The Grey Havens...

Well...on the shores of the Grey Havens...we have come to the end of our journey....

Okay well I guess this is the end of my postings for this course...so I just want to thank Dr. Mohan and Ms. Mohammed for their help through the proceedings of this course. Also, I want to wish good luck to my fellow classmates with their end-of-semester exams. In the meantime, now it's just to round up these last few assignments and as well as revision for our upcoming exams.

So until later on, I'm outta here.

*hears the Breaking of the Fellowship music playing in the background...stupid LOTR stuck in my head from getting to watch it on a projector.*

P.S. Blue sucks, Red rules!!! (ask me what that's about if you care to know!) :)

In-class post, 20/11/2006

Well we're back once more....not too many classes left to write up on...so we're on to the final set of topics for this semester. He also handed back our results for our coursework test...and I got 34/60...*sighs and drops head in shame*...although he then said that the mark is out of 50, not 60...but still :/, 34/50...68%...grrrr *-_-*.

Also, Dr. Mohan gave us some advice, for the final exam, to focus on the core issues with our studies.

IT in other disciplines.

Dr. Mohan spoke about Ms. Giselle Singh's blog, where she spoke about Bio-Informatics, and how IT has a pervasive part to play in such a discipline.

Education:

1) Simulate activities with software (e.g. flight simulation etc.).

2) Virtual Field Trips - where a user can 'explore' a location without ever being there in person.

3) Phonics and other educational software.

Software is being increasingly used in education, where it can now supplement the current syllabus being taught in a traditional method. It may not provide the 'real experience', but it can also be used to test situations where it would be prohibitive to reproduce in a real environment, by the cost of currency or human life. Also, using such software can be interactive and stimulating, since it can allow new ways of learning. It also supports independant learning, and indivdualised attention.

The social aspects of learning are such that, in a classroom environment, there may be additional viewpoints that can be shared, but such an example can also be done in an IT environment, such as bulletin boards etc.

There are also facilities such as distance education, e-learning (which involves studying exclusively via the Internet) etc.

We will continue tomorrow, with a further look at e-learning, as well as the I.T infrastructure relating to e-learning as well.

Until then, me out.

In-class post, 17/11/2006

Well we're just about ready to start, I was pleased that some items that I ordered from the US on Tuesday, was able to be delivered to me this morning, they were able to contact me and deliver my package to me on campus...the wonders of IT and facilitating such a system to allow items to be delivered over thousands of kilometres in a matter of days...

Dr. Mohan started with a small discussion about remarking, and how when marking for exams with CXC, how some remarking actually ends up with a lower grade when such exams are remarked, so there is always a risk when it comes to doing remarking with certain areas. When it comes to remarking the projects, I have no problem with the marks, because if that is how it was judged, so be it, we learn from our mistakes and we move on.

Another concern raised in class was with regards to the marking of the blogs...there was a requirement of 20 posts relating to the topics, and also if there was a consistent amount of sufficient work done, then it would be taken into consideration for the marking scheme.

Securing an Information System:

When it comes to detecting criminal activities, it is a case of vigilance, since criminals are often able to keep up with security initiatives that may be in effect.

Some ways of detecting possible criminal activity are:

-By monitoring the network for activity at times where the network shouldn't be in heavy use.

-By the use of Intrusion Detection Software, which can check for user authentication, IP/MAC Address logging etc.

-By audit trails, where checks are made to see what who is accessing specific data.

Well we're done for now, so until Monday.

In-class post, 16/11/2006

Well continuing from Tuesday's class, with regards to topics relating to the impact that I.T has...

He started with some discussions about the project, about how the average mark was 42 out of 60, though he has to verify the marks with some last-minute adjustments, so we should be collecting them tomorrow...and the next assignment should be given soon, with the following details:

Propose the I.T components, that will take the company done in the last project, to show the IS components that will be operational for the company when it has launched fully. Details are relating to the hardware/software that will be used for these systems. This is relating to the design aspect, before implementation is actually started. A possible due date will be the 27th/28th of November.

Looking back at a bit of ethics, there is always a boundary that is often crossed when it comes to the privacy of a person, Brent made a post in his blog about how the company can claim that since the toilets are their property, they have a right to do anything related to such items, such as placing cameras in the toilets.

He then related with a recap of some of the impacts that IT would have on society as a whole, about how it makes people more knowledgeable, remote communication is significantly easier etc.

When it comes to crime and security, the levels of surveillance present is relatively low. As technology is used to try to reduce the levels of crime, the criminals are capable of using technology as well to find more complex methods of pursuing their objectives.

Security relates to risk management, and preparation for disasters that may occur. Some procedures relate to backup procedures, antivirus software, use of privacy screens, physical controls, software controls/restrictions etc.

Well we're done for now, time to run to tutorial class, so expect another post shortly.

In-class post, 14/11/2006

Well here we are once more, classes for me got kinda messed up, rain made getting to class virtually impossible...so we have to make up for it over the few coming days...

Looking at the impact of I.T on various sections of society:

1.Organizational
2.Homes
3.Society

Facets of I.T can be useful in today's environment, but it can also be of detrimental effect to a person, e.g: anyone can use data mining techniques to source information about a person, by their activities online.

Dr. Mohan then went to posing a question to the class: How would it be if we could go back, before I.T was as prevalent as it is today?

Personally, it's a two-sided coin to me...since without I.T, we would have a slightly greater level of privacy, since it is very easy to go and find information about a person on the Internet, but at the same time, a lot of advancements in business today would not be anywhere near the level of efficiency that we currently achieve.

Knowledge is the backbone of controlling power, and in today's environment, the Internet is a vast area of knowledge to allow a user to glean whatever information they may require.

Well until Thursday, where we continue about discussing with topics related to the impact of I.T.

*sniffs at the evaluation paper and wishes it was food >_<*

In-class post, 09/11/2006

Continuing with Ethics in I.T. (though I reached late - that what happens when you have to head to the airport first... so some points may not be elaborated upon at this point, if anyone wishes to update me for any issues that I missed, feel free to post it in the comments.)


Accountability - When using credit cards for purchases, banks may verify certain purchases, which may be significantly larger than normal, to ensure that someone was not attempting to procure a fraudulent transaction.

The banks have a responsibility to check, to ensure the protection of their customers.

e.g. When a car in the airport was stolen, the airport relinquished responsibility for the car via a notice at the car park, but by paying a fee to park, the airport accepted some liability for the incident, and they had to pay eventually.

Whenever a system is used, controls have to be in place for such issues.

Property - detailing who owns a system (software/data/hardware etc). If an organization has data, and a user takes that data and turns it into information, who is the owner of that information afterwards?

Another point is if an organization has a piece of software, and an employee takes the software home and copies it, can the user make any information created by that software to be available to anyone outside of the organization?

Another example is with UWI, and how they set exams for their courses, some questions are done by extracting questions from text books by other authors, or may be original creations, but then for the exams itself, the University places their copyright on the works itself. If a lecturer leaves the university, can they then use the questions they created for use in exams with other institutions?


Accessibility - Who can access data, I.T, etc.

When determining who can access certain facilities to employees, restrictions have to be placed to ensure that only appropriate users can access specific data (e.g. HR employees may not be able to access Accounting/Payroll data).

ACM Code of Ethics: they determine a code of conduct for each individual within I.T professionals, computer scientists etc.

Well we're off once more, so until tomorrow.

In-class post, 07/11/2006

Well we're here once more, this is what sleep deprivation feels like...I almost forgot how it felt. :)

We're continuing with our discussion with Computer Ethics, but Dr. Mohan first went into a small discussion about the various courses that are associated with the I.T. degree, and what they entail.

He then gave good comments about people whose blogs for this course go beyond what he teaches, at how they research further into the various topics and get into greater depth than what is done within class...and that is what he intended for the blogs in the first place.

The template for Dr. Mohan's website was changed, and Dr. Mohan didn't really like how the new template looked, and that brings up another issue, with regards to User Interfaces, and how the interface needs to be easy to use, otherwise users may not be able to use the software efficiently.

He then went into the topic of Vaporware, which is when a company promises a new piece of software, but nothing ever materialises in the end. Also, there is also the issue where products are delayed, due to various reasons, and what has to be done as a result.

One option was to write an anonymous letter to the press, detailing the issue(s) with the software, but that brings up issues, where you as the employee would be reporting the company over such issues, showing a lack of faith with the employer.

Another option is where the software can be released on time (although there are still delays in some cases), but bugs are being worked upon at the same time, and then released in subsequent patches (a la Microsoft). This is often a solution used, but it cannot be used in all situations, since releasing bugs within certain applications can be of severe risk, so it is dependent upon the level of the application.

In virtually every industry, defects can occur - it is dependent upon the rate of defects that can occur that can be acceptable. This is where the feature of a warranty applies, so that way the customer is covered in case of any defect. There are limited warranties, where the company limits itself to handling issues with actual product defects, and comprehensive warranties, which repairs/replaces the product irregardless of the cause of the problem.

Ethics can cross so many topics and borders, but it's up to the professionals within the industry, who are responsible to enforcing ethical standards in the long run. There is a Code of Ethics that exists for Software Engineering, but not necessarily applicable for I.T.

Anyway, I'm done for now, until Thursday.

*wanders around zombie-like......sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep...................zzzzzzzz*

In-class post, 06/11/2006

Well here we are once more, we started out with a little discussion about individual(s) who have been involved with personal bashing via these blogs, personally it doesn't bother me, as long as they are willing to take comments (and not have filtering on so they can reject it if it's not to their liking), so expect responses if you say anything (note that I wouldn't call names, you know who you are).

Anyway, on to today's topic, which is going to discuss Ethics in Information Technology.

Ethics concerns various issues within IT, such as:

1) Privacy - Some examples of privacy issues are:
(Quoted from www.windowsecurity.com)

• Should you read the private e-mail of your network users just “because you can?” Is it okay to read employees’ e-mail as a security measure, to ensure that sensitive company information isn’t being disclosed? Is it okay to read employees’ e-mail to ensure that company rules (for instance, against personal use of the e-mail system) aren’t being violated? If you do read employees’ e-mail, should you disclose that policy to them? Before or after the fact?
• Is it okay to monitor the Web sites visited by your network users? Should you routinely keep logs of visited sites? Is it negligent to not monitor such Internet usage, to prevent the possibility of pornography in the workplace that could create a hostile work environment?
• Is it okay to place key loggers on machines on the network to capture everything the user types? Screen capture programs so you can see everything that’s displayed? Should users be informed that they’re being watched in this way?
• Is it okay to read the documents and look at the graphics files that are stored on users’ computers or in their directories on the file server?

Other issues that may arise are with storing specific data, as well as selling data about a person e.g. customer information, credit card #, revealing people's information to the public etc.

Privacy ethics is one of the most subjective forms of I.T ethics, because a lot of issues tend to be double-edged, since there are a lot of grey areas with regards to certain situations.

2) Integrity - reliability of hardware/software products, e.g. selling/using products with known defects.

Well we're basically done for now, so we will continue tomorrow.

Laters.

Post-coursework exam time...

Well earlier today we had the coursework exam, it went pretty well I think, I know I'm not gonna get like total, but I should be able to make at least 60-70% of the marks up for grabs... I thought there would have been like 5-10 more multiple-choice questions, but as for the written-type questions, I know I made some mistakes, but for the life of me I couldn't remember a true definition of an IS, only to remember after I got out of the room.

Ah well, c'est la vie....or whatever you would call that phrase.

Anyway, I hope the rest of the students do well, and that the next group project would be given out soon.

I'm out, time to write some CSS code.

Laters ppl.