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Factors affecting the use of ICT systems

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Factors affecting the use of ICT systems

Issues affecting the use of ICT systems fall into the following categories:

• Cultural• Economic• Environmental• Ethical• Legal• Social

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ICT can affect the way we:

• communicate with each other• view cultural material such as movies or music• produce art, music and film.

Cultural factors

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Commercial and business organisations increasingly use ICT for all aspects of their operations.“Marks & Spencer has driven

another nail into the coffin of the

cheque by announcing that it will

no longer be accepting them as

payment.

Argos, Asda, Boots, Sainsbury's

and Next are among retailers that

have stopped accepting them. ”

(Daily Telegraph – 29th January 2008)

Economic factors

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ICT can have positive and negative impacts on the environment.

Video-conferencing and ….

…. teleworking helps to reduce carbon footprints.

Environmental factors

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Much equipment is just thrown away and replaced, rather than repaired, but:

FRP-REUSEiT is a computer recycling

programme in Waltham Forest

They have provided refurbished ICT equipment to the St Mary Magdalene Centre for Refugees & Asylum Seekers in London’s Holloway to enable them to run ICT courses.

Negative aspects

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One item often found in a company’s code of practice might relate to the use of the Internet. What topics do you think would be covered?

•Use of e-mail for private use•Accessing inappropriate sites•Using the Internet for personal reasons, for example, booking a holiday

Would any of these be acceptable, say, during a lunch break?

Ethical factors

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The Data Protection Act requires data to be kept secure, for example, credit card numbers, which can be a problem for organisations who provide online shopping.

Many companies use an intermediary such as PayPal but have to pay a fee to use the service

Legal factors

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ICT affects the way society works and the ways in which people interact with each other.

Teleworking and videoconferencing have already been highlighted during this presentation. What other social effects of the increased use of ICT can you think of?

Social factors

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• Mobile phones• Text messaging• Use of e-mail• Webcams across the world• Online shopping• Leave messages via voicemail• Online banking• NHS direct

Social effects of ICT