Q#1:

Paul Krugman – That 1937 feeling

This is from March 2010, thus, some data is out of date. However, the point of the video is to help you make the connections between the recent/current economic policies and the events of 1937.

The Topic:

The Great Depression was a low probability event. It required several negative economic events to occur at the same time and for policy makers to respond poorly to those events. One of the best books on this topic is John Kenneth Gailbraith’s The Great Crash; you might want to read it.

The events of 1937 are largely forgotten, even by economists. But for those who study the relationships between public policy and economic growth, the lessons of 1937 are some of the most important ones from the 20th century.

Table 7.2 on page 232 of your text shows GDP growth of 12.8% in 1936. In 1937 it was 6.9%, and by 1938, it was -5.5 percent. How does an economy go from the strong growth (admittedly from a relatively low base) of 1936 to another recession by 1938? In this case, the answer is government policy.

For this week’s discussion, go on the web or to the UMUC library and learn the specific monetary and fiscal policy changes (don’t forget taxes) that occurred in 1937. Use what you have learned about GDP, production costs and aggregate demand, and aggregate supply to project the most likely results of those changes.

Next view our current economic condition and the recently proposed tax increases, the ending of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing and the proposals for increased government spending that may or may not be offset by spending cuts in other areas. Again using the tools you have learned, what do you think is the most likely result?

In other words, compare 2015 to 1937 and explore what lessons and cautions may be learned from that comparison.

Think in terms of an economic policy advisor.

****Sources you can use: 

• About the Federal Reserve System
• Federal Reserve Banks
• Federal Reserve Board
• Federal Open Market Committee
• The Implementation of Monetary Policy
• Monetary Policy and the Economy

Q#2:

Choose one of the following options: 

Option #1: Digital Ethics

Examine the four issues with an ethical dimension on pages 16-18 of Digital Enlightenment Forum . Security for the Digital World Within an Ethical Framework. IOS Press, 2016 (PLEASE see attached for article). Choose one that most interests you and do the following:  

1. Restate the issue in your own words by paraphrasing it. (Please see tips on paraphrasing here.)
2. Explain what you think the main ethical problem or dilemma is.  
3. Provide one real-life example of some emerging or new technology you think this ethical issue/dilemma applies to. Your real-life example should be from a reliable article in a popular technology publication or an article in the UMGC library.   
4. Explore what you think a possible solution to this ethical issue in your emerging or new technology could be.   
5. Use two quotes from any of your resources to support or explain your points. Make sure to provide in-text citations for both quotes in MLA format.  
6. Provide references for all sources in MLA format.    

Option #2: Disclosive Computer Ethics

After reading Philip Brey’s article “Disclosive Computer Ethics” (PLEASE see attached for article) in the Learning Materials, please do the following:  

1. Explain how Brey defines disclosive computer ethics and value-sensitive design.  
2. Discuss why Brey thinks the relationship between disclosive computer ethics and value-sensitive design is important.  
3. Provide one real-life example of some emerging or new technology you think either does have or does not have a value-sensitive design. Your real-life example should be from a reliable article in a popular technology publication or an article in the UMGC library.   
4. If you think your example does not have a value-sensitive design, explore and suggest a change that could make it have a better value-sensitive design.  
5. If you think your example does have a value-sensitive design, explain what specific evidence you see that suggests it does.  
6. Use two quotes from any of your resources to support or explain your points. Make sure to provide in-text citations for both quotes in MLA format.  
7. Provide references for all sources in MLA format.   

Examples of popular technology publications that can be used for this question include: 

• Wired Magazine
• MIT Technology Review 
• Tech Briefs
• GeekTime 
• ComputerWorld 
• Innovation & Tech Today 
• Digit Magazine
• Trotons Tech Magazine

Option #3: Design for Privacy

After reading the “Improving privacy choice through design” by Terpstra, Schouten and Leenes, please do the following:   

1. Summarize why the authors think reflective thinking is an important aspect of making decisions related to digital technology and privacy. (Please see tips on summarizing here.)
2. Describe what the authors mean when they propose that friction be introduced into technology interfaces.  
3. Choose an app or program you have recently installed on your phone or computer and explain how the programmers could tweak the installation process or the way the app or program works to encourage more reflective thinking about personal privacy by the user.  
4. Finally, do you think that the solution proposed in this article would help personal data be used in more ethical ways by big corporations? Why or why not?  
5. Use two quotes from any of your resources to support or explain your points. Make sure to provide in-text citations for both quotes in MLA format.  
6. Provide references for all sources in MLA format.