2/13/2555

Chapter 13 : Copyright and Fair Use

How MegaUpload's Copyright Problem Affects You

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) issued a worrisome warning in the form of a press release on Thursday: MegaUpload used to own all of its users' data, but now the government does. Whether those users shared a family photo album through the site or pirated thousands of Hollywood movies, all of their data exists somewhere on MegaUpload's servers -- some of which are not located in the United States -- and based on the tone of EFF's formal request, it sounds like the government is considering wiping them clean.

RELATED: Hackers Plan to Figure Out How Carrier IQ Works Before the Government Does

"The government knows that Megaupload had many customers who followed the law. Yet it gave those users no notice that their data was at risk and no information about how they might be able to eventually get that data back," EFF Staff Attorney Julie Samuels wrote in a press release. "Our client, and the many other innocent Megaupload users, are entitled to a clear process for obtaining access to their own property, and the first step is to make sure that property is not deleted or damaged until the court can sort this out."

RELATED: Megaupload Founder Had Mega Swag

So far, the government's been stalling on making a final decision on whether or not to erase the data, though it did issue a warning a few days ago that it could erase the servers. Regardless of your file-sharing habits, this latest wrinkle in the great saga of MegaUpload and its founder Kim Dotcom throws more fuel on the smoldering controversy over who controls all of your Internet data and why. Obviously everyone on the Internet has been paying close attention to the state of how copyright law is enforced thanks to the overwhelming protest against SOPA, PIPA and related legislation. But as Dotcom's arrest and MegaUpload's shutdown have made very clear, the Feds don't need SOPA to go after a website. It would appear that they also don't need your permission to erase all of your files. There's probably some fine print in the terms and conditions statement somewhere, but who reads those things, anyway? 

http://news.yahoo.com/megauploads-copyright-problem-affects-232225636.html 

Chapter 12 : Knowledge Management

SAIC's KM Methodology

Implementing an Effective KM Solution

Based on a methodology pioneered in British Petroleum, SAIC's approach to capturing and reusing knowledge has been refined through successful application in many FORTUNE 500® companies and government organizations over the last several years. SAIC focuses on delivering performance improvement where a business or operational imperative exists and where knowledge can make a difference to the desired performance outcome. Our approach distinguishes itself from other approaches in the following ways:
  • You and SAIC design, develop, and implement the KM solution as one team enabling you to understand in depth what is done and how to do it so that you can sustain and maintain the investment you have made, creating internal ownership for the outcomes.
  • You and SAIC devote an equal amount of attention to
    1. delivering specific, tangible, business or operationally driven performance improvements and
    2. embedding core KM practices and skills in the people impacted by the new practices.
  • You and SAIC ensure the approach meets your people and teams "where they are" in terms of culture, process and technology.
  • You and SAIC integrate the SAIC Learning and Performing Processes model, a common, set of people-facing, forward-looking, core KM practices which are easily understood, supported, and performed on the job, resulting in an embedded, sustainable way of working.
  • You and SAIC leverage existing investments in your technology base while deploying only when necessary, new, scalable enabling processes and technologies at minimum risk within controlled pilot environments.
A proven pilot project approach is followed. Opportunities are assessed and prioritized against a set of proven criteria. A specific business or operational improvement is then targeted for delivery by applying the following phased approach:

Phase 0 - Identify and Select Pilot Projects

The focus of this phase is to create awareness of the possibilities of KM-based performance improvement among business or operational leaders and stakeholders, identify potential pilots, and then assess and select a pilot for delivery. You will use a set of standard KM project selection criteria customized for your context and used to rank pilots based on their potential knowledge-based business or operational benefits, leadership advocacy, transferability of learning and results, and overall project feasibility.

Phase 1 - Customize Pilot Process and Create Stakeholder Alignment

The focus of this phase is to engage key pilot project stakeholders, including the relevant leadership team, staff and other contributors to customize the KM methodology to fit the specific business improvement needs of the pilot. Necessary buy-in is created and a plan is developed and agreed to that fits both the operational tempo and needs of the participants.

Phase 2 - Capture Key Learnings and Good Practices

The focus of this phase is to elicit and capture your operational know-how to fill the knowledge gaps needed to meet the pilot performance improvement targets. The majority of knowledge generation and capture will be performed using Learning and Performing activities comprising on-the-job team learning processes before, during, and after major activities and supplemented when relevant through a series of individual interviews:
  • "Learning before doing" is supported through the Peer Assist process which targets specific challenge, imports knowledge from people outside the team, identifies possible approaches and new lines of inquiry, and promotes sharing of learning with each other through a facilitated meeting.
  • A U.S. Army technique called Action Reviews aims to get people to "learn while doing" by answering four questions immediately afterwards:
    1. What was supposed to happen?
    2. What actually happened?
    3. Why are they different? and
    4. What can we learn to do about it today?
  • At the end of the project a process called a Retrospect encourages team members to look back at the project to discover what went well and why, with a view to helping a different team repeat their success and avoid any pitfalls-"learning after doing".
  • In parallel with these learning sessions, KM support staff will perform Interviews to elicit additional know-how from key knowledge sources within, and sometimes outside, the work activities.
As part of the project team, you will capture, distill, and codify the key learnings, experience and good practices from these facilitated sessions and interviews, and package them in the form of a re-usable Knowledge Asset. This Knowledge Asset will be highly accessible and visible to others on your organization's intranet.

Phase 3 - Establish and Leverage Communities of Practice

The focus of this phase is to engage and enable relevant practitioners inside and outside your local pilot business or operational target areas to share and transfer know-how and good practices to your work teams involved in the pilot. At least one Community of Practice (CoP) will be established for subject area practitioners contributing knowledge to the pilot.
In the course of capturing this knowledge, you and SAIC will facilitate the development of a Community of Practice (CoP), a cross-organizational group of people who share common skills and practices in the business or operational processes being applied in the pilot. The initial members of this community will be the practitioners interviewed in the learning processes mentioned above, along with others applying this knowledge on the job in the pilot. You will learn the skills necessary to coach and support this Community to take on the responsibility to keep the Knowledge Asset current to help ensure the transferability of their collective know-how throughout the organization.

Phase 4 - Adapt and Apply Best Practices in Pilot Operations

The focus of this phase is to enable and ensure the know-how gained from your pilot work teams, CoP interactions, and other sources are applied on the job to improve existing processes and deliver the agreed to performance targets.
Relevant good practices and lessons learned will often be found in other practice areas. Those involved in the pilot will be coached and encouraged to take immediate advantage of this know-how and experience from outside their team and adapt and apply it to their work activities.

Phase 5 - Train and Coach Internal KM Practitioners

The focus of this phase is to transfer and embed KM competencies and techniques in your co-delivery team members participating in the delivery of the pilot effort. The lead responsibility for delivery of KM practices is purposefully shifted from the SAIC KM consultant to your team members over the duration of the pilot.

Phase 6 - Monitor, Review and Optimize Pilot Learning and Impact

The focus of this phase is to manage efficient tracking and completion of the pilot deliverables. Our results will be documented in a report and presentation that includes a review of the benefits achieved versus planned, KM strategy recommendations for broader implementation based on KM pilot learnings and practices.
Throughout the pilot process, local KM support staff participating in the delivery of the pilot will be trained and coached in the KM practices and skills used by the KM consultants. Using a phased approach combining modular training courses for each KM practice and skill-set and on-the-job coaching, the lead responsibility and delivery of KM practices is purposefully shifted from the KM consultants to local KM staff over the duration of each pilot.
A Steering Team comprised of the lead KM consultant, the local KM support team leader and the business leader for the pilot area (and business leaders of other KM pilots underway) will be established to help guide and steer the pilot effort. Critical issues and cross-pilot learning will be summarized for the Steering Team to facilitate their guidance and any decision-making required at their level.
The knowledge management experience gained from the pilot(s) will be captured in the form of another Knowledge Asset, and local KM staff will be encouraged to continuously update and maintain the organizations collective knowledge in KM. This knowledge will be used as input to support the organizations development of a broader KM strategy for post-pilot consideration and implementation.
At the conclusion of the project, performance will be assessed against the initial objectives and targets in the performance agreement. The KM pilot delivery team may also identify steps to extend the learning process into follow-on projects, ongoing activities, and other parts of the organization. This assessment will become part of a final pilot project report to the Steering Team.
The following diagram illustrates how the SAIC Learning and Performing Model delivers the performance goals of a specific operational or business team.


2/06/2555

Chapter 11 : Information Systems


Information Systems (IS) are a strategic necessity and innovative systems that
are focused on identifying and improving
the performance of key business drivers deliver a competitive advantage. Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia (CCBI) is a market leader
in innovative systems and is committed to
the ongoing investment in appropriate technology that can enhance value across the organization.

World class solutions require dedicated people and our commitment to recruiting and training
the best mix of technical and analytical system managers, designers, engineers, developers and implementers is the reason we will continue to prosper. Our dedicated IS team is structured to be integrated within our business activity functions to ensure solutions are integrated, focused on priorities correctly and are delivering the desired results.
We are committed to user education. The solutions CCBI choose to deploy are leading class business applications or infrastructures. To ensure the most value can be gained form our investment our IS team are also responsible for ensuring our end users are capable at transactional processing and information dissemination.

The Indonesian business environment is developing quickly and to ensure CCBI has a balanced approach to achieving growth we ensure we invest in research and development. Given our relationship with the wider Coca-Cola system we are able to tap into the large 'knowledge bank' of innovative solutions deployed worldwide and can adopt these into our environment if required.


http://www.coca-colaamatil.co.id/eng/ourcompany/index.php?act=infosystem 

1/30/2555

Chapter 10 : Information Technology

Identify the Pros and Cons of Information Technology

Information Technology Pros

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.



Information Technology Cons


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.



  http://www.smallbusinessbible.org/advan_disadvan_informationtechnology.html





1/23/2555

Chapter 9 : Evaluation

characteristic of good websites
What makes a website successful? Keep the following points in mind when creating your website to get the most out of it:
  • Content
Quality content on your website can provide users with the information they are looking for. Content also allows you to establish yourself as an expert in your field. When your website visitors are looking to make a purchase they will feel more comfortable with your products and services if you have built their trust and confidence through what you have written on your website.
Keyword-filled content is also crucial for getting high search engine rankings. Most internet users trust search engines to help them find what they are looking for. Taking the time to create high quality content can have huge payoffs through increased search engine rankings.
  • Simple and Attractive Design
The design of a good website should be simple, yet professional. The design should not take away or distract from the content. Websites with excessive use of Flash and moving images can be very distracting. Use design to help you get your message to visitors, not to distract them from the message. Colors should not be hard on the eyes, and text should be easy to read.
  • Easy Navigation
Navigation and links provide opportunities to incorporate design elements in to the website; however, navigation schemes should not be so elaborate that the user has trouble knowing where to click to move to another page. The average visitor’s attention span is a matter of seconds, and if it is hard to find what he or she is looking for, you will loose that visitor very quickly. Links to your most important pages should be easily found on every page. A good rule of thumb is that every page should be accessible in two clicks from your home page (this may not be possible with larger sites).
  • Unique
The most successful websites will stand out from the crowd. There are a number of was that you can make your website stand out: better design, high quality articles, a blog, a newsletter, some type of resource or tool. Find something that would be appealing to your target market.
  • Fresh
Having a website that changes or is updated frequently will encourage repeat visitors. Repeat visitors will be more loyal and more likely to buy. There are a few different options for keeping your site fresh:
1- Update the site and add content occasionally – This will require you to either pay a designer or do the work yourself.
2 – Use a blog – With a blog you can add content to your website from any computer with an internet connection. All you’ll have to do is login and type. No special software or skills are required.
3 – RSS feeds – With RSS feeds you can add news headlines, weather, stock tickers, etc. to your website. Additionally, you can add content from most blogs to your site with RSS. The benefit of RSS feeds is that once in place they will automatically update.
  • Optimized
A successful website will be search engine-friendly. Optimization includes things like using page titles and meta tags for all of your pages. Using headers and alt tags for images can also help optimization and accessibility. Even a website that is strong in other areas but weak in optimization may be hard for users to find.

Example of good website 




Example of Bias information
This list includes many examples of Bias in Wikipedia, related to homosexuality:

   1. Wikipedia Homosexual agenda by its editors is clearly visible.

   2. The Wikipedia entry for homosexuality is adorned with a rainbow graphic but fails to mention the following: the many diseases associated with homosexuality, the high promiscuity rates of the male homosexual community, the higher incidences of domestic violence among homosexual couples compared to heterosexual couples, the prevalence of murder in the homosexual community, and the substantially higher mental illness and drug usage rates of the homosexuality community. In addition, the Wikipedia article on homosexuality fails to mention that the American Psychiatric Association issued a fact sheet in May of 2000 stating that "..there are no replicated scientific studies supporting a specific biological etiology for homosexuality."

   3. Wikipedia editors regularly and fiercely alter the use of the terms "he" or "she" in articles regarding cross-dressing/transsexual figures. Men attempting to pass as females are near-universally referred to as "she" while women attempting to pass as men are referred to as "he", despite this usage absolutely incorrect in both scientific and legal senses.