UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2018/2019
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BIT 2109/ BAC 2104: PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT
BCT 3104: COMPUTER LAW AND ETHICS
FULL TIME/PART TIME/DISTANCE LEARNING
DATE: APRIL, 2019 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE (Compulsory)
a) When working with IT systems it is important that an organisation’s management has both
legal and ethical policies in place. Explain BOTH the terms ‘Legal’ and ‘Ethical’.
(6Marks)
b) What action would you take if you suspected that software being developed by your
company might be harmful because it had not been rigorously tested for reasons of
minimising cost? (4 Marks)
c) Briefly discuss whether technology determines society or if society determines technology
(4 Marks)
d) Describe the essential elements relating to conduct that identify a professional activity
(4 Marks).
e) Using relevant examples describe two ethical theories (4 Marks)
f) How can information and information systems be used to gain power and, thereby create
additional ethical issues? (4 Marks)
g) Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works,
and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. Identify the key forms of
intellectual property (4 Marks)
QUESTION TWO
a) The local council issue a questionnaire to all residents asking their opinions on replacing the
existing waste disposal system with wheeley bins. As part of the questionnaire, they in addition ask
questions about age, occupation, whether you are home owner or not and your sexuality. Comment
on whether such a questionnaire might breach the DPA and discuss the appropriateness of each
question listed above. (10 Marks)
b) How can the issue of the inequity of the Internet economic model, where all payments flow from
the underdeveloped countries towards the developed countries despite the fact that the information
flows in both directions, be addressed. (10 Marks)
QUESTION THREE
a) Differences between countries may hinder attempts to regulate global computing activities.
Explain using the headings below, with an example in EACH case, how a computer based activity
that might be routinely accepted in one country might be unknown or unacceptable in another
country
(i) Legal differences between countries (4 Marks)
(ii) Differences in technical capabilities between countries (4 Marks)
(iii) Differences in cultural or social norms between countries (4 Marks)
b) “Honest, upright, law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear from the distribution of their
personal data.” Do you agree or not? Give at least three reasons for your position and one
reasonable objection to it (8 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR
a) The manager of one of the best-known and most successful English football clubs writes a blog
in which he regularly comments on the club’s recent matches. One week, after the club has lost
a critical match through a controversial goal, he writes in the blog that the referee was obviously
corrupt or incompetent. The referee threatens legal action for defamation against the internet
service provider (ISP) that hosts the blog. What laws relate to the ISP’s liability in this situation
and what should it do inorder to avoid being successfully sued?
(10 Marks)
b) Godan Games is a company that develops and markets high quality computer games set in the
mythical past. It markets the games through the internet and has customers all over the world. It
is becoming concerned at the possibility that competitors will try to pass off their low quality
games as coming from Godan. What legal and technical mechanism would you advise Godan to
use in order to protect itself and how, briefly, should it go about doing so.
(10 Marks)
QUESTION FIVE
a) Discuss the statement “computer and information technology creates new possibilities for
human behaviour” (10 Marks)
b) Explain if Grey Hat is an ethical form of hacking or a person using his or her hacking
abilities under the pretense of doing a good deed to extort companies out of money
(6 Marks)
c) As an IT professional working within the industry you will be expected to follow a code of
ethical conduct through your working life. Each individual needs to have their own code
which should cover conduct: Socially ,Legally and Professionally For any TWO of these
categories give an example of an IT moral or ethical dilemma and an appropriate response
to it. (4 Marks)
