Final
Exam questions for CSC 302, Spring 2005
Clark S. Turner
(This exam is worth 20 points corresponding to 20 per cent of your
final grade.)
The exam is due on or before 1:00 pm (or
before) on Friday, 10 June, 2005 in my office, 14-211.
Create a final exam cover sheet and put your name on this cover sheet only, not
on the pages containing your answers.
Put the text of the question
at the beginning of each answer!
Staple or attach your answers
securely to the cover sheet!
In general: think at a high level, but bring
in
enough details to support any high level answers. When
appropriate,
state facts known about the problem in an unbiased manner. Notice
that you must "set up" the problems for yourself before you begin to
answer. Review the questions first, think about them, then create
a brief outline of an "answer" to test for relative reasonability. When
you see that you have a handle on the question and how to answer it,
start to write your answer.
- State any important facts important to
resolution of the problem.
- Raise apparent issues in a list.
- Analyze the tradeoffs (differing views of
the issues).
- Use examples
in support of your analysis when applicable.
- I want to see your solution
to the problem as you see it.
- Cite sources
you use in your work.
Correctness of your solution is not
the point, your ability to analyze and come to a rational and
thoughful conclusion
is. Your accomplishment of the learning objectives stated in our
syllabus is being tested. Remember: a "report" with mere
facts and others'
interpretations is the start, but your analysis using all the ideas,
criticisms and frameworks discussed in class is critical to a quality
answer.
- I expect a minimum of two full
pages,
single spaced, per answer.
This is not a hard standard, but a good general guide to the minimum
amount of material I expect for a passing answer. (This
says nothing about an excellent answer!) You need to
convince me you have learned to do social analysis of computing
issues and show me why you deserve
a good grade. I will not assume you know things that
you don't write about and clearly show me right there on the page.
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1. (10 points) We
have discussed the privacy
(or lack of privacy) of email communications in class. Most
people
expect that their communications on the telephone and through the US
Postal
Service is private because of legal protections. The privacy of
cell
phone conversations was the subject of a lot of debate (and continuing
controversy even since the ECPA) in congress. People expect their
cell phone conversations
are private, but apparently they might not be. Now, people seem
to
think that email messages are private, but one presentation explained
that this is a false expectation, protections for email are
missing.
(a) Do you think that email is really analoguous to a paper letter sent
through the US Postal Service? Describe the strengths and
weakness
of such an analogy. (b) Do you think that email is
analogous
to a telephone conversation? Describe the strengths and weakness
of such an analogy. (c) What are the new privacy (ethical)
features of the use of email as a communication medium? (d) Do
the differences
call for different rules for the privacy of email communications?
2. (10 points) Glenford Myers, in his seminal
book, "The Art of Software Testing" notes that software testing can
only show the presence of bugs, not
their absence. As mentioned in class, Software
Engineers cannot use testing to give us statistical "reliability"
figures regarding nontrivial software, they cannot predict how
"reliable" most software will be based on testing. With this in
mind, evaluate the social efficacy of Dr. Cem Kaner's thesis in his
article "Lawsuits,
Lawyers and Quality-Related Costs" (summarized in the first
paragraph of the article!)