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Ethical, Legal And Professional Issues Of Computing Question Paper
Ethical, Legal And Professional Issues Of Computing
Course:Bachelor Of Science In Information Technology
Institution: Kca University question papers
Exam Year:2009
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2008/2009
SECOND YEAR EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BIT 2101: ETHICAL, LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES OF
COMPUTING
DATE: AUGUST 2009 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer question ONE and any other TWO questions
QUESTION ONE (Compulsory)
a) Define the following terms (4 Marks)
i) Ethics
ii) Ergonomics
iii)Ethical Quandary
iv) Data Encryption
b) Briefly explain why business ethics are becoming increasingly important (4 Marks)
c) Explain the key characteristics that distinguish a professional from other kinds of workers?
(4 Marks)
d) Describe four possible health risks of prolonged use of ICT equipment (4 Marks)
e) Describe the ethical and social issues that are raised by information systems (6 Marks)
f) Discuss four of the eight principles of The Data Protection Act (UK) (8 Marks)
QUESTION TWO
a) Governments are increasingly adopting the use of surveillance systems. Some argue that this is
necessary for national security while others believe this is an infringement of an individual’s rights
to privacy.
i) What privacy issues are raised by the use of these technologies? (6 Marks)
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ii) To what extent should technology be used to capture information about individuals?
(6 Marks)
b) Discuss the potential threats the use of the Internet poses to young children (8 Marks)
QUESTION THREE
a) Using an appropriate example describe the approach you would take to ethical decision making
(10 Marks)
b) A software supplier sometimes may offer money to another company’s employee to get business
from that company. This in most cases is considered bribery which involves providing money,
property, favours or anything of value to someone in business or government in order to obtain a
business advantage. In some countries giving of such gifts are an essential part of doing business.
In business at what point does a gift become a bribe? (10 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR
a) Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using copyrights and patents laws to protect intellectual
property (10 Marks)
b) A software development company has just produced a new software package that incorporates the
new tax laws and figures taxes for both individuals and small businesses. The president of the
company knows that the program has a number of bugs. He also believes the first firm to put this
kind of software on the market is likely to capture the largest market share. The company widely
advertises the program. When the company actually ships a CD, it includes a disclaimer of
responsibility for errors resulting from the use of the program. The company expects it will receive
a number of complaints, queries, and suggestions for modification. The company plans to use these
to make changes and eventually issue updated, improved, and debugged versions. The president
argues that this is general industry policy and that anyone who buys version 1.0 of a program
knows this and will take proper precautions. Because of bugs, a number of users filled incorrect tax
returns and were penalized by KRA
i) Basing your argument on professional codes of conduct discuss the ethical issues
raised in the above scenario. (10 Marks)
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QUESTION FIVE
An 8:00 am class has 10 students in it. Nine of those students and the Teaching Assistant (TA) all live
in Nyayo Hall, which is on one side of campus, while one student lives in Cairo Court, on the other
side of campus. The TA decides to move the lecture to Kenya Hall instead of Taifa Hall, as Kenya Hall
is much closer to the ten individuals'' dorm than the one individuals'' dorm. This benefits 10 people and
inconveniences one person, thus more people are benefited than not.
a) Identify and explain the ethical principle the TA used to make the decision (10 Marks)
b) Do you think this was the right thing is to do? (5 Marks)
c) What would you do in this situation? (5 Marks)
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