ICT in society

How ICT affects businesses, consumers & employees

You need to be able to explain the benefits and drawbacks of the use of information and communication technology in:

manufacturing, industry, commerce, medicine, the home, education tele-working.

In pairs brainstorm a list of ICT used in these areas:

To what extent has machinery displaced workers?

Arguments for? Arguments against?

Have more jobs have been created by the new technology (computerisation)? What has happened to clerical workers over the last 20 years? How have their skills been lost/changed?

Impact of ICT & where we live/work

Where does data processing need to be done, in the office or at the end of a phone line?

Consider British Airways and other companies using call centres, where are these centres?
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What is Tele-working?
What are the benefits of Tele-working? Consider: environment, commuting, working hours, commitments, space saving, team-working in a network. What are the problems with Tele-working? Consider: management, organisational loyalty, social isolation, separation of work with leisure time. Would you do any form of Tele-working? Consider doing school-work at home and emailing it to your teacher.
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For those who cannot adapt?

What happens to older workers who may find it difficult to re-train to adapt to the new technology? What happens to people that do not have access to the new technology? What about people who try to ignore the new technology? What can happen when people rely on technology? Consider: back up systems for breakdown, fault handling, natural accidents, malicious damage.
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Consumer issues
What are some of the new ICT products available now?
Addidas store virtual mirrors

A super tablet E-ink

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Consumer issues
What new products are on the way?
Not just shoes but clothes

New Projector system?

The EyeMove PC combines the functionality of a digital projector and computer into one circular-shaped device. Simply hang it on your wall or place it flat on a desk and project games, movies, or applications.
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Transparent Toaster
This innovative concept uses special heating glass to warm a single slice of bread. Unfortunately, the glass does not reach a high enough temperature at this time to actually toast the bread. No word yet on if this concept will go into production
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New Batteries
Two-thirds of mobile and personal digital assistant owners said two days' active battery life was vital. The report said that poor battery life on mobile devices was one of the main reasons people did not play more games, music and video on their devices more often.
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IT in Banking
How is IT used in Banking? telephone banking, Internet banking, ATMs, Debit cards, Credit cards, MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) e.g. cheque processing, Direct debiting, etc. Paying in cheques scanning

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What are the issues of IT in Banking

Cloning cards Fraud E-scams Consumer confidfence

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How is IT used with a Store Card?

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E-commerce
Web sites used for advertising have been developed into a virtual store. What is a virtual store? How can a virtual store help a business? What is another useful by-product that a web site can collect? Consider a database of potential customers. What could a business do with this information?
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Internet shopping
What are the advantages for the shop? What are the advantages for the customer?

What are the implication?

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How are computers used in manufacturing?

Consider: order processing, stock reports and replacement, progress tracking. Project management budgets, ontime.
What is CAD (Computer aided Design)? What is CAM (Computer aided Manufacture)?
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CAD
What are some examples of CAD? How can a computer image help with design? How can an animation software package assist with design? How does CAD enhance sales and marketing? What is the difference between Vector based graphics and Bit-mapped graphics?
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CAM
What are some examples CAM is used for? How is this system of creating products very flexible/individual? Robots are controlled by computers what are the basic components? Consider: a sensor, a microprocessor, an actuator. Give some examples of where robotics are used? Why are robots so useful? Consider: repetition, strength, quality, costs, hazardous environment.

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Medicine
Give some example where computers are used in the Health service? Consider: records, databases, computerised medical devices, monitoring, expert systems (diagnosis), surgery. What is an expert (knowledge-based) system? Consider: image capture and processing. What is robotic surgery? Consider: operations. How important are computers for the disabled? Consider: blind, deaf, special devices, implants.
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Education
Why are there so many computers in schools? How do computers assist with teaching and learning? What is an interactive teaching package? How should the Internet be used to assist learning? How can computers help with distance learning?
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Can Computers Replace Teachers

What can computers do that is better than having a teacher? Consider: pace, repetition, patience, consistency, cost effective. What can a teacher do that is better than a computer? What could the classroom of the future look like? will it exist, will students need to attend school, could they choose what subject to do and when, will they be motivated to take charge of their own learning?
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 Computer controlled braking, fuel, on cars, Personal use, data, accounts, education, Electrical devices in the home, washing machines, video DVD players, microwaves, etc, Telephone lines for Internet communications.

What would happen Routine chores: money, shopping, holiday, if IT Scanners and imaging systems, broke down in Traffic control, and car parking,each of these motorway, Flood warning systems, areas?

Dependence on IT

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 How are organisations dependant on IT? Consider the type of organisation: Supermarkets, Hospitals, The emergency services, The utility companies, Schools, Air traffic control, Nuclear power stations. What would be the consequences of failure on the organisations above?
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How does IT improve home shopping?

What products can take advantage of INTERNET shopping? Which products are very difficult to sell on line?

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What issues within Internet shopping will increase use?

The ability to arrange delivery outside work hours eg in the evening or weekend is an important factor. Broadband access has speeded up the process of selecting and ordering item on web sites

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Exam Questions Paper 1

For each of the following organisations, state one use it can make of ICT and give one benefit to the organisation of this use. The uses of ICT must be different in each case. (a) A newspaper (2 marks) (b) A supermarket (2 marks) (c) A travel company (2 marks) (d) The Police (2 marks)
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Exam Question Paper 5

Mr Patel has bought a DVD on fishing from a company on the Internet. He has now started to receive e-mails about fishing holidays, and is receiving fishing equipment catalogues through the post. (a) Explain why Mr Patel has started to receive the e-mails and the catalogues. (2 marks) (b) State what most people are likely to be worried about when ordering goods using credit cards over the Internet. (1 mark) (c) Describe two measures that a company can take to help give customers confidence in using their on-line facilities. (4 marks) (d) Describe two advantages to a company of selling its goods on-line. (4 marks)

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