Business & Society, 16e (Lawrence)
Chapter 11 The Role of Technology
1) In the modern world, technology is a major ethical force with no economic or social impacts.
2) The dominant feature of technology is change and then more change.
3) Technology tends to ripple through society until it affects every community.
4) Nations have tended to move sequentially through each phase of technology, beginning with the
lowest technology and moving higher with each step.
5) The current phase of technology is the service society.
6) The United States has the most Internet users, more than any other country.
7) Figure 11.2 shows that Internet usage in developing nations has not even begun to catch up with
developed countries.
8) A 2017 report indicated that the most frequent email phishing attacks were against the payment,
financial, and webmail sectors.
9) In the United States individuals have the absolute right to unfiltered free speech.
10) The gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not is called the
digital divide.
11) In the United States the government has tried to help narrow the digital divide by subsidizing
Internet upgrades for schools and providing free cell phones to citizens in need.
12) Individual privacy increased dramatically following the Information Age.
13) Businesses and governments often clash over who should have access to personal data found
on devices such as smartphones and automobile black boxes.
14) Nondemocratic governments tend to fiercely protect the public’s intellectual property rights.
15) In the U.S., genetically modified foods were primarily used in fast-food restaurants.
16) This term refers to the practical applications of science and knowledge to commercial and
organizational activities.
A) Technology.
B) E-commerce.
C) Agrarian.
D) Semantic.
17) Many rapid changes in technology over the past few decades were facilitated by:
A) Artificial intelligence.
B) Wireless networks.
C) Processing of enormous amounts of data.
D) All of these answers are correct.
18) The self-reinforcing feature of technology means that:
A) Civilization develops at an uncontrollable pace.
B) Developing economies demand newer and larger innovations.
C) Technology acts as a multiplier to encourage its own faster development.
D) An invention in one place is localized only.
19) The phase of technology that focuses on building material goods and manual labor is:
A) Agrarian.
B) Service.
C) Industrial.
D) Information.
20) The place where information is stored, ideas are described, and communication takes place in
and through an electronic network of linked systems is called:
A) The personal computer.
B) Cyberspace.
C) Cloud computing.
D) Communication.
21) We are currently in which phase in the development of technology?
A) Industrial.
B) Biotechnology.
C) Information.
D) Semantic.
22) The information phase of technology primarily requires:
A) Sales and services.
B) Intellectual and electronic skills.
C) Manual and machine skills.
D) The same skills as needed in previous phases.
23) A technological application that uses biological systems or living organisms to make or
modify products or processes for specific use is called:
A) Biosphere outcome.
B) Metatechnology.
C) Biology.
D) Biotechnology.
24) The fastest growing region for Internet usage growth from 2000 to 2017, was:
A) North America.
B) Asia.
C) Latin America/Caribbean.
D) Africa.
25) A compulsion to engage in rewarding behaviors, despite negative consequences is called:
A) Tissue engineering.
B) Physical dependency.
C) Behavioral addiction.
D) Facebook fatigue.
26) In 2017 mobile payment usage was largest for which type of purchase?
A) Food and drinks.
B) Mobile applications.
C) Physical goods.
D) Services.
27) M-Commerce is facilitated primarily by:
A) Laptops.
B) Personal computers.
C) Mobile or cell phones.
D) The government.
28) One type of digital currency that operates outside the banking system using encrypted
technology is:
A) Mastercard.
B) Blockchain.
C) Cryptocoin.
D) Bitcoin.
29) Another name for unsolicited commercial emails is:
A) Spam.
B) Junk email.
C) UCE.
D) All of these answers are correct.
30) As of 2017 the volume of global spam email messages has declined primarily due to:
A) Increased anti-spam protections.
B) Less interference by governments.
C) Consumers utilizing the Do Not Call option.
D) A decrease in the number of emails.
31) The practice of using fake business emails in order to trick users into divulging personal data,
such as usernames and passwords, is called:
A) Phishing.
B) Pharming.
C) Tweeting.
D) Hacking.
32) The digital divide describes the gap between those:
A) Individuals who have technology and those who do not.
B) Businesses who use e-business and those who do not.
C) Hospitals who use online information and those who do not.
D) Individuals who have broadband technology and those who do not.
33) In 2017 about what percentage of people around the world had no access to the Internet?
A) 98 percent.
B) 52 percent.
C) 25 percent.
D) 5 percent.
34) Microsoft launched a program in 2017 to bring the Internet to more of rural America using:
A) Radio waves.
B) Unused broadcast channels.
C) Blank spaces.
D) Thousands of miles of cable.
35) A person’s entitlement to protection from invasion of one’s personal life is called the:
A) Right of free speech.
B) Declaration of independence.
C) Right to privacy.
D) Principle of freedom.
36) Invasion of privacy through technology is best exemplified by:
A) The neighbor video recording his dog in his own yard.
B) Your car’s GPS tracking you at every location.
C) A friend taking photos of the ocean with her smartphone.
D) Your mom’s home assistant reminding her to pay the power bill.
37) In the United States, the right to free speech:
A) Is an absolute privilege to all citizens.
B) Is a constant threat to every business.
C) Must be weighed against the consequences for the community.
D) Depends on state law.
38) Which of the following is not a potential source of personal private data?
A) Smartphones.
B) Internet connections.
C) Automobiles.
D) Broadcast radio.
39) How did some authoritarian governments justify limiting citizens’ access to the Internet?
A) Improved national security.
B) Separated church and state.
C) Ensured a broad spectrum of religious-political opinion.
D) Protected the public from online scams.
40) In 2017 which country had the most restrictive Internet censorship policies, completely
blocking its citizens from conducting Internet searches and from using social media platforms?
A) Iran.
B) China.
C) Pakistan.
D) North Korea.
41) In some economically developed countries and most developing countries around the world
genetically modified food was:
A) Looked upon with caution but generally accepted.
B) Welcomed as a way to increase crop yields.
C) Rejected by most governments.
D) Viewed with extreme caution.
42) What are the benefits of sequencing the human genome?
A) Provides early diagnosis of diseases.
B) Allows the development of generic drug therapies.
C) Spurs new ways to prevent illnesses.
D) Both of these answers are correct: Allows the development of generic drug therapies; and spurs
new ways to prevent illnesses.
43) Some argue that publishing personal DNA sequencing results is unethical because:
A) The results could compromise one’s employment situation.
B) Life insurance could be denied.
C) The cost of health insurance could rise.
D) All of these answers are correct.
44) An argument in support of preventing government access to private cell phones, according to
the case To Lock or Unlock Your Phone: Personal Privacy or National Security, is:
A) Individuals have rights to privacy and safety.
B) Public safety is more important than personal data.
C) The government has every right to search or confiscate your phone under any circumstances.
D) Individuals should not store private information on their phones.
45) Define technology and describe its three primary features.
46) Describe the activities and primary skills used in each of the six periods of technology
development.
47) Discuss what factors have fueled technological growth and development.
48) Discuss the current impacts of technology in our daily lives.
49) Describe an Internet threat that you or a friend have experienced. How do threats to individuals
differ from threats to businesses?
50) Discuss the issue of digital divide. Is it lessening or widening with more technological
innovation? How have businesses, government bodies, and nonprofit organizations met the digital
divide challenge?
51) How does the increase in technological innovation affect individual privacy and free speech?
Discuss the related ethical issues around this topic.
52) Describe the ethical challenges regarding one of the following scientific breakthroughs:
genetically modified foods, human genome or stem cell research. Do the potential benefits of this
breakthrough outweigh the potential costs?