Previous Homeworks
Computer Crime
1.
The
Computer Misuse Act defines three types of offence. With the aid of examples, describe each of these three types
of offence (9 marks)
2.
The illegal use of computer systems is sometimes known as
computer-related crime.
(a
) Give three distinct examples of
computer-related crime (3)
(b)
Give
three steps that can be taken to help prevent computer-related crime (3)
3. Describe three ways in which a person could gain unauthorised access to information stored on a computer (6)
Information and Data
1.
What is
meant by direct and indirect sources of data. Give an example of each and describe the purposes for which
the data is used in each case. (4)
2.
Travelling sales representatives working in the UK can make extensive use of
company credit cards to pay for goods and services. A company credit card is one that is issued by a company to
its representative. All charges and
information relating to each transaction are sent directly to the company.
(a)
List four
items of data which are captured each time the card is used
(4)
(b)
Other
than payment information, suggest one other potential use for the information
which can be derived from this data. (2)
3.
With
the aid of an example, describe one problem which may arise when coding a value
judgement (2)
4.
A telephone company collects telephone numbers of people who receive
calls through a friends and family scheme. Under this scheme, subscribers
receive discounts on phone calls to the numbers they dial most frequently. The
customer has to inform the telephone company which numbers are to be included in
their Friends and Family list.
a)
Describe briefly one way in which the telephone company could use this data to
their advantage. (2)
b)
How can the telephone company keep their data up-to-date and accurate? (2)
5.
Low quality information can be misleading, distorted or incomprehensible. This
type of information is of little value to the decision maker. The output of good
quality information is costly and dependant upon many factors.
a)
Identify three factors which affect the quality of information (3)
b) State two factors which affect the cost of providing good quality information. (2)
6. a) Describe briefly what is meant by data, information and knowledge, giving examples of each (6)
b) Describe briefly three ways in which data can be or become of poor quality (3)
7. (a) Information processing is concerned
with:
Input
Processing
Output
Feedback
Briefly describe these four elements of information
processing, using a diagram to illustrate your answer
(b) Explain the difference between Knowledge and Information (6 marks)
8.
Many market research firms use questionnaires as a means of gathering raw data
for companies, about the popularity of their products.
(a)
Explain why Information Technology is widely used in Market Research
(4 marks)
(b) Once the data has been collected, it can be used to give the client information about their products. Explain the difference between information and data in this context. (4 marks)
Security of Data
A
multi-national organisation maintains an information technology system, which
holds a large amount of vital and sensitive data.
(a)
Describe three steps that should be taken to protect the system against
deliberate theft or corruption (6
marks)
(b)
Describe three steps that should be taken to protect the data against
accidental loss. (6 marks)
E-mail
and the Internet
1.
Give two advantages and one disadvantage of a firm using electronic mail as a
method of keeping in touch with its large number of travelling salespersons.
2.
Recent changes in communications technology have resulted in a blurring of the
distinction between telecommunications and computing. Information services are starting to be provided on what is
becoming known as the Information Super Highway (ISH).
(a)
State the minimum facilities needed to gain access to these services
(3 marks)
(b) Identify and briefly describe three types of information service you would expect to find when linked to the ISH. (6 marks)
3. Over the past few years, many companies have tried to sell
their products over the Internet, but have failed. Give three possible reasons.
(3)
4. A large company has introduced a communication system, which includes electronic mail. This system will be used both for internal use within the company and for external links to other organisations:
a) Describe two features of an electronic mail system which may encourage its use for internal communication between colleagues (2)
b) Contrast the use of an electronic mail system with each of fax and the telephone (6)
c) Describe two functions the communication system might have, other than the creation and reception of messages. (4)
IT in Business and Commerce
Briefly describe two social impacts and two organisational impacts commonly identified as a result of introducing computerised information systems into business organisations (8 marks)
“Networked computer systems (e.g. the Internet) will revolutionise the way we shop.” With the aid of specific examples, discuss this statement. Include in your discussion: (20)
· The types of organisation likely to advertise on such systems.
· The capabilities and limitations of such systems for this activity.
· The potential security risks for the customers in using such systems
· The organisational impact of such systems
· The social impact of such systems.
Discuss in an essay the concept of a cashless society and the assertion that we will become one. You should refer to steps taken by banks and other financial institutions to move us towards a cashless society and explain why some people feel that it may never be possible to achieve such a goal. (15)
Replacing a manual system with a computerised system can have unwelcome consequences. Suggest three examples of three unwelcome consequences at least one of which should be social and at least one economic. (3)
List four different software packages that a small business would find useful, explaining in each case why they would be useful. (8)
IT in Manufacturing
Some manufacturers are deciding to re-employ people on the shop floor and retire their robots. Give one argument to support this action and one argument against it. (2)
Health
and Safety
List
six factors that could give rise to health and safety problems associated with
the use of information technology equipment
(6 marks)
The Role of ICT
1. Individuals and organisations have become so dependant upon IT systems that the consequences of their failure could be catastrophic to the individual or the organisation.
Give two examples of types of IT systems for which failure would be catastrophic. In each case explain why the failure would be catastrophic. (4)
2. Through the 1990s an increasing number of people have become teleworkers. These are people who work from home using a personal computer linked to a Wide Area Network via a modem and the telephone system. Discuss, with the aid of specific examples, the advantages and disadvantages to individuals, organisations and society of this type of employment. (13)
Hint: try this website for some good ideas
3. Professional progression within the ICT industry requires more than just technical skills. Give three other necessary qualities and explain why they are important. (6 marks)
Data Protection
The
term “data protection” covers the maintenance of the integrity, quality and
ownership of data handled by information technology systems.
There are many ways to protect data, and there is also legislation to
ensure that data is kept private and secure.
Discuss
the Data protection Act 1984, including reference to:
Objections
to the Act
The
information that should be recorded when registering with the Office of the
Data Protection Registrar;
IT in Education
Give three advantages and three disadvantages of computer-aided learning packages compared with conventional classroom teaching. (6)
Describe briefly five ways in which information technology can aid pupils studying subjects other than computing or information technology. (5)
Introduction to Computer Systems
A
given combination of binary digits in a byte may be interpreted in many
different ways. Name four different
things that it could represent (2)
Name four different types of auxiliary storage found in a typical PC. Give one use for each of these types of storage. (4)
Data Capture
1. Speech recognition systems for personal computing are now becoming more affordable and useable.
(a) State two advantages to a PC user of a speech recognition system. (2 marks)
(b) Give two different tasks for which a PC user could take advantage of speech recognition. (2 marks)
(c)
Speech recognition systems sometimes fail to be 100% effective in
practice. Give three reasons why
this is so. (3 marks)
3.
(a) Why is MICR
used in preference to OCR in cheque processing systems (1)
(b)
Why is OCR used in preference to MICR in invoicing systems?
(1)
(d)
What is
Optical Mark Reading (OMR) (1)
(e)
Give one
situation where OMR might be used (1)
Verification and Validation
A school uses an information system to store details of students' examination entries and results. As part of this system a program
is used to check the validity of data such as candidate number, candidate names and the subjects entered.
(a) Suggest three possible validation tests, which might be carried out on this data. (3)
(b) Explain, with an example, why data which is found to be valid by this program may still need to be verified. (2)
Relational Databases
1. (a) What is meant by data
redundancy in a flat file information and retrieval system
(2)
(b) How data in such a system might become inconsistent (2)
2.
A publishing company keeps records of all the books they publish,
and the authors of each book in a flat file system, for the purposes of
calculating royalty payments to each author.
Each author is paid a royalty based on an agreed percentage of gross
sales over the previous six months. An
advance on royalties is paid when a manuscript is delivered and this is deducted
from the first royalty payment, (only one column is shown for address to save
space in the example but there will in practice be several columns).
The
file called BOOK contains fields as shown below.
Some sample contents are also shown:
BOOK
|
Book No |
Title |
Author |
Address1 |
Date Published |
Royalty% |
Advance |
|
156 |
Basic Spreadsheets |
Donaldson, G |
3 Elgar Close |
1/3/99 |
7.5% |
£0 |
|
157 |
Programming in Visual Basic |
Noakes, K |
White House |
1/4/99 |
10% |
£500 |
|
160 |
Intermediate Spreadsheets |
Donaldson, G |
3 Elgar Close |
1/2/00 |
8% |
£250 |
|
163 |
Basic Windows 2000 |
Woods, R |
6 Bullen Ave |
1/3/00 |
10% |
£0 |
(i)
Explain with reference to the above table, what is meant by
redundant data (2)
(ii)
Describe briefly two problems which arise from holding data in a
single table (2)
(iii)
Show how the data could be rearranged in two tables to solve these
problems (4)
Reading:
Chapter 17 of the Heathcote textbook (new edition)
Systems Software
1. Describe three housekeeping utilities normally provided with the operating system for a single-user personal computer. Your description should include a typical task for which each utility is used. (6 marks)
2. Give two reasons why additional memory might be useful to the user of a PC. (2 marks)
3. Disk directories record information about the files that are stored on disk. State three items of information that would typically be recorded. (3 marks)
4. When using any application software package on a network, the user is often unaware that an operating system is working "behind the scenes", managing system resources. Give three of these resources and, in each case, briefly explain the role of the operating system in its management. (6 marks)
Generic Software
1. A word processing package is described as having WYSIWYG output capability. Give the advantages of using such a package rather than one which does not possess this capability. (3 marks)
2. A cell in a spreadsheet can contain a data value or a
formula. Describe briefly two other types of cell contents.
(6 marks)
3. Give two different reasons why a spreadsheet package is
particularly useful as a decision-making tool in business.
(2 marks)
4. Describe the main features you would expect to find in
a computer containing DTP, Clipart and an integrated
package. (9 marks)
5. An office worker has created a macro, which imports data
from one spreadsheet file to another and then performs
some calculations. However, the macro fails to work as
expected when used.
(a) Explain the term macro. (2 marks)
(b) What could the office worker have done to reduce the chance of the macro failing when it was used? (3 marks)
6. (a) State three advantages to be gained using presentation
software as opposed to the use of traditional methods e.g.
OHP. (3 marks)
(b) State three design considerations that should be taken into consideration when producing a presentation that is going to be used as part of a sales talk to large audiences in various parts of the company. (3 marks)
7. Explain the difference between applications software and systems software, giving an example of each. (4 marks)
8. The head of a sales team has developed a presentation. It is planned for members of the sales team to deliver this presentation as part of a sales talk to large audiences at various locations throughout the country.
(a) State three advantages to be gained using presentation software as opposed to the use of traditional methods e.g. OHP. (3 marks)
(b) State three design considerations that should be taken into account when the head of the sales team is developing the presentation. (3 marks)
Capabilities of Software
Explain briefly what is meant by "software portability" (2)
Modes of Processing
A chain of estate agents has eighty branches. Daily transactions relating to house sales, purchases and enquiries are processed using a batch system based on a mainframe computer at head-office.
(a) Outline the flow of data through such a batch processing system. (4)
(b) The company is considering moving from a batch system to an interactive system. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of moving to an interactive system. (4)
Processing Different Types of Data
1. Give three advantages of using vector-based graphics rather than bit-mapped graphics for a Computer Aided Design (CAD) package. (3)
2. Describe how music can be input and stored in a computer's memory. What additional hardware is required to do this? (5)
Storage Devices
1. Give one appropriate use with clear justification for:
(a) floppy disks
(b) hard disks
(c) CD-ROMs (6 marks)
2. Why do so many software manufacturers now prefer to sell their software on CD-ROM rather than on floppy disk. (2 marks)
Security of Data
1. Describe briefly three different types of threat to data held in a computer system and methods to combat each of these threats. (6 marks)
2. an on-line information retrieval system holds confidential personal data.
(a) What precautions should be taken to:
(i) minimise unauthorised access (4 marks)
(ii) detect unauthorised access (2 marks)
(b) Why might different users be given different levels of access? (2 marks)
(c) Explain how the data should be protected against corruption? (4 marks)
Output Devices
1. Explain the relationship between the resolution of the screen and the number of colours it can display. (3 marks)
2. What is a printer driver and why is it necessary? (4 marks)
Network Environments
1. A local surgery uses a number of stand-alone computers to manage patient records, appointments, staff pay and all financial accounts. The surgery manager is considering changing to a local area network. Compare the relative advantages of stand-alone and local area network systems. (6 marks)
User Interfaces
1. Briefly describe three important features of a well-designed user interface. (6)
2. A different human-machine interface would be needed for each of the following users:
(i) a young child in a primary school
(ii) a blind person
(iii) a graphic artist
For each user describe and justify an appropriate human-machine interface. (9)
Organisational Structure
1. What are the major functions and levels in an organisation? How do the information systems used in an organisation relate to those functions and levels? (6 marks)2. An organisation generally consists of different levels, employing production workers, knowledge workers and management. Give an example of each of these types of worker in a named organisation. (4 marks)
Management Information Systems
1. a) what is the purpose of a management information
system (1)b) Why is such a system required by the managers of an
organisation? (1)c) Give one example of the use of a management
information system within an organisation, clearly stating its purpose (2)2. List three desirable features of a management
information system, stating in each case why the feature you have specified is useful (6)3. A school is planning the introduction of a
computer-based attendance system for classes and registration groups. The purpose of the system is to produce information for the following end-usersa) Describe three alternative ways of collecting the
information for the system (6)b) For each of the different end-users describe, with
the aid of an example, information that the system might produce in relation to their requirements (6)3. With the aid of appropriate examples, explain the
difference between formal and informal information flows. (6)4. Give an example of a Management Information System in a named organisation and explain its purpose. (3 marks)
5. List three desirable characteristics of a Management Information System. (3 marks)
The Information Systems Life-Cycle
1. Briefly describe four tasks which will be performed in the design stage of the information systems life-cycle. (4 marks)
2. Briefly describe the responsibilities of the systems analyst once the system is operational. (2 marks)
3. Describe 5 main stages in the full life cycle of a computerised system. (10)4. State and briefly describe two different types of program maintenance. (2)
Implementation of Information Systems
1. Give two reasons why major information system projects which are scheduled to take several years to develop have a higher risk of failure than smaller ICT projects. (2 marks)
2. A theatre plans to introduce a computerised booking system. Apart from the ability to take bookings and print tickets, describe two other possible benefits to the theatre management. Describe briefly three ways in which the success of the new system can be measured. (5 marks)
3. The management of a company wishes to introduce a computerised diary/scheduling package, which is known to be compatible with the existing software base. With the aid of examples, give three factors, which could influence the success or failure of this exercise. (6 marks)
Information Systems Strategy
Information and Data
1. The management of a company claims that the MIS continually fails to produce the appropriate information at the right time. The person responsible for the MIS responds by blaming the "the inadequate data and information flow" within the company and requests a review of "data and information flows".
(a) State six factors which influence the flow of information and data within an organisation. (6 marks)
(b) With the aid of examples, describe three techniques which could be used to review the current information flows. (6 marks)
2. Many retail organisations have developed large databases of customer information by buying data from each other.
(a) Describe two possible uses these organisations could make of the data they purchase. (4 marks)
(b) Some customers may object to data held on them by one organisation being sold to another organisation. Describe some of the arguments which either of these retail organisations may use to justify this practice. (4 marks)
3. A college collects data from incoming students which includes the students' subjects and grades at GCSE level. These grades are used to predict an expected grade at A level. It is found that some of the grades given by students are less than accurate. Describe methods of data capture and entry which would minimise this problem. (6 marks)
4. In a particular computerised payroll system data is keyed in from timesheets. In the context of this application distinguish between data verification and data validation. (4 marks)
Management of Change
1. With the aid of examples, describe three factors which influence the management of change within an organisation. (6)
2. Why do employees sometimes resist the introduction of new information systems? What can system designers do to reduce this resistance? (10)
Security Policies
1. Describe briefly four areas that you might expect to be covered in a company's security policy. (4)
2. Why do some software packages have an audit trail facility? What data is logged and how is the information used? (6)
3. Some software packages can be set up to monitor and record their use. This is often stored in an access log. Name four items you would expect to be stored in such a log. (4 marks)4. Briefly describe the safeguards a company could use for each of the following threats to its computer system:
(i) Terrorist Bomb
(ii) Accidental overwriting of a master file
(iii) Hackers outside the organisation
(iv) A corrupt employee perpetrating fraud (4 marks)
Disaster Planning
A small company runs a network of four PCs on which it keeps records of stock, customer accounts, a mailing list and a multitude of word-processed documents. Draw up a security plan for this company to ensure that it will be able to continue operating normally within a day or so of a disaster such as a fire. (20 marks)
User Support
1. (a) Describe three items of information a user support line would log when taking a call from a user. (3)
(b) Many user support lines need to share problems and potential solutions between a number of operators who are answering calls. Describe one method of achieving this. (3)
(c) Some user support lines also offer a mailbox facility to enable users to log their problems using e-mail. What advantages does this have for:
(i) The software user
(ii) The user support staff (4)
2. Describe briefly four features you would expect to find in help desk software designed to be used by a call centre diagnosing users' problems with various software packages. (4)
Training
3. Describe briefly three features you would expect to find in an on-line tutorial for a spreadsheet package. (3)
4. Give three points that could be included in a company's training strategy. (3)
2. You are asked to advise an organisation on the introduction of a new software package.
(a) With the aid of three examples, explain why different users may require different levels of training. (6 marks)
(b) Following the initial training you advise on subsequent training for users. Give two reasons why this may be required, other than financial gain for the agency. (4 marks)
Project Management
1. Give three reasons why an IT project might fall behind schedule. (6 marks)
2. Describe four characteristics of a good IT project team. (8 marks)
Codes of Conduct
As the IT manager of a large company, you have been asked to develop an employee code of conduct. Describe four issues which might be included in such a code. (8 marks)
Data Modelling
1. A vet has a database to keep track of the animals seen at a surgery
(a) Name two entities in this database, and suggest an identifier for each one. (2)
(b) Name four attributes for each of the entities (4)
(c) What is the relationship between the two entities? (you may use a diagram). (2)
1. A company is about to change its accounting software. In order to evaluate the different packages available to them, they have drawn up a number of evaluation criteria.
(a) Why are such evaluation criteria needed? (2)
(b) Explain the issues involved with each of the three evaluation criteria given below:
Functionality
User Support
Hardware resource requirements (6)
(c) Identify and describe three additional evaluation criteria that you might expect the company to include. (6)
Relational Database Design
A company sports centre uses a database management system to operate a membership and fixture system. Normally members register for at least three sports, although they can play any of the sports offered by the centre. Fixtures against many other organisations are arranged in a wide range of sports involving a large number of teams.
(a) Name three database files you would expect to find in this system. (3 marks)
(b) For each of the database files you have named, list the fields required to enable this system to be maintained with minimum redundancy. (6 marks)
(c) Draw a diagram to show the relationship between the database files named in part (a) (3 marks)
(d) Describe three reports that the system might be required to produce. (3 marks)
(e) The manager of the centre intends to send out personalised letters to each of the members. This is to be done using the mail-merge facility offered by a word processor in conjunction with the database. Explain how this is achieved. (4 marks)
1. (a) What is meant by data consistency, data redundancy and data independence? (3 marks)
(b) Describe two distinct security procedures you would expect to find in a relational database. (2)
(c) Describe the function of the database administrator. (3)
(a) Name three database tables that you would expect to find in this system. In each case, identify the columns and keys required to enable this system to be maintained with minimum redundancy. (6 marks)
(b) Draw an entity-relationship diagram to show the links between the database tables named in part (a). (3 marks)
(c) Describe the capabilities of the relational database management system that might be used to identify and output details of overdue loans. (6 marks)
1. (a) What is meant by distributed processing? (2)
(b) With the aid of an example, describe how distributed processing may be implemented in an organisation which has a Head Office and several sites each with a number of different departments. (5)
2. (a) Describe how a distributed database may be implemented. (3)
(b) Give an example of an organisation that might hold data in this way. (1)
(c)
What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a distributed database
to this organisation? (4)
3. A supermarket has direct links to some of its major suppliers so that orders can be sent electronically each day for "just-in-time" delivery of goods that need replenishing. What are the advantages to:
(a) the supermarket
(b) the suppliers
of this arrangement (4 marks)
4. A large national charity holds a central database of donors and recipients. Branch officers equipped with large PCs and modems are able to dial in over a telephone line to get lists of members living locally, who can then be informed of local fund-raising events. What would the advantages of the charity be of a distributed system? How would distributed databases be kept in the same state as the central database? (6 marks)
5. "Networks are the future"
Explain why computer networking has developed rapidly over the past 15 years. Your answer should discuss three factors which have stimulated this development and three implications for society. (10 marks)
Network Security and
Accounting
1. A university provides staff and students with access to a computer network
(a) Activity on the university’s networking system is monitored and an d an accounting log is automatically produced. Suggest what this log might include and explain why it is useful. (8 marks)
(b) Appropriate staff have access to personal and financial data. What steps should be taken to preserve the security of the data in such a system? (4 marks)
2. The IT manager in a large college is about to introduce new software to record student attendance in class. The new software must provide different access permissions and types of report. What capabilities and restrictions should the IT manager allocate in order to satisfy the needs of each of the following groups of users?
students
teaching staff
office staff
senior managers (8 marks)
Data Communication and Standards
1. With the growth in computer systems being purchased for use on networks, there is a greater need for manufacturers to conform to standard protocols.
(a) what are protocols and why are they required? (4)
(b) The application layer is one of seven layers in the OSI model. Name three other layers. (3)
(c) Briefly describe the role of the application layer in this model. (3)
2. (a) What is meant by the term wide area network? (1)
(b) Explain the term protocol in the context of a wide area network (2)
(c) Why is a protocol needed for a wide area network? (1)
Human-Computer Interaction
1. (a) Give six of the physical and psychological factors which govern how people interact with computer systems (6 marks)
(b) Give three factors which should be considered when providing a sophisticated human-computer interface, explaining the impact of each one on the system’s resources. (6 marks)
2. Give four features of software packages that would merit the description “user-friendly” (4)
Software Acquisition and Testing
(a) What are these two types of testing and why are they both needed? (6)
(b) Explain why, once the package has been released, there may be a need for maintenance releases and how these might be dealt with. (6)
(a) Why are such evaluation criteria needed? (2)
(b) Explain the issues involved with each of the three evaluation criteria given below:
· Functionality
· User support
· Hardware resource requirements (6
(c) Identify and describe three additional evaluation criteria that you might also expect the company to include. (6)