Assignment Code: CIT-002/ASSIGN/2021-22

Course Code: CIT-002

Assignment Name: Introduction to Information Technology

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Marks: 25

Q1) How is information different from knowledge? Explain how knowledge can be generated, with the help of an example. Define the terms - quality of information and value of information.

Ans)

Distinction between Information and Knowledge

Knowledge

Information that has been arranged and processed to express understanding, experiences, accumulated learning, and expertise as it relates to a current problem or process is known as knowledge. It is the appropriate gathering of knowledge with the goal of becoming beneficial. The acquisition of knowledge is a predictable process. Someone has amassed knowledge when they "memorise" facts. Knowledge is a pattern that connects things and, in general, provides a high level of predictability for what's being stated or what'll happen next.

Example: When the humidity is high and the temperature drops significantly, the atmosphere is unable to hold the moisture and rain falls.

Quality of Information: In any organisation, the quality of information is extremely important. Planning and control tasks rely on information. When quality is defined as "conformance to requirements," it becomes much easier to adhere to this standard in the workplace. Information is used in a wide variety of ways.

Value of Information: The value is achieved by putting the information to good use in specified activities. The value of information is calculated by subtracting the cost of receiving the information from the value of the change in decision behaviour as a result of the information.

Q2) What is meant by ICT? How has ICT impacted the life of people? Define the term digital divide. Explain the reasons of digital divide.

Ans) ICT Meaning: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an acronym for information and communication technology. On a near-daily basis, information and communication technologies (ICT) evolve. It's tough to keep up with changes in the Digital Divide since they happen so quickly.

Impact: The globe is becoming a global village as a result of the impact of ICT. ICT has altered the working environment in the economy. ICT has made employment location independent by removing communication barriers. ICT has given rise to a new class of highly compensated skilled professionals. Software professionals are in high demand. ICT has been linked to increased productivity. The use of ICTs provides a competitive advantage to a country's industries. ICT gives up a whole new world of economic opportunities, such as hardware and software development, internet services, and so on.

Digital Divide: As you can see, the term 'Digital Divide' is made up of two words: 'Digital' and 'Divide.' The phrase 'digital' relates to information and communication technology (ICT), whereas the term 'divide' refers to discrepancies, disparities, or gaps. In general, the digital divide is a phenomena in which people who have access to information and communication technology (ICT) profit from its utilisation.

Reasons: The existence of the split can be attributed to a variety of factors. Here are a few examples:

The lack of a dependable ICT infrastructure for accessing the internet. A country's ICT infrastructure is determined by a variety of factors such as the number of PCs, tele density, and so on. ICT is a cutting-edge technology that is only available in a few nations. As a result, other countries must import the required structure. In most poor countries, there are insufficient resources to spend in information infrastructure and research & development.

There are issues with accessing the internet on a regular basis. There's also the issue of connectivity, or the lack of a quick, dependable, and cost-effective internet connection. Then there's the expense of using the internet, which includes phone rates and line rentals, as well as the cost of an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The cost of a new computer can be added to this. For many low-income families, the cost of Internet access may be prohibitive. It's also crucial to consider the ISP's service quality. It is difficult to reap the benefits of ICT due to the poor quality of services accessible due to outdated technology.

One of the greatest impediments to mass adoption of ICT is a lack of education. ICT is only useful to people who are not only literate but also computer literate. Computer literacy is a long way off in poor countries where governments are still attempting to universalize elementary education. As a result, the split is unavoidable. The ability to find relevant information in one's native language. The most significant advantage of the internet is its immense repository of knowledge and information. However, this knowledge must be understandable to people who require it, i.e., web content must be available in the user's native language. The user's ability to locate the information is also a challenge. Access to the Internet may be hampered by a lack of relevant content.

The e-readiness of a society's digital capacity. E-readiness refers to a society's ability to incorporate ICT into all of its endeavours. The availability of trained human resources capable of using, improving, developing, and adapting new technology is critical to the society's e-readiness. Households, businesses, the government, and other elements of society should be willing to accept and absorb ICT. The government must establish a regulatory framework by enacting the required laws and regulations to oversee ICT use in all areas of society. The greater the divide, the lower the readiness, and vice versa.

Q3) Explain the term cyber space. What is the importance of having a digital entity? Explain the term cybercrime. How can you protect yourself from cybercrime?

Ans) Cyberspace: Cyberspace is a phrase that has yet to be fully defined and has no geographical boundaries. It's a term that refers to the use of the Internet on a global scale. Cyberspace is also known as a virtual realm because its physical existence is undetectable. "The total connectivity of human beings through computers and telecommunications, regardless of physical geography," according to cyberspace.

Importance: A formal definition of identity is difficult to come up with. Essentially, an entity's identity is defined by its basic and distinct traits. For example, the system will identify this person as Joe Jindo, despite the fact that there are numerous Joe Jindos in the world. These qualities could include the person's unchangeable physical attributes, his preferences, or other people's judgments of the individual's personality, among other things. A person's skills can also become a part of his or her identity.

Cybercrime: Cybercrime differs from computer crime in some ways. Computer crime occurs in both physical and virtual spaces, with or without the use of a network. Cybercrime occurs in a digital environment in a virtual domain. The Bazzee.com case, which is an MMS scandal, is a recent example of cybercrime. Because cyberspace has no geographical boundaries, cybercrime can occur anywhere.

Protection: The most significant impediment to law enforcement acquiring content from a computer is encryption. Because handwritten and telephone encryption are uncommon, this is a problem that is peculiar to cyberspace. When it comes to encryption, there are two options: accept it without restriction or prohibit it. Allowing merely key escrowed encryption is more pragmatic than disallowing encryption entirely, but for the sake of this article, they are effectively the same.

The government's overwhelming response has been that encryption controls are necessary, and several initiatives have been proposed to that end; however, the public and legal responses to these initiatives have been negative: many organisations are resisting the degree of control that law enforcement would be given, and the Communications Decency Act was recently ruled as being too broad to be constitutional. In this circumstance, law enforcement's statements about what it needs to be effective are hotly contested by the general public, making a balance between the two more difficult to achieve in cyberspace.

Q4) Define the term e-commerce. What are the different approaches of commerce over the Internet? What are the advantages of e-commerce to a business? What are the constraints and limitations of e-commerce? What measures would reduce security risks for performing online financial transactions?

Ans) Electronic commerce, sometimes known as E-Commerce, refers to any business or commercial transaction that involves the transmission of data via the Internet.

Approaches: auction sites, affiliate sites, banner adverts, bulk-buying sites, shopping malls, portals, digital publishing sites, licensing sites, community sites and name your price sites.

Advantages

1. Being able to conduct business 24 x 7 x 365

2. Access the global marketplace

3. Speed

4. Marketspace

5. Opportunity to reduce costs

6. Computer platform-independent

7. Efficient applications development environment

8. Allowing customer self service and 'customer outsourcing'

9. Stepping beyond borders to a global view

10. A new marketing channel

11. 
    

Limitations and Constraints

1. Time for delivery of physical products

2. Physical product, supplier and delivery uncertainty

3. Perishable goods

4. Limited and selected sensory information

5. Returning goods

6. Privacy, security, payment, identity, and contract

7. Defined services and the unexpected

8. Personal service

9. Size and number of transactions

Measures

Q5) Explain different kinds of e-Governance. Define the Objectives of e-Democracy. List the measures that should be considered prior to going for e-Governance.

Ans) Kinds of e-Governance

1. E-Administration: ICTs are being used to modernise the state; data repositories for MIS are being created, and records are being computerised.

2. E-Services: The goal is to bring the government closer to the people. Provision of online services is one example. E-government is the word used to describe the combination of e-administration and e-services.

3. E-Democracy: The use of information technology to make it easier for people from all walks of life to engage in state governance. With a professed emphasis on transparency, responsibility, and involvement, the remit is significantly larger here. Online disclosure policies, online grievance redress forums, and e-referendums are some examples.

Conceptually, it's more powerful.

E-Democracy

The two main objectives of e-democracy are:

1. Citizens should have access to information and knowledge about the political process, services, and viable options.

2. To make the move from passive information access to active citizen involvement possible, the following steps will be taken:

i)  Informing the citizen

ii)  Representing the citizen

iii) Encouraging the citizen to vote

iv) Consulting the citizen

v)  Involving the citizen

Measures

1. Improve E-Readiness in areas such as human resources, budgeting resources, inter/intra-departmental communication flows, and society's readiness..

2. Investment in Telecommunication infrastructure

3. Internet connectivity speed

4. Governmental human resources

5. Budget resources

6. E-business environment, which comprises a legal framework and information security.

7. Begin with a minimal approach, and as with infrastructure development and acceptance of E-Government among diverse bodies, functionality can be added gradually..

8. Involve top leadership

9. Increase public understanding of the necessity and possibilities of eGovernment.

10. All departments should encourage and support you.

11. Maintain consistent implementation

12. Monitor assessment

13. Ensure security

14. Encourage private sector

15. To begin, plan locally, but bear in mind the worldwide user community.

16. Involve stakeholders such as high-tech firms, software firms, and the banking industry, among others.

17. Adoption of worldwide standards whenever possible, eliminating customization and hence the risk of software and compatibility issues.

Q6) List the features of an e-learning system. Explain the features of any five synchronous tools that can be used for e-learning. Also explain the need of SCORM for e-learning.

Ans)

Features

1. Non-Linear

2. Dynamic process

3. Learner controlled

4. Reusable objects

5. Informal

6. Platform independent

7. Knowledge management

8. Communities of interest

9. RAD (Rapid Application Development)

10. Multi-channel

Features of Synchronous Tools

1. Shared Whiteboards: Allow class members to write on the same digital whiteboard.

2. Application Sharing: For demonstration or collaboration, the same software and file can be shared..

3. Teleconferencing: It could be used to deliver audio from an instructor or for collaboration.

4. Chat: The standard for synchronous, multi-person, text-based chat is Internet Relay Chat (IRC).

5. Videoconferencing: Using computer networks to transmit audio and video data, a conference between two or more participants at distant locations can be held.

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model)

ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning) in the United States established SCORM as a standard definition for WBT content. Compliance with SCORM allows materials to operate on a variety of learning management systems (LMS) and to employ SCOs (Sharable Content Objects) in a variety of course structures. ADL runs a certification scheme that verifies whether an LMS and its contents comply with SCORM, and the program's internationalisation is being considered. The IMS Simple Sequencing Specification is being integrated into SCORM Version 1.3 to define the dynamic behaviour of contents according to the learners' level and comprehension.

Q7) Explain the role of ICT in online medical advice, public health and computer-assisted surgery.

Ans) Online Medical Advice: ICT in healthcare research aids in the discovery of potential disease prevention techniques to remove and minimise illness spread. Data can be provided to the patient or to doctors for consultation using ICT. The patient will have access to medical records that may be used anywhere, at any time.

Public Health Individuals and communities can benefit greatly from the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). ICTs also give the capacity to increase health system efficiencies and reduce medical errors through the development of databases and other applications.

Computer Assisted Surgery: RAS devices, also known as robotic surgery, allow surgeons to manipulate and move surgical tools through one or more small incisions in the patient's body (minimally invasive) for a variety of surgical operations using computer and software technology.

Q8) Explain different steps of SDLC with the help of an example. Also explain different kinds of maintenance of information systems.

Ans) The following are various steps of an Information System development:

1. Requirements Analysis :The system is the first and most important need for any software development. In addition, the system requirements may differ depending on the software product being produced.

2. Design: In the entire development cycle, analysis and design are quite important. Any flaw in the design phase could be very costly to fix later in the software development process.

3. Coding: This is the stage at which the system is really developed. Code is written in the programming technology chosen based on the design papers generated in the previous step.

4. Testing: Because this is the phase where the system built is tested and reports regarding flaws or mistakes in the system are prepared, a programme or system that has not been tested is of poor quality.

5. Maintenance: Once the software is given to the customer, it will almost certainly be altered. There could be a variety of explanations for this shift.

Q9) Explain the following components of and MIS:

i) Inventory and Material management

Ans) Your entire operation depends on effective administration of finished goods, work-in-progress, and raw materials. A healthy and structured materials management system is provided by the MIS System, which includes all you need to accurately oversee inventory transactions, product costs, and material utilisation. It allows you to manage essential inventory information using a multi attribute "item card" from material purchase through completed product allocation. With a few mouse clicks, you can track inventory levels by item, location, warehouse, product family, and historical usage in real time. Automated features for regularly done jobs will simplify daily inventory transactions and boost user productivity.

ii) Quality Control

Ans) You've taken the first step toward increasing quality control across your whole operation by deploying a MIS system. MIS takes quality control a step further by providing unique quality-focused solutions to assist your firm in achieving optimal quality control over your goods, performance, and procedures. Maintain a high degree of product quality by doing thorough inspections on everything from raw materials to work-in-process to customer returns. Track problematic materials easily and assign them to be returned to the vendor, scrapped, or reworked. With statistical process control technologies, you can effectively track your production performance and procedures.

Q10) What are the limitations of MIS? Explain the role of NICNET in various IT projects in India. List the features of any two current IT projects in India.

Ans) Limitations

1. Customization is costly.

2. Customization is time consuming and in many cases impractical

3. Implementation of an MIS project is a long process

4. MIS engenders a host of fears. Some of them are; Job Redundancy

5. Decline of an individual’s monopoly over information monopoly

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Role of NICNET

1. E-Panchayat: Framework of ICT for administration of Panchayat.

2. IT Training : It is a way to Business Process Reengineering.

3. IT in Environment : It provides Environment Security.

4. Passport services : It provides ePassport for Indian Citizen.

5. Smart Card : Technology for application of eGovernment.

Features of IT Projects

1. E-Chalaan is also an application for cops to facilitate payment in a smarter way.

2. Air Quality Monitoring App which allows the air quality to be monitored via android mobiles phones.

Q11) Explain the components of an embedded system. Also list the basic characteristics of embedded systems. Explain the characteristics of an embedded operating system.

Ans) Components

Hardware: power supply, processor, memory, timers, serial communication ports, output/output circuits, and circuits particular to the system application

Software: To complete the series of tasks, you'll need application software.

An embedded system's software is created with three constraints in mind:

1. Availability of System Memory

2. Availability of processor speed

3. When the system is run continuously in cycles of wait for events, run, halt, and wake up, it is necessary to limit power dissipation.

Real Time Operating System: (RTOS) It controls application software and provides a mechanism for allowing the processor to perform a process according to a schedule and switch from one process (task) to another.

Characteristics

1. Embedded systems are not general-purpose systems; they are tailored to perform a specific goal.

2. Embedded system software is stored in ROM or flash memory.

3. Knowledge of behaviour at design time can be leveraged to save time and money while increasing robustness.

4. In many circumstances, embedded systems have low power consumption.

Characteristics of an Embedded Operating System

The following features are required for an Embedded OS to be considered good:

1. Modularity: Modularity is a concept that has applications in computer science, namely in programming languages. A module can be specified in a variety of ways, but it must always be part of a larger system and operate independently from the other components of that system.

2. Scalability: The attribute of a multiprocessing computer that determines how much more processors will boost aggregate computing capabilities. Windows NT server 4.0 is thought to be scalable up to eight Intel processors.

3. A CPU Support: Without a suitable CPU, an operating system is useless.

4. Flexibility and Configurability: We imply by flexibility that the Embedded OS must be adaptable to change and modification. A configuration is a grouping of functional components based on their nature, number, and most important attributes. Configuration usually refers to the hardware, software, firmware, and documentation options. The system's functionality is influenced by the settings.

5. Have a Small Footprint: In computer science, a piece of software's footprint refers to the amount of computing resources it consumes, such as RAM, CPU time, and peripheral devices.

6. Have a Large Device Driver Database: The larger an Embedded OS's Device Driver Database is, the more devices that can be managed by that OS.

Q12) Define the term Human Computer Interface (HCI). List the features of following devices     in the context of HCI:

Ans) Human Computer Interface (HCI)

The means through which a human user communicates with a computer system, relating in particular to the usage of input/output devices and related software. They must be set up in a way that allows for a smooth and enjoyable interaction between a human and a computer.

Features

(i) Webcam

Ans) Anyone connected to the Internet can view still photographs or motion video/moving video of a user through a camera connected to a computer or server. Around the world, there are millions of webcams that allow you to see other people, places, and even events.

(ii) Optical Scanner

Ans) A hardware input device that allows a user to turn an image or text into a digital file so that the computer can read and display the scanned object. A scanner is typically connected to a computer through USB, Firewire, Parallel, or SCSI.

(iii) Plotters

Ans) Plotters are tools for creating graphs and diagrams. Pen plotters and electrostatic plotters are the two types of plotters. Electrostatic plotters work similarly to a laser printer, and pen plotters have an ink pen attached to draw the graphics.

(iv) Printer

Ans) It's an external hardware device that takes computer data and converts it to a physical copy. Printers are one of the most often used computer peripherals, and they are used to print text, pictures, and/or photos.

Q13) Explain the use of computer vision in medical diagnostics. Also explain the following terms in the context of computer vision:

(i) Face detection (ii) Illumination (iii) Photogrammetry (iv) Occlusion

Ans) Use of Computer Vision in Medical Diagnostics

Medical computer vision, often known as medical image processing, is one of the most well-known application domains. The extraction of information from image data for the aim of making a medical diagnosis of a patient is what this field is known for.

Microscopy images, X-ray images, angiography images, ultrasonic images, and tomography images are all examples of image data.

1. Face Detection: Face recognition is a classic and essential topic in computer vision. Humans are capable of performing this task with ease and consistency.

2. Illumination: The light is referred to as illumination. We may always get two different photos of the same person when we take a shot of them in dim light and another in bright light. As a result, images are affected by light.

3. Photogrammetry: The science of noncontact sensing measurement, such as topography maps created from satellite photographs. It is usually more concerned with questions of accuracy than with issues of interpretation.

4. Occlusion: The term "occlusion" refers to the process of filling in gaps in an object's picture. Occlusions aid in the completion of missing images. Human beings have the ability to automatically complete an incomplete image. When we acquire a picture with only the top half of a person, we use occlusion to complete the image.