Class Journal Week 6

Hailey Ivanson

• What are the advantages of using a database, like Microsoft Access, instead of a spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel, when managing your data?

While Excel allows for multiple pages of sheets to be created, Access allows for these sheets to relate to one another all in one database (hence relational database).

• Which part of the tutorial made the most sense to you?

It was intuitive that we are able to import Excel sheets into Access. It's well-thought-out and makes starting a database seem like much less of a daunting task.

• Which part of the tutorial do you feel least confident about?

I am so bad with terms: I have it right in front of me right now, but I will never think of the word for "navigation panel" or things like that when they are brought up. Maybe with more use I'll get used to it.

• What would you like to know more about?

I know there's a website option on Access that we didn't go into depth in the tutorial on... But I'm wondering how one might apply forms in the real world when linking a non-Access website to a database. For example, through what do you send a form to collect data from people, such as in the Landon Hotel case? Could it be linked to the Hotel's website?

• The blog post mentions a "fraught relationship about data, privacy, and how private companies operate in public spaces."
• What is this fraught relationship?

The blog post continues, highlighting the requirement of having a LinkedIn account, along with all of its required terms, conditions, and privacy agreements, to use the learning database that used to be Lynda.com. Now, unlike before, LinkedIn owns its users learning data, which is not necessarily desirable, especially for what used to be a more anonymous/deidentified process.

• How do you feel about it? I.e., where do you stand on the trade-off between the "ease of use" you receive as a user and giving up your private data to companies who will use it to turn a profit?

I feel like at this point it has become so normal to me; I am the product with free websites and services. Perhaps I should care more than I do, but I don't think it is harmful to me... yet.

• What are the social justice issues involved?

The Bloomberg article talked about when all this data turns into what is referred to as "Big Data." The paper that I published on the ethics of AI and perioperative medicine went into how this data can be used against people, especially marginalized groups. The example that we went over in the paper is on how clinical decision support systems can be used by care teams and insurance alike, and how if race consciousness and anti-racism are not specifically built in, then these programs can worsen the already present structural racism, ignoring or obscuring the impact that racism and social determinants have on health for minority patients, leading to worse care and coverage. This can be extended to many other scenarios that involve "big data," data harvesting, and other data collection that we are sometimes nearly forced to "consent" to on a daily basis.

Katie Miller

1. What are the advantages of using a database, like Microsoft Access, instead of a spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel, when managing your data? Databases have tools for connecting their data and where it is stored in, i.e. their data is relationally organized. This means that you can store data in one place in the database, and then refer to it elsewhere. This reduces data discrepancies and redundancy in the database. Microsoft Excel consists of sheets that can store a lot of data, but they cannot be relationally organized like Access. Additionally, Access has tools for data retrieval that make data storage and analysis more efficient. The query and report tools help with data retrieval and sorting data so it can be easily understood and then analyzed. Access is also more user-friendly when compared to Excel, as it provides guidance to its users on how data should be entered.
2. Which part of the tutorial made the most sense to you? Exploring the Access interface and learning about the different objects made the most sense to me. Once it was explained to me in the tutorial I could easily understand how the interface was organized and how it is used to edit your database. But, even without the tutorial I would have felt the interface was pretty straight forward about what it contained. I also learned about the different objects of Access. The primary object of Access is a table, which stores the data. The query and report objects are used for data retrieval, while the form object is presented to users of the database and their entered information is stored in a table. The final objects are macro and code module objects, which allow the user to design actions that will be performed by the database. These five objects made sense to me as the main tools for organizing and then retrieving data from a database.
3. Which part of the tutorial do you feel least confident about? I felt least confident about defining data types, mostly because there was a lot of options for types of data. Though the text options are either short or long text, I'm not sure I would be able to choose the proper number data type for whatever I am storing.
4. What would you like to know more about? I would like to know more about the macro and code module objects. That part in the tutorial felt slightly glossed over, but I would like to know what kind of actions can be designed for the database and how one would go about doing so.
5. The blog post mentions a "fraught relationship about data, privacy, and how private companies operate in public spaces."
   • What is this fraught relationship? Public libraries and private companies have different approaches to data and user privacy. Legally, some public library systems have to allow for individuals to access information services confidentially and not have any of their data be retained. LinkedIn and LinkedIn Learning requires public library users to agree to their website's privacy and user agreement policies, which means their user data can be accessed and used. When librarians asked for a confidential way to access the website, LinkedIn did not see the library as a large enough source of revenue, so their request was denied.
   • How do you feel about it? I.e., where do you stand on the trade-off between the "ease of use" you receive as a user and giving up your private data to companies who will use it to turn a profit? I feel that there should be an option to access information without having to give away information about yourself. In the past, I wasn't aware of how much of my data was being harvested and then used, so I wasn't careful about which companies had access. I have been much more cautious lately, and I have made sure to carefully read everything I am agreeing to when I check off any box. While there is something to be said about "ease of use", we should not have to have our privacy denied for it.
   • What are the social justice issues involved? This is an issue of equity, as it restricts access of information to only those who allow companies to harvest their data. A person may also be unaware of what they are agreeing to if they don't read the terms and conditions, and do not know that their data may be used for the companies own gain. LinkedIn's suggestion to have email verification for users does not acknowledge the "digital divide", which is that many people in minority and low income communities do not have access to the internet and cannot use an email address for verification.

Andrew Sandler Section

1) What are the advantages of using a database, like Microsoft Access, instead of a spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel, when managing your data?

The level of organization you can have and navigation is just not even remotely close between the two. I can compare all my data in so many different ways using access and I can give them keys, so If I reorder one aspect I don’t have to worry about disassociating the rest of the related data to it. If Excel can also do this then I might have a lack of excel knowledge. In addition though, the ability to make the database entry forms that users can navigate that don’t show the data in an intimidating way or in a way they can easily mess up is really helpful.

2) Which part of the tutorial made the most sense to you?

I have to say the entire tutorial made sense to me, the thing that made the most sense was probably the meat of it, in terms of what was actually happening and the navigation of the actual database.

3) Which part of the tutorial do you feel least confident about?

I am least confident about all the different tabs and icons and buttons in Access. I think I just need to get my hands on it more and start to get an intuitive grasp of where all the buttons, menu’s and drop downs are.

4) What would you like to know more about?

I really want to know more about programming directly in SQL. I think I could learn it pretty quickly.

5) The blog post mentions a "fraught relationship about data, privacy, and how private companies operate in public spaces." What is this fraught relationship?

The fraught relationship is the relationship between private companies and the public. It is talking about how companies like LinkedIn offer consumers really cool and useful services but ask for our data and to keep our data. (things they don't need and we shouldn't have to provide about ourselves in return for using necessary services)

5.1) How do you feel about it? I.e., where do you stand on the trade-off between the "ease of use" you receive as a user and giving up your private data to companies who will use it to turn a profit?

I know companies could still make a profit without the insane level of data they take. Maybe Microsoft wouldn't be worth a trillion $'s but they don't really need to be. That being said I don't see myself as relevant or important enough to really have any reason to be worried about my own personal data. Just because I don't think my data matters on an individual level, does not mean I am okay with this. That is because as a part of the whole of everyone's data it does matter. We shouldn't just trust companies value their customers as people. They don't. It is gross, terrifying, and problematic that companies have access to so much data on entire societies. Same thing for governments to have this type of data. This is because any good they occasionally do is completely outweighed by the malignant options that are available to influence society, elections, beliefs, etc through this data.

5.2 What are the social justice issues involved? The lady who wrote the article says equity, but I don't agree. I don't see it as being equity related. It is more related to national security, personal safety, and to the freedom to not be "stalked" by companies.

Asandle1 (talk) 23:46, 21 February 2024 (PST)

Charlotte Kaplan

• What are the advantages of using a database, like Microsoft Access, instead of a spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel, when managing your data?

Using a database like Microsoft Access has many advantages over using a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel for managing data. First, databases ensure data integrity by enforcing consistency and accuracy. They can handle large amounts of data more efficiently, staying stable as data grows. Databases also allow for complex queries, making data analysis more powerful. Plus, they support multiple users accessing and modifying data at the same time, which is crucial for collaborative work. Microsoft Access and similar databases provide a structured and efficient way to handle data, especially for larger datasets and collaborative environments.

• Which part of the tutorial made the most sense to you?

The tutorial section that made the most sense to me was about setting up tasks and determining their importance. It provided clear instructions on how to organize tasks within Microsoft Access, facilitating efficient management and prioritization. Understanding how to prioritize tasks based on their significance and establishing a system to monitor them was particularly insightful. The tutorial's step-by-step guidance and practical examples helped me understand how to implement these concepts effectively.

• Which part of the tutorial do you feel least confident about?

I feel least confident about the advanced querying techniques part of the tutorial. While I understand the basics of querying and retrieving data, the more complex operations like subqueries and joins are challenging for me. These techniques involve manipulating data from multiple tables, which I need more practice and experience to fully grasp.

• What would you like to know more about?

I want to learn more about how businesses use Microsoft Access and similar systems to organize data and improve their operations. I'm also interested in the latest trends and how to keep data secure and running smoothly. Understanding these things better would help me improve my skills in database management.

• The blog post mentions a "fraught relationship about data, privacy, and how private companies operate in public spaces." What is this fraught relationship? How do you feel about it? I.e., where do you stand on the trade-off between the "ease of use" you receive as a user and giving up your private data to companies who will use it to turn a profit? What are the social justice issues involved?

The "fraught relationship" refers to the conflict between convenience and privacy when companies collect personal data. Users often trade their data for convenient services, which companies use for profit. It's important to balance ease of use with privacy rights, ensuring users have control over their data. This issue has social justice implications, as data collection can disproportionately affect marginalized communities and widen inequalities. To address this, regulations should prioritize privacy, companies should be transparent about data use, and efforts to bridge the digital divide are crucial. Creating a fair digital landscape means balancing innovation, convenience, and privacy for all users.

Furthermore, to access the learning database once called Lynda.com, we now need a LinkedIn account, which means LinkedIn owns our learning data. This makes us less anonymous in the learning process.

I've become more cautious about giving away my private data for convenience. While it's easier to use websites and services for free, I'm more aware of the risks now.

There are social justice issues when data is used unfairly, especially against marginalized groups. For example, in healthcare, decision support systems might worsen racial biases if they're not careful. This could mean minority patients get worse care. We should have choices about our data and how it's used. It's important to balance convenience with privacy and address unfair practices in data use.

Ckapla12 (talk) 19:24, 21 February 2024 (PST)

Natalija Stojanovic

1. What are the advantages of using a database, like Microsoft Access, instead of a spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel, when managing your data?
   • Some of the advantages of using a database over a spreadsheet is that it's much easier to organize and relate multiple different data sheets. Its features also allow it to better handle large volumes of data because retrieving data is a lot easier to do through query and report tool giving you more control over the data. The data is more secure overall because the "owner" has the ability to et who can view, access or edit the data. particular tables and queries can also be restricted preventing users from modifying the data with can be challenging to do in Excel.
2. Which part of the tutorial made the most sense to you?

The tutorial was straight forward to follow and I think that everything was explained well which made a person like me thats never used Access, able to easily follow along.

1. Which part of the tutorial do you feel least confident about?
2. What would you like to know more about?
   • I mostly struggled with the names of all the different tabs. It didn't help that I didn't have earbuds so I often had to go back multiple times to see where he clicked. Especially when we were creating our own database, I felt lost when he was telling us to click on specific tabs. I don't think I would be able to navigate all the features if I wasn't able to watch.
3. The blog post mentions a "fraught relationship about data, privacy, and how private companies operate in public spaces."
   • What is this fraught relationship?
     • This fraught relationship is about the privacy and agreement policies that LinkedIl Learning is. imposing. Many libraries that provide information to users protect data and the privacy of its users by having authentications such as a library card number. This protects the user by not allowing public access. However, LinkedIn Learning has different agreement polices that public libraries have to abide by. These policies allow user data to be easily accessible as you don't have to have a LinkedIl Learning account to access it.
   • How do you feel about it? I.e., where do you stand on the trade-off between the "ease of use" you receive as a user and giving up your private data to companies who will use it to turn a profit?
     • I personally like the convenience that anyone can access it. Most of us have social media anyway and post regularly which is also unprotected and available to the public. Knowing that they will make a profit I feel like doesn't directly impact me so I'm not too concerned. I think that I also haven't fully grasped how bad it is, because according to the reading. It is pretty bad.
   • What are the social justice issues involved?
     • In the reading, they talk about how the data can be used against marginalized groups which is extremely unethical. It perpetuates an already ongoing issue with race and discrimination within the healthcare system. People should know where their data is going and it should aim to protect people. In addition to this, people often times do not know what they are consenting to or where their data is going which is extremely unethical.

Nstojan1-new (talk) 23:03, 21 February 2024 (PST)

Dean Symonds

1. The databases allow far more complex structures to be created in databases, allowing for relationships between data, viewing it under different modes, querying it to retrieve information. It is also a safer way to store information
2. The part of the tutorial that made the most sense to me was the creation of databases and creating a table because tables are something that I have interacted with a lot in my life.
3. I felt the least confident about creating forms that required the usage of syntax because I have not been exposed to many syntax softwares in my life, and I have always considered them to be very complicated and require to be very detail oriented because a very small problem could lead to a very drastic change.
4. I would like to know more about how most databases are constructed that I have interacted with in my life, because I would assume that they do not all use Microsoft access. They likely use a different software that is more complex.
5. This fraught relationship refers to the conflict that arises when it becomes more accessible to exchange personal information through these companies and how that makes it more difficult to keep this information secure when this information can be available to the public.
   • I certainly feel as though people take for granted this ease of use that companies offer when it becomes easy to put our information on these sites. There have been plenty of news stories about social media outlets that use information in ways that users are not aware of.
   • This exploitation of data is also easier to employ in marginalized groups by society. This often does play into the systems that are already put in place by our society that make it more difficult for marginalized groups to find opportunity.

Msymond1 (talk) 23:48, 21 February 2024 (PST)