Intro

Question 1

What is an information system?

Answer 1

An information system is a collection of interwoven components that receive, store, analyse, process, and distribute data and information.

Question 2

What is processing?

Answer 2

Processing is the act of converting data into information.

Question 3

What are the categories of information systems?

Answer 3

1. Computer based information systems.
2. Non-computer based information systems.

Question 4

What are the components of computer based information system?

Answer 4

1. Hardware
2. Software
3. Databases
4. Peopleware
5. Telecommunications

Question 5

What is feedback?

Answer 5

Feedback is the information returned by an information system which can be used to update or alter input or a process.

Question 6

Why does an information system include people?

Answer 6

Because people have the skills to build, maintain, and use an information system.

Question 7

What are procedures?

Answer 7

Procedures are steps or instructions to achieve a goal.

Question 8

What are the benefits of an information system?

Answer 8

1. Gives employees a competitive edge.
2. Is an efficient way of handling data and information.
3. Is effective.

Question 9

What activities (involved in processing) convert data into information?

Answer 9

1. Calculations (e.g. multiplying the amount of hours worked by pay rate to get wages)
2. Comparing data and taking alternative approach (like encountering an error and amending the process)

Question 10

What is efficiency?

Answer 10

Efficiency is the measure of what a system is able to accomplish (produce) compared to or divided by what it costs (consumed) to do so.

Question 11

What is effectiveness?

Answer 11

Effectiveness of a system is how well or to what extent a system performs its task; can be computed by dividing the goals actu-ally achieved by the total of the stated goals.

Question 12

What is data?

Answer 12

Data are simply raw facts.

Question 13

What is information?

Answer 13

Information is processed data; data that has been made more useful than it was in its original state.

Question 14

What is knowledge?

Answer 14

Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of information.

Question 15

What are the properties of information?

Answer 15

Information is:
1. Objective
2. Subjective
3. Temporary

Question 16

What are the types of data?

Answer 16

1. Image data
2. Audio data
3. Alphanumeric data
4. Video data

Question 17

When was the first calculator made?

Answer 17

1642 by Blaise Pascal

Question 18

When did interest/enthusiasm for information systems bloom?

Answer 18

1960

Question 19

What year did Information Systems become its own 4-year course?

Answer 19

Sept 7, 1970

Question 20

What year were PCs made?

Answer 20

1980

Question 21

What are the mediating factors between organisations and information systems?

Answer 21

Organisational—
1. Environment
2. Culture
3. Politics
4. Managerial Decisions

Question 22

What is an organisation?

Answer 22

An organisation is a formal societal entity which takes in resources from the environment, processes it, and produces its desired output.

Question 23

What is information technology?

Answer 23

It is the (use or study of the) collection of computer systems that manage, store, and exchange information.

Question 24

What are the differences between Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT)?

Answer 24

1. IS has been around since the use of books to manually store data (pre-mechanical era); IT came about with the advent of computers.
2. IS deals with the processes in storing and converting data for an organisation to use to better achieve its goal; IT deals with the hardware and software (or simply tools) used to process data and disseminate information.
3. IS includes people (peopleware) who use it; IT does not include the people who use it.

Question 25

What is information overload?

Answer 25

Information overload is a state of fatigue and overwhelmedness a person experiences in the face of too much information to process.

Question 26

What are the elements of critical thinking?

Answer 26

1. Analysing and testing alternative approaches and learning from experience. 2. Suspension of judgement and maintaining doubt. 3. Awareness of different approaches to a problem. 4. Understanding one's personal biases and limitations.

Question 27

What is critical thinking?

Answer 27

It is the ability to steadily and effectively analyse information in order to form a sound judgement.

Question 28

What is the World Wide Web?

Answer 28

It is a collection of interlinked documents and other (information) resources such as videos, images, audios, documents, that exist on a vast network known as the Internet.

Question 29

What is URI?

Answer 29

Uniform Resource Identifier is a string of characters assigned to each resource on the internet that helps identify it. URI may be its name or its location, or both.

Question 30

What is a web page?

Answer 30

It is a document that is displayed or available on the web. It may contain plain text, images, animation, videos, etc.

Question 31

What is a website?

Answer 31

A website is a collection of related webpages. It is the location on the WWW that holds a collection of related webpages.

Question 32

What is a URL?

Answer 32

It is a string of characters which points to the *location or address* of a website or other resource on the world wide web.

Question 33

What is a web browser?

Answer 33

An application software that allows its users access webpages and other resources hosted on the internet.

Question 34

What is a hyperlink?

Answer 34

A string of characters or even an image which links one resource or item on the web to another.

Question 35

What are the characteristics of the web?

Answer 35

1. The web is dynamic, 2. The web is cross-platform; can be accessed on any, machine with internet access 3. The web is spread globally across thousands of sites, 4. The web has an easy-to-understand and -navigate user interface, 5. The web has graphics capability, 6. The web is interactive, 7. The web is a hypertext information system.

Question 36

How does accessing the web work?

Answer 36

* Browser sends URL to DNS (Domain Name System) server * DNS server returns Internet Protocol (IP) address, * Browser uses IP address to locate web server associated with the URL, * Browser initiates a HTTP exchange with web server and requests for documents/resources in the server, * The server receives the request and sends a reply usually containing the document, * The browser renders the document in a more pleasing or understandable display to the user.

Question 37

Examples of Top-level Domain Extensions?

Answer 37

.org : non-profit organisation .com : commercial org .uk : UK Domains .gov : US government domain .edu : education domaism

Question 38

Parts of a URL.

Answer 38

For "www.example.com", www : subdomain example: root or second level domain .com: domain extension or top level domain

Question 39

What is an IP address?

Answer 39

A 32-bit string of digits which describes the location of a web server or machine on the internet.

Question 40

What are the properties of an IP address?

Answer 40

* Has two components: network and host (server?) component * Digits are periodically separated by full stops. * Is a 32-bits long * Is represented by numbers from 0 to 255

Question 41

What are the types of URL?

Answer 41

* Absolute URL * Relative URL

Question 42

What is absolute URL

Answer 42

Complete address of a resource including protocol, subdomain, second level domain, top level domain

Question 43

What is Relative URL?

Answer 43

Partial address of a resource that is used to link to files that are part of the same website/server as the webpage it is placed in. Example: /images/img2.png

Question 44

What is the Domain Name System Architecture?

Answer 44

* **Domain Name:** unique strings of characters associated with an IP address * **Domain Name Space:** hierarchical structure used to organise domain names on internet. * **Name Servers:** database which pairs each domain name to its corresponding IP address. * **Zones:** collection of subdomains under the main domain