Week 8:

Overview • Objectives • Lectures • Readings • Labs • Assignments

Unit III: Databases—Information Storage, Retrieval, and Privacy

Overview

This week, while we finish up Project 2B in the lab, we begin Unit III: "Databases—Information Storage, Retrieval, and Privacy, the last unit in the course. During this unit, we will cover spreadsheets, data bases, database queries, and XML.

This week, we explore the privacy issues that arise from connecting vast data warehouses of private information. Then we explore storing data in spreadsheets.

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Objectives

The objectives for this week are:

Explain what is meant by privacy; discuss the issues surrounding privacy of information
List and explain the meaning of the OECD Fair Information Practices
Compare privacy in the United States to the European Union privacy practices
Discuss the issues of disagreement concerning privacy: Opt-in/Opt-out and compliance/enforcement
Explain how data is organized in spreadsheet software
Describe how to refer to spreadsheet rows, columns, and cell ranges
Explain relative and absolute references
Apply concepts of relative and absolute references when filling a formula
Explain the concept of tab-delimited input and output
State the two basic design criteria for creating effective spreadsheets
Explain how conditional formatting of spreadsheet entries applies an interpretation to spreadsheet information
Explain conditional formulas, and their components and behavior
Perform “what if” analysis with a spreadsheet
Use AutoFiltering and advanced filtering to customize spreadsheet lists
Explain the importance of symbolic naming of spreadsheet cells