Essay Assignment
1. You have just been hired to work in a brand-new cupcake bakery in Atlanta. Profits from this bakery go to the scholarship fund. You know the value of information systems and want to convince the owner (who knows only how to manage a bakery) that it can help the business. List at least four specific strategies (not technologies) involving the business use of information systems so that the bakery may gain a competitive edge. Also, for each strategy, give an illustrative IT technology example that can apply to the bakery.
2. Identify and describe four technologies developed and/or advanced by Google and explain how it impacts society positively and negatively. At least one must be related to networks and at least one should be related to mobile technology. Indicate which technology is related to networks and which relates to mobile technology.
3. When making decisions about how to acquire hardware, software, or any other components of the IT Infrastructure, consideration is given to the following four characteristics of an IT infrastructure:
• Dependable
• Manageable
• Adaptable
• Affordable
Evaluate cloud computing in relation to each of these four criteria.
4. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) consists of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, United States Coast Guard, and the United States Secret Service.
The DHS strategic plan states: "The Department of Homeland Security's overriding and urgent mission is to lead the unified national effort to secure the country and preserve our freedoms. While the Department was created to secure our country against those who seek to disrupt the American way of life, our charter also includes preparation for and response to all hazards and disasters."
Define and explain both data warehouses and data mining and describe how they could be used in the DHS.
5. Describe how applying big data technology to social media can be useful for (1) a chain of fitness centers, (2) a large government agency, (3) a multinational fashion retail company and (4) a global online university.
Next, summarize the negative aspects of using social media data in this way and identify ways to mitigate these concerns.