Professional issues in computing

Long questions:

1. You have been asked by your manager to develop a website, but the specification you receive makes no provision for accessibility. Write a memorandum to your manager explaining what needs to be added to the specification, and why this should be done.

Re: website specification.
The lack of accessibility provision has been noted and this employee feels it would benefit you to add this important aspect for the following reasons:

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) recognizes Web accessibility as a basic human right.

The UK Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public and specifically with regards to websites:

• 5.23 (p71): “For people with visual impairments, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”
• 5.26 (p68): “For people with hearing disabilities, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”

(http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/uk-website-legal-requirements.shtml)

While accessibility focuses on people with disabilities, it also benefits older users, mobile phone users, and other individuals. Older users with age-related accessibility needs are an increasingly important customer base for most organizations, as the percentage of older users is increasing significantly.

Those aged 55+, are set to overtake 35-44 year olds as the demographic age group representing the largest share of UK Internet visits. Those aged 55+ represented 22.0% of UK visits to all categories of websites in the four weeks to 12th May 2007, up 54% since 2005 and 40% since 2006. This compares to 23.5% of Internet visits from 35-44 year olds.

(http://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-hopkins/2007/05/54_increase_put_silver_surfers.html)

Legalities aside, common sense dictates that making the website accessible (and therefore easier to navigate/ access material) to the largest online demographic alongside mobile phone users and people with disabilities will make it more accessible for people without those problems.

Organizations with accessible websites also benefit from search engine optimization (SEO), reduced legal risk, demonstration of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and increased customer loyalty.

(Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization, S.L. Henry and A.M.J. Arch, eds. World Wide Web Consortium (MIT, ERCIM, Keio), June 2009. http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/)

Adherence to the w3c web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0 http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/) is strongly recommended as an addition to the current specification.

2. You have been asked to manage the sending out a questionnaire relating to the requirements of a web site your employer is developing. You will also be responsible for producing a series of reports from the response. What professional and ethical issues should you take into account when doing this?

Adherence to the 8 core principles of the data protection act (1998) is paramount:

1. Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully
2. Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or other purposes
3. Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the
   purpose or purposes for which they are processed
4. Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary kept up to date (with every
   reasonable step being taken to ensure that data that are inaccurate or incomplete,
   having regard to the purpose(s) for which they were collected or for which they are being further processed, are erased or rectified)
5. Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes
6. Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under this Act
7. Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against
   unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data
8. Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the
   European Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data.

• Transparency – ensuring individuals have a very clear and unambiguous understanding of the purpose(s) for collecting the data and how it will be used;
• Consent – at the time that the data is collected, individuals must give their consent to their data being collected, and also at this time, have the opportunity to opt out of any subsequent uses of the data.

(http://www.mrs.org.uk/standards/dp.htm)

Take on board the conduct codes and recommendations of marketing research bodies such as MRS and ESOMAR and consider where your sample base will be taken from (online panel, customer database etc) and the implications of using such contact information under the relevant acts of law.

For surveys completed online, respondents must be told about the length of time the questionnaire is likely to take to complete under normal circumstances (e.g. assuming connection is maintained).
The use of some form of metering device so that respondents can track their progress through the questionnaire is recommended.
Respondents should be informed if they have the option of completing the questionnaire at a time convenient to them within the schedule dictated by the time frame of the study. Beyond this, suitable technical measures should be implemented, where appropriate, allowing respondents not to answer particular questions (but to proceed with the rest of the interview) and to interrupt and subsequently return to the interview at any time.

It must be remembered that a respondent’s e-mail address is personal data where it refers to a data subject and therefore needs to be protected in the same way as other identifiers.

ESOMAR does not prescribe a mandatory minimum set of background variables that should be recorded about each active panel member. However, the following variables all have valuable roles in strategies to avoid duplication or clarify individual identity, stratification of samples for research projects, and weighting strategies to counter heavy user bias:

• Sex
• Level of education
• Household size
• Region
• Location (postal code + house number)
• Age (date of birth)
• Presence of children in household
• Working status
• Weight of internet usage (hours per week)
• Type of internet access

http://www.esomar.org/uploads/pdf/ESOMAR_Codes&Guideline-Conducting_research_using_Internet.pdf

Short questions

Codes of conduct: http://www.sqa.org.uk/e-learning/ProfIssues03CD/page_01.htm

ACM http://www.acm.org/about/code-of-ethics

BCS http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6030

ARrrrgh! you see why my head hurts? roll on Friday and it will all be over – until next year.

Web services:

The main difference between a web site and a web service is:

• A web service is designed to work with any type of client or device using XML messaging
• A web site is designed to work using a web browser client using html, xhtml and css

A web service consumer is a program which uses information provided by other applications in a network environment.

A web service provider is a software agent that will undertake work on behalf of a client application.

A service request is a message sent from one application to another for data to meet the applications needs.

A function oriented service is where an application performs a function and returns a result based on the inputs supplied.

The main reason security is such a difficult issue for web services is that unknown people and applications should be able to access the service – this means they need to be very open which leaves them vulnerable.

The role of WSDL in web service architecture is to describe the interface to the server; it describes what the web service can do, where it can be found and how it can be invoked.

XML

The two main benefits that come from using xml to create documents are that it:

• Separates the content from it’s structure
• Allows the use of more meaningful tag names

The main advantages of using an xml schema instead of a DTD are that an xml schema allows you to define both data types and namespaces which a DTD doesn’t.

An xml document can be well formed without an associated DTD (Document Type Definition) or Schema – so long as it adheres to the syntax rules laid out in the xml 1.0 recommendation:

• There can be only one root element.
• Every start tag must have a matching closing tag.
• Empty elements can omit the closing tag, but, if they do so, must have a forward slash before the closing angle bracket (/>).
• Elements must be properly nested.
• Attribute values must be in quotes.
• In the content of an element or attribute value, < and &; must be replaced by &lt; and &amp; respectively.

In order to be validated an xml document must have an associated schema or DTD to be validated against.

So to reiterate; The difference between an xml document being valid or well formed is:

• Well-formed: The XML code must be syntactically correct.
• Valid: If the XML file has an associated XML Schema/ DTD, the elements must appear in the defined structure and the content of the individual elements must conform to the declared data types specified in the schema.

The root node of an xml document tree is the first element at the top of the document.

Namespaces

The namespace is defined by the xmlns attribute in the start tag of an element.

The namespace declaration has the following syntax: xmlns:prefix=”URI”.

Schema

Two benefits that come from using XML Schema Definitions (XSDs) in specifying document formats, that do not apply to DTDs are:

• An XSD enables you to specify the format of character data within an element
• An XSD enables you to give an allowed maximum for an attribute value

To show that an element is optional at a particular point in an XML schema you should include minOccurs=”0″ in the elements definition.

DTD

There are three types of DTD:

• Strict; free of all deprecated tags and framesets
• Transitional; includes deprecated tags
• Frameset; framesets (with or without deprecated tags)

To show that an element is optional in a DTD you should follow the elements name with a question mark.

Parsing

A parser is a program that performs parsing; parsing is a method of stripping away xml markup tags leaving only the data which can then be processed further.

Before parsing a DTD or Schema must be referenced to identify the validated markup tags and their structure definition.

You do not need a parser to read an xml document.

XSLT

Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) is most accurately described as a means to transform XML markup into another markup format for use by other applications.

..and there I must leave you – t’other half is kicking me off the pc to get some kip so I’m fresh in the morning to carry on revising this stuff – you envy me don’t you – go on.. admit it, you so wish you were me right now..

We get the ‘look’ a lot from family, friends and colleagues; the look that screams at you that you’re just lazy, that you’re milking it so you don’t have to do X, Y or Z.

The look that says you’re a failure. that you don’t try hard enough to beat the condition, that you give in too easily, that you don’t do enough full stop.

Feeling that kind of unspoken pressure and budding resentment all the time is demoralising because it’s having your own thoughts thrown back in your face a hundred times over.

But that’s not the humiliating thing.

No, what’s humiliating is trying to live a normal life, trying to do it all and succeeding so well in the appearance of this that when you crash in class/ at work from pushing yourself so hard, you’re met with confusion, embarrasment and a feeling of complete and utter alienation.

Today was one such day for me.

I was sat in my PAWS class and I could feel a crash coming on, I’d managed to shut down the laptop and was attempting to pack up my gear in a race against time.

..but it was fairly obvious I wouldn’t make it, not without leaving the laptop and that wasn’t an option as I can’t afford to replace it.

To make matters worse as everyone started heading out to get to the labs for our next tutorial, a classmate made her way over to talk to me and I didn’t have the energy to respond, I just rested my head on the table and prayed that she’d shut up and leave me alone.

I was not to be so lucky, she started badgering me and then at my lack of response began asking if I needed a doctor or the medical center.. I responded NO.

(single syllable words are the limit when the fatigue hits, and only for a few minutes before even they deteriorate into grunts and sniffles)

She kept asking me and asking me – I managed to get out the phrase ‘I have M.E’ so she then started calling back all the guys into the room – all I wanted was the ground to open up and swallow me.

I knew the room was timetabled for us for another hour, I knew the crash wouldn’t last that long if I could keep calm and just go with it; unfortunately she didn’t.

I’m there slumped against the table, struggling against the tears of embarrassment and frustration leaking down my cheeks and dripping uncomfortably from the end of my nose and she’s doing everything in her power to draw attention to me.

“She says she has M.E do you know what M.E is? Vicky, what is M.E? Vicky? Vicky? talk to me, do you need a Dr? Do you want me to take you home?”

And this went on and on until I could force out another “NO, leaf ‘lone” which completely exhausted me.

I could hear the embarrassed shuffling and the muffled commenting amongst the lads, finally one of ‘em said “she wants to be left alone.. c’mon we should go” and to my relief, they left.

..The though of having to be in the same room as them all tomorrow fills me with dread, I know the lass will demand a big explanation from me and she’s the type to do so in the middle of a crowded room at full volume – this means even the guys NOT privy to my embarrassing physical breakdown will hear about it.

Oh the joys.

..But even that isn’t the worst part. The worst part was realising that I was alone, unable to move even my eyelids in a place my other half would have no clue to find me and that the people who had left me would not even think to tell someone where I was who could check my records for instructions on what to do for me.

If I could have said, “yes please take me home” to the lass, it still would not have made it happen.

I had a heavy laptop bag and I weigh just over 10 stone – all of which would have been dead weight as I was completely immobile; so how was this tiny lass to carry me and my bag down a flight of stairs and across campus, manhandle me into and out of her car to get me home?

I couldn’t even leave my chair and lie down without being assisted and I didn’t have the strength to ask for the help.

I had to stay in that awkward uncomfortable slumped position with the sun streaming directly onto the side of my face, listening to the comments about me from the people walking past the room laughing at the girl who’d ‘fallen asleep’ ‘had a rough night’ and just pray for the heaviness of the accompanying brainfog to drown out my humiliation and helplessness until the whole episode passed and I could summon the energy to get home.

I was there for 45 minutes.

The usual 10 minute walk home was a 20 minute stumble and I’ve spent the rest of the day in bed completely wasted from the effort of getting home with my bag.

So when people say that ME/CFS is ‘all in your head’ they’re right.

It’s in my head that for 24/7, 365 days of the year no matter what I do I can’t control what happens with my body.

No matter how healthy I look on the outside, in my head I’m worrying about days like today, days when I can’t hide that there is something wrong with me, days when I am at the mercy of every other human around me.

Days like today are the reason I have to force myself to leave the house and get on with things instead of hiding in my room like a hermit.

If I could get THAT out of my head I’d probably be a much happier individual as would every other person I know who suffers from this fucking illness.

Yet now I have a life again I have even more to say; but because of the ME/CFS my time is too precious to spend blogging about it.

I miss being able to sit at the keyboard and carefully shape my posts out of the initial ‘stream of conscious’ draft; I especially miss the comment conversations I would have with the folk like you who took the time to stop by and connect with me.

These days twitter fills that void in part – but it is nowhere near as fulfilling a feeling. I think any of you who like to write as I do can relate to this, the feeling of ‘rightness’ you get when the last edit has been made and you know that your words are in the right place to express your meaning; how it almost ‘snaps free’ to become a living thing in its own right.

..But perhaps that’s merely my fey side talking; I have been told that on occasion I can be a little ‘weird’ (though mainly by my other half, he’s good like that.. )

My time these days is split fairly evenly between family life, coursework and whatever tasks the blended learning unit set me. It’s a fine balance I have to walk in order to manage all of this; but the difference between then and now is that even if I do too much and relapse (which has happened twice this last week alone) I still manage to carry on.

I know that a traditional 9-5 office job is beyond my capabilities; not through lack of skills or cognitive functioning, but because of the physical limitations this illness has placed upon me. But a ‘real’ job is no longer beyond my grasp.

I am seriously dancing inside with this knowledge – ME/CFS has not taken my life, it hasn’t denied me anything; it has merely given me a focus and a determination that propels me to greater heights than I’d ever before dared hope for. This time next year I will be a graduate – hopefully with a Bsc IT(web based systems) 1st (but another 2:1 will have to suffice if that plan falls through)

I know that I have several options before me; freelance web designer/ technical author or even as a part time lecturer should I make enough of an impression on the uni during my time there.

My work with the blended learning unit is a hopeful step in that direction;

• I’ve given two lectures on wiki use and best practice for group work within the UH studynet environment
• I’ve created several handouts to complement these lectures
• I’ve received positive feedback about these sessions and a request from other departments for similar help

A simple thing perhaps, but one that is obviously needed as the facilities available to the students are widely underused. With e-learning gaining such a large profile within the academic community, these experiences can only stand me in good stead when the time comes to search for employment.

I don’t wish to lose the essence of ‘me’ within the blog; the personal side of things has netted me several ‘blog friends’ over the years (yes Master K, April, Crash and Brandie – I mean you) and I value that aspect of my virtual life,  but I do want to highlight the content more in keeping with the career I’m looking to pursue (upon completion of my BSc degree) as this is the first place any prospective employer will look should they embark upon an internet search for me.

At present I am top of the search returns on google.com for ‘Vicky Stringer’ and have a further 4 listings lower down the front page and on google.co.uk I hold the top 2 positions on the first page – no mean feat for a non professional ‘nonentity’.

Unfortunately I’m certain that once I change my site and lose all the lovely ‘link juice’ I’ve accrued over the years this status will change. I am equally certain that before long I’ll be back on top but this is fair warning to anybody that has linked to me in the past – the link will be broken as soon as my new site is up and running.

In other news, I have also been looking carefully at my options for module choices next year and have managed to 98% decide on the combination that will best enhance my current knowledge and experience.

1. Professional issues in computing (compulsory module semester A only)
2. Databases (semester A only)
3. Web application design (semester A and B)
4. Principles and Applications of Web Services (semester A and B)
5. IT Project (Compulsory module semester B only)

So.. Back to ‘creating’ the new look site, hope you like it when I’m done.