CHAPTER

19
INFORMATION SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
WORD LIST

Verb Adjective Adverb

Noun
accompany arbitrary conversely
advocate civilian
chart adjust
amend Concurrent
Consent explicit
appreciate
criteria (pl.) rigid
discrimination assure
straightforward
cease
file Commence
technical
gender
compile
index
cContradict
insight convince
integrityy
deny
mode
draft
reluctance
mediate
restoration_
negate
route prohibit

sphere reinforce
theme sum 199
topic
 200 EsSENTIAL ACADEMIc VocaBULARY

PREVIEW QUESTIONS
about your name and consumer
1. What is meant by privacy in the context of the 4. How do you feel
or sold to other businesses? Do
digital age? What is the controversy surrounding history being given
ethical? How can you prevent
digital privacy? you find this practice
your data from being
obtained by others?
2. When you make a purchase online, do you wory
the government also has access to
about credit card security? Do you think that 5. Do you think that
information about you obtained from your
information about your purchase is kept private or personal
Internet purchases and surfing habits? Could this
that it may be distributed to other businesses?
information be used against you?
3. Do you get a lot of unsolicited e-mail that advertises
products similar to others that you have purchased 6. How do you expect the issue of digital privacy to be
online in the past? How do advertisers obtain your resolved in the future?
e-mail address? Do you ever buy items from these
advertisements?

READING
PRIVACY IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Critics concerns about the World Wide Web are not limited to what companies deliver to
peoples computers via their websites and e-mail. The concerns also extend to what the
companies often try to take from people as they use their computers. At issue is the information
that web firms want about the individuals and organizations with whom they interact.
Companies are not the only targets of these worries. Activists fear that governments-federal
or state-might enact laws that give them arbitrary powers to tap into people's compurers or
Internet activities. Officials from police agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) have already tried to prevent Internet software from helping potential criminals make their
e-mail totally untraceable by law-enforcement authorities. After the 2001 attacks on the World
10 Trade Center and Pentagon, members of Congress drafted laws aimed at allowing the FBI and
other agencies to trace digital routes more easily than in earlier years. However, Congress allowed
the laws to reevaluate and amend the laws
expire rwo years so later that they could
In general, concerned individuals and organizations argue that we are moving into a new
if necessarv
information age. It is a period, they say, in which governments will be able to compile far more
information citizens
15
aboutcitizens than the want them
to know. It is also a
time
companies will be able to find out far more about their customers than those customers
when
appreciate. In the new digital age, the critics assure us, reintorcing privacy must be a priority.
This thenme has become a media issue only rather recently. In earlier
times, privacy was often
defined as "the right to be let alone," to quote Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis in a
famous
20 1890 Harvard Law Review article. In the twenty-first centurY
privacy has become a topic that
people debate when they are worried about governnments, employers, or credit
technical invasions into their personal lives. companies making
In the past 15 years or so, concern about
CiVilian privacy has erupted noisily into the media
sphere. Most of the noise has related to corporate rather than government activities
ahelief that laws are less rigid with regard to business interference. because of a
The first signs of concern
 CHAPTER 19
INFORMATION SCIENCE AND 201
TECHNOLOGY

commenced in the
1970s, when
ounts of
amou intormation trom companies began to use computers to combine ous
public and c
and sell this information to marketers. private records about virtually everyone in the coun
called because they hold information onMany marketers use these firms' universal
almost everyone) to find databasess
10makethem potential customers. people whose characterist
Donnelley's Conquest/ Direct database, for example, offers
of all U.S. households by demographic criteria marketers the files of 90 percent
(for example, age, gender, race, job, number
children, marital status),
litestyle activities (for example, financial investments, hobbies, or
taken, vehicles owned), sales expenses, and creditworthiness. Its software allows clients tovacauou
35 generate customized color charts of their market areas to see how the people who live there fit
into these categories.
Many other companies offer other types of universal database services to help marketers
identify prospects. The Carol Wright database, for example, covers 30 million households. For
each household, the index includes information about dress size, pets owned, veteran status, type
40 of aspirin preferred, and other such information.
In addition to this bulk of knowledge, marketers themselves have been adjusting to the
constantly decreasing costs of computer power by creating their databases from information they
their
learn themselves about their customers, by asking them directly and by keeping records of
databases. A marketer that
purchases. These storehouses of information are called transactional
transactional database can turn to a
45 wants more explicit information about the customers in its
the n a m e s and addresses of the
Database America. This company will match
company such as households. The resulting merged
more than 84 million
marketers customers against its data on
information about each customer's
a wealth of
concurrent
file could supply the marketer with credit
estimated income, credit extended by mail-order firms, investments,
purchasingbehavior,
50 cards, and more. about what
Internet tracking, it is an excellentway to gain insight
advocates of
According to of websites see the ability to
them. Moreover, the managers
users want and how
best to serve
of these individuals
on the computer's knowledge
individuals based and cable
ads
target content and advantage o v e r magazines
to
crucial to their competitive
interests and past
behavior as however, privacy advocates point
advertisers. Conversely,
c o m e s to attracting done without the knowledge
or
55 television when it or off
the web, is often
behavior, on
out that tracking personal
should be denied
the right to r e q u e s t
consent of the
consumer.
that people often
argue publicly pressures, many
Media executives rarely about them.
Under government
about them is
information
to know
that material
collecting have the right
firms to
competitive media world,
c e a s e

members of the
public should that in today's
0 admit that however,
desirable types of people
is
executives emphasize, deliver specific,
Media invasion of privacy has
being collected. that a
medium c a n
also claim that the
m o r e they will
advertisers
show collection be
being able to survival. Supporters of datam a r k e t e r s know about people, the
Crucial for their r e l e v a n t to
their lives. The result.
that the
more

They argue
they send are mail.
its positive side. receive junk
materials
that the that they c e rtain
tai
individuals
complain r e l u c t a n c e to have
convince to peoples
a b l e to unlikely
will be that they
understand uals are willing to giveup
is that people m a r k e t e r s say that many
individua
hey say, web however, consider valuable. Many
Nowadays,
most
also insist,
something
that
at they
They whether they want to provid
tion made
public. return they get decide whe
informatio themselves ifin should
have the
to
right
about
that people
nformation

advocates agree
70
privacyy
 202 ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC VoCABULARY

marketers on the mode of

They disagree with the web
O n part of a transaction.
as

ihtormation retrieval. Privacy advocates want members

of the public to have
to
opt-n when it
from collecting
to out information. That is, marketers
should be prohibited
s giving
consents (perhaps by checking
a box

Intormation about a person unless that person explicitly is too difficult because people are
Onne). Marketers contend that getting opt-in permission The marketers prefer an opt-out
CItner to0
lazy to give it or are about their privacy.
concerned
information from
aPproach. That means they will be permitted to collect personal
that
check a "no" box or
long as they inform people and give them the opportunity
to
COnsumerS as

negate permission in some other way.

about the restoration of privacy in the
80
Frivacy advocates are voicing increasing public concern concerns by insisting that
aigital sphere. However, industry representatives contradict these
interactive sites and marketers can regulate themselves. Accompanying these arguments is the
international nature of the issue. The European Union (EU) uses an opt-in approach, for example,
and U.s. companies have to promise to accept the more rigid EU rules when they deal with

85 European customers. This discrimination angers U.S. advocates, who perceive the European
approach as the one that shows the greatest integrity. To sum up, it is clear that the continuing
fight over privacy in the digital age will not be a straightforward issue to mediate and resolve.

Adapted from Joseph Turow, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton Miflin, 2003),
529-32.

1. VOCABULARY IN CONTEXTT
Find the boldface words in the reading that correspond to the following meanings.
Paragraph 2 a. change Paragraph 9 k. agreement
without
supporters
good reason
Paragraph 10 m. Stop
Paragraph 3 c.. declare
n.
positively persuade
Paragraph 11 O. method
d. collect
Paragraph 5 e. domain p. forbidden
. strict unwillingness
Paragraph 12 r.
Paragraph 6 g. sex honesty
S.
h. diagram recovery
Paragraph 8 i at the intervene
same time

detailed
 LHAPTER 19
INFORMATION SCIENCE AND 203
TECHNOL0G

2 READING COMPREHENSIOON
2A Getting the Facts
1, Check the two statements that are true
a. Critics are worried about
according to paragraph .
people accessing business websites without
b.
Computer users are worried that data are permission.
unknowingly compiled about them.
People are concerned about unsolicited e-mail.
Web companies want to know which businesses people contact online.
2. According to the intormation in the second
privacy activists fear may lead to arbitraryparagraph,
that what have the following groups done
invasions of privacy?
a. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

b. members of Congress

3. Put a check mark () next to each item of information

specifically mentioned in
6 and 7 that various marketers may know about individuals.
paragraphs
a. clothing size marital status
favorite colors m. level of education
C.
type of car owned n. preferred medicines
d. number of children 0. type of family pet
interests
e. job P.

f. employment history military service

year of birth
9. shoe size
S. vacation preterences
h. sEx
t. financial investments
i. salary
savings account balance credit card history
amount of mortgage
K. Christmas gifts
databases are described. Write a short definition of a
4. In paragraph 8, transactional
transactional database.
204 ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC VocaBULARY

Internet tracking.
.aragraphs 9, 10, and 11 deal with the arguments
for and against
both sides.
the chart to show three components of
the argument on
Complete

Advocates of Privacy
Advocates of Internet Tracking

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

6. Label the following statements as either an opt-in or an opt-out approach, as detined in

paragraph 11.
d.
The consumer is notified that information is being collected and has
the opportunity to deny permission.

. The consumer must check a box giving explicit permission to collect

information.
7. According to the information in paragraph 12, which system do U.S. companies use when
they do business?
a. with Europeans opt-in -opt-out
b. with Americans opt-in - opt-ouut

28 Making Inferences
1. In 1890, privacy was defined as "the right to be left alone." With the technical intrusions of
today, how has this definition changed? What is a current definition of privacy?

2. The author of the reading states both sides of the argument on

privacy. However, his choice of words and style may imply that he
has a particular bias. What do you think is the author's opinion You should con-
about digital privacy? tinue to increase
your vocabulary
size and enrich the
words you already
know.
 HAPTER 19
INFORMATION SCIENCE aND 205
TECHNOLOGY

3. DICTIONARY SKILLS
Complete each sentence with the
appropriate word(s) based on the dictionary entries.
civ ic(siv' ik) adj. 1. Relating to or
a major civic event. 2. Relating belonging city: Our town's Fourth of July
to a

civ ics (siv'iks) [0J n. citizenship:

(used with
to
It is civic duty to vote in
a
elections.
parade 1s
of local and national
a
singular verb). The study of the purpose and function
civil (siv' al) adj. government
and of the
Relating to a citizen rights
1. and duties of citizens.
or citizens:
2. Relating to the
general public rather than to military or voting and other civil
ivil ceremony at city hall. 3. Polite; responsibilities.
religious matters: a couple married 1na
civil engineer . An eng1neer courteous: a civil
repl. See Synonyms at
dams.-civil engineering n. [U
trained in the
design and constructionpolite.-civ' ilely ad.
of bridges, roads, and
civilian (sí vil'y>n) n. A person not
civilian clothes; a civilian careter serving in the military.-adj. Relating to civilians:
ivility (si vili të) n., pl. ci*vil-i*ties. 1.
[U] Courteous behavior;
daily life. 2. [C) expression of politeness: Saying good morning" ispoliteness: civility
An act or in

civejli-za tion (s+v' z sh an) 1. [U] A condition of human

l+ n. pleasant civilaty a

is high level of development in the arts

a
and sciences and
society in which there
Warfare is not consistent with the idea of civilization. 2. [C) political and social
organizations:
The kind of culture and society
developcd by particular people nation in
a
or
period of history: ancient civilizations.
some
3. [UJ Informal. Modern society with its
conveniences: We to return to
were glad civilizatio07
afier two weeks of camping
civejlize (s+v'a liz') mv civej*lized, civeieliz»ing, civeieliz*es. To
bring (sbdy.) to a
higher level of development in the arts, sciences, culture, and political organization.
civejolized (sív' a l+zd') adj. 1. Having or marked by a highly developed society and culture:
civilized life. 2. Polite or cultured: a civilized person.
civil rights pl.n. The rights belonging to an individual as a citizen, especially freedom from
discrimination.
civil servant n. A person employed in the civil service.
civil service n. 1. [C] All branches of government service that are not legislative, judicial,
or military. 2. [U] Those persons employed by the civil branches of the government: Most
people in the civil service in the United States government are bired afier competitiveexaminations.
civil war n. 1. [C) A war berween opposing groups of the same country. 2. Civil War. [U]
The war in the United States berween the North and the South from 1861 to 1865.

civil rights civil wars civilizations

CIvic civil
civil servants civilians civilized
civics civil engineering

1. have to take difficult tests betore being hired by the government.

advocate of. - which refers to fair
known
King Jr. is well
as an
2. Martin Luther
race, gender,
or religion.
treatment under the law, regardless of
pride by holding festivals and planting flowers in
3. Many cities try to increase

the summer. she is studying

the construction of bridges, so
been interested in
4.
My sister has always
may be endangered even though they are not

5. In times of war, the lives

of
involved in the fighting.
 EssENTIAL ACADEMIc VoCABULARY
206

he tried to act
web company,
the invasion of his privacy by a
6. Ben was angry about
Although problem.
to resolve the
in a manner
learn more about the
to
a course in
High-school students generally take
.

7.
as citizens.
system of government and
their responsibilities
ancient.
much learn about
archaeologists still have
to
8. Historians and
throughout the world.
loves to visit museums,
attend plays, read the
9. My aunt is a very. person who
classics, and visit places of historical importance.
for many years, which have
10. Several countries in Africa have been involved in.
led to countless deaths, starvation, and political uncertainty.

4. WORD FORMS
4A Chart Completion
Complete the chart with the different forms of each word. Note that some words do not have all
torms.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

rigdity, rigidness X rigid rigidly
contradict
X
advocate X X
X explicit
reluctance X

Concurrent

conversely
negate

appreciate
assure
 HAPTER 19
INFORMATION ScIENCE aND
TECHNOLOGY 207

4B Word Forms in
Sentences
Reread paragraph 12 in
°Privacy in the Digital
the following words. Make
sure that Age." Complete a
summary of the
each vith
advocates
word fits
grammatically and meaningfully.paragrapn wit
contradictory explicit
appreciate priority
discriminatory mediation prohibited
restoring8
topic
(1)- of
privacy are increasingly (2)
(3)
-

about their concern for

privacy in the digital domain. However,
industry representatives claim that interactive sites (4). statements from
and marketers can
international nature of the issue regulate themselves. The
accompanies argument. The European Union uses an opt-in
approach, so U.S. companies are (5) .
this
from using the opt-out
deal with European customers. approach when they
U.S.
advocates do not (6). this (7)
approach because the European approach is considered to have more integrity. In summary, it is
quite clearthat the (8) of privacy in the digital age should be a (9)
for (10)- and resolution by the
government.

5. COLLOCATIONS
Give two examples of each of the following common collocations.

1. gender discrimination

2. arbitrary rules
3. civilian governments
4. advertising prohibitions
5. essay topics

6. technical problems
7. literary themes

8. building restorations
9. ancient civilizations
10. transportation modes

11. confidential files

12. parental consent

13. words of appreciation

208 EsSENTIAL ACADEMIC VoCaBULARY

6. WORD PARTS

-vOc-(peak, call)
"call."
Each of the following words includes the word part -voc-, which means "speak"
or

Write each word in the box next to its

meaningS
Nouns: voice, advocacy, vocation, vocalist, convocation

Verbs: invoke, revoke, vocalize, provoke

Adjectives: vocal, irrevocable, vociferous

1.
expressing strong opinions publicly
2.
expressing strong opinions loudly (formal)
3. the feeling that
you are meant to help others in a particular job
a
large formal meeting
unable to be stopped or amended
6. someone who sings in a band
7. the ability to produce oral sounds
8. express an opinion orally
public support for a cause
10. make someone angry
11. cause an idea or image to someone's mind
appear in

12. officially cancel

6B Write a sentence for each of the following terms with -vOc- to

of the phrase.
clearly illustrate the meaning

1. a vocal critic

2. vocal chords

3. vocational training

4. the passive voice

5. voice mail.
 TER 19
INFORMATIoN Sc:ENCE AND
TETHNOLOG
oGY 209

6. provocative clothes

7. provocative behavior

& irrevocable damage

7.WRITING
A Writing a Lab Guide
While working in a computer lab on campus, vour
supervisor has asked you to write guidelines
to help students prorect their privacy online. You have been given several points as the basis of
your guide, but you need to include additional guidelines and specific details. Write a short guide
with an interesting title tor protecting online privacy.
D o not respond to spam e-mail.

Avoid revealing any personal information.

Be knowledgeable about web security.

meet online.
Do nor give personal information to people you
privacy policies o n websires vou
use.
Read

78 Paragraph Writing
topics. Include at least six to eight vocabulary words
Write a response to o n e of the following

in your paragraph.
violations of online privacv
have had with
you
1. Write paragraph
a
describing any experiences intormation online?
Are you aware that private
card
How do you feel about
releasing credit sold companies? Whar
to
kind of
databases that are

information about you may

be
on
their databases?
Do you know how to
do you think might be on
information about you secure?
more
m a i l b o x e s and is often
information
make your private of space in
our

increasing
amounts
u n s o l i c i t e d mail,
and how do you deal
mail is taking up about this
feel their children from
receiving
pam How do you
objectionable in
content.

trash it?
What can parents do to stop products? How do
read it o r inappropriate
with it-do you
e-mail or
advertisements
for will be resolved in the future?
explicit e-mail

and opening sexually issue regarding

spam
that the privacy
you anticipate