded in providing
with new words.
This fiery avalanche of oaths fell unheard by the small ears of
Loyola, who, crouching by Jack's side, stared at the rover with dry,
piteous eyes, whilst Tari, inscrutably silent as usual, steered on with
twitching lips.
In the midst of it all, the sail flapped, then filled, then flapped again;
the last of the wind had gone, and the whaleboat lay rolling on a
long, glassy swell, which already the sun was covering with glittering
sparks, like a mass of diamonds on the Pacific's wonderful blue.
The swearing ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and nothing
broke the silence in the whaleboat for some moments except the
dreary flapping of the lugsail.
Then Jack lifted his head and spoke:
"It's a flat calm, eh, boys?"
"A Paddy's hurricane clear down to the horizon," returned the
bosun's mate.
"The schooner's in it?"
"Aye, an' kotched it first. She's over three cables' lengths away now,
an' slewin' round without steerage way."
"By Jove, then, boys, we'll beat them yet," declared Jack excitedly.
"Out with the oars and let's put the horizon between us as soon as
we can. I can't see, but hang me if I won't show Dago Charlie I can
row."
His words put fresh life into the castaways.
"You hits it, this time, old son, for shore," burst out the cowboy. "This
hand shall be played with renewed sperit, an' that on-tamed wild-
cat's goin' to be out-held, or I'm a sheepman."
CHAPTER XII
"THE PLUCK OF WOMAN"
Swiftly the sail was gathered in and the mast lowered, amidst a
rattle of eager words. Only Loyola remained silent and downcast, for
this blindness which attacked Jack so curiously with every sunrise hit
her harder than any peril caused by the marooner's actions.
But Jack's keen ears noted her silence and realised its cause. Still
seated as he was beside her, he felt clumsily for her hand; then,
finding it, pressed it firmly, whispering,
"Cheer up, Lolie; my eyesight'll be all right directly I can get the
correct treatment. Meanwhile, we'll just go on our way to Papeete
and leave Mr. Dago Charlie standing."
"I'm trying to be brave, I'm trying to be brave," murmured the woman
brokenly. "Only, only——"
"I know, dearie, I know," he broke in gently. "I know how it hurts you
—yes, more than it does me, far more; but it'll all come right
presently, don't you fear."
"But it does seem so hard, so very, very hard; and I was hoping so
much——"
"Put not your trust in the moon," he laughed cheerfully; then went on,
"You must steer, Lolie, as we want Tari to row."
The fact of being of some use seemed to hearten her considerably,
and with a brighter face she took the steering-oar from the Kanaka.
"You stroke us, Jack," proposed Benson.
"'Xcuse me, boys, if my play with an oar is some wantin' in skill,"
observed the cowpuncher. "My eddication's been some neglected in
rowin', an' I'm shore a tenderfoot at the game a whole lot."
Then away they went, Jack setting a steady stroke and Broncho at
the bow oar pulling all he knew, but splashing freely with the
clumsiness of a novice.
"I shore wishes this here were a paddle," he grunted. "I savvys
paddles, but rowin' this-away comes plumb strange to me."
"Shoo, man, you're doin' fine! Reg'lar Varsity h'oar, I calls yer; fit for a
captain's gig," declared Bill.
Jim, much against his wish, had been placed in reserve.
The whaleboat pulled easily over the long swell, and though worn to
a degree, the castaways dipped their oars with the energy of
desperation.
The blind stroke, drawing upon his wonderful reserve of strength,
made the stout ash bend with his efforts, the man-of-war's man ably
backing him up; whilst Tari, the indefatigable, pulled with the easy,
untiring swing of the South Sea whale-hunter.
The moisture glistened on their stern-set, resolute faces as the sun
beat down upon them with an eye-wearying glare.
The water rippled cheerily from the bends of the keen-lined boat, and
swirled astern hissing and bubbling, whilst the ploughing oars
churned up the calm depths of blue into a creamy yeast, leaving
behind them at each stroke a miniature whirlpool, which seemed to
move hastily away from the cruel blades, slicing their way so steadily
through the transparency of the Pacific, and blurring its face as they
drove the whaleboat onward.
An enthusiasm in this desperate race raised the watching boy's
spirits to a gay fearlessness, and he burst forth into a well-known
snatch:
"An' it's drill, ye tarriers, drill!
For it's work all day, without sugar in ye tay,
An' it's drill, ye tarriers, drill!"
"That's the style, Jim!" jerked the blind stroke approvingly. "Let it rip!
That's the medicine!"
"Shore!" gasped Broncho.
"An' here comes the dago diggin' out after us," cried Bill. "They're
pipin' fust an' second cutters away aboard the pirateer."
The Black Adder had lowered two boats full of men, which now came
dancing over the swell in chase of the whaleboat, for all the world
like two bustling centipedes.
"Jim serve out a cocoanut per man. Easy all, boys. Let's get our wind
and a little refreshment, then we'll soon show 'em what we can do,"
said Jack, lying on his oar.
"That's the ticket! We'll stoke up an' revive ourselves before the final
'eat," declared Bill. "For it's a case of brace up an' get a wiggle on if
we're goin' to stop that dago swab from bussneckin' round us."
"I'd shore like to put the hobbles on the rancorous hold-up," growled
Broncho, as he sucked his cocoanut. "I feels kind o' gore-thirsty an'
bulgin' with animosity this maunin'. I hungers for a show-down with
them two boats. A long range duel makes me peevish a whole lot.
My mood ain't in the saddle that-away, I wants to get clos't to my
work. I jest itches to get my claws on to that 'ere maroonin'
desperado and jolt him up some. I reckon he'd be some scarce o'
tail-feathers when I'm through with him."
"Our game will be to draw the boats as far away from the schooner
as we can," put in Jack; "and then, if the worst comes to the worst,
we must fight 'em off. No, Broncho, no hand-to-hand rough-and-
tumble if we can avoid it. Remember Loyola's a woman, though
she's got a man's name and a man's nerve."
"It shore gets clean stampeded out o' my mind," muttered the
cowpuncher.
"Then I'm blind and useless," went on Jack. "That leaves three men
and a boy to tackle two boat-loads of cutthroats. No, no, our rifles
are our only chance."
"Aye, Jack's right," agreed the bosun's mate. "We must revolute
clear o' them jossers some'ow. We don't want it to come to fixin'
bayonets to 'old 'em off."
Their small refreshment finished, the castaways took to their oars
again with renewed vigour; but despite their desperate efforts, the
schooner's boats began slowly to close upon them.
The cowboy, unaccustomed to rowing, with all his grit, was fast tiring
out, and his oar began to cleave the water in uncertain jerks; he
wasted his strength at the wrong moment, and began to find a
difficulty in keeping time.
Jack still pulled an easy, mechanical stroke, putting a steady,
unchanging power into his work, whilst Tari seemed almost as fresh
as at the start; but Bill Benson, with the moisture pouring off his face,
though pulling with strength and determination, was beginning to
breathe heavily, and the strain upon him showed in the haggard look
of his eyes.
Matters were looking very serious for the whaleboat's crew, and in
that raging calm there was no hope of a helping sail appearing in
sight.
Jim was sent to Broncho's thwart to help him, and everything not
absolutely necessary thrown overboard to lighten the whaleboat; but
still the dago gained upon them, until, as the sun neared the
meridian, the schooner was almost hull down, whilst the boats were
within a cable's length and a half of their quarry.
Loyola, with the rifles by her side, stood swaying gracefully to the
swell as she held the boat's head on its course.
She made a lovely picture, standing there so straight and fearless,
her little sun-browned hands grasping the steering-oar and the big
slouch hat shading her dauntless eyes from the glare of the tropical
sun.
From time to time she spoke to the toiling men with bright words of
encouragement, which always brought a renewed strength to their
aching muscles and produced a look of fierce determination in their
tired eyes.
Then for a spell she would fall silent, and lose herself in her thoughts
as she looked at the blind stroke, until her soul crept out of her sad
eyes in a soft glow of infinite tenderness.

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Introduction to Information Systems

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25) How does IMAP differ from SMTP?

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30) What is a vCard?

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46) Which of the following is true of instant messaging?

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64) For which of the following purposes can blogs be used?

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84) Which of the following is a function of unified communications?

86) What function does a context indicator perform?

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102) How do online discussion forums function?

103) What are the advantages of using instant messaging in a workplace?

105) What are the advantages of text messaging in emergency situations?

108) What are shared workspaces? How do they enhance teamwork?

114) How does microblogging contribute to social networking?

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