Chapter 13 Copyright and Fair Use

The problem with copyright and property law? It can stifle innovation

This is from James Surowiecki, who writes the “Financial Page” for The New Yorker. This week, he writes about something called “the gridlock economy” — when there’s so much ownership of various parts of an industry that laws protecting innovation and investment actually end up stifling both. We’re seeing this happening right now in the fields of technology, science, and culture.
This cropped up last week when a musician named DJ Girl Talk continued to challenge copyright law by stringing together a huge assortment of pop songs and then charging people for the CD. He’s claiming protection under the “fair use” clause of copyright law, but some legal experts challenge that claim.

From The New Yorker: The point isn’t that private property is a bad thing, or that the state should be able to run roughshod over the rights of individual owners. Property rights (including patents) are essential to economic growth, providing incentives to innovate and invest.But property rights need to be limited to be effective. The more we divide common resources like science and culture into small, fenced-off lots, Heller shows, the more difficult we make it for people to do business and to build something new. Innovation, investment, and growth end up being stifled.Opportunities forgone aren’t always easy to see. The effects of overuse are generally unmistakable—you can’t miss the empty nets of fishing boats working overfished oceans, or the scrub that covers an overgrazed field. But the effects of underuse created by too much ownership are often invisible. They’re mainly things that don’t happen: inventions that don’t get made, useful drugs that never get to market.

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Chapter 12 Knowledge Management

Starbucks Knowledge Management

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
Starbucks Success in Innovation

José Alfonso Espinosa Galnares

Jones International University

September 25th, 2010



The research and development department is an area of the company that is considered really important in companies especially in global business. In globalized businesses R&D is something that should really be considered in order to be successful in any country. Starbucks has been developing different R&D strategies in the countries in which they have settled. For example in Starbucks China they have created different strategies in order to become successful in which drinking coffee is still seen as an event and not as a necessity (Bardsley, 2010). Also they have to put emphasis in that development because Chinese population is more a tea drinking society rather than a coffee drinking population (Starbucks).

The main Starbucks R&D units are located in their principal headquarters. This office is located                               

Source    

Chapter 11 Information System

Starbucks launches 2D bar code payment system



              Starbucks Coffee Co. has launched a trial of a 2D bar code payment system for customers to pay via their iPhone or iPod touch.
             The coffee giant launched two new applications. Starbucks Card Mobile has a 2D bar code system testing in 16 retail locations in Seattle, Cupertino, CA, and Mountain View, CA. The myStarbucks application is a store locator that lets users search by amenities or get directions to the nearest retail location.

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Chapter 10 Information Technology

Some of the advantages of information technology

 

Globalization - IT has not only brought the world closer together, but it has allowed the world's economy to become a single interdependent system. This means that we can not only share information quickly and efficiently, but we can also bring down barriers of linguistic and geographic boundaries. The world has developed into a global village due to the help of information technology allowing countries like Chile and Japan who are not only separated by distance but also by language to shares ideas and information with each other.

Communication - With the help of information technology, communication has also become cheaper, quicker, and more efficient. We can now communicate with anyone around the globe by simply text messaging them or sending them an email for an almost instantaneous response. The internet has also opened up face to face direct communication from different parts of the world thanks to the helps of video conferencing.

Cost effectiveness - Information technology has helped to computerize the business process thus streamlining businesses to make them extremely cost effective money making machines. This in turn increases productivity which ultimately gives rise to profits that means better pay and less strenuous working conditions.

Bridging the cultural gap - Information technology has helped to bridge the cultural gap by helping people from different cultures to communicate with one another, and allow for the exchange of views and ideas, thus increasing awareness and reducing prejudice.

More time - IT has made it possible for businesses to be open 24 x7 all over the globe. This means that a business can be open anytime anywhere, making purchases from different countries easier and more convenient. It also means that you can have your goods delivered right to your doorstep with having to move a single muscle.

Creation of new jobs - Probably the best advantage of information technology is the creation of new and interesting jobs. Computer programmers, Systems analyzers, Hardware and Software developers and Web designers are just some of the many new employment opportunities created with the help of IT.

Some disadvantages of information technology

Unemployment - While information technology may have streamlined the business process it has also crated job redundancies, downsizing and outsourcing. This means that a lot of lower and middle level jobs have been done away with causing more people to become unemployed.

Privacy - Though information technology may have made communication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has also bought along privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private information becoming public knowledge.

Lack of job security - Industry experts believe that the internet has made job security a big issue as since technology keeps on changing with each day. This means that one has to be in a constant learning mode, if he or she wishes for their job to be secure.

Dominant culture - While information technology may have made the world a global village, it has also contributed to one culture dominating another weaker one. For example it is now argued that US influences how most young teenagers all over the world now act, dress and behave. Languages too have become overshadowed, with English becoming the primary mode of communication for business and everything else.

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Chapter 9 Information Evaluation Assessment

Good Website

1) a clearly identified objective
2) compelling content
3) ease of navigation
4) visually appealing

Example of Good Websites:

www.thetrip.com

www.bluefly.com

www.gap.com

www.netgrocer.com

Bias Information

source

           Bias includes racism, sexism, classism, elitism, favoritism and of course ethnic discrimination. It includes discrimination based a criminal record or being underrepresented in the justice system.  Intelligence, beauty and physical ability are also some other factors regarding bias. Religious bias exists as well. Bias can also be part of a “point of view” that includes personal preference, politics, and simple likes and dislikes. There is a whole spectrum related to bias.What is important to recognize; the vast majority and positively most information is biased.

 

Example

          Looking through the newspaper most people think that their getting reliable information. It’s not until critical thinking is introduced; that the information sparks what the particular individual’s beliefs are. Words are very powerful when the proper scenes are set, its like making a puppet dance to music.

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Chapter 8 ( Search engines )

            Search engines are the key to finding specific information on the vast expanse of the World Wide Web. Without sophisticated search engines, it would be virtually impossible to locate anything on the Web without knowing a specific URL. But do you know how search engines work? And do you know what makes some search engines more effective than others?
When people use the term search engine in relation to the Web, they are usually referring to the actual search forms that searches through databases of HTML documents, initially gathered by a robot.

source

5 search engines on the Internet

1. Altavista
2. Google
3. Lycos
4. Mediconsult
5. Search.com

Chapter 7

Inspiration for Flooding Crisis in Thailand 

  

  Recording to the news and my own exprience, I saw most of the stores or hourses have sand bages and some are putting up small concrete block walls. They are saying that we will getting hit by flood. This situation never happened before in Thailand. We are having the worst flood in like 50 years.

    The several things that we can do to help people that are getting affected by flooding are providing them some food, go help packing food ( if you are convenient ), donate some money, and pray for them.

    This flooding crisis will pass away fast just like a nightmare, woke up in the moring with the brighter day Thai people!. It's just a dream we all will get over it. Keep fighting and we will be rising when the sun brights.
 
  I hope my words can inspire them to fight! and won't give up.

Weena S. Wiley