billso.com

It’s possible to build a “kill switch” into electronics, so that the device can be stopped or destroyed by remote control. I mentioned this in my 3 July article called The kill switch is a bad idea.

But what happens when the device itself can harm or kill a person? Nathan Adams, a master’s student at the University of Canterbury, has written a good post called When bugs really do matter: 22 years after the Therac 25. He also addresses problems with Alaris SE infusion pumps back in 2006. This FDA page called Safety Information about the Alaris Signature Edition Gold Infusion Pump Seizure has more information.

In Hull, England, at least one automated teller machine was delivering twice the cash on Wednesday, according to Retuers. As people spread the word by telephone, a line quickly formed. Users withdrew up to £600 each. Receipts showed the amount each user entered from the keypad, but the machine actually delivered twice the cash.

Payzone, a company that administers ATMs, would not comment in detail on the incident but said it appeared one of its machines had malfunctioned.

Police said those who had benefited could face charges but only if the operator complained.

The police shouldn’t have a problem determining who took advantage of this error.

1. All of the account numbers were recorded for each transaction.
2. The malfunctioning ATM had a working video surveillance camera.
3. Mobile phone records might show who called who, as well as which cell tower their phones were using.

The Hull Daily Mail has much more detail about this story, including comments from local residents.

Business Week has a good article about electronic monitoring and employee absenteeism. There are more IS-related tools that support absence management.

Some companies give their employees flexible policies, like IBM. At other firms like Best Buy, output matters as much or more than hours worked.

Some organizations give employees a single pot of hours to address sick time and vacation time. It’s up to the employee to manage this stash in a reasonable manner.

Bad things happen every day, and usually without respect for anyone’s schedule.

Some of this discussion seems applicable to absenteeism in the classroom. Instructors often speak of students who feigned an illness, a hard drive crash, or a professional crisis as an assignment came due. I usually take students at their word, unless I find out otherwise. Most graduate students want to do the right thing.

On the other hand, I’ve heard of instructors who have feigned illness, personal crises, technology problems or a deadline as an excuse for ungraded papers, sloppy lectures or missed appointments.

It’s difficult for instructors when something goes wrong.

When I was an MBA student, my organizational behavior professor graded one of our paper assignments during a flight – and he then left the graded papers on the plane, without recording the grades. All but one of my students could reprint their papers from a floppy disk and resubmit the assignment for a new grade. The student who handed in a typewritten paper, and didn’t have a backup copy to resubmit, got a C, as I recall.

The following year, our advertising professor died a week before our final presentations. It was a very good course, but we were all surprised and sad when we heard what had happened. The assistant dean came in to watch and grade our groups.

I always build some slack time into my course schedules, so I can compensate when it’s necessary.

Of course, rising expectations has something to do with all of this, too. We expect other people to be available on email or mobile phone when we call.

“Flaming” is, according to this article in today’s New York Times, “thoughts expressed while sitting alone at the keyboard [that] would be put more diplomatically — or go unmentioned — face to face.”

This article is an excellent discussion of some reasons why e-mail and IM users flame each other:

• The perception that the Internet is “anonymous”
• The use of anonymous user accounts
• Lack of face-to-face contact
• Time lag between sending a message and receiving a reply

I’ve taught online courses for over a year now, and I’ve developed a new appreciation of these reasons. That’s why I do my best to respond to student e-mail within 24 hours.
The only exception that I have is the weekend and holidays, when I try to take some downtime and recharge.

Response time is one reason that I don’t use WebCT. It’s much easier for me to respond via Gmail, especially if I’m on my PDA. Pipeline and WebCT just won’t work on a PDA.
Also in today’s Times is an article on the European Union’s Data Retention Directive, which will go into effect in 2009. Several European countries are already modifying their laws so that governments can easily track Internet and mobile phone users.

The Netherlands has developed a draft version of their data retention law that would force telecom providers to store GPS information for all mobile voice and data calls. This has become much easier to do with the widespread adoption of GPS technology in mobile handsets and cell towers. Data would be stored for at least 18 months.
A draft version of the German law outlaws anonymous e-mail and forum accounts. Google and many other webmail services require only two pieces of information to open a Gmail account (user id and password). The German law would require a verifiable identity, and the law may be difficult to enforce. As the article points out, this draft is a major surprise as Germany has long been considered a bastion of consumer privacy rights.

As I have often warned students, e-mail and forum posts might be retained for years. It’s always a good idea to save a reply as a draft, and then review it a few minutes later. Writing and sending a caustic reply might seem efficient, but if the message cannot be recalled or canceled, the results may be dramatic.

From the Honolulu Advertiser, ID Analytics has given Hawaii the 6th worst state for identity theft and fraud. Hawaii’s rate is 1.5 times the national average. The article has the standard list of tips on preventing and recovering from identity theft.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070215/NEWS06/702150374/1001