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Archive for the ‘Academic work’ category

Capabilities of computing and issues raised by them

June 6th, 2010

The assignment was:

1. Identify and describe 5 specific capabilities of computing (e.g., speed, permanence/storage) made possible or enhanced by computing technology.

2. Select one of the capabilities you identified and discuss its relationship to the following issues raised by the application of the technology:

Privacy
Ownership
Control
Accuracy
Security 3. Describe the areas of potential IT policy decisions that may be triggered by your selected capability. » Read more: Capabilities of computing and issues raised by them

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Posted in Academic work, Software Engineering

Tags: Homework assignment Module: Computer structures University of Liverpool Week 1

Communications

June 6th, 2010

The question was: “Does the use of contractions, slang and icons in text messaging and email signal the development of a new communication style, or just the death of appreciation of written language? Do the same or similar things happen with your language if it’s other than English? Please provide examples” » Read more: Communications

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Posted in Academic work, Software Engineering

Tags: Discussion question Module: Professional Issues in Computing University of Liverpool Week 1

Professional responsibility

June 6th, 2010

The question was: “What responsibility do computing professionals have to society at large and to other members of their profession? Do they have any responsibilities or are their working lives solely measured in terms of their adherence to company policy and goals? How does this translate into the broader area of business ethics?” » Read more: Professional responsibility

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Posted in Academic work, Software Engineering

Tags: Discussion question Module: Professional Issues in Computing Week 1

Liability or reality?

November 28th, 2009

I chose this question one because of my personal experience. My company made a website for a client who was our partner for many years. It was more than a partnership, near to a friendship. » Read more: Liability or reality?

3 comments »

Posted in Academic work, Software Engineering

Tags: Discussion question Module: Computer structures University of Liverpool Week 3

Different ways of thinking

November 25th, 2009

A program is a list of tasks to be performed by definition. But it can also be defined as a way of mapping a large task to shorter tasks. A computer always performs a program as a list of tasks. I take this question as a theoretical one. In my opinion the difference is the problem solver’s way of thinking. Let’s see a real world example. » Read more: Different ways of thinking

2 comments »

Posted in Academic work, Software Engineering

Tags: Discussion question Module: Computer structures University of Liverpool Week 3

Describe an OS

November 24th, 2009

I have a small company, where we decided to choose Freebsd as the server platform. We don’t have too much money to spend so the price was one of the main reasons. We needed a server platform which can host web services reliably. Although my partners and me also are IT experts, we wanted to spend the least possible time with the operating system. We wanted to concentrate on the web development instead. When we started the company, Windows wasn’t reliable at all. We hadn’t got enough time to support it – not mentioning the price of a Windows server with Microsoft or Oracle SQL server. » Read more: Describe an OS

3 comments »

Posted in Academic work

Tags: Discussion question Module: Computer structures University of Liverpool Week 2

Linux operating system

November 11th, 2009

In 25th of August, 1991 the history of Linux has begun with a post to the MINIX newsgroup by Linus Torwalds: “Hello everybody out there using minix – I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. … PS. Yes – it’s free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT protable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that’s all I have .” (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~awb/linux.history.html, 2009). Some years has passed, so now we can say, that those words changed the history of computing. » Read more: Linux operating system

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Posted in Academic work, System administration

Tags: Discussion question Module: Computer structures University of Liverpool Week 2

Hungarians’ role in data storage evolution

November 4th, 2009

Only a few know that Hungarians played a very important role in the history of Coumputing – and in several other fields of science, too. I like to be proud of the scientific results of my nation, so I’ll dedicate this essay to them. My topic is the data storage devices of the past and the future. » Read more: Hungarians’ role in data storage evolution

6 comments »

Posted in Academic work, Software Engineering

Tags: Homework assignment Module: Computer structures University of Liverpool Week 1

When you speak or write, do you own the words that you have created?

October 27th, 2009

Disqussion question:

When you speak or write, do you own the words that you have created? What about the thoughts that preceded those words?

These questions get to the very heart of referencing and citation requirements in academic work. In the Western academic world, the presumption is that you do, in some sense, own your words and thoughts; at the very least, you have privileges pertaining to them. The main privilege is to be credited, or cited, for your effort and scholarship. » Read more: When you speak or write, do you own the words that you have created?

6 comments »

Posted in Academic work

Tags: Discussion question Module: Computer structures University of Liverpool Week 1

Is it ethical to use a machine without knowing how it works?

October 22nd, 2009

At the end of chapter 2, the textbook lists a set of social issues which are related to the way in which computing influences everyday life. Choose one such issue, state it, and discuss its implications.

The chosen issue was: “Is it ethical for an individual to take the attitude that he or she does not need to know anything about the internal details of a machine because someone else will build it, maintain it, and fix any problems that arise? Does your answer depend on whether the machine is a computer, automobile, nuclear power plant, or toaster?”