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CST 373: Ethics

Weekly Discussions
Week 1:
Topic: As a game designer, are you ethically responsible to consider the potential for addiction in
the game you create? Should a designer build time limits of play into their games in order to
force people to stop playing for a set amount of time?
Response: I do not think that game designers are responsible to consider the potential for
addictions a game could create. Games are meant to be entertaining and if the addiction factor is
added into the game design I fear that the game will lose the audiences interest. With the games
becoming less appealing to the audience the game industry could potentially collapse. I think
that is why other industries, such as the beer industry and pornographic industry, have few to no
addiction regulations. I also would not agree for the games to have time limits in order to force
people to stop playing. The responsibility of having limits within games should be of the user or
the parent if the user is under 18 years old. A person should be capable enough to enforce own
time limits of games and prioritize their personal duties over a video game. In the case in which a
person is not capable of placing their own limits, this person should seek help from a
professional facility.
Re: Discussion #1C: Should there be external intervention to curb technology
addiction?
by Alberico Sforza - Saturday, 30 January 2016, 10:35 PM
I don't necessarily disagree with the other discussion members about current game makers not
being at fault for people being addicted to games; however, I do disagree with some of the points
that have been brought up. I think it's interesting that Michael brought up a point about addiction
to technology not being a problem until it interferes with responsibilities. I think Michael's point
is interesting because in the e-paper Ivan Goldberg "observed the phenomenon of people leaving
their family obligations to go and sit at the computer." which would mean that technology
addiction is a problem. I feel that there is a very near future in which games should be required to
display and warn people of their addictive qualities comparable to similar addictive substances or
activities.
Re: Discussion #1C: Should there be external intervention to curb technology
addiction?
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 31 January 2016, 11:38 AM
Hello Alberico, I agree with the proposal on having games display warning labels in order to
warn individuals of the potential harm a game could have. That way the user is informed, the
game play is not affected, and the gaming industry continues to grow. I also believe that the
responsibility to inform the user that is not just of the game developers. The responsibility also
belongs to schooling systems, the internet, and others media forms. The reason why I bring this

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up is because games have rating systems but most parents do not know what they mean. I know
at a young age my mom bought my siblings and I rated M games just because we asked for it.
With the addition of the labels, schools and community programs should have an internet/game
etiquette class that informs people how to act around the media, what different labels mean, and
how it can affect someones life. That way the addiction could potentially drop and we would
have more awareness on these types of addictions. Plus I think it could help lower the rate of
internet trolls.

Week 2:
Topic: After reading the online newspaper article Hoax Batters Tech Firm
(http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Hoax-Batters-Tech-Firm-Stock-value-drops-2742069.php
) discuss who you think is responsible for the consequences of the hoax. What should the
punishment be? What should be done to prevent this in the future? What ethical connections can
be made to this story and recent events relating to the Enron Corporation? Note that this article is
more than ten years old but the problem has not gone away. Use the Internet to learn more about
what happened in this specific case and/or provide your peers with similar stories and links.
Postings due by 9pm, Sunday of this week.
Response: I found it difficult to decide on who was responsible for the incident. I feel that some
point everyone was at fault. Those that reacted too quickly before double checking the credibility
of the website are just as responsible as the author of the false article. I think for the punishment
the writer of the study should have went to court and be checked on all the emails and forms of
communication in order to see if they published the information with malice. The company
should have better standards on reviewing the information published by their employees. As for
the people that sold their stocks too soon, they received their punishments by losing all the
money they did.
In order to prevent events like this to happen in the future I think it would be best if companies
hold more accountability for the information they are distributing, instead of worrying more
about having a good story. I saw that incidents like that have happened ever since the high-speed
trading became mainstream. The laws concerning the truth and technology should be changed for
the benefit of the majority. It is unethical to have actions like this committed even if it is done
through a machine.
Re: Discussion #2C: Tech firm hoax
by Christopher Ngo - Sunday, 7 February 2016, 10:01 AM

I believe that the press companies who released the information about Emulex are responsible for
the consequences, as well as the person who wrote it. There was definitely a lack in the
investigation of proving the credibility of the source and the information given. To prevent this

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from happening, there needs to be improvement in the credibility checks of sources before
actually distributing the news. With well known news sources, you can't take the risk of having
any false information being released because it hurts a lot more others than just the company
itself. A similar story in connection is the Mohammed Islam case, where he duped new sources
like The New York Post about how much he made overnight in stocks. He claimed to have made
$72 million, but after an interview with Islam, he revealed he had made $0. A situation like this
brings embarrassment to the reporters and the company because they wasted their time featuring
a hoaxer on their front page.
Re: Discussion #2C: Tech firm hoax
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 7 February 2016, 5:08 PM
I completely agree with you there should be a greater amount of accountability from those sites.
Although freedom if press is right it there should be a law that only allows for the truth to be
published. There are people that base their believes only through those sites and do not gather
their information through other sources. I think there should also be a bigger punishment for
these type of incidents because then people would not consider committing these type of actions.

Week 3:
Topic: A few years ago a CSUMB student's parents requested copies of their child's emails (both
sent and received) after the student committed suicide. If you were the Chief Information Officer
(CIO) for the university how would you respond to their request? State the ethical issues
involved and your rationale for the action(s) you would take. As in every ethical issue relating to
IT we're exploring this semester, consider the differences between how we interact with digital
vs. analog information. Postings due by 9pm, Sunday of this week.
Response: I do not think that the parents should have access to their childs email after death. I
understand that the parents may want closure to the reason their child committed suicide, but
their access to the information might tamper with the information from the investigation that
typically happens after such incident. I think that the police officers should only supply the
information that the officer believes is important for the parents to know.
On a personal basis, I also dont think it would be proper to go through someones email after
death. On my email, I have a lot of personal information and conversations that I would not want
others to know about. Giving access to my email after my death, my parents would have access
to all my documents and information. My email is the one thing I do not share with my family,
other things like access to my laptop, and phone are freely given to everyone in my family. That
way they can access images, and an acknowledgement of the people I talk to. If an individual
does not give access to their parents while they are alive the parent should not get access once
the person passes away. I feel that it would be the equivalent of someone claiming someones
money after the individual specified in their will that they wouldnt like anyone in their family to
claim it.

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I think this problem could be fixed if it starts to be specified on peoples will that they are
planning on giving access to their family members. For example in this article, the author
mentioned that if the deceased gave access to their account the family member could read emails
but couldnt send emails from that account.
Re: Discussion #3C: eMail after death
by Christopher Ngo - Sunday, 14 February 2016, 12:58 PM
If I were the CIO, I would definitely show the parents the requested emails. The parents do have
a right to know what happened in their child's life and maybe there could have been some sort of
information that could link it to his suicide. Of course it would be better to show the parents the
email in person with proper regulation so that the evidence isn't messed with. To others it may
seem like an invasion of privacy, but if that was your child you would want to do anything
possible to find out what could have been the cause.
Re: Discussion #3C: eMail after death
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 14 February 2016, 1:31 PM
Hello, I personally think that there should be some privacy even if the person is deceased. If the
student did not want their information viewed while alive, it shouldn't be different once they are
dead. I think it would also be bad for the school to disclose student information. I do understand
that parents want to know if there is anything in their emails that could say why they committed
suicide.

Week 4:
Topic: Under the heading of "what would you do if..." imagine the following scenarios and
provide a response for each. You walk into your 12-year old child's room and on his/her
computer screen you see: a) pornography b) instructions on how to build a bomb c) a guide to
safer sex d) online gambling
Response: First off I would try to relax and process everything before yelling and getting angry
at my child.
Pornography: I would probably not be too upset because I remember when I was younger and
people at my school told me about it I wanted to know what it was. I did not go to see it on my
own, but I told my mom and she explained to me that people like them do not appreciate love
making and dehumanize the act. After explaining to me she allowed for me to see it. I was really
grossed out and never watched it again. I feel like I would do the same and make my child really
uncomfortable with this.
Bomb Instructions: I would be really upset, because I do not find a legitimate reason for my child
to build a bomb. I would be really concerned for his mental stability. I would try to get him into

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counseling and hopefully manage to change his thoughts if he is planning on hurting others. If he
just wants to build some types of machines I would show him basic HTML and try to make him
see that he/she should only build things to help others not to harm.
Guide to Safer Sex: This scenario is a little conflicting, one part of me would be glad that my
child is seeking to have safe sex but another part of me would be worried because I would not
want my child to be sexually active at that age. I would end up talking to my child and
explaining how he/she is to young to think about that. I would also tell them that they should
enjoy their life and try to spend time with their friend. That everything comes with time and that
they should enjoy every stage of their life and not try to be an adult.
Online Gambling: I would ask whose money he is using to gamble. If it is mine or his fathers I
would explain that it is illegal to steal and that he should not be gambling at such a young age.
Then I would give him the example of one of my uncles and show him that something that may
seem as a simple as a game can lead to a terrible addiction and run their life.
In all scenarios I would be a little concerned on my 12-year olds actions. I would make sure to
explain to them on my own words and try to understand why they are looking up such things on
the internet. I have already have had one of these talks with one of my siblings so clear
communication solved the problem. I think it also helped that I did not get mad and told them
that it was alright to be curious. Communication and understanding is the key to talking to
children about these issues.
Re: Discussion #4C: 12-year olds and the Internet
by Michael Vargas - Thursday, 18 February 2016, 1:11 AM
a). It's only nature that children his/her age would be curious about the human anatomy.
Although it may be embarrassing for the child, I would teach them about the birds and the bees
before they try to learn it from their friends or the media. Whether the porn in general is
unconventional is another issue entirely.
b). This would be a very serious issue that I will not ignore. Knowing their point of view on why
they decided to purse this research would help me discover their mindset and influences. I will
understand my child's ideas, but I will enforce my morals and lead my child to a safer, correct
path for society.
c). Judging from the next step of finding alternatives to safer sex as oppose to hardcore porn
from the first example on this post, I would assume they want to find better research instead of
doing something incorrectly. I also would think that sex isn't a foreign topic or anything
confusing to them; therefore I would get them my experience and ensure they practice safe sex.
d). Although not a deadly issue like building a bomb, without the proper attitude to approach this
issue can leave an impact to my child's mind. Video games and other entertainment media are
harmless when a good mindset is approached to it; if I notice questionable behaviors from my

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child because of the online gambling, restrictions on play time or overall action to the game
would be called upon by me.
All of these situations would consist of me talking with my kid and not just ignore the issue. Few
of these sound worse than they seem, but if parents had the time to communicate with their child
about their lives, then the child would be able to get some perspective on current events.
Re: Discussion #4C: 12-year olds and the Internet
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Saturday, 20 February 2016, 8:09 PM
Hello Michael,
I completely agree with you. Regardless of how harmless it may seem and parents may want to
brush it off and not comfort their child. I think it is better for the parent to talk to the child and
address any concerns that the parent may have. It would also be good to understand the
reasoning behind these actions instead of getting mad and scolding the child. On the topic of sex,
I would be a little more concerned than you if I found out my child was having sex. Twelve is
too young regardless if the child is practicing safe sex or not. At that point they are too young
and should be experiencing life as a child and not trying to be an adult.

Week 5:
Topic: 1) You use an ATM machine outside your local bank and it gives you an extra 20 bucks.
The receipt shows it gave you only the amount you requested for withdrawl. What do you do? 2)
A human teller makes a similar mistake as described above. You don't notice the extra $20 until
you're in your car. Again, what do you do?
Response: To be honest, thinking of the way I am, I would not give back the money on any of
these scenarios. I never check whether I get the right amount or not. So if I ever get 20 dollars
more or less I would not be able to tell. For the purpose of this scenario, I will assume that I do
check the amount of money I receive.
The ATM scenario is a little more complicated than the one with the human teller. If it was a
human teller I would give get off of my car and give back the money to the teller. I know that the
teller will have to repay the money and take the deduction from their paycheck.
As for the ATM I say it is more complicated because the time of day and whether there is
personnel or not plays a role into my decision. If there is a teller whom I can take the money to I
will give them the money in order to make sure that they know that their machine may be acting
up. That way the machine will give the right amount of money to other customers and there is no
further problems. On the other hand, if there was not someone whom I can return the money to I
would not know what to do and I would just keep it.
Re: Discussion #5C: Human/ATM interaction

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by Alcides Sorto - Sunday, 28 February 2016, 4:25 PM
1) You use an ATM machine outside your local bank and it gives you an extra 20 bucks. The
receipt shows it gave you only the amount you requested for withdrawal. What do you do?
I would go inside the bank and talk to a teller and return the money. The bank doesn't have extra
money, If my account is not affected then someone else might be. And if there is a problem with
machine and I do not report is its possible that the next time the money will be taken from my
account.
2) A human teller makes a similar mistake as described above. You don't notice the extra $20
until you're in your car. Again, what do you do?
I would back in and let the teller know about the extra money she gave me. If I took the money I
would feel guilty knowing that the teller would get in trouble over this.
Re: Discussion #5C: Human/ATM interaction
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 28 February 2016, 4:46 PM
Hello Alcides,
I completely agree with you. I would also make sure to report the problem. In the worst case
scenario, this could be happening to other people and someone may be affected or the machine
may be broken.

Week 6:
Topic: Question 0ne: If you were an administrator at Rutgers, how would you discipline the
students involved in the Clementi incident and would you include the campus IT professionals in
the investigation?
Question Two: How effective do you believe the It Gets Better project can be in addressing the
issue of bullying young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth?
Response: Question One: It is hard to think of a right punishment for the people involved, but for
sure I believe that the administrators at Rutgers could have done more than just accusing these
people of invasion of privacy. I would have done something to make sure the students rooming
with Clementi also got charges of cyberbulling. I would have made sure they never came back to
my school. I think this issue is hard to address since there is no true codes or laws that identify
cyberbulling and how to handle it. I feel that we need to teach children at a young age to teach
them what is appropriate and what is wrong to share on the media. There should be more
community outreach programs that help people that need some of support. In this article, online
bullies put school into the fray, mention some of the tactics that should be used in order to fight
back against cyberbulling. It mentions how some IT professionals at school should be
cyberdectives and try to figure out when the police should get involved on certain cases.

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Question Two: I am not sure how effective these campaigns can be. Yes, there are videos that
could make someone feel something and try to help the individual keep on going in life. My only
problem with such videos is that it is often hard to find these videos and the person has to
actively look for them. I did not know anything about this, and if it wasnt for this forum I may
have never found out. I think the videos just needs to be able to be viewable by everyone that
could potentially may need this type of awareness. In the article, Dan Savage: for gay teens, life
gets better, the author mentioned that it would be a better idea to have the acknowledging
existence of LGBT people in sex-ed curriculum. That way they lose the terrible connotation that
they have in society and hopefully lessen the bullies.

Re: Discussion #6C: It Gets Better (except for Tyler C.)

by Austin Zielinski - Sunday, 13 March 2016, 7:58 PM
I would not want these students at my school anymore. You can argue that the woman has a case
for not facing complete removal from the school, but the man certainly crossed way to many
lines to deserve to continue his education at Rutgers. Spying on a roommate's intimate
encounters is wrong regardless of sexuality, and is in my opinion worthy of removal. Taking it
the step further, in making it a sideshow, is disgusting and reinforces my belief. Perhaps
controversially, I don't think Clementi killing himself weighs the punishment any differently.
As far as campus IT goes, I'm not sure they have any power in this situation. Maybe if they were
monitoring the types of packets on the network they could see a VOIP/webcam traffic, but taking
action to forbid that type of web traffic in the future would come at the cost of other students not
being able to use those services with good intentions.
I believe the It Gets Better project can have a great effect on the teens who it's intended to reach.
From what I know, many homosexual teens have heterosexual parents. In the same way that
growing up without a positive role model of your gender can have a negative effect, it's
important that LGBT youth have access to words of experience from those that know first hand.
It must be scary to have so many unknowns in your future, and for everything to seem bleak, and
also not have a voice of reassurance to give you hope for the future.
This source proposes that while it's a great message, there has to be action beyond the message
for it to be effective. Simply saying "it gets better" is not enough, we have to take action to make
it better or we'll be saying "it gets better" forever.
Re: Discussion #6C: It Gets Better (except for Tyler C.)
by Celesta Williams - Sunday, 13 March 2016, 8:54 PM
I totally agree with you about not wanting the students at the school anymore. Students who feel
the need to hurt someone else for their own personal gain is horrible and do not the deserve a
high class education. If they are not going to be good citizens of society.

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Re: Discussion #6C: It Gets Better (except for Tyler C.)

by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 13 March 2016, 8:56 PM
Austin, I agree with you. I would not want those type of students in my school. I can see that
they have broken too many boundaries and have caused harm to others. I would not be able to
guarantee that the individual would not do the same to other people, I would just make sure the
person would not be in the school and gets a larger punishment other than just "invasion of
privacy.
As for the it gets better project, I think it is great for those that find these video but I think that a
positive role model would be idea. That is why I think that the presence of the LGBTQ
community is in public schools. Including during sex education, even if Christian/religious
parents completely oppose to this idea. People have to view it as something natural that should
not be a way to insult or bully others.
Week 7:
Topic: Read the vision statement and then consider the following: Does a public institution have
a right and/or a responsibility to institutionalize its idea of morality? What are the potential
positive and negative outcomes of doing this? Finally, does IT play a neutral role here? And
because things posted online never go away... you may also want to read this post:
http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=7246
Response: I believe that a public institution has the right to institutionalize its idea of morality as
long as the professors and other faculty discuss the ideologies and morality from different parties
as well. For example, if a university were to impose left wing ideas to their students, the
professors should specify if the ideologies they teach belong to them, and they should then
discuss the different views from the opposing party in a non-biased or hateful way. This
document expresses how students are able to express religious beliefs in public schools that tend
to restrict conservative religious beliefs.
Re: Discussion #7C: That Vision Statement thing
by Joshua Smith - Sunday, 3 April 2016, 9:20 PM
think that institutions have the right to institutionalize its idea of morality. I enjoy the classes that
I have taken that purpose the professors idea of morality. Ive been to four colleges and in each
one, my favorite classes, whether it was psychology, philosophy, English, or history. They
always had the flavor of the professors idea of morality. Thats what made the classes so
engaging and good in my opinion. That is what college is all about. Learning different thing from
different prospective. The classes that are taught by the book I never excelled in because they
were boring. If you dont believe in what youre being taught then you just drop the class and
sign up for another professor. I can see how that might be harder to do at CSUMB since the
school is so small that one one teacher teaches a subject. But I guess thats what happens when

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you choose a small school. Regarding the last article. I feel like it was more of a rant, while I feel
that he touched on a few good points, you could tell that he was writing bitterly about the school.
I would as the professor: If you are so unhappy, why stay at CSUMB, find another college to
teach at that suits you better.
Sources:
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/198190/chapters/Moral-Education.aspx
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/ethics-and-morality-moral-compass/3574.aspx
Re: Discussion #7C: That Vision Statement thing
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 15 May 2016, 4:34 PM
Marcus,
I agree with your statement that institutions already institutionalize their ideas of morality. It is
clear that there are schools that restrict different information in order to impose different beliefs.
I know that several religious schools in this area even restrict teaching about evolution to
students. I believe that teachers should still have the freedom to express their beliefs, but they
should discuss with their students that their morality comes from their opinions. They should
also discuss different ideologies to give the students a non-biased environment.

Week 8:
Topic: In a March 19 article from a few years ago, the Monterey Herald wrote about racist
activities on the CSUMB campus. A brief statement refers to surveillance cameras. According to
the CIO, there are approximately 300 cameras on campus but they are not "surveillance" cameras
but rather "safety and security" cameras used exclusively for forensic purposes. We've had
numerous discussions in class about privacy issues and have often referred to England's use of
cameras in public areas. What are the positive AND negative aspects of having cameras on our
campus? What are the ethical issues?
Response: Security cameras have always been a concern, especially after an individual takes time
to realize the amount of cameras that are placed in their surroundings. I can see how the cameras
may help with detecting any criminal activities. The students and faculty may feel more secure to
know that there are individuals watching over their security. This could be the case of a student
at walking at night and knowing that the cameras will detect where they are headed just in case
something happens. This could also reduce the cause of vandalism and theft, since people tend to
act different whenever there is a camera in front of them.
Some of the potential problems that cameras could bring is the lack of privacy. It is not stated of
whether there is a person using the surveillance cameras and where exactly the cameras are
located. For example, a student can be watching something inappropriate on their own laptop and
that could be recorded. In a school article for the Community College of Rhode Island, it

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mentioned that they posted signs for their students indicating that the campus is subject to video
surveillance to remind people that their actions may be monitored to deter them from engaging in
crime. This at least gives the people a warning on the surveillance. Something I do not see
anywhere at CSUMB.
The main ethical problem with these cameras is the privacy and lack of information the students
and faculty receive. It also could lead to observing group profiles targeted towards race, gender,
age, sexual orientation or just the way an individual dresses. Also a student may be concerned
that they are being monitored at all times. Too bad there is no balance between privacy and
security. One has to be lost in order to have the other.
Re: Discussion #8C: Surveillance on campus
by Kristopher Snider - Sunday, 3 April 2016, 5:13 PM
In today's world, I believe that is more of a necessity to have cameras in public places because of
the mass killings that have been happening throughout the world and on attackers at schools. If
there are cameras around and people watching what is going on through the campuses than there
is a good chance many of these people could still be alive from the shootings. As for the people
who are concerned with privacy, why are you doing these things in public if you do not want
anyone to see what is happening. People have the right to privacy but in a public setting they
should not be participating in these activities if the person does not want to be seen or recorded.
Classrooms, bathrooms, and offices are places on campus that should not be required to have
cameras on campus but anywhere in a public setting should for safety matters. The drawbacks to
this scenario is the cost, depending on the universities size this can cost large amounts of money.
CSUMB is a small campus but schools like Arizona State have over 60 thousand students and
would require much more money and upkeep to these cameras. An ethical issue presented by this
case could be racial profiling to monitor certain races of people because of past incidents.
Another ethical issue here is the wrongful use of the video footage. If something were to happen
on camera that is embarrassing, whoever is monitoring the cameras could use this to shame the
person by having it posted on the internet.
Source
Re: Discussion #8C: Surveillance on campus
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 3 April 2016, 8:36 PM
Hey Kristopher,
I agree with your point, I think people should give up their privacy in order to make sure they are
protected and secure. As for cameras in classrooms, I think that there should be cameras in the
classrooms with a lot of technology equipment. Just in case something gets stolen, they will be
able to find the person responsible. You make really good points, I did not think about the
footage and how it is stored or used.

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Week 10:
Topic: When the personal computer started to become popular it was often marketed as a product
that would reduce our society's need for paper and that we might even become a paperless
society. Recently, in a single year CSUMB used over 10 million sheets of paper in its copiers
and printers. Do you think CSUMB should be doing more to reduce its use of paper? Is paper use
an ethical issue for you personally? How green do you think CSUMB is when it comes to
other uses of communication technology? What would you recommend, if anything, CSUMB
should do to be more environmentally responsible in its use of communication technologies?
Response: I am not too sure what CSUMB could do to reduce the amount of paper that is being
used at the time. I know that I would like for some of the HCOM classes to not require for the
essays and other assignments to be turned in physically. If I were a school administrator, I would
implement a rule that would require for most departments to have their students turn in
assignments online instead of paper copies. For me personally, I understand that some classes
need to have paper as a substitute in case some of the students cannot afford to buy a type of
technology. There is also a small trade off, because buildings with a lot of technology may be the
ones using up most of the electricity. As far as paper is concerned, I think that the School of
Computing in Design is probably one of the most green departments in the whole school.
The school in its entirety is a school that I would consider to be very green. I know we use
solar panels that contribute to a fair amount, about 16%, of our electric energy. There is a student
swap shop that allows for students to trade in clothes for something else in the shop. In
2015, CSUMB was part of the Guide to 353 green colleges. This guide is used to demonstrate a
strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities,
and career preparation. CSUMB is in this list because they have transportation alternatives such
as the free or reduced price transit passes. I think that one way to be more environmentally
responsible with all types of technologies is by having the FYS classes educate students on what
to do with technology once it is no longer useful for their needs. CSUMB should also donate it's
devices once the technology gets upgraded. Not too sure what else could be done.
Re: Discussion #10c: Paper
by Hector Sandoval - Sunday, 10 April 2016, 1:06 PM
I think that CSUMB should be doing a bit more to reduce paper consumption, but also I think
that its still necessary for some applications like bulletin boards. At csumb, I have only had two
lectures where the professor provides any papers for Class. Both of those classes were math
classes, and the professor provided the notes for each lecture so we could take notes right on the
material he was gonna teach. He definitely printed out more than one hundred pages before class
but I think those notes were really beneficial for our learning process. Another area where paper
use is beneficial is on bulletin boards. Without those papers groups would need to find other
ways to get their information to viewers easily. I think regardless of these two positives CSUMB

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come pretty far in being green. In order to completely remove the necessity of paper the school
would need to invest in technology that cuts back on the need for the use of this paper. Things
that immediately come to mind are screens that can display bulletins and devices that allow you
to write notes while still giving you that pen and paper feel. When these technologies are
developed I think that all of the groups in the school will move away from using paper But at this
point we're working with what is the most convenient.
Re: Discussion #10c: Paper
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 10 April 2016, 8:15 PM
Hello Hector, I completely agree with you. There are those math classes that need to have that
amount of paper use. It is truly beneficial to all the students that are taking those classes. Too bad
CSUMB does not have an application or anything that can help reduce paper.
Re: Discussion #10c: Paper
by Devon Rusconi - Sunday, 10 April 2016, 7:44 PM
I believe CSUMB is doing an okay job keeping paper usage down when it comes to homework
assignments, essays, and other instructions. iLearn carries these homework submissions and
homework instructions, class syllabus's and so on. The 10 million sheet's of paper used last year
can be reduced by using more of the online tools on iLearn. Mostly every student now has a
laptop and our school can be greener if we post all instructions, reading material, and homework
assignments online.
There is a green school initiative that talks about changing paper usage that involves using
recycled paper if it is absolutely necessary to use paper, but it says nothing about using
technology. I believe CSUMB is advanced in this area and will continue to use it to become a
much greener school.
Re: Discussion #10c: Paper
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 10 April 2016, 8:18 PM
Hello Devon, I agree with your point. Some classes should be required to be turned in online
specially if it is an English class. There are those few classes that do need the use of paper. For
example I could not imagine doing math problems on my laptop.
Re: Discussion #10c: Paper
by Maria Rivera - Sunday, 10 April 2016, 8:40 PM
I agree with both you and Karen on the point about CSUMB doing ok with online HW
assignments among other things. I do think that the school could be doing a lot more and

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reinforcing the use of technology much more by first of all making sure the professors have the
proper training to use such technology.

Week 11:
Topic: Over the last few years the University administration and faculty have been studying the
University Learning Requirements and how they serve students. One primary concern is that the
ULRs do not align with other CSU campuses which creates some problems for transfer students
and may discourage new students from applying to CSUMB. As a result of the investigations, a
number of proposals were presented and after significant feedback and revisions, one final
proposal called the Otter Model is currently being implemented. Like all of the proposals, the
Otter Model eliminates the Technology proficiency ULR, formerly satisfied by CST 101/Tech
Tools and a few other tech-related courses offered by other departments. Previously, we
discussed the Vision Statement. This week, consider the positive and negative effects, including
the ethical implications, of eliminating technology proficiency from the ULR/General Education
requirements.
Response: Eliminating technology proficiency from the ULR only limits the type of jobs that the
graduates will be doing. In 2009, more than 1.2 million people got employed holding jobs that
did not exist two decades ago. The information technology industry has been one of the fastest
growing since computer literacy became a necessary factor to obtaining a job. It is expected that
by 2018 IT employment is expected to grow by another 22 percent. Not allowing our graduates
to be technology literate will place them behind the other people competing for a job. I know
technology is even being incorporated into jobs in which people thought wouldnt be possible.
Such is the example of schools having the children know how to do basic operations on a
computer.
Sadly, not all schools have programs like this limiting the amount of people that are computer
literate. Due to the small number of people that are computer literate, the government has created
the site www.digitalliterecy.gov in order to persuade people and try to raise the literacy level in
America. This website allows for people to learn how to use a computer, a mobile device,
software applications and the internet. Overall, the only positive aspect to this ULR is that more
people will be applying for the university and the school continue to make money. Aside from
the financial factor, I do not see how the students will benefit.
Re: Discussion #11c: Technology as a core CSUMB value
by Celesta Williams - Thursday, 14 April 2016, 12:05 PM
As the world of continues to evolve technology is evolving as well. I think requiring
technological course for all students is a great thing. Everything in the world today pretty much
revolves around technology. So it is beneficial for students whether they are studying technology
or history should have a little proficiency in technology. It is critical in the work force and it will
make working in their any field much easier. I can understand why certain students would the

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need to not take a beginner technology class but as I stated before it is very beneficial and it
could also help them make better ethical decisions when it comes to technology.
Re: Discussion #11c: Technology as a core CSUMB value
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Saturday, 16 April 2016, 2:58 PM
I completely agree with you Celesta. I know although there are those individuals that may not
want to take a technology class they should be forced into taking a class. In the end everything
around us does revolve around technology. Having a slight background in technology will place
those candidates above others that do not know how to use technology. It is also critical for
people, specially students, to know how to use technology since it will be part of their everyday
life.
Re: Discussion #11c: Technology as a core CSUMB value
by Alberico Sforza - Sunday, 17 April 2016, 11:24 AM
I don't disagree with you Karen, or Celesta either, but I think that it is more important that the
school produce students prepared for the job market. Technology in everyday life is up to an
individual to educate themselves. When it comes to an institution that is designed to produce
students prepared for a certain job market I think the school has an ethical responsibility to
include classes that will make the literate in the technology they will use in their field of study
once they graduate.
Week 12:
Topic: Recently, in Paris and then in San Bernardino, we witnessed yet another act of urban
terrorism similar in some ways to the Boston Marathon bombings. The Boston event illustrated
the power of digital forensics and "crowd sourcing" to solve crimes. For this discussion you need
to take two perspectives. First, consider how Amatai Etzioni would assess the events in terms of
individual privacy vs. communitarian ideals. Second, state your views and then recommend
policies for how the authorities should deal with individual data acquired and shared on networks
that may be useful in solving crime.
Response: Following the communitarian approach, I think that Etzioni would prefer for the
investigating agency to look through personal data. In his book, The Limits of Privacy, he
mentioned that a given individual right cannot be used to trump all other considerations,
including the common good. Taking this under consideration, I can see him supporting the use
of public and private data in order to get the person that harms the common good of most people.
Although Etzioni would limit the privacy of an individual, he is not a radical one sided
individual that wants all the privacy of people to be taken away; he believes in having social
order. That is why I do not see him favoring allowing a backdoor to all people iPhone in the
world in order to find a criminal.

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Personally, I believe that the government should have the right to access any private information
needed for an investigation. I know that private businesses collect and share private information
about individuals on a daily basis. Allowing the data to be shared with government officials
would not be any different than what private companies do today. With the exception that giving
information to the government will help the general public instead of having companies gain
profit out of users data. I just recommend that the information is stayed in a private manner in
which the general public will not have access to it until an individual has been found guilty. If
the data collected is publically shared by the individual, I do not think there should be any
regulation since anybody on the internet will have access to the information.
Re: Discussion #12c: Etzioni and the Boston Marathon bombings
by Austin Zielinski - Tuesday, 19 April 2016, 12:54 AM
I think that Etzioni would favor the communitarian ideals, but only as far as they go without it
becoming a witch hunt. In The Limits of Privacy he tended to favor the cause of the common
good, but not to an extreme extent. I think he would argue the success of the digital forensics
(especially pictures from the scene) proved their worth and are worth the loss of privacy of the
others in the public space.
Where I think he would have a problem is with the witch hunt that this type of thing can enable.
While the crowd sourcing successfully brought evidence to light and was used to identify facts
such as the brand of hat the bomber was wearing, the website Reddit in particular lead a witch
hunt against someone they suspected was the shooter. I think that Etzioni, who generally seemed
to favor law enforcement, would trust their actions with digital forensics, I think he would be
against the sort of vigilantism that happened, even if there were advances made in the process.
Authorities should handle data the same way they handle other possessions. If the authorities
wanted to read through your mail they would have to acquire a warrant and then go find and
acquire your mail to do so. The difference, and I think the problem, lies in the way authorities
acquire the data beforehand, and search it at will. We should have control of our data until the
proper procedure has been followed to search and seize it. I believe this still allows people to
volunteer their data or have it legally acquired following suspicion.
Re: Discussion #12c: Etzioni and the Boston Marathon bombings
by Michael Vargas - Wednesday, 20 April 2016, 1:18 AM
Hey Austin, I didn't think about Etzioni not approving of digital forensics. It would make sense
that he wouldn't, but I can see why most people didn't agree with him. Having said that, I agree
with you about how police can't go all crazy and do whatever they want; where's the order in
society if this always happens?
Re: Discussion #12c: Etzioni and the Boston Marathon bombings

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by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Wednesday, 20 April 2016, 9:37 PM
I agree with you Austin, I do not think that Etzioni would approve of something extreme. Etzioni
is all about the right amount of order which will allow for most people to benefit. As far as data
being used, I agree and think that there should be a right search and seizure procedure when it
comes to private data. To some extent, I feel like the government should be able to access data
freely since private corporations sell user information on the daily. As far as data from public
places or data shared publicly on social media or any internet should not need any form of
produce.

Week 13:
Topic: A lot of discussion has taken place in the blogosphere since Steve Jobs' death comparing
his importance, or the importance of the "inventions" he inspired, to other great American
innovators such as Grace Hopper, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford. Of the four, state where you
rank Jobs and why....
Response:
I rank them:
Thomas Jefferson
Grace Hopper
Henry Ford
Steve Jobs
To me, Thomas Jefferson, one of the top 10 inventors on biography online, also deserves the first
place in this list of innovators. He developed a large number of products, including the light
bulb, phonograph and motion picture camera. The new lightbulb managed to replace the
expensive gaslight that was there for 50 years prior to his invention. With this invention am able
to stay up later at night and not have to worry about leaking gas in my house. Grace Hopper is
second because although she impacted less people, she is a positive role model for all the women
in computer science. She also allowed for software engineers to have an easier time developing
items and having new breakthroughs in computer science. As for Henry Ford, he revolutionized
the assembly line allowing for the mass production of different items. In his case he allowed the
middle class to have access to cars allowing for people to not rely on animals. I rank Steve Jobs
last because he produced the iPod, iPhone and iPad something that was not quite affordable for
majority of people. The most revolutionary aspect of his product was the design and reliability
that his products have.
Re: Discussion #13c: The Importance of Steve
by Celesta Williams - Sunday, 1 May 2016, 7:12 PM

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Each of these inventors had something to do with how the modern world of technology today. If
it wasnt for one of these inventors the others would not have gotten to where they were. For me
I would place Jobs at the bottom because even though he created one of the greatest computer
systems in history after Microsoft all of the inventors had something to do with his success.
Thomas Edison with the light bulb, Grace Hopper creating some of the first compiler based
programming languages, and Ford creating the Ford Motor Co. and fast moving assembly line.
Thomas
Hopper
Ford
Jobs
Re: Discussion #13c: The Importance of Steve
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 1 May 2016, 7:43 PM
Hello Celesta, I have the exact ranking as you. I agree with you, I also believe that some of the
inventors depend on the ideas of other. Without Grace Hopper, there is a probability that there
would have been no other group of people to make a computer language popular. This could
have not allowed for any other innovators to be successful or go into the field of technology.

Week 14:
Topic: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/10/15/356393531/why-kids-sextdescribes-nude-photos-as-social-currency-among-teens. Listen to this very interesting story on
Fresh Air about sexting. Do you think minors caught sexting should be charged with a felony? If
not, should it be a crime? What should the govt. be doing about this issue? Who else is
responsible?
Response:
Do you think minors caught sexting should be charged with a felony? If not, should it be a
crime?
Teens should not be charged with a felony unless they are distributing images without consent.
Having these images be part of the social currency and just collecting them as if they were
baseball cards really concerns me. In the end some of the responsibility falls under the teen that
decided to take the image and send it to a peer.
What should the govt. be doing about this issue?
The government should have better laws addressing this problem. Currently in California a new
bill on texting is being proposed. The bill proposed that first time offenders of sexting should
receive punishments that could include community service and mandatory counseling (to be

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paid for by the minors parents). If an adult is in possession of images of a teen then they should
be charged with child pornography. I agree with the adult perspective, but as for the teens, they
should only be charged if there is a clear evidence that the images were shared without consent.
Like the ladies in the video mentioned, the amount of people that got to see the image should
play a factor on how the big the punishment is.
Who else is responsible?
As far as the responsibility is concerned, I think there is a bit of responsibility on the shoulders of
the parent. Parents should be able to know their child well enough to know whether sexting to
them is something acceptable or not. If the parent has rules against sexting, the parent should
positively enforce this rule. For example, my parents would not allow for me to have my phone
in my room at night. In exchange for this they would allow for me to be able to see my friends on
the weekend in order to not have the need to speak to them at night.
Re: Discussion #9C: Sexting felons
by Brandon Stillwell - Sunday, 8 May 2016, 7:07 PM
Do you think minors caught sexting should be charged with a felony? If not, should it be a
crime?
I don't believe that it should be a crime because these teens don't really know any better. They
are just a product of society. In the article, it states that it isn't just teens in this county, but it is a
statewide trend."The child pornography distribution criminal laws that comprise sexting
offenses were largely written with sexual predators in mind, and dont reflect the reality that
most sexting crimes are between teens via cell phones" (Source). So their should be like an age
limit as to when it is deemed illegal.
What should the govt. be doing about this issue?
The government should focus more on including this into the sexual education course in school.
"In fact, the state only mandates that schools provide a bare-bones sex education just lessons
on STDs and HIV" (Source). Sex education needs to change to keep up with the times. They
should teach the consequences of sending a sext, not criminal consequences, but the social
consequences and how these photos can never be erased because once it's out there, it's probably
going to be there forever.
Who else is responsible?
Parents are always responsible. Yes it can be hard to keep up with a child's life but they should
know what their child is doing at all times. They should also give them "the talk" about sex ed
and about these things rather than waiting on the school to do it. "Temple suggested that if
parents catch their teenagers swapping sexts, they should see it as an opportunity instead of a
crisis. Since it may be a sign that those kids are getting closer to becoming sexually active, its a
chance to have a conversation with them about healthy relationships. Instead of taking away their
cell phones, Temple said parents should address unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted

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infections" (Source). Sexting isn't a bad thing, apparently it is the new first base. So parents
should embrace that it's going to happen and just teach that they should be smart about it.
Re: Discussion #9C: Sexting felons
by Karen Tafolla Ayala - Sunday, 8 May 2016, 7:33 PM
Hello Brandon, I agree with you on the parent being responsible. I think the parent should be
aware of what their child is doing and talk to them about sexual activity at an early age. That way
the child can be informed and possibly make better decisions. The parent should also let the child
have private time with people outside of just phone conversations. There also needs to be better
parenting on those who share images without consent.
Week 15:
Topic: Note: This thread is not intended to be a discussion but rather a personal reflection of your
scrapbooks. By this time you should have completed a minimum of 13 scrapbook entries. Of
your entire scrapbook portfolio, which single entry do you believe has the most relevance to this
course (looking at current Information Technologies from an ethical perspective). State your
rationale for your choice.
Response: Throughout the course of this semester, I have written about different topics including
unprintable books, Facebook offering internet in India, the FBI vs iPhone, and police using
twitter as public humiliation. To me out of all my fifteen scrapbooks, the one that I believe has
the most relevance to the class is on artificial intelligence. Under week 11 of my scrapbooks I
talk about a research conducted by IEEE Spectrum. In this study, a group of volunteers were
asked to touch different parts of Naos, a humanoid robot, body. The researchers suggest that
majority of their volunteers felt uncomfortable and a form of arousal while touching Naos
private areas. This study is the most relevant to this course because after serval discussions
weve had in class the general in class consensus is that artificial intelligence will be there to
serve humans. Nao rises several ethical questions, the first one asks whether programmers have
the right to block sexual thoughts out of a system.
To an extent, we have to think of these intelligent being as humans since most of these robots are
designed to look like humans. We have to think about whether or not we are going to have to
sensor certain information from these systems in order to not have a racist, sexist, or homophobic
AI such as Microsofts Tay. The systems that we make towards these beings in a future may be
extremely complicated and difficult to implement into our justice system. The connectivity of
these robots may also be tampered with, causing for individuals to want to overwrite the learned
items. Overall, I believe that AI will open the doors to many ethical questions, security
vulnerabilities, and privacy concerns. The three main topics that were talked about in class.