Digital Commerce

Issue of plagiarism

The Pew Research Centre published a study titled: The Chronicle of Higher Education stating that more than half of 1055 college residents included in the survey had indicated a rise in plagiarism in the last 10 years, as quoted by Tim Goral, (2012). Turnitin also published a white paper that defined the varying types of plagiarism. The paper indicated that students plagiarise in varying degrees. “Clone” is when a student submits the work of someone else, using exactly the same words and claims it as their own. Second in line is “CTRL-C” that represents large sections of copied text within a text. Additionally other types of plagiarism include “Mashup” that uses the information obtained from several sources, without any citation and “Aggregator” that uses proper citation, but very little original work, (Goral, 2012).

To view more details regarding plagiarism, click on the following Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism

History of e-commerce

On www.spirecast.com a very good overview of the history of e-commerce.

The early years:

·         Electronic Data Interchange and Electronic funds Transfers appeared in the late 1970 and signified the execution of electronic transactions between businesses.

·         EDI and EFT transactions laid the ground work for e-commerce as we know it today.

·         In 1982 the Boston Computer Exchange, a market place used for computer equipment, was one of the first examples of e-commerce.

·         During the 1980 credits cards, ATM machines and telephone banking signified the next steps in the development of e-commerce.

·         In 1994 e-commerce as we know it today begin to accelerate with the introduction of high speed internet connections (such as DSL) and security protocols provided the opportunity for much faster online transactions.

E-Commerce Begins to Engage:

• The first rudimentary e-commerce websites were built between 1998 and 2000.
• 2000 saw a change in how e-commerce was defined, with the dot-com collapse signifying the demise of thousands of internet businesses.
• In 2001 business to business transactions became available online and provided a glimpse of serving a global customer base electronically.

E-Commerce Pioneers:

• eBay and Amazon launched in 1994 and have grown to be the largest e-commerce brands in the world. 

Digital Health and Wellbeing

There are several physical and psychological issues related to an individuals’ digital health and well being.

Physical issues:

• Ergonomics
• Repetitive strain injury syndrome
• Eye strain
• Obesity
• Hearing loss

Psychological issues:

• Addiction
• Online disinhibition effect
• Cyber bullying
• Cyber stalking
• Depression

Digital Security

Types of Cybercrime

Cybercrime is defined as virtual (on a computer, via the internet, in a closed work network, home network or any other network) violations. The essence of cybercrime is stealing personal information such as bank account details, (Rivera).

Types of cybercrime include:

• Hacking – gaining unauthorised entry to a specific location on a server (network or database) or personal computer.
• Identity theft – When cyber criminals obtain enough information about an individual’s identity in order to present themselves convincingly as that individual, (www.actionfraud.police.uk).
• Internet fraud – Internet fraud is traditional fraud conducted through the internet. Previously conducted by normal mail and telephonically, (www.fraud.org).
• Phising scams – Emails and messages aimed at stealing money from individuals. The email or message contains malicious software that contain malicious software that is installed on a personal computer, once the message is opened, (www.microsoft.com).
• Hate crimes – Any form of hatred focussed on race, religion, sexual orientation or any other identifiable attribute, communicated via the internet.
• Spamming – Sending unsolicited emails or messages to large numbers of users, without their consent, (Joseph, 2006).
• Piracy – reproducing and distributing software applications, movies, games and audio CD’s illegally, (Joseph, 2006).

Each country or region has their own laws applicable to behaviour of individuals or groups using the internet.

How to steer clear of Cybercrime

According to Norton, cybercrime can be avoided or reduced by doing the following:

• Ensure that you have security software installed.
• Ensure that your antivirus and intrusion detection and prevention software is up to date.
• Ensure that your computer is configured correctly.
• Ensure that you select strong passwords (make use of capital and small case letters, use numeric and special characters).
• Protect your personal information by not completing personal details unless the source is trusted.
• Do not be misled by unbelievable internet offers, as they are usually too good to be true.
• Ensure that you review your bank and credit card statements regularly.

Digital Rights and Responsibilities

Overview of the UAP policy

My AUP for the IIE is included in my POE as annexure.

This document is included in the form of a presentation, annexure U. AUP for the IIE.

I downloaded a template from www.first.org.

You can access the current IIE full AUP policy by using the following link: https://iie-ugrad-institution.applywithus.com/legal/acceptable_use_policy .

Guideline of Rights and Responsibilities

Rights

These digital rights are defined in terms of The Digital Bill of Rights as listed on http://keepthewebopen.com/digital-bill-of-rights, created by Congressman Darrell Issa.

I quoted all the rights directly and do not claim these rights as my own work, as they are not.

• “Freedom - digital citizens have a right to a free, uncensored internet
• Openness - digital citizens have a right to an open, unobstructed internet
• Equality - all digital citizens are created equal on the internet
• Participation - digital citizens have a right to peaceably participate where and how they choose on the internet
• Creativity - digital citizens have a right to create, grow and collaborate on the internet, and be held accountable for what they create
• Sharing - digital citizens have a right to freely share their ideas, lawful discoveries and opinions on the internet
• Accessibility - digital citizens have a right to access the internet equally, regardless of who they are or where they are
• Association - digital citizens have a right to freely associate on the internet
• Privacy - digital citizens have a right to privacy on the internet
• Property - digital citizens have a right to benefit from what they create, and be secure in their intellectual property on the internet”

Responsibilities

• Not to participate in cyber bullying
• Make themselves aware of good internet safety
• Make use of good netiquette
• Report cyber offenders
• Obey digital law

Responsibilities as elaborated on http://netiquetteimportance.blogspot.co.za/ (2012)

Digital Ettiquette

Digital etiquette is defined as the standards or procedures for electronic interaction/ conduct, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015). The implication is much more than just the language to use when communication electronically. It has unfortunately become the norm to actively communicate electronically regardless of the current situation.

It has become evident that rules and policies regarding digital etiquette are no longer enough, inappropriate digital conduct must be addressed as it occurs. This will reduce the high number of individuals that disregard the social implications of inadequate digital etiquette.

10 Points on Netiquette:

There are a few basic rules to consider in terms of basic netiquette:

·         Ensure that you use a meaningful subject line when sending emails

·         Less is more. Keep your sentences short and meaningful.

·         Avoid using CAPSLOCK. Just use normal sentence case.

·         Make sure that you really want to send that attachment.

·         Proof read your message before you send or post it.

·         Write your message as if for an audience, even when posting to social media.

·         Reply in a courteous amount of time.

·         Pay attention to your formatting. Especially when you copy and paste information and you are sending business communication.

·         Provide context if you are referring to other messages and never send an electronic reply when angry, (Alonzo, 2006).

·         Ensure that there are no legal implications linked to what you are about to post.

Penalties for failure:

Consequences of failing to comply with these etiquette guidelined can be very severe and can take the form of professional, legal, ethical or monetary loss or damage. These consequences can include a destroyed student, professional or academic reputation and can have legal or monetary repercussions, (Unknown, n.d.).

How I would enforce and manage this in my business:

Netiquette is seen as the etiquette or appropriate manner of conduct, when communicating electronically. There are a few basic rules to consider in terms of basic netiquette, firstly ensure that you use a meaningful subject line, less is more, avoid using CAPSLOCK, make sure that you really want to send that attachment, proof read your message before you send it, write your message as if for an audience, reply in a courteous amount of time, pay attention to your formatting (especially when you copy and paste information), provide context if you are referring to other emails and never send an electronic reply when angry, (Alonzo, 2006).

If these rules are kept in mind when communicating electronically in the business environment, you are more likely to get positive feedback from the receiver(s) of the message.

It is important to keep in mind that when working for an organisation, you are representative of the brand of that business and accordingly how you communicate on behalf of the business influences the perception of the brand of the business, (Unknown, 2015).

Digital Divide

According to Margaret Rouse (2015), the digital divide is defined as the breach between regions and demographics that have access to modern communication and information technologies and those that do not have access at all or only have restricted access. She lists examples as personal computers, the internet and more basic elements such as telephones and television. 

The divide is more-over defined in terms of an individual, group, city province or country’s access to Information Communications Technologies (ICT) and not only determined by the access that an individual or group has to the internet, as stated on www.internetworldstats.com. 

The gap can take varying forms, such as access to no communication technologies or basic communications technologies and access to more advanced technologies. Intertwined with this are the levels of general literacy and computer literacy. 

There are several issues pertaining to the digital divide. For the most part socio-economic factors and how developed a country is are the largest contributing factors (Nepomuceno, 2012). In terms of economic factors, income level has provided some indication of the level of internet users per country. Individuals with a higher income account for 65.5% of internet usage per country, where low income individuals only account for 5.6% of internet usage, (Nepomuceno, 2012). Nepomuceno viewed these statistics in terms of the opportunities that there are in terms of ITC to overcome this divide. Including ICT in basic education and introducing distance learning to remote areas, and setting up tele-centres in remote areas, (2012). 

Nepomuceno also states that in terms of education there are several input factors, process factors and hum factors that contribute and account for the divide and solutions to the divide. Input factors include access to hardware and software, the level of connectivity (networks, internet), the quality of the software used, additional materials and resources required in terms of ICT and general education. Process factors include the motivation and purpose of the use of ICT – will ICT be used on a basic level (basic computer literacy) or more advanced level (advanced applications) or for entertainment purposes (movies and games)? Human factors include the existing level of ICT knowledge or skill of the users and their level of confidence in their abilities and the hardware and software that they are using. 

Digital Communication

Click on the video below to view more details regarding digital communication.

5 Fluencies of Information

There are five fluencies related to digital citizenship:

• Information fluency
• Solution fluency
• Creativity fluency
• Media fluency
• Collaboration fluency

Applying information fluency skills to the Animal Planet mermaid documentaries, I concluded the following:

1.    Purpose of the site and series:

 Despite the appearance of scientific research and historic ‘evidence’ associated with the mermaid theory, I think that the purpose of the website and series is to promote awareness of the Animal Plant channel and the importance of protecting marine life in general.

2.    The Information Fluency Process:

The information fluency process consists of 5 phases: Ask, acquire, analyse, apply and assess.

Ask:

This entails asking meaningful questions.

• What is the purpose of the website?

• Why mermaids and not another mythical creature?

• Is it really true?

Acquire:

This step of the process involves investigating the questions asked in the previous steps.

• I watched all the videos and accordingly decided what the purpose of the website was.

• I believe that Animal Planet selected mermaids as it makes it more personal. We tend to have more empathy with humans or human-like animals.

• I have not decided whether it is true or not, I need a bit more evidence before I form an opinion about this subject.

Analyse:

This step in the process compares information gathered from various sources.

• I watched other videos available on YouTube in addition to the videos available on the website and read an additional newspaper article, (Newling, 2012).

Apply:

This is the phase where the solution is implemented. As there is no problem, the application is not clear.

Assess:

In this phase the user looks at the application of the solution to the problem. As there was no problem, what needs to be assessed is not clear.

3. Public Response

Considering feedback on the Animal Planet website, I think it is a fifty-fifty response. There are individuals that are very sceptical and others that are convinced that mermaids are real. Justin Peters stated that he felt the entire project was a waste of resources and time, whereas others feel betrayed that there was no clear indication that the footage was not real, while others are convinced that mermaids are real and more conclusive proof will be found in future.

4. Veracity of the Series

It is difficult to comment on the veracity of the Animal Planet Mermaids series. At the time that it was marketed, I did not watch T.V. however it does seem that there was a lot of time and money that went into the promotion of the series. After a few general Google searches using Mermaids and Animal Planet along with other terms, resulted in a more negative outlook on the series and the channel. Words like “hoax” and “fake” appearing among the search results.

5. Was the series a success or failure?

Whether the campaign was a success or failure, is hard to say. It is not clear what the intention behind the campaign was. If the intention was to encourage people to believe in mermaids, I would say that it was not too successful. In all the videos I watched there was a hint at the ‘evidence’ being made up. If the intention was to create curiosity and to encourage people to question what they see on television, I would say that it was successful.

To decide for yourself, take a look at the website: http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/mermaids

Digital Footprint

According to a post on www.internetsociety.org, a digital footprint is your online history on any form of social media. Common sense media states that your digital footprint can be searched, copied, shared, broadcasted and is more importantly it is permanent. Consider what kind of footprint you want to leave.

(www.commonsensemedia.org)

9 Elements of Digital Citizenship

According to Digiteen (2014), the nine elements of digital citizenship can be grouped as indicated below, as quoted in the 2015 Digital Citizenship Module Manual, p22.

In addition to the grouping of these elements by Digiteen, they can also be grouped in terms of the following verbs: respect, educate and protect, (Ribble, 2014). Above the colours indicate the relevant categorical grouping as set out be Ribble.

In order to understand the cross-functional or cross-application nature of these elements, each element will be discussed in detail.

Digital Access

Technology should be accessible by everyone, (Brownell). Considering the Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship as explained on www.digitalcitizenship.net , it is stated that digital access is “full electronic participation in society”. Both sources suggest that various socio-economic factors influence the possibility of this greatly.

Creating the opportunity for “equal digital rights and supporting electronic access” is one of the aims of digital citizenship. The term digital exclusion has been coined to describe those individuals who do not have adequate access to technology, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015).

Digital Communication

Digital communication can be briefly defined as the exchange of information via an electronic medium, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015). This exchange can take place over various platforms, cell phone, email, instant messaging, etc. however the large number of platforms may confuse users, (Brownell).

Digital communication ties in with digital etiquette and literacy that are discussed later in this document. To try and limit the high level of confusion and reduce the risk of overwhelming the users, they should be educated to a degree where they understand the uses, limitations, implications and responsibilities associated with the use of the various communication platforms.

Digital Literacy

Digital literacy can be defined as the “process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology”, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015). This implies that digital citizens are responsible for educating themselves in terms of the various technologies available and to understand what their resulting responsibilities are, when making use of these technologies.

Various elements must be taken into account when contemplating the concept of digital literacy. Students must be taught the history of technological development, they must be educated by means of and educated in terms of the latest technologies. The divide between the practical application and theory of technologies should be considered and student material should be developed accordingly in order to ensure a high level of digital literacy when the student enters the work place.

Digital Etiquette

Digital etiquette is defined as the standards or procedures for electronic interaction/ conduct, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015). The implication is much more than just the language to use when communication electronically. It has unfortunately become the norm to actively communicate electronically regardless of the current situation.

It has become evident that rules and policies regarding digital etiquette are no longer enough, inappropriate digital conduct must be addressed as it occurs. This will reduce the high number of individuals that disregard the social implications of inadequate digital etiquette.

Digital Safety and Security

Digital safety and security refers to ″electronic precautions to guarantee safety″. Safety in this sense refers to the individuals’ physical and virtual safety. Accordingly, it has become necessary to create both physical and virtual barriers in order to reduce or limit the risk individuals’ face in both environments.

In terms of the digital environment defenses such as firewalls, intrusion detection software, virus protection, data backups and surge control in order to ensure that information is safeguarded, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015).

Digital Rights and Responsibilities

Digital rights refer to the freedoms extended to every individual in the digital world. Accordingly, digital responsibilities refer to the responsibilities of every individual in the digital world, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015).

As stated by J. Hector Fezandie (The Moral Influence of a Scientific Education, 1984), and later again by Ben Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man film, ″With great power comes great responsibility″. This remains true as all digital citizens have the right to freedom of speech and privacy, with various other rights depending on the country within which the individual acts as a digital citizen, but along with these various rights each digital citizen has a greater responsibility towards the digital community to act within these rights while not infringing the rights of other digital citizens.

Digital Law

Digital law refers to the electronic responsibility for an individual’s actions and deeds, whether acting alone or on behalf of/ in accordance with another, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015).

Digital Commerce

Digital commerce refer to the electronic interaction of a transactional nature, generally involving the exchange of resources within an electronic medium, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015). As for the digital citizen, the digital business also has rights and responsibilities within the digital environment and must adhere to the digital law in order to create a safe and secure environment for a digital consumer to interact with the business.

Digital Health and Wellness

Digital health and wellness can be defined as the physical and psychological well-being of individuals within a digital environment, (Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, 2015). The focus is mainly on safeguarding the wellness of children that use the Internet.