UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2017/2018
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN
INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
MISM 5201: DATABASE INTEGRATION AND E-COMMERCE
DATE: NOVEMBER, 2017 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question One & ANY OTHER TWO questions.
QUESTION ONE [20 MARKS]
a) Explain the need for database integration and cite its applications. (4 Marks)
b) Business processes involved in the trade cycle of e-commerce can vary depending on various
factors. Discuss these factors. (6 Marks)
c) The e-cash system allows a person to pay for goods or services by transmitting a number
from one computer to another.
i) Discuss and illustrate the processing of e-cash (4Marks)
ii) Which are the properties of an ideal e-cash? (4Marks)
d) Explain TWO main classifications of digital tokens (2Marks)
QUESTION TWO [15 MARKS]
a) Identify and briefly discuss FOUR challenges of virtual database integration (4 Marks)
b) It is said that the internet played a significant role in the US presidential election. You are
asked by Nigeria’s major political party to offer advice on the internet policy and associated
web site. The party has about 20,000 members, each paying 5,000 per annum membership
fee. Its total annual income, mainly from donations, is about 200M. The current House of
Representatives, formed following elections held in April 2015, has a total of 360 members
who are elected in single-member constituencies using the simple majority (or first-past-thepost) system. Members serve four-year terms.
i) Describe in brief bullet points the key elements of your proposed internet strategy
(4Marks)
ii) Draw an outline block diagram of the architecture that would be needed (3Marks)
iii) Outline the relevant regulations to be considered by such a strategy. (4Marks)
QUESTION THREE [15 MARKS]
a) Virtual database integration systems are said to follow the Global As View (GAV) or the
local As View (LAV).
i) Discuss the characteristics of each of these approaches (4 Marks)
ii) Illustrate how the mediated schema Movie (title, dir, year, genre) would be
reformulated using GAV and using LAV (4 Marks)
b) Suppose your business had an e-commerce Website where it sold goods and accepted credit
card payments. Discuss the major security threats to this Web site and their potential impact.
What can be done to minimize these threats? (7 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR [15 MARKS]
a) Electronic commerce transactions services can be distinctly classified into market place,
market link and market driven transactions. Explain each of these three types (6 Marks)
b) Earnest Higginbottom started making Potted Beef in Heckmondwike in 1876 and the
company has been run on traditional lines ever since. Recently the business has started to
change. Traditional local outlets are being replaced by supermarkets. Native Yorkshire tykes
living as far away as Liverpool and Los Angeles are ringing in to ask how to get hold of a bit
of real potted beef. Suppliers, such as the maker of the jars, have started using computerized
ordering systems.
Required:
Discuss where and in what form Higgies’ Potted Beef could implement e-Commerce. (9 Marks)
