Introduction

Unit 1

• 01. Health & Safety in Relation to ICT Systems
• 02. Analysis
• 03. Design of Solutions
• 04. Selection and Use of Input Devices and Input Media
• 05. Selection and Use of Storage Requirements, Media and Devices
• 06. Selection and Use of Output Methods, Media and Devices
• 07. Selection and Use of Appropriate Software
• 08. Implementation of ICT Related Solutions
• 09. Testing of ICT Related Solutions
• 10. Evaluation of ICT Related Solutions

Unit 2

• 01. An ICT System and its Components
• 02. Data and Information
• 03. People and ICT Systems
• 04. Transfer of Data in ICT Systems
• 05. Safety and Security of Data in ICT Systems
• 06. Backup and Recovery
• 07. What ICT can Provide
• 08. Factors Affecting the Use of ICT
• 09. The Consequences of the Use of ICT

8. Factors Affecting The Use Of ICT

What has changed since computers have been used globally?

• Employment - lots of manual workers were replaced by computers and computerised machinery. Many people were re-trained to operate the machinery, many more were re-trained for administration using computers.
• Re-training - many of these people resented losing their jobs and didn't want to be retrained, many found that they could gain promotion and hold satisfying jobs using computers.
• Re-skilled or de-skilled - many people have found that their skills are no longer needed as more complicated computer software has meant that highly skilled jobs have been replaced by computer operatives, anyone can produce highly professional posters, leaflets and newsletters now without the use of typists, typsetters, printers etc.
• Stress at work - as many more tasks are required from people because of the choices computers bring. Businesses are open for longer less people are required to do tasks, many full-time jobs are now part-time. There is less leisure time as people are now able to do extra work from home by e-mail and Internet access.
• Family life - has become harder to fit in as more work is necessary, as staff are given laptops to work on at home.
• Social interaction - is less as many people work at the computer all day and have very little interaction with other people at work. Systems are less personal with e-mail being a main communication tool between workers, people lose the face to face contacts.
• Addiction - the increased use of social web sites and chat rooms, and the anti-social use of on-line gambling and pornography.

Culture:

• Each year people spend less time watching tv, and spend more time surfing the Internet.
• Each year people are writing fewer letters to each other, and are sending more e-mails.
• Each year people are using their mobile 'phones to make more calls than land line telephones.
• Each year people are sending more text messages, and making fewer 'phone calls.
• Each year people are using the Internet more to shop, and using the high street shops less.
• Each year people are accessing text and images from the Internet, and less from books and magazines.
• Each year people are accessing news and weather information from the Internet, and less from tv and radio and newspapers.
• Each year as people access more from the Internet views on copyright and other peoples work has diminished, leading to more plagarism and work accepted as ones own.
• Each year people turn to the Internet for ideas on health and complimentary medicide, and less through community health establishments.
• Each year people are becoming more used to the extremes of voilence and pornography as seen on the Internet and increasingly in computer games that ever before.
• Each year people are using the Internet to socialise more with Myspace, Facebook, and countless numbers of chat sites MSN than ever before, people are less likely to communicate face to face.

Religion - Many different faiths and churches have their own web-sites, tv channels and direct linksfor their services, meaningone can attend the service through Internet access of through a television link. Ministers now use e-mail to keep in touch with their congregation. With religion being a major part of many peoples lives, the Internet is used to spread the faith.

Music - Most people purchase their music from the Internet rather than the high street shops. Music is downloaded as a single track or as an album. The purchaser has the choice of listening to the sounds before buying. If they only want 2 tracks from an album that's all they have to buy, not the whole album as sold in shops. Shops sell CD's which used to be popular for the CD walkman. MP3 digital music available from web-sites is far more popular as many more tracks can be stored on small portable MP3 players or on mobile 'phones.

Economic:

Organisations use ICT networks for their information and manufacture because it is the most cost effective way of running businesses. Consider an accounts department using books, calculators with office space for 20 staff. This has been replaced by an accountant using a specific computer accounting program, which produces the bills, invoices, reports, pay slips and anything else required.

Where did the data come from before - forms, returns that had to be read through. Now data is automatically collected (see Unit 1 topic 4) for entry into the ICT system.

• The main uses of ICT is to:
  • reduced costs of labour in an organisation,
  • increased communication links,
  • e-commerce,
  • marketing and advertising.

Environmental:

• ICT is used in many ways in designing fuel efficient transportation;
• ICT is used in the design of new power generation such as wind turbines and wave power;
• ICT is used for mass storage of data reducing the need for paper;
• ICT is used for heating and lighting control systems reducing the amount of waste;
• ICT is used for traffic directing and traffic control saving fuel;
• ICT produces high levels of co2 from all the electricity needed and heat produced from the processor and monitor;
• ICT requires a constant supply of upgrades as hardware becomes faster requiring high levels of recycling of materials.

Ethical:

Ethics: the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.
Dictionary: a system of moral principals.
Philosophy: dealing with values relating to human conduct with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and the ends of such actions.

Ethics and the Web: Ethics would seem to be the last topic to be covered in a technical discussion of the Internet. But as with any democratic society, the Internet depends on agreed-upon rules of behaviour to survive.

Examples of unethical and criminal behaviour:

• Stealing copyright and credit for intellectual property.
• Intercepting private e-mail.
• Display of pornographic material.
• Deliberate public misinformation.
• Misuse of research material.
• Improper/fraudulent commercial/personal use of the network.
• Stealing credit information.
• Display of information that could be harmful.

The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics:

1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people. (info)
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other peoples computer work. (virus)
   
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files. (privacy)
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal. (fraud)
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness. (disinfo)
6. Thou shalt not use or copy software for which is not paid for. (stealing)
7. Thou shalt not use other people's resources without permission.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output. (copyright)
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write.
10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration and respect.
    

The Ten Commandments are from: The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette - by Arlene Rinaldi, from the Computer Ethics Institute.

Social Networking sites throw up some ethical problems where so much person information is entered by people which they may not like other people to read or view.

Many truths about themselves are made public but it is not just friends that see this it could be employers, universities or even the police. What is there to stop an employer checking your profile in 'Facebook' before seeing if you are a suitable candidate for an interview.

Students who were involved in practical jokes etc have had it filmed, only to find that teachers have found the evidence needed for sanctions on 'Youtube'. Employees who visit these sites during work time are unproductive and cost the organisation money in lost time, many people are banned from using these sites at work. People with profiles can be targeted for advertisements from marketing companies.

Social networking sites have brought a number of problems to people who use them (privacy settings should be used to limit the people allowed to view the profile):

• Erosion of privacy, where private details are available to all;
• Information useful to the authorities is readily available; wanted criminals and terrorists may leave details on the sites;
• Paedophiles use the sites to pose as children, and access photos and addresses with the aim of arranging meetings;
• Identity thieves can get enough information to pose as someone else for purchasing goods;
• Downloads e.g. music may contain viruses which will damage the computer or send information back to the source.

Legal:

Issues - (see topic 5). The use of ICT has been affected by laws that are intended to protect the general public from abuse by ICT users.

• The Data Protection Act - designed to keep our personal details private from people who do not need to know.
• The Copyright Act - designed to ensure others peoples work is not misused, not paid for and distributed without the owners permission.
• The Computer Misuse Act - designed to help people and organisations combat unauthorised use of their data and equipment.
• The Health & Safety Act - designed to help organisations keep their employees safe from dangers working with computers in a modern environment.

See the Social Impact of ICT slides.