Australian National University

Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

COMP1200 Perspectives on Computing

Assignment 1, 2008

This is the smaller of the two assignments in COMP1200. The objectives of this assignment are as follows:

• Introduction to technical report writing
• Introduction to research collection and selection
• Development of a perspective on the society implications, applications or history of computing technology
  in the area of computer architecture and operating systems

The lab in week 6 will teach you the basics of using OpenOffice to prepare documents, and how to submit files to MyDropBox.

Task

Write a formal report that addresses one of the following tasks:

1. What is "spyware"? How does it work? What is its history and its likely future? Is it really a serious problem? What can be done about it?
2. The growth of widespread wireless Internet access in public places has, according to some, introduced major problems related to security and privacy. What are the claims, and what is the truth about them? Trace the history of the problem as well as its current status.
3. What is "identity theft" and how has the Internet led to its growth? Explain how it is done and what its consequences are. Is it really as serious and widespread a problem as some people claim? What can be done about it?

Format

Your report must be no longer than 2 pages excluding the references. Two pages might not sound like much, but in fact it is more difficult to write a good report in 2 pages than in 5 pages. You need to collect more than enough information, then very carefully decide what information is to be included and how to summarise it precisely and succinctly.

The format of the report should include the following features:

1. The text of the assignment must be formatted in 2 columns.  10 point Times font must be used.
2. The title should be set in 14 point bold type, centered between two horizontal lines.
   Below the title, your full name and student number must be shown.
3. Section headings must be numbered. A table of contents is optional.
4. Figures or Tables must be labelled and referred to in the body of the text.
5. No footnotes.
6. Single line spacing.
7. A reference section must be included. Harvard style referencing must be used. Usually this section would not be longer than one column for a report of this size.

Provided you obey these formatting guidelines, you can use any program you like to create the file. One option is OpenOffice Writer, which is available on all the lab computers, and also available for free for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, here. Use of OpenOffice is covered in the lab in week 6. One of the skills you will learn in the lab will be to prepare a document with the format needed for your assignment, so we suggest you spend the time before week 6 in collecting information rather than experimenting with document formats.

Submission Guidelines

To submit your assignment, you need to first convert it to PDF format. You can do this in OpenOffice by means of the "Export to PDF" option in the "File" menu.

Then you should send it to MyDropBox using the instructions here. Use of MyDropBox will also be covered by the lab in week 6.

All work submitted must be entirely your own. Make certain you use quality information and that you carefully reference all the material that you use. It is unacceptable to cut and paste another author's work and pass it off as your own, whether the author is another student, a past student, or a published author. Anyone found doing this, from whatever source, will receive zero marks for the assignment; and further action may be taken, if deemed appropriate (this may be plagiarism). Any material that you wish to quote should be put in quotation marks and the source should be clearly referenced. Read the department's policy on plagiarism, in the Department of Computer Science Student Handbook.

Marking Scheme

This assignment, as indicated at the top of this sheet, is worth 30% of the class mark. Each assignment will be marked out of 30.
The following aspects will be considered when the report is marked: relevance, content, presentation and referencing.
The breakdown of the marks will be as follows:

Aspect	Mark
Relevance	4
Content	14
Presentation	6
Referencing	6
Total	30

Late Assignments

If you do not submit by the deadline, then a late penalty of 10% per day applies. Assignments will not be accepted later than one week after the deadline.

Extensions

Extensions will only be given under special circumstances. Students should write a letter to Prof. McKay (bdm(at)cs.anu.edu.au) stating the reason for the request and attach supporting documentation. If your reason is medical, you need to submit a request on the right form - ask the department office to help.

Requests for extensions after the deadline has passed are almost never accepted.