Research Project

CIS250 Research Topics and Instructions

CIS250Mesa Community CollegeFall2020Research Project (100 points): Research fiveof the following topics / cases / issues / stories on the Internet including the first three topics, andgive me your summary and thoughts. Be sure to write in complete sentenceswith good grammarand use a spell checker. Each topic requires two or three full paragraphs. Submit your completed document in the Canvas “Research Project” assignment. Note:Please indicate each topic by the topic number or title.Optional Extra Credit:Up to50 extra points (up to 150 points total)if you do a good job of researching and answering seven topicsbelow(including the first three), and up to100 extra points (up to 200 points total) if you thoroughly research and answer all ten topicsbelow.

1.The Man Problem in Technology.Severalyears ago, an article in the NY Times, “Technology’s Man Problem”, madethe point that 1.2 million computing jobs couldbe available in 2022, yet U.S. Colleges and Universities are producing only 39 percent ofthe graduates needed to fill them. At the same time, only 20 percent of software developers are female, and many leave the tech career prematurely, at twice the dropout rate of their male counterparts. That article discussedmany of the factors that maybe contributing to this situation: Some blame the heavy demands of raising a family or the male-dominated tech environment. Others say one culprit is the sexist, alpha-male culture that can make women feel unwelcome, demeaned or even endangered. In August2017, anarticle, “Tech’s Damaging Myth of the Loner Genius Nerd”, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/upshot/techs-damaging-myth-of-the-loner-genius-nerd.html,examined an incident involving a Google engineer who wasfiredovera memohe wrote, stating that most women were biologically unsuited to working in tech because they were more focused on “feelings and aesthetics than ideas” and had “a stronger interest in people rather than things”. Among other things, this article debunked“the myth that programming is done by loner men who think only rationally and communicate only with their computers”.Historically, women have been outstanding computer programmers.Explain what experts sayabout the sometimes “nerdy identity” of some Silicon Valley computer programmers. Do you agreethat technology workers should be required to take more Liberal Arts classes? How does this articleaffectyou and your future behavior (whether you are a man or woman), or impactyour current career plans, now that you better understand the issues?

2.Facebook’s Data Breach and Exposed Personal Data.Facebook has been in the news for the past several years for a massive data breach. According to NBC News in July,2019:“the Federal Trade Commission announced a $5 billion settlement with Facebook to end an investigation into the company’s privacy practices. It’s a record penalty that shows the federal government taking a harder stance against tech firms but one that may stop short of changing how Silicon Valley does business. Facebook will be required as part of the deal to create a new board-level committee to oversee privacy, but the agreement with the government does not include any major changes to the social media giant’s lucrative advertising business, which runs `on the collection and use of personal information about its more than 2 billion users. Facebook was also expected to settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay $100 million to end an investigation into whether it sufficiently disclosed its privacy practices to investors. The FTC settlement, which will need to be approved by a federal judge, would put an endpoint on the U.S. government’s probe of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, whicheruptedlast year after reports that the consulting company had obtained profile information on millions of Facebook users and their friends via a quiz app. Cambridge Analytica also worked on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.”

CIS250 Research Topics and InstructionsCIS250Mesa Community CollegeFall2020Explain what happened, what the ramifications areand what is the current statusof the ongoing investigation. What changes have been made by Facebook? What was the name of the companythat collected these Facebook users’ data? Were youaffected by this massive data breach and sharing of your personal data?What countrieshave been found to be stirring up false information and hatred regardingthe current 2020 election? Do you still use Facebook?

3.Electronic Medical Records.More and more 2-year and 4-year colleges are offering degrees in Medical Records Management. A six year old article in the NY Times, “The Ups and Downs of Electronic Medical Records”, (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/health/the-ups-and-downs-of-electronic-medical-records-the-digital-doctor.html?_r=0),stated that the case for electronic medical records is compelling: They can make health care more efficient and less expensive, and improve the quality of care by making patients’ medical history easily accessible to all who treat them. But as health care providers adopt electronic records, the challenges have proved daunting, with a potential for mix-ups and confusion that can be frustrating, costly,and even dangerous. What is the current stateof making private health records available online? Discuss the pros and consof this inevitable technology. Any ideas about how we can standardizethe way Doctors, Nurses and other healthcare workers record new medical records?

4.New Trends in Self-Driving Cars.Recently, a prototype driverless car powered by Google / Alphabet crashed into a commuter bus. In addition, a woman pedestrian was run over and killed last year in a Phoenix suburb by a driverless vehicle. Many folks have concerns about self-driving cars.Others wonder how many IT employees will become involved in this technology. Congress recently held hearings involving a number of auto industry executives about current developments / advancements in autonomous vehicle technology and its anticipated benefits for all of us. See the article, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/17/business/self-driving-autonomous-cars.html.In addition, some fear that the electronics of self-driving cars will be hacked into and therefore could put us in great danger. What is the latest status?Provide some pros and consabout this technology. Amazonlast year took abig step to get more involved with self-driving vehicles. What did they do?Do you have a favorable or unfavorable attitudeat this time?

5.Four Trends inCloud Computing CIOs Should Prepare For.According to a prior Forbes article, almost half of all IT spending wascloud-based in 2018, reaching 60% of all IT infrastructure and 60-70% of all software, services and technology spending this year. The article goes on to explain that “it is imperative for CIOs to see cloud computing as a critical element of their competitiveness, not just as a cost that needs to be carefully managed. In future years, CIOs will have to balance the capabilities of the newest cloud technology while focusing on security.” List and briefly explain/summarize the four trends in cloud computing that CIOsshould prepare for.https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/07/05/four-trends-in-cloud-computing-cios-should-prepare-for-in-2019/#4649e7ab4dc2

6.Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).According to aForbes.com websiteseveral years ago, “we’ve already seen some major steps forward for augmented reality (AR)and virtual reality (VR)technology in 2016.Oculus Rift was released, to positive reception, and thousands of VRapps and games followed. We also saw Pokémon Go, an ARgame,explode with over 100 million downloads. The market wasready for ARand VR, and we’ve nowseensome early-stage devices and use of these applications. As these technologies continue to take off, you’ll need to be ready for ARand VRversions

CIS250 Research Topics and InstructionsCIS250Mesa Community CollegeFall2020of practically everything—and ample marketing opportunities to follow.Now, looking back from 2019, describe AR and VR and provide examples of both. Did anything significanthappen in 2017and 2018? Are you personally involved in either technology?

7.Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things (IoT).We learned about the Internet of Things earlier this semester.IoT is a notion that silicon chipmakers have been promoting for at least a decade to convey the idea that objects of all kinds can contain “smart” embedded computing technology and enable just about anything to be connected to the Internet. Unfortunately, in a serious security failure in October 2016, hackers used various unprotected household devices (such as surveillance cameras, home appliances, digital video recorders, garage door openers, thermostats and baby monitors) to send millions of bogus Internet messages, completely paralyzing a company called Dynthat helps route internet traffic to its destination. This outage also shut down Twitterand Amazon.comon the East coast. Briefly discuss one or two devicesthat you personally use or may acquire in the future. What has been the fallout and responseto this cybersecurity breach/distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack? Here are just two examples of helpful web sites that discuss this attack: · https://www.cronin-co.com/blog/fridays-ddos-attack-really-mean-cyber-security/· https://blog.kaspersky.com/attack-on-dyn-explain“ed/13325/

8.“Industrial”Internet of Things (IIoT).Manycompanies are currently developing tools, appliances and other industrial/manufacturinggoods that mirror the consumerInternet of Things (IoT). This practice is growing rapidly and is referred to as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)andis aimed at “leveraging Internet connectivity and cloud-based data crunching to, ideally, streamline the worker experience, drive efficiencies into manufacturing logistics and optimize energy resources”. (USA Today, November 20, 2016, pg.5B.) Name severalof those companies andidentify(in general terms) what they are developingto help employees become more automated and productive.

9.Top Programming Languages.There are dozens of programming languages available in today’s IT. I used at least three different programming languages during my IT/CIS career. Refer to the article below. List the 4 or 5 top programming languages for 2018. Give a brief summary/description and purpose of each language. Have you studied any of these top languages? Here is an article that may help get you started:https://jaxenter.com/technology-trends-2018-programming-languages-143919.html

10.Commercialization of Quantum Computing.It is expected that the quantum computing erawill blossomin coming months and years. As data increases, quantum computing will target the biggest problems in industry, such as health care and energy. The ability to handle big data will be required for cancer treatment, virus detection, nuclear energy control, DNA analysisand more. CorporationsIBM,Google,Intel,Microsoft, andAlibabahave moved into quantum computing.StartupsRigetti(U.S.),D-Wave Systems(Canada), andQC Ware(U.S.) are disrupting quantum computing. Briefly describe what is happening and what we can expect in the near future. How will cloud computing help make quantum technology improve?