I have what? Medical Identity Theft

If you walked into your doctor's office and they put on masks to treat you, you might panic at their reaction.  You later find out they were taking preventative measures due to being diagnosed with TB.  You were diagnosed at a different office, when you visited as a 53 year old Hispanic male smoker who weighed 397 pounds.  You might begin to question why your doctor did not notice this discrepancy in your size, shape, age and ethnicity or wonder how this man's records became part of YOUR medical file. 

The Federal Trade Commission asks, "How would you know if your personal, health, or health insurance information has been compromised?"  Medical identity theft is the newest form of technology driven crime, with over 1.5 million people in the United States affected at a cost of $41.3 billion dollars last year, according to Bloomberg.  Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information, including your name, birthday, or social security number or uses your health insurance to make fraudulent claims. 

Medical Identity theft is hard to catch and even harder to repair with it taking almost 10 years and over $20,000 to get your identity back.  Physicians, medicare and health insurance companies are not yet equipped to scan for id theft and medical discrepancies when new patients are treated.  To correct your medical records, you will have to locate each unauthorized visit and then go in person to each doctors' office.  When visiting providers to get your data corrected, you will encounter staff who are concerned about HIPAA laws preventing them from modifying the records or providing you copies of the thief's medical data.    To make matters worse, thieves visit an average of 5 different medical offices and often suffer from chronic conditions, which make for a lifetime of tracking down unauthorized services.    

While some victims receive medical bills for unauthorized services or notice strange insurance billings, most often, this form of identity theft goes unnoticed for years.  If you don't receive a bill and it isn't affecting your credit, you might wonder how medical identity theft really affects you and why you should be concerned about this growing problem.  When someone receives medical care under your name and social security number, it gets passed from office to office electronically and stored in databases.  If the thief was treated for a disease, illegal drug use, allergy or other condition, this would be placed in your permanent medical record and you will have a hard time ever getting this information removed.  You run the risk of being diagnosed and treated for incorrect ailments based on your chart and medical history, and doctors may not believe that you never tested positive for a disease.  You must also worry about incorrect blood types, missing drug allergy information and being declared legally dead.  These medical records will affect your ability to get life insurance, health insurance, long and short term care insurance and even employment down the road.  This simple data error can cost you a great deal of time, money and frustration and leave you with very few options for remediation.

To help monitor your medical ID, watch for bills from medical offices that you have never visited, scan your insurance receipts to ensure that you received all of the treatments listed, order a copy of your credit report every six months to scan for any erroneous accounts and review your medical records annually.    When visiting your doctors office verify important personal data including your birthdate, address, phone number, blood type, current medications and allergies, to ensure this information is kept up to date and correct.  Keep your health insurance card safe and destroy it when you receive a new one.  Report any possible thefts to the police, doctors offices and your health insurance immediately.  Health insurers are beginning to create policies that help protect patients and prevent fraudulent charges by allowing the patient to setup a special password which must be submitted with all pre-claims and claims.  If a thief does not have this password they will not be pre-approved for care or admitted to the hospital, helping to limit some of the damage they were previously able to cause.

Lindsay


References

Dolan, Pamela Lewis.  (2012).  Medical ID Theft:  Double Danger for Doctors.  Amed News.  Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/08/06/bisa0806.htm.

Federal Trade Commission.  (2010).  Medical Identity Theft.  FTC.  Retrieved from http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt10.shtm.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.  (2010).  Identity Theft:  What to Do if It Happens to You.  Retrieved from https://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm#18.

Robertson, Jordan.  (2012).  How Medical Identity Theft Can Leave You a Decade of Headaches.  Retrieved from http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-blog/2012-11-08-how-medical-identity-theft-can-give-you-a-decade-of-headaches/.

World Privacy Forum.  (2007).  Medical Identity Theft. Retrieved from http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/medicalidentitytheft.html.

Rethinking Online Course Learning

Rethinking Online Course Learning

Are you a student like myself taking an online course? Are you just like me and having to take all online courses to get your degree? I know for myself this was not my favorite option, but with having a family that I need to support comes a job/career. Unfortunately there are many jobs out there (like mine) that require rotating shifts, which makes it very difficult (if not impossible) to attend classes in person. 

There are other concepts that schools can and should use when adopting online course program. Schools need to remember that there are a lot of students with different backgrounds and different needs; however most people learn much better through different learning styles, and they will be more inclined to remember what they learned by stimulating other senses than just sight from reading.

When we think of learning styles we often think of visual and auditory, but there are others as well that affect our learning ability. These other styles are kinesthetic/physical and social or solitary. Typical online courses engage the visual (mostly reading) and some auditory (reading can be linked to this style) but the only kinesthetic or physical aspect is the typing or page flipping. I think that is normal for in person classes as well. Online courses are a solitary form of learning because we don’t interact with the other students. Sure many online programs have discussion threads, but that is not the same as having an in depth conversation in a class. For the most part our visual sense is the only sense being truly stimulated, which can make it difficult to regurgitate information that we learned later on.

When going to class in person we are engaged in the class’s sights, sounds, and we are in a social environment. Many of our senses are stimulated such as sight, sound, and even the smell of the classroom (or class mates). There are still required readings when taking class in person, but this is ok because we are receiving other information through other learning styles. Our memories will be able to retain this information more easily because it has been stimulated in more than one way.

Harvard Extension (Harvard University’s online program) utilizes the internet, to not just their advantage, but their students advantage as well. They realized that students –taking online courses- are not going to remember the large amount of information that college courses disseminate through just reading. Instead they have their instructors post their lecture (that was giving to a class in person), and their materials such as, the power point presentation and any video they may have shown. This may not be the exact answer to the problem of learning online, but I think this is a great step forward in the right direction to ensure the quality of education can be as equal as possible for all students.

Jesse

Work from home?

Work from home: Should you let your employee’s work remotely?

They want to work from home, why not let them.

Working from home is an option that has becoming more popular with employers as the information age has come into play.  Allowing your employee’s the ability to work from home is a trending method of reducing costs and increasing employee reward. The decision to let your employees work from home however needs to be balanced with organizational demands. There are many factors that go into play when making this decision including: facilities savings, professional isolation, employee turnover, job performance, employee satisfaction, and organizational flexibility. After analyzing these factors, a decision will need to be made and company policy formulated. Many possible decisions could come from this analysis including allowing only partial work from home or having the employees work from home full time. A review of new research into the effects of remote work and its impact on job performance, job satisfaction, and employee turnover.

Employee Turnover/Job Satisfaction

Allowing employees’ to work from home gives them the ability to better balance work/home life demands. According to the article Why Some Firms Adopt Telecommuniting While Others Do Not: A contingency Perspective by Mayo, Pastor, Gomez-Mejia and Cruz “Telecommuting offers much greater employee autonomy than other types of family-friendly plans such as flexible work hours, parental leave, and on-site child care facilities” (Mayo, Pastor, Gomez-Mejia, & Cruz, 2009). These benefits including the ability to work from home grant employees much more control over their daily lives and give them the ability to take care of the needed of their family while still being productive in the work environment. Having these options available greatly increase employee satisfaction and offer a significant benefit over traditional benefits offered by employers. (American Psychological Association, 2007) These benefits must be weighed against the potential negatives that these benefits induce.

Professional Isolation/Job Performance

Working from home has a significant impact on an employee in particular employees are more likely to feel isolated from their coworkers and their supervisor and as a result feel that they are working inside a bubble and their good work will go unnoticed. Golden, Veiga, and Dino have suggested that there are ways to mitigate but not completely reduce these effects. In particular they have concluded that greater the “access to communication-enhancing technology,” the more significant reduction in these negative feelings the employees have (Golden, Veiga, & Dino, 2008). In their research they have concluded that job performance for individuals that spend limited time teleworking compared to full time work from home that job performance increases but will significantly drop off if they work from home full time. Their research also has a surprise indicating that “the impact of professional isolation on turnover intentions, we found that teleworkers who experienced greater professional isolation expressed less of a desire to leave the organization, which was contrary to expectations” (Golden, Veiga, & Dino, 2008).

After reviewing the information available a decision should be made on whether or not to let your employees work remotely. Many factors come to play in this decision and they will be specific to the corporation. However we can conclude that allowing employees the ability to work remotely up to two times a week will not harm their productivity and give them some much needed flexibility and improve job satisfaction. Whichever way you choose to guide your corporation will now be an informed decision on the effect and result of remote workers.

-Andy

References

American Psychological Association. (2007, November 20). Telecommuting Has Mostly Positive Consequences For Employees And Employers. Retrieved from ScienceDaily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071119182930.htm

Golden, T. D., Veiga, J. F., & Dino, R. N. (2008). The Impact of Professional Isolation on Teleworker Job Performance and Turnover Intentions: Does Time Spent Teleworking, Interacting Face-to-Face, or Having Access to Communication-Enhancing Technology Matter? Journal of Applied Psychology, 1412-1421.

Mayo, M., Pastor, J.-C., Gomez-Mejia, L., & Cruz, C. (2009). WHY SOME FIRMS ADOPT. Human Resource Management, 918-939.

Home Networks Not as Secure as You Think

The culprit: WEP

 
     Would you sleep in a room on the second story of a building with the window closed but unlatched and a ladder leaning against the window?  If you use Wired Equivalent Privacy, also known as WEP, for your home wireless internet security, then that is what you are doing electronically, and WEP is often the default setting on wireless network routers that you buy for your home.  In an article written by Steve Janss, he highlighted an important wireless security issue when he wrote, “Wired Equivalent Privacy vulnerabilities came to light … in October 2000” (Janss, 2001).  WEP is a common wireless network security protocol that is still in use today.  Janss goes on to say that computer programmers began writing software in 2001 that could easily and quickly decipher the code and find the password for any security system using the WEP protocol.  Although the use of WEP in handheld devices and home computer systems puts your personal information at risk, there is a solution to the problem.

     Since 2001, programmers have improved their programs to break into these networks.  Without going into the math and technical details, the problem is that WEP uses a limited size of its encryption key and many of the messages sent over a wireless network start with the same few characters.  Using these two details, a hacker can write a program to eliminate most of the possible encryption keys, leaving only a few to test and with only about 10,000 packets of data that takes only a few minutes to send, the program can find the password key.  Anyone who has that password key can access your network and see everything that you send and receive on the internet.  Today, there are even videos on YouTube that demonstrate step-by-step instructions on how to break into systems protected with WEP security and anyone with even a moderate level of computer skills can follow the instructions and break into a network.  This is still a current issue as you can often find some networks protected with WEP that you can see with your laptop from home or many public locations.  Fortunately, most current home wireless systems include a new style of security.

The solution: WPA2

     There is hope for home wireless networks and the people who own them.  Manufacturers began releasing a new style of security protocol in 2003, with an upgrade in 2004.  The latest version called, “WiFi Protected Access 2” or WPA2 is the most secure system available for home use.  WPA2 is a new security standard developed by the WiFi Alliance that supersedes WPA and provides much better protection for home security systems.  Determined hackers can still crack this security code, but it takes longer and requires more knowledge than cracking WEP.  There are, however, some important cautions, even with WPA2.

WPS: As Guilty as WEP

     Many new wireless devices come equipped with something called WiFi Protected Setup, or WPS.  This is supposed to make setting up your wireless system much easier, and it does, but it bypasses the WPA2 security and uses a simple 5-digit pin code.  Hackers can quickly decipher the pin code by just trying all the different combinations of numbers and within a few minutes, gain access to your system.  WPS negates all of the benefits of WPA2 security, so you should never use it.  However, WPS is not the only risk and password length plays an important role in your wireless security.

Don’t Scrimp on Password Length

     When setting up the WPA2 security on a wireless network, the system will ask you to enter a password with between 8 and 63 characters.  The length of password that you choose will determine the level of security in the system.  Choose a password of between 60 and 64 characters to take advantage of the full security of WPA2.  If you select a password with fewer characters, the security of your system is only slightly better than with WEP security.  Do not worry about having to remember this password because you will only need it to add new devices to your wireless system, and once entered in a device, that device will remember it.  Make sure that you choose a series of words, numbers and symbols and do not select a repeating series of characters.  The best passwords will not have any characters that are identical next to each other. 
 

Replace Old Devices for Piece of Mind

     One final note is that if you have an older device that does not have WPA2 capability, you cannot upgrade it.  The only solution is to throw out the old device and buy a new one, but for less than $100, you can provide security for all of your personal information.  Even if your device is not a wireless router, you will have to set up that router to allow WEP for that one device, and your system is only as secure as your weakest link.  With WPA2 and a long password, you can rest easy knowing that your network is secure from all except the most determined hackers.


Rob.

References

Goth, G. (2002). Read it and WEP. IEEE Internet Computing, 6.  Retrieved from http://csdl.computer.org.dml.regis.edu/dl/mags/ic/2002/01/w1006.pdf

Janss S. (2001, December 17). WEP's fatal flaw exposed. Network World, 45. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.dml.regis.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA80860761&v=2.1&u=regis&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w

Learning Online and Loving It

             Just yesterday, I took my girlfriend out to dinner at Red Lobster before coming home to submit my math homework online.  Earlier today I took a break from playing with my kids to go and email the final portion of my marketing course project.  Yes, I'm one of the growing numbers of college students that are taking online classes, and I love it.

            A little over ten years ago, before the girlfriend and the kids, I was a high school grad ready to begin my first semester on campus.  Back then, I wanted to become a computer engineer pretty badly, and Rutgers gave me a pretty nice sized scholarship to pursue that goal.  I remember the daily routine of waking up at 7am, going to sit through a few 2 hour lecture sessions, participating in lab assignments, studying at the library, and all of the college student norms.  I also remember falling asleep in those lecture classes, not because I was up all night partying, but because I was just bored.  Sitting in a big room with 200 people; watching one guy talk about "stuff" often led to closed eyes and head nods for me.  After doing that for three years, I lost much of my interest in the program and dropped out.

            Living life after college led me to finding a great woman, buying a house, and having two children.  In 2011, a random thought popped into my head, "I should go back to school!"  I found Regis University's Business Tech program, learned many of my credits would transfer over from my 2001-04 college stint, and enrolled.  Regis is in Colorado, I'm in Jersey, I'm taking classes at Regis, but I'm still in Jersey... Perfect!

            A publication by Mehran Bozorgmanesh from the Islamic Azad University in Iran speaks of the many benefits associated with distance learning.  In his article "Online Classes and Traditional Classes in Adult Education", Bozorgmanesh lists time and geographic flexibility as the top two advantages of taking online classes.  Discussing geographic flexibility, Mehran notes that "It no longer matters where you live."  He later continues stating that students of online classes can "escape the monotonous lectures and long classroom hours yet be well acquainted with the study materials." 

            For me, Mehran's points are the exact reasons why I'm enjoying this tenure in college more.  There are no more lectures about "stuff", yet I'm still able to learn the same material while on my own schedule.  Taking online courses gives me the smaller classroom size that I enjoyed through grammar school.  There is greater interaction with other students and faculty, mainly due to the weekly discussion board assignments.  I feel that I'm learning a lot more by reading the opinions of others than I was from listening to the robotic professors speaking out loud to a hundred people.  I can still go to work, take care of my home, and be with my family, all while getting a degree.  I have freedom in how I learn that I didn't have before.  According to the 2010 Sloan Consortium Report online enrollment in post-secondary institutions grew 21% between 2009 and 2010.   If you haven't already, I recommend any of you reading this to try taking a class online.  If you're like me, you are going to really enjoy it.

Doug

References

Sloan Consortium, (2010), Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010 Retrieved from http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/class_differences

Bozorgmanesh, M. (2011), Online Classes and Traditional Classes in Adult Education, Nature and Science 2011, 9(8), pp: 81-84, Retrieved from http://www.sciencepub.net/nature/ns0908/17_6409ns0908_81_84.pdf

A boy invited a fifteen year old girl named, Phoebe Prince, to a dance. This dance was the height of a social season at high school in Massachusetts. A few days before the dance, the police received a call from a sister of Phoebe and the police immediately headed to the Phoebe’s residence. When the police arrived, they found Phoebe had hung herself. One of Phoebe’s fellow students was jealous of her date and began to harass Phoebe via texts and Facebook messages (Kotz, 2010). Today’s children have to worry about a whole new type of bullying, something they need to worry about even at home around their loved ones. This new abuse is cyberbullying.

According to stopbullying.gov cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Children today are extremely efficient with today’s technology; they are constantly texting each other and it can be challenging to separate them from their Facebook pages.  Cyberullying is something that happens to many of our children and it can happen 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Cyberbullies do not have a face. Much of cyberbullying is done anonymously and can be shared with a very wide audience. This allows cyberbullies to say what they want without much worry of being caught. Most children who are cyberbullied do not go home and tell their parents and hope the issue will go away on its own. Children are worried if they inform a parent or teacher the bullying will worsen.  Unless parents and teachers are educated on the seriousness of cyberbullying, it can be difficult to stop.  It is imperative parents, teachers, and those who spend quality time with children understand cyberbullying is real and affect children differently.  Cyberbullying is difficult to stop but below are a few tips from connectsafely.org to prevent cyberbullying.

·         Do not respond- Bullies want a reaction, if you react you are empowering the bully

·         Do not retaliate- Getting back will reinforce the bully’s behavior

·         Save all evidence- Messages can be captured and saved.

·         Talk to a trusted adult- Children cannot do it by themselves, if too scared to talk to an adult contact the school anonymously

·         Do not be a bystander- Watching or forwarding a message also empowers the bully. Try to stop the bullying, if you cannot, report the behavior

 Social media should be fun and way to stay in contact with family and friends, not somewhere children should be scared to participate. We need to remember cyberbullying affects everyone! We all must stand and stop cyberbullying!

Tim

What is the price of being connected?

Personal Information in the Age of Technology

Society refuses to stop changing. In this age of technology, we find ourselves constantly connected to our favorite social media site or service. Some may consider their actions and the information they post online as harmless. Yet, users must also consider that the information shared online may be personal. That is to say, it reveals something about an individual that they would not want to become public and should be released sparingly. So despite the fact that many social media sites have changed the way they operate, by allowing the user to adjust the privacy of their profile, individuals still have potentially damaging information accessible through blogs, forum posts and professional networks.

How Employers use the Internet

Perhaps a most recent example of this information risk is the tactic being taken by prospective employers to see what individuals are doing, saying and sharing online. Users must constantly ask themselves if what they are putting out there may eventually harm their personal integrity in the future. Thus, whether they are a potential employee now or plan to be at some point in the future, it must be determined if what they are sharing online is truly appropriate.

As mentioned, over the recent years employers have been turning to the internet as an additional means of "qualifying" a potential employee. While some may believe that this is unfair or illegal, the fact is that “laws don’t anticipate the changes in technology” (Martinez, 2012). Yet, some may be confident that general employment laws pertaining to nondiscrimination are still in effect, which is a valid argument because indeed they are. However, if there is public information found that leads the employer to pass up a candidate, there is nothing preventing them from giving a vague explanation for their choice in choossing a different candidate. The underlying reason, that they uncovered something online, will never be divulged.

The risk of users’ perceived personal information being publically accessible does not stop at potential employers. Instead, users must also consider their current employers because what is done online can get you fired too. One such incident happened just last month when Lindsey Stone was fired from her job for posting a personal photo on Facebook. The image in question shows Stone screaming and extending her middle finger in front of a sign reading “Silence and Respect” at Arlington Cemetery. It should be noted that Stone posted this information privately and forewarned everyone it was a joke well before the outrage. However, this did not stop her employer from firing her after nearly 3,000 people signed a petition to have her fired (Eördögh , 2012).

The Lesson

The fact is we continue to provide an overwhelming amount of data about ourselves on the internet, despite all the warning signs. Moreover, we are ignorant to the risks we place on ourselves by associating with certain individuals or sympathizing with a particular cause. The fact is there is nothing preventing any potential employer from being curious and doing a quick Google search for an individual. So, the lesson is that until laws and technology that promotes accountability can catch up to social media, we as individuals need to continually conduct ourselves in an ethical and professional manner online.  Consequently, before users decide to share something online about themselves they should ask:

• Who might have access to this?
• Could this information lead to discrimination?

The lesson here is that users of the internet and social media should assume privacy is virtually nonexistent because regardless of what companies promise, there is no guarantee that individuals, including employers, will not get access to their personal information.

References

Eördögh , F. (2012, November 26th). Social-Media Shaming About A Dumb Photo Gets Dangerous. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from Read Write Social: http://readwrite.com/2012/11/26/social-media-shaming-and-a-dumb-photo

Martinez, S. (2012, October 31). Live Chat on Thursday: Why Googling a job applicant can get a company into legal hot water. Retrieved November 24, 2012, from Michigan Local News: http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/10/why_googling_a_job_applicant_c.html

 

David A.

Regis University – COM215

 

Interacting with your Medical Records on the Fly

By:  Ann Wolff, COM215

It used to be a lengthy process when requesting your own medical records.  A patient would need to complete a written form, and possibly pay a processing fee.  The record would need to be manually copied by staff.  This entire process could take up to six weeks at times.   Let’s look at how the internet has affected access to medical records for both the patients and their health care providers.

Patient advocacy and the development of the internet has expanded our access to medical records as well as made it faster.  Today a patient can log in to their record, review lab work, schedule appointments, renew prescriptions, print needed documentation, and interact electronically with their provider.  This is becoming commonplace in today’s world. 

But what about some of the newest ways to electronically interact?  Many providers are developing video interactions (Johnson, 2009).  For example if my child develops a rash, or oozing from the eye; rather than take them straight to the doctor’s office I can video chat with advice staff and they can prescribe medication online as needed.  Another unique feature is being able to keep my basic medical record data on a flash drive, this is provided by many insurance/healthcare providers.  That way when I travel far and wide, medical professionals can provide comprehensive care by accessing my flash drive.  Smart phone apps are being developed to allow a person to make appointments, renew medications, and view data on the go.  As I am hiking up the steps of the Eiffel tower and become short of breath, I may stop to take a break, during that short break I could schedule a physical with my doctor to take place when I get back home.

A parent can have access to their child’s medical records up to a certain age.  An adult daughter/sibling who is an authorized representative can have access to their elderly parent’s medical records as well ("Your medical records", n.d.).   The elderly can now use applications that show them the medications they are supposed to take, and the time, also with pictures of the pill to help them keep it straight.

What are some of the limitations to access?  You may not always be able to see notes written by the provider in a chart, particularly a mental health provider ("Your medical records", n.d.).  When it comes to children a parent usually has full access in California until the age of 12.  After that a parent may have limited access to lab results, prescriptions, and certain medical office visits ("Stay on top of their health; new online features for parents", n.d.)

Interaction with our healthcare is changing on a rapid basis, as technology develops, and our human brains have “lightbulb” moments about how to use the new technology; at this point the sky is the limit.  Next month’s blog article on electronic health records will discuss steps the industry is taking to maintain a patient’s privacy.

References

Johnson, M. (2009, October 27). Visiting your doctor online is a virtual reality. U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/articles/2009/10/27/visiting-your-doctor-online-is-a-virtual-reality

Stay on top of their health; new online features for parents. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pdf/61042.pdf

Your medical records. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/medicalrecords.html

Why is Online Bullying More Prevalent?

Why Is Online Bullying More Prevalent?

On most days I spend time posting on the CBSSports.com website with people that I have become “pseudo friends” with over the past 5 years.  We use this site to converse over topics ranging from last night’s baseball games to the upcoming presidential election to bizarre and funny news topics.  Today, as I was going through my daily routine of reading sports I was taken aback by the ugliness of some of the forum posts written by my fellow posters. 

To be fair, these posts were posted on the “Off Topic” board on a sports website, where topics range from brilliant to absurd and are mostly discussed with humor and wit.  However, somewhere, somehow, during the recent past the humor and wit has taken a nasty turn towards bullying by individuals and groups of individuals.  I kind of think of it as a Lord of the Flies scenario where people are following a mob mentality.  Today a poster accused another poster of being gay.  A little strange since it is an anonymous site and the accused poster has never posted personal information.    More than likely the poster was trying to get a rise out of the individual but he would not let it go.  There was post after post about the guy being gay.  And after a while other posters began to get into it and began targeting the individual with what I assume were lies. 

Is this a huge deal?  Probably not, but you just don’t know.  However, it helps illustrate the negative side of anonymous posts on the internet and it piqued my curiosity on adult bullying and the internet. Unfortunately after researching through the academic resources provided to me through Regis University it is quite clear that research on Adult internet bullying is in its infant stage.  The main focus of cyber bullying research focuses on teens and is being researched nationally by organizations such as the Cyberbullying Research Center and the National Crime Prevention Council. 

The numbers associated with cyber bullying provided by these organizations are staggering.  Bullyingstaticstics.org, which gathers data from multiple sources, estimates that over 25 percent of American adolescents and teens have been repeatedly bullied through cell phones or internet.  And less than 10% of those bullied will report this to a parent or an adult. 

With the instances of adolescent and teen bullying numbers being so high it’s not hard for me to understand why I’m seeing increased instances of adult bullying online.  It's unfortunate that the internet has led to a loss of civility and this loss has started to turn me off from using a social tool that I have used over the past 5 years.

Bullying Statistics.  (2009).  Adult Bullying and Cyber Statistics.  Retrieved fromhttp://www.bullyingstatistics.org/

Reliance on Social Media by Students

By: Rebekah Silk

“Student reliance on social media is undeniable” Sacks, M., & Graves, N. (2012)


The reliance students have on social media is the new in thing, social media can include, Facebook, twitter and YouTube just to name a few. Social media not only serve as communication tools for students but shape the way they build their social and professional identities. When I think about social networking I think about communicating with friends and family. I never thought I would be communicating with students and doing research work and getting class projects done. Social media is not only being used by students but it’s also now being used by HR personnel to search for potential job candidates. Social media is now replacing communication by email and telephone. You can easily instant message someone which could possibly replace text messaging. You have an application you can download on your smart phone, which will put in constant communication with everyone on your networking site. Social media is now how others communicate; we can just say “look me up on Facebook”. This is a huge way to network and get yourself or business known.

In conclusion on the reliance on social media by students as well as employers, businesses and friends, you never know what you can do when you are communicating in cyberspace. There are so many ways to relate to others and now you can do school work with other students in other states or countries or right next door. The possibilities never end.

Reference: Sacks, M., & Graves, N. (2012). How Many “Friends” Do You Need? Teaching Students How to Network Using Social Media. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(1), 80-88

Weight No More

         “The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security is at stake.”  - First Lady, Michelle Obama

Let’s face it we live in a fast-paced world. Convenience is the name of the game.  Eating healthy is not always an easy option and getting in time at the gym seems impossible. There is a reason losing weight is dubbed “the battle of the bulge” or “combating obesity,” it’s hard, exhausting, and overwhelming.  Given the expanse of the internet and the increase in online communities geared strictly toward weight loss, pounds and inches don’t seem as daunting when you have the social support of a network people just like you.

Weight issues have been a major news story for years, and millions of Americans suffer from extra pounds.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2009-2010, 35.7% of U.S. adults were obese, and 16.9% of children/adolescents fell into the same category.  (CDC, 2012)  These are scary statistics! Without major awareness and initiatives to help people lose and keep the weight off there will be a steady increase to these numbers.  Online communities are stepping up to the plate and lending a hand to support people who wish/need to lose weight. 

         Take for example one of the leading weight loss sites, www.sparkpeople.com.  Their “weight loss program teaches people to stop dieting and transition to a permanent, healthy lifestyle. Far beyond just weight loss, SparkPeople helps everyone learn to eat better and exercise regularly for life.”  (SparkPeople, 2012). This community strives to give people the tools they need to make better, healthier choices. This change is not a fad diet that gives fast results but permanent lifestyle changes.  

         They provide a safe community where people can track their water, fitness, food, and pounds lost. It’s free to join, unlike other websites, such as Weight Watchers ©.  They offer not only the online component but also mobile applications for smart phones.  Having a resources such as this site helps someone who is struggling with their weight connect with others, set goals, and find a wealth of resources.  The site is full of recipes, workout videos, tips, tricks, team challenges, and more. Members can join groups of like-minded people, such as 30-somethings, or busy moms, to lend and gain much needed support on their journey.

         This site is not just for tracking measurements but social support as well. “Social interactions among SparkPeople members are sources of encouragement, information, and validation of struggles and successes. These interactions occur through multiple avenues, including posts in discussion forums, private messages, and comments on blogs. Approximately 500,000 members log into the Web site at least every month.” (Hwang, 2011).  In a recent study, it was found that the average user at SparkPeople was 36 years old, 18.1% had normal body masses, 32.7% were overweight, 20.6% were obese, and 28.1% were extremely obese. “Most participants [of the study and likely SparkPeople members] were experienced and frequent user of the internet.” (Hwang, 2011) These statistics show that average people, with a varying degree of obesity, are working together and supporting one another to lose the weight.  Since most users are on the internet frequently it means more support for you on your journey.

         Have kids?  Obesity and weight loss is not an adult only issue and sparkpeople.com is only available to ages 18 and older.  Take a look at, letsmove.gov, and find some great ideas to help your children and yourself make healthier life choices. Created on an initiative by First Lady, Michelle Obama, this site gives great facts and figures to put health and weight into perspective and to help manage your child’s weight.  They have sections for eating healthy, getting active and taking action against weight loss/obesity.  What really makes this site stand out above others is its community-based approach.  By changing how schools and communities eat and live an active lifestyle, the child and adult obesity rates can drop significantly. By following the site and receiving emails, you will be well on your way to success. 

         Being overweight can lead to a shortened lifespan, disease, and injury. Now these communities are reaching out to others, trying to make life healthier. Sites like SparkPeople.com, Letsmove.gov, and so many others, take the fear and frustration out of doing this battle alone. I know when I’m struggling not to eat something, or lack the energy to exercise, a few minutes on one of these sites communicating with other members, I feel more alive, more positive, and like I’m on my way to a healthier life.

         The invent of the internet and the growth of supportive websites, has been an amazing addition to an already fast-paced society.  Losing weight is not easy, but with the social support and tools of these growing communities filled with people going through the same battle, it is a lot less lonely and a lot more productive.  The communities offer tools and social outlets to help people succeed.  For those 35.7% of adults and 16.9% of children, that are overweight, now is the time to take action and reach out to the other - together we can.

Works Cited

LetsMove. (2012, August). Retrieved from LetsMove.gov: www.letsmove.gov

SparkPeople About US. (2012, August). Retrieved from SparkPeople: http://www.sparkpeople.com/about/index.asp

CDC. (2012, January). Prevalence of Obesity in the United States, 2009-2010. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db82.pdf

Hwang, K. O., Ottenbacher, A. J., Lucke, J. F., Etchegaray, J. M., Graham, A. L., Thomas, E. J., & Bernstam, E. V. (2011). Measuring Social Support for Weight Loss in an Internet Weight Loss Community. Journal Of Health Communication, 16(2), 198-211

Opening Picture:  From http://www.ailaspeaks.com/weight-no-more-program.html

End Picture: From easternshoremedicalweightloss.com

5.93 million years and counting........

By: Ryan Randol
A statement is often made that time is money.  Assuming that this is true, online game play represents a tremendous financial resource that is being tapped in many ways.  In some recent research, I discovered that online game play is much more significant than I had imagined.  A single game, World of Warcraft, had logged over 5.93 million years of online user game play by 2010, according to Jane McGonigal, with no end in sight (Olivetti, 2010).

Online game play offers an experience that can't be recreated with a traditional idea of a game.  For example, World of Warcraft held the Guinness World Record for subscribers in 2010 having reached 12 million subscribers (Guinness World Record, 2010).  Obviously, a twelve million player board game would not be a possibility.  Likewise, 12 million participants in dodge ball would present a futile scenario.  It is only through massive servers that interaction of this scale can occur.

The energy that is expended in online game play is substantial.  The consumption of electricity alone is tremendous.  Assuming a typical CPU consumes 500 watts and the average residential rate for electricity is $0.12 per kilowatt hour, the cost of the electricity to play World of Warcraft had exceeded $3,000,000,000 by the time Jane McGonigal made her claim in 2010.  This cost doesn’t account for the mental capabilities that have been dedicated to online games by the aficionados.

Online game play creates a sense of community that is unrivaled because the participants share a significant interest to start the interaction.  This common interest provides an environment that can be highly conducive to collaboration.  Many games have the option to form alliances and work together toward a common goal.  These alliances may form across racial, social, and religious lines that would not normally be breached.  Players can participate in the game from any area of the world where broadband internet service is available.  This feature of online gaming allows cultural barriers, which would otherwise exist, to be ignored.  Perhaps, through online gaming breaking these barriers, we may see barriers in the physical world fall as well.

References:

How Online Gaming can Change the World. (Olivetti, 2012). Retrieved from:  http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/18/how-online-gaming-can-change-the-world/

Most popular subscription-based Massively Multiplayer Online Role Player Game (MMORPG).  (Guinness, 2010).  Retrieved from:  http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/6000/most-popular-subscription-based-massively-multiplayer-online-role-player-game-%28mmorpg%29

Military Cyberspace Communication

“The DOD has made great strides during the past five years in developing cyber warfare specialties” (Franz, 2011 pg. 87).

            Fifty years ago if someone were to tell top U.S. Military leaders that they would be fighting war in cyberspace, they would have most likely laughed as they wrote letters and made phone calls. However, currently a lot of the communication within the U.S. Military is now done through emails, texting, and even Facebook. Oh yea, the Air Force even flies aircraft from a cockpit set up in front of a computer monitor.  That being said, in the past decade the U.S Military has found a need to develop a force that can communicate and fight in cyberspace. For that reason this research will discuss the where cyberspace technicians fit in the D.O.D. and the challenges they face.

            One of the first things many people thinks when they see someone in an Air Force uniform is that they are a pilot. However, a successful air operation depends on much more than just a skilled pilot, and cyber communication plays a role in almost all military functions (Franz, 2011). For this reason, cyberspace technicians have been assigned to direct and plan offensive and defensive activities through cyberspace. Defensively, cyberspace commanders would assemble teams to protect installation networks that are critical to executing the mission. They have also been directed to plan, design, and use cyber warfare tools and weapons (Franz, 2011). However, developing a war fighting culture for cyber warfare professionals can be difficult. The offensive mindset of keeping networks running comes natural to most, but the defensive part doesn’t come easily and extra effort has been required. That being said, D.O.D cyberspace technicians have answered the defensive challenge and maybe even taken it a little too far. It has almost become comical to log on to a government computer. People who have done this know they have to sit through the five different popups that come up warning the user about threats. Meanwhile, the system performs a hardware audit ensuring that no one has changed any parts and don’t plan on plugging in that memory stick unless you want a communications technician knocking on your office door. Nevertheless, it’s obvious that the U.S Military needs to continue to develop and strengthen its cyberspace capabilities. The question is how much will it grow? The U.S Air Force stemmed from the Army when government officials realized they needed a branch dedicated to air superiority. Could we see a new military branch dedicated cyber warfare? I guess only time will tell. 

Bullying in the Cyber-World

By: Lauren Butler

“In recent years a new form of aggression or bullying has emerged, labeled “cyberbullying”, in which the aggression occurs through modern technological devices, and specifically mobile phones or the internet” (Slonje & Smith, 2008, p. 1).

It’s no secret that there has been a major increase in the use of technology for communication, with a vast majority of young people being active online. Incidentally, this in turn has increased the amount of cyberbullying taking place among adolescents and teens. Text messaging, social media, email and chatting outlets are the most popular mediums for bullies to wreak havoc, but identity theft has also become a genuine concern. Cyberbullying gives bullying a new face, and according to an article found in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, there are features of cyberbullying that can distinguish it from what is thought of as traditional school yard bullying. “One is the difficulty of getting away from it” (Slonje & Smith, 2008, p. 2), as online communication can be relentless with a huge audience. Indeed, probably the most daunting element of cyberbullying, “is the invisibility of those doing the bullying: cyberbullying is not a face-to-face experience, and (like rumor-spreading) provides those doing the bullying with some degree of “invisibility” and at times anonymity” (Slonje & Smith, 2008, p. 2).

Consequences of cyberbullying are not as obvious and straight forward so repercussions can be delayed. Cyberbullying is fairly disguised and bystanders may not be aware of the situations, therefore it can make help a lot harder to obtain. In recent years there has been a major push to control and eliminate traditional bullying at schools with the implementation of zero tolerance policies, so cyberbullying has become the new out of sight method for bullies. Unfortunately victims of cyberbullying usually don’t tell anyone, and if they do it’s just their friends, leaving them susceptible to continued mistreatment. Also, with somewhat of a technology gap between parents and the younger generations, the adults are often clueless as to the methods, means, and language used by cyberbullies leaving them in the dark.

Cyberbullying can be a silent issue, but never the less it is real, and becoming more of concern as communication via technology continues to grow. Although a form of bullying, it is not the same as traditional bullying, and needs to be viewed and handled in a different manner. Technology is changing rapidly and is therefore continuing to provide more outlets for cyberbullies to prey. Parents need to ensure they are aware of their children’s’ online activity, and to try and create open communication climates with them. Communication is key, and if parents educate both themselves and their children on the issues of cyberbullying it can make a difference. If teens know they have an outlet to turn to, they are more likely to reveal their experiences and concerns. Advocacy and awareness are instrumental to ensuring that cyber predators lose their power!

Reference:

Slonje, R., & Smith, P.K. (2008). Cyberbullying: Another main type of bullying?. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 49(2), 147-154. doi:10.1111/j. 1467-9450.2007.00611.x