FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Information Systems 511

Name & Surname: _ ICAS / ITS No:
Qualification: Semester: Module Name: _______________
Date Submitted:

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA MARK EXAMINER MODERATOR

ALLOCATION MARKS MARKS
MARKS FOR CONTENT
SECTION ONE 20
SECTION TWO 30
SECTION THREE 20
SECTION FOUR 20
TOTAL 90
MARKS FOR TECHNICAL ASPECTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
Accurate numbering according to the numbering in
text and page numbers.
LAYOUT AND SPELLING 3
Font – Calibri 12
Line Spacing – 1.0
Margins should be justified.
REFERENCES 5
According to the Harvard Method
TOTAL 10
TOTAL MARKS FOR ASSIGNMENT 100
Examiner’s Comments:

Moderator’s Comments:

Signature of Examiner: SIMON GOBVU Signature of Moderator:

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SECTION 1: SHORT QUESTIONS COMPULSORY (20 MARKS)
1.1 Briefly differentiate the internet from the World Wide Web (www). (4 Marks)
1.2 What advantages does a server have on the personal computer? (4 Marks)
1.3 What factors would you consider in choosing an Internet Service Provider? (4 Marks)

1.4 Outline four techniques used in enforcing the privacy of personal information. (4 Marks)

1.5 What is a hotspot? What are the common places where hotspots are found?
(4 Marks)

QUESTION 2: LONG QUESTIONS COMPULSORY (30 MARKS)

2.1 Briefly discuss the various types of users of computers. (15 Marks)

2.2 Would you adopt WhatsApp as a means of formal communication over traditional email
in a professional environment? (15 Marks)

SECTION 3: Essay/ Long Questions (40 MARKS)

3.1 Discuss how emails are sent and received over a network. Outline the technologies and
protocols used.
(20 Marks)

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4.Case Study: Virtual Reality has arrived, but are humans ready for it?
(20 Marks)
……virtual reality applications for learning might be the most practical use of the platform.
While the extent of my learning took place in guided virtual tours, even in that format
acquiring facts about places I’d never been was augmented by being embedded in the
environment. What’s more, I didn’t have to leave the comfort of my home for the
experience.
But even while having these fantastic experiences, I was concerned.
Isolation, violence, and addiction. Whenever I took off the virtual reality headset, the
realization that I was alone was disconcerting. Alone together is both the title of a book
exploring increasing isolation and loneliness found through technology and a descriptor for
what the phenomena looked like in 2011 when the book was released. At the time, author
Sherry Turkle, a professor of social studies of science and technology at MIT, remarked on
the interplay between digital connectivity and physical isolation. Since the book’s release
more than a decade ago, technology use has only increased, and with it so has loneliness.

When playing Blades and Sorcery, a sandbox sword fighting game, while slashing and
stabbing enemies with my right hand, I conjured lightning in my left hand and electrocuted
someone with magic (in VR, of course). Unlike the others, this enemy’s body fell toward me
instead of away. I reflexively pulled back and only then reflected on the number of enemies
I’d killed and how I killed them. Researchers have found that people who played violent
video games display greater short-term increases in their aggression and decreased
empathy when compared to those who just watched violent content. This suggests that
interactions in video games have the potential to induce behavioral change. If these findings
extend to even more involved interactions possible in simulated environments, then virtual
reality has the potential to induce even greater effects on its users.
Current virtual reality experiences appear to have addictive qualities as well. This shouldn’t
be surprising as most entertainment modalities—like video games and social media—
possess similar habit-forming potential to differing degrees. It’s reasonable to expect that
the increased immersion of virtual reality might confer more significant addictive capacity
for users.
VR ethics. Because virtual reality aims to mirror and, in some cases, go beyond reality, it is
reasonable to expect users to experience feelings about these simulated spaces as they
would about the real world. If virtual environments can make convincing simulated realities,
how much should the ethics of reality bound these virtual spaces?
Shows like West World, The Peripheral, and tangentially Altered Carbon all tell stories
largely based around simulated realities. West World immediately confronts viewers with
scenes of cruel and realistic violence while repeatedly reminding the viewer that it is all
taking place in a virtual world. What should a viewer feel when presented with this
incongruence? Should people have differing moral frameworks for evaluating acts in the
virtual versus the real world?

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Even without adding the immersive capabilities of virtual reality, users feel connected to
their online gaming and social avatars. Some even consider their avatars to be an extension
of themselves. In virtual reality, this connectedness will likely only increase. How strongly do
humans consider that extension when contemplating harm that might come to an avatar in
a simulated space? Already, during the short time that virtual reality has been available to
consumers, there have been noteworthy instances of virtual acts of sexual assault involving
user avatars. If people’s avatars are extensions of themselves, how then should violations
against those selves be handled?

Some suggest that virtual reality transgressions should be handled in the virtual world only;
others believe that because simulated harm impacts someone in the real world, standard
justice systems should be applied. There are several viable solutions for users causing harm
to other users, but what of the cases where user actions are applied to fully virtual
characters? These types of characters are referred to as non-playable characters, or NPCs.
As the realism of these characters increases, is there some point at which a virtual reality
user robbing or killing a non-playable character crosses some ethical boundary? Are there
player actions that might be unethical, regardless of whether they cause measurable harm
to anyone in the real world?
After thinking about these questions, I’ve only come up with more questions. What is clear
from the reception of shows like West World and others like it is that people are fascinated
with these questions. It is also clear that there are currently no satisfying answers. As virtual
reality adoption increases and society begins to grapple with these issues, I think we should
take heed of the virtual worlds that science fiction has explored and understand that
without intervention, and maybe even with, most imaginary worlds are darker than our
own.
I completed Half-Life: Alyx and had a great time overall. The game ends with an ominous
speech from a character called G-Man. In the speech, G-Man offers you the chance to
change the future and, with it, reality. Right now, technology is preparing to make a similar
offer to us all. Are humans ready for it?
Source: https://thebulletin.org/2023/03/virtual-reality-has-arrived-but-are-humans-ready-
for-it/

4.1 With respect to the case study above discuss how computers can be hazardous to
human health and behavior.
(10 Marks)
4.2 Briefly discuss the benefits of Virtual Reality. (10 Marks)

END OF QUESTION PAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!

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