Information in Cyberspace
Discussion I - Cybersecurity
The technological advances have given rise to cyberspace identity theft where identity thieves use someone's information to commit crimes. There is a time I was in this situation and my information was stolen without my knowledge. Before learning about identity theft, I felt safe and I had no worries since I could not imagine being in a situation where my personal information is stolen. One day, I received a call from an unknown person who claimed to be from a collection agency and he wanted me to clear the energy bill. After doing some research, I discovered that my credit history was not good and my credit scores were low. Little did I know that the criminals had accessed my Social Security Number and committed financial fraud. In specific, they borrowed power tokens and failed to pay a bill that amounted to $3,000. This was a terrible incident and I felt frustrated since the financial fraud caused damage to my credit report and my ability to apply for a loan. However, I reported the matter to the necessary agency and I was connected with the right person who helped in reviewing my paperwork and cleared the fraudulent credit. I also learned that to prevent identity theft, it is important to lock the Social Security Number, avoid sharing personal information, review the credit report and billing cycles regularly, review bank account statements regularly and report identity theft to receive a recovery plan.
Response A
It is true that social networking sites can allow people to access other people’s private information such as hobbies, personalities, activities and more. Social networking sites also cause cybercrimes where criminals get access to one's Social Security Number to open financial accounts, get medical treatment, and steal social security benefits among other crimes (Lynch, 2005). This is an indication that cyberspace is important as it provides informational resources and social networking but people should also be aware of risks such as theft of personal information, credit card numbers, and other online risks. However, one can minimize the risk through securing personal information, avoid phishing scams, protect all the device using unique passwords, and avoid sharing personal information (Lynch, 2005).
Response B
A large number of internet users are complaining about the cybersecurity issue and your situation show that you are one of the victims of cybercrime. Even though the internet is widely interconnecting people, users are experiencing cyber-security breach where a person data is accessed by other people without authority (Lynch, 2005). As an Instagram user, it is important to be aware of ‘connected account' and cross-posting and by having this knowledge, it will be easy to unlink the account. In addition, it is important to agree or disagree with the terms and condition and this will help prevent abuses, limit liability, protect your private information, prevent third-party access and promote authentication.
Discussion II- Accessibility
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology violate the laws on Web accessibility as stated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The university has failed to provide Web accessibility such as presentation videos and recorded lecturers to 48 million deaf people. The federal law states that all students should have access to the emerging technology such internet and websites and they should have an equal educational opportunity regardless of disability (Lazar & Stein, 2017). In addition, web accessibility helps students navigate and understand learning, and people with disability get the opportunity to gain the education, employment and participate in society. However, the university discriminates the deaf by failing to provide them with online connection such as audio tracks, educational videos, self-help talks, and podcasts (Lazar & Stein, 2017). To meet the standards for Web accessibility, the university management should develop a comprehensive policy that states the standards of web accessibility, it should appoint a staff member who should coordinate the information technology, and provide role-based training to the information developers (Lazar & Stein, 2017).
Response A
University of Houston's is also among the universities that do not provide web accessibility to students with physical barriers despite the federal effort to establish a law that states disabled students should have access to information technology (Lazar & Stein, 2017). As a big education institution, it should ensure that all students get access to the internet to seek online content as it is a legal requirement. The university should consider the federal anti-discrimination law and stop excluding disabled students from web accessibility. To make the website accessible, the university should ensure cooperation with participants to develop auxiliary aids and provide disabled with equal opportunities.
Response B
Unlike other universities, Texas Christian University is committed to offering diversity and inclusion to all students. It complies with the American with Disability Act and ensures that all students get equal access to online education. It is able to achieve this through coordination with peer groups and vendors to identify problems and take appropriate actions to eliminate the barriers (Lazar & Stein, 2017). To make it more accessible, it should establish a correction plan that aims to avoid online barriers, establish policies and procedures that make it possible to access the web and appoint an auditor to audit content.
Discussion III- User Experience and Usability
One thing that I think is a bad design is parking signs in Los Angeles. The purpose of these signs is to warn drivers on restrictions, time limit parking, no stopping signs, permit parking, and other rules. However, despite its intended purpose, the parking signs is a bad design and confusing. People do not understand the rules because and the confusion is causing traffic problems. The sign has information overload and complex traffic rules that are concentrated in a small area. When designing a product, it is important to consider its usability and ensure ease-of-use. Great usability makes product quality through learnability, user satisfaction, memorability and more (Marcus, 2011). Thus, the State regulators should create a new design which is easier to interpret and a design that is user-centered in order to meet the special need of the multicultural audiences. The design should have common guidelines, users should have the ability to control, it should have technical clarity, fulfillment, flexibility, and consistent.
Response A
I agree with the idea that some products like ceiling fan are a bad design because it lacks visibility, users do not have control, it lacks recognition, users do not recognize errors and it is not flexible. In other words, when using the ceiling fun, users do not understand the mechanism, users do not have the freedom to control or perform an action, and it is not possible to prevent error since users do not recognize the errors (Marcus, 2011). Thus, in making products, it is important to consider Heuristics guidelines and these will help design great products that can change the world.
References
Lynch, J. (2005). Identity theft in cyberspace: Crime control methods and their effectiveness in
Combating phishing attacks. Berkeley Tech. LJ, 20, 259.
Piet Alberts. (2019). Heuristic Evaluation in UX Design. Retrieved from: https://pietalberts.com/heuristic-evaluation-in-ux-design/
In Lazar, J., & In Stein, M. A. (2017). Disability, human rights, and information technology.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Marcus Aaron. (2011). Design, User Experience, and Usability: Interactive Experience Design:
4th International Conference, DUXU 2015, Held as Part of HCI International 2015, Los
Angeles, CA, USA, August 2-7, 2015, Proceedings, Part 3. Springer.
