Introduction to Information Systems 5th Canadian Edition by R. Kelly Rainer solution manual

Section/Learning Objective: Section 1.3/Learning Objective 3
Bloom’s Category: Comprehension
AACSB Category: Technology
 
3. Discuss several ways in which IT impacts employees at work.
 
ANSWER:
Many people have experienced a loss of identity because of computerization. They feel like “just another number” because computers reduce or eliminate the human element that was present in non-computerized systems.
 
The Internet threatens to exert an even more isolating influence than computers and television. Encouraging people to work and shop from their living rooms could produce some unfortunate psychological effects, such as depression and loneliness.
 
They can adversely affect individuals’ health and safety. To illustrate this point, we consider two issues associated with IT: job stress and long-term use of the keyboard.
 
Computers can create new employment opportunities for people with disabilities by integrating speech- and vision-recognition capabilities.
 
Employees may have to worry as automation creeps into our organizations. Many feel that their jobs may not exist in the future; this mirrors when robots began to be implemented on assembly lines in the 1960s and 1970s.
 
Level: Easy
Section/Learning Objective: Section 1.3/Learning Objective 3
Bloom’s Category: Application
AACSB Category: Technology
 
Section 1.4
 
1. What are some of the quality-of-life improvements made possible by IT? Has IT had any negative effects on our quality of life? If so, explain, and provide examples.
 
ANSWER:
The workplace can be expanded from the traditional 9-to-5 job at a central location to 24 hours a day at any location. IT can provide employees with flexibility that can significantly improve the quality of leisure time, even if it doesn’t increase the total amount of leisure time.
 
However, IT can also place employees on “constant call” where they are never truly away from the office, even when they are on vacation.
 
Level: Easy
Section/Learning Objective: Section 1.4/Learning Objective 4
Bloom’s Category: Application
AACSB Category: Technology
 
2. Describe the robotic revolution, and consider its possible implications for humans. How do you think robotics will affect your life in the future?
 
ANSWER:
In fact, “cyberpooches,” nursebots, and other mechanical beings may be our companions before we know it. Around the world, quasi-autonomous devices have become increasingly common on factory floors, in hospital corridors, and in farm fields. In our homes, iRobot (www.irobot.com) produces the Roomba to vacuum our floors, the Scooba to wash our floors, the Dirt Dog to sweep our garages, the Verro to clean our pools, and the Looj to clean our gutters.
 
We also have to look at advances made in building robotic devices to replace hands, legs, and arms.
 
To do some tasks, companies have started to replace human workers with robotic workers.  
 
The impact of robotics on each student’s life may differ. How do we prepare ourselves for this eventuality?
 
Level: Easy
Section/Learning Objective: Section 1.4/Learning Objective 4
Bloom’s Category: Application
AACSB Category: Technology
 
3. Explain how IT has improved health care practices. Has the application of IT to health care created any problems or challenges?
 
ANSWER:
Medical personnel use IT to make better and faster diagnoses and to monitor critically ill patients more accurately. IT also has streamlined the process of researching and developing new drugs. Expert systems (ES) now help doctors diagnose diseases, and machine vision is enhancing the work of radiologists. Surgeons use virtual reality to plan complex surgeries. They have also used a surgical robot to perform long-distance (telemedicine) surgery by controlling the robot’s movements. Finally, doctors discuss complex medical cases via videoconferencing. New computer simulations recreate the sense of touch, allowing doctors-in-training to perform virtual procedures without risking harm to an actual patient. Big Data and AI are used to speed research to find cures and vaccines; for example, for COVID-19. There are privacy concerns with storing a patient’s information electronically. The medical field may become reliant on the system and not use their medical judgement to the same degree. Mistakes can be made in the system, which can impact the health of a patient.
 
Level: Medium
Section/Learning Objective: Section 1.4/Learning Objective 4
Bloom’s Category: Application
AACSB Category: Technology