Monday, September 15, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Censorship and Free Speech
For this first assignment, you will work independently to answer a few questions about different aspects of internet censorship. This is an oppotunity for you to demonstrate your not only your opinion, but your ability to ground your opinion in sound fact and research.
It is a relatively short assignment, and beng as such, you will have all of Tuesday and Thursday to complete your work. If you use your time well during class, there should be little need for any additional time at home.
Follow the instructions below.
ASSIGNMENT GUIDE: IS INTERNET CENSORSHIP A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING?
Wikipedia definition of Censorship:
"Censorship is the control of speech, and other forms of human expression, often by (but not limited to) government intervention. The ostensible motive of censorship is to stabilize or improve the society over which the government would have control.
"It is most commonly applied to acts that occur in public circumstances, and most formally involves suppression of ideas (by criminalizing or regulating expression). What is censored may range from specific words to entire concepts and it may be influenced by value systems. "Sanitization (removal) and whitewashing (from whitewash) are almost interchangeable terms that refer to a particular form of censorship via omission, which seeks to "clean up" the portrayal of particular issues and facts that are already known, but which may conflict with the official point of view."
Dictionary.com definition of Censor:
"A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.
Schools cracking down on teen Web site MySpace: http://www.bodine.phila.k12.pa.us/kaufman/ITGSweb/info/censorship/myspace.htm
Facebook...What it is really for! Warning! Click on the link. After watching the video you'll want to cancel your membership! http://albumoftheday.com/facebook/
Content Filters
How do filters work? Filters are designed to identify unsuitable or inappropriate material but comparing the content of a web page to “allowed” and “unallowed” content that is classified in the filtering software. The filter can do this in various ways: A filter contains a “black” or “exclusion” list which contains the URLs of websites that have unallowed content. If a web page matches one of the sites on this list, the user is denied access to view the site. A filter contains a “white” or “inclusion” list which contains the URLs of website that the user is allowed to visit. Any website that is not on this list will be blocked by the filter. A filter contains a list of content keywords and/or phrases that, if contained within a web page, will deny the user access to the site. A filter is able to analyze images contained on a web page, and will block access to the site if it contains a large percentage of flesh colored images. Many filters use a combination of these methods, and also allow the user to edit the lists which contain URLs or words that filter looks for. Many filters allow the parent (or the master user of the software) to adjust the “strength” of the filter - the criteria for what is deemed allowed and disallowed. The strength is often categorized by age groups in order to filter material for children, teenagers or adults.
SonicWALL
This graphic explains how the SonicWALL content filter works.
It is a relatively short assignment, and beng as such, you will have all of Tuesday and Thursday to complete your work. If you use your time well during class, there should be little need for any additional time at home.
Follow the instructions below.
ASSIGNMENT GUIDE: IS INTERNET CENSORSHIP A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING?
Wikipedia definition of Censorship:
"Censorship is the control of speech, and other forms of human expression, often by (but not limited to) government intervention. The ostensible motive of censorship is to stabilize or improve the society over which the government would have control.
"It is most commonly applied to acts that occur in public circumstances, and most formally involves suppression of ideas (by criminalizing or regulating expression). What is censored may range from specific words to entire concepts and it may be influenced by value systems. "Sanitization (removal) and whitewashing (from whitewash) are almost interchangeable terms that refer to a particular form of censorship via omission, which seeks to "clean up" the portrayal of particular issues and facts that are already known, but which may conflict with the official point of view."
Dictionary.com definition of Censor:
"A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.
Schools cracking down on teen Web site MySpace: http://www.bodine.phila.k12.pa.us/kaufman/ITGSweb/info/censorship/myspace.htm
Facebook...What it is really for! Warning! Click on the link. After watching the video you'll want to cancel your membership! http://albumoftheday.com/facebook/
Content Filters
How do filters work? Filters are designed to identify unsuitable or inappropriate material but comparing the content of a web page to “allowed” and “unallowed” content that is classified in the filtering software. The filter can do this in various ways: A filter contains a “black” or “exclusion” list which contains the URLs of websites that have unallowed content. If a web page matches one of the sites on this list, the user is denied access to view the site. A filter contains a “white” or “inclusion” list which contains the URLs of website that the user is allowed to visit. Any website that is not on this list will be blocked by the filter. A filter contains a list of content keywords and/or phrases that, if contained within a web page, will deny the user access to the site. A filter is able to analyze images contained on a web page, and will block access to the site if it contains a large percentage of flesh colored images. Many filters use a combination of these methods, and also allow the user to edit the lists which contain URLs or words that filter looks for. Many filters allow the parent (or the master user of the software) to adjust the “strength” of the filter - the criteria for what is deemed allowed and disallowed. The strength is often categorized by age groups in order to filter material for children, teenagers or adults.
SonicWALL
This graphic explains how the SonicWALL content filter works.
After considering what you've learned, respond to the following questions in a clear and concise post on this blog.
1. Discuss some of the social and ethical issues involved with filtering.
2. Describe how filtering works.
3. Evaluate the necessity of filtering in your region.
4. Examine two possible benefits of filtering for a large corporation.
Your response will be evaluated based on the following DP Program Standards:
- understand and critically examine the global impact of IT developments.
- demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the social and ethical implications of IT systems and developments at the local, national and global level.
- analyse and evaluate the social and ethical implications of IT developments.
- express ideas clearly and coherently with supporting arguments and examples.
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