CIS 1100 test 1: chapters 1,2,3130?’s: 50T/F, 75 MC, 5 Essays 5 pts each. Value of info + characteristics (table ch. 1):   The value of information is directly linked to how it helps decision makers achieve the organization’s goals.  Knowing the potential impact of information systems and having the ability to put this knowledge to work can result in a successful personal career and organizations that reach their goals.  Characteristics;

·      Accessible: info should be easily accessible by authorized users so they can obtain it in the right format and at the right time to meet their needs.·      Accurate: accurate info is error free. In some cases, inaccurate info is generated b/c inaccurate data is fed into the transformation process. (aka garbage in, garbage out).·      Complete: complete info contains all the important facts. For ex. an investment report that does not include all important costs is not complete.·      Economical: info should also be relatively economical to produce. Decision makers must always balance the value of info w/ the cost of producing it.·      Flexible: flexible info can be used for a variety of purposes. For ex, info on how much inventory is on hand for a particular part can be used by a sales rep in closing a sale, by a production manager to determine whether more inventory is needed and by a financial executive to determine the total value the company has invested in inventory.·      Relevant: relevant info is important to the decision maker. Info showing that lumber prices might drop might not be relevant to a computer chip manufacturer.·      Reliable: reliable info can be depended on. In many cases, the reliability of the info depends on the reliability of the data-collection method. In other instances, reliability depends on the source of the information. A rumor from an unknown source that oil prices might go up might not be reliable.·      Secure: info should be secure from access by unauthorized users.·      Simple: info should be simple, not overly complex. Sophisticated and detailed info might not be needed. In fact, too much info can cause info overload, whereby a decision maker has too much info and is unable to determine what is really important.·      Timely: timely info is delivered when it is needed. Knowing last week’s weather conditions will not help when trying to decide what coat to wear today.·      Verifiable: info should be verifiable. This means that you can check it to make sure it is correct, perhaps by checking many sources for the same info.

 Knowledge workers: are people who create, use, and disseminate knowledge, and are usually professionals in science, engineering, business and other areas.  Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of a set of info and ways that info can be made useful to support a specific task or reach a decision. Information system department + how function: is a set of interrelated components that collect, manipulate, store, and disseminate data and info and provide a feedback mechanism to meet an objective. What supports input/output processing: [feedback mechanism–The component that helps organizations achieve their goals, such as increasing profits or improving customer service] supports input/output processing.

·      Input: the activity of gathering and capturing raw data.·      Processing: converting or transforming data into useful outputs.·      Output: production of useful info, usually in the form of documents and reports.·      Feedback: output that is used to make changes to input or processing activities.·      Forecasting: predicting future events to avoid problems.

Input devices: devices are the gateways to the computer system, you use them to provide data and instructions to the computer and receive results from it.  Input and output devices are part of a computers UI which includes hardware devices and software that allows you to interact with a computer system.

Personal computers, speech-recognition technology, digital camera, touch-sensitive screens, optical data readers, magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) devices, pen input devices, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).

Output devices: computer systems provide output to decision makers at all levels of organizations so they can solve a problem.  Output from on computer system can provide input into another computer system.  Whatever the outputs content or form, output devices are designed to provide the right info to the right person in the right format at the right time

Display monitors (Cathode Ray Tube), Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLED), Printers and Plotters, Digital Audio Player.

o (OLED): based on LCD technology, LCD screens contain a fluorescent backlight and the LCD acts as a shutter to selective block that light, OLEDs directly emit light.  B/c they don’t require a backlight the displays can be half as thick as LCDs and can create three-dimensional video displayers by taking a traditional LCD monitor and then adding layers of transparent OLED films o create the perception of depth w/out the need for 3-d glasses or laser optics.

 Computer based info system (know components): a single set of hardware, software, database, telecommunications, people, and procedures that are configured to collect, manipulate, store, and process data into information.  Technology infrastructure includes all the CBIS.

·      Hardware: consists of computer equipment used to perform input, processing, and output activities. Input devices include keyboards, mice/other pointing devices, automatic scanning devices, and equipment that can read magnetic ink characters.·      Software: consists of the computer programs that govern the operation of the computer.

o System software: This controls basic computer operations, including start up and printing, ex. Microsoft windows vista.o Application software: This allows you to accomplish specific tasks. Ex. Microsoft Office 2007 allows users to word process, or create spreadsheets.

·      Database: is an organized collection of facts and information, typically consisting of two or more related data files.·      Telecommunications: is the electronic transmission of signals for communication, which enables organization to carry out their processes and tasks through effective computer networks

o  Networks: computers and equipment that are connected in a building, around the country, or around the world to enable electronic communications.o  Internet: is the world’s largest computer network, actually consisting of thousands of interconnected networks, all freely exchanging information.

o  Intranets vs. extranets:§  Intranet allows network based on web technologies that allow people within an organization to exchange information and work on projects. Ex. companies often use intranets to connect its employees around the globe.§  Extranet allows a network based on web technologies that allow selected outsiders, such as business partners and customers, to access authorized resources of a company’s intranet. Ex going to fedex.com to track a package is extranet.

·      People: can be the most important element in most computer-based info systems. People can make difference between success and failure. Info systems personnel include all the people who manage, run, program, and maintain the system. IS personnel are usually hired to speed the development of computer-related projects. People manage, run, program and maintain the system.

o  Users (definition + ultimate goal): are people who work with info systems to get results.

·      Procedure: includes the strategies, policies, methods, and rules for using the CBIS, including the operation, maintenance, and security of the computer. ex. some procedures describe when each program should be run, others describe who can access facts in the database, or what to do if a disaster, such as fire, earthquake, or hurricane renders the CBIS unusable.

 Business information systems: most common types of info systems used in business organizations are those designed for electronic and mobile commerce, transaction processing, management info, and decision support. In addition, some organizations employ special-purpose systems, such as virtual reality, that not every organization uses. Together, these systems help employees in organizations accomplish routine and special tasks--from recording sales, processing payrolls, and supporting decision in various departments, to providing alternatives for large-scale projects and opportunities. E-business vs. E-commerce:

·      E-commerce: involves any business transaction executed electronically between companies (business-to-business, B2B), companies and consumers (business-to-consumer, B2C), consumers and other consumers (consumer-to-consumer, C2C), business and the public sector, and consumers and the public sector. Ex. web shopping, and the above business transactions.

o   M-commerce: mobile commerce refers to transactions conducted anywhere, anytime. M-commerce relies on wireless communications that managers and corporations use to place orders and conduct business w/handheld computers, portable phones, laptop computers connected to a network, and other mobile devices.

·      E-business: goes beyond e-commerce by using information systems and the internet to perform all business-related tasks and functions, such as accounting, finance, marketing, manufacturing, and human resource activities.  E-business also includes working with customers, suppliers, strategic partners, and stakeholders. e-busn. strategy is flexible and adaptable compared to traditional business strategy.

 Transaction processing systems: An organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices used to record completed business transactions. TPS manages the large volume of business transactions that occur daily within an organization

·      Transaction: is any business-related exchange such as payments to employees, sales to customers, or payments to suppliers.

 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system: is a set of integrated programs that manages the vital business operations for an entire multisite, global organization.

·      Enterprise system: help organizations perform and integrate important tasks, such as paying employees and suppliers, controlling inventory, sending invoices, and ordering supplies.

 Management information systems (MIS): is an organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices that provides routine information to managers and decision makers.  An MIS focuses on operational efficiency, (MIS) uses the information from a TPS to generate information useful for management decision making.

·      Decision support systems (DDS): an organized collection of people, procedures, software, databases, and devices used to support problem-specific decision making.  The focus of DSS is on making effective decisions, whiles MIS helps organizations "do things right," a DSS helps a manager "do the right thing." 

 Artificial Intelligence: a field in which the computer system takes on the characteristics of human intelligence. Virtual reality: the simulation of a real or imagined environment that can be experienced visual in three dimensions. ????System intelligence (diff steps): -> system investigation (understanding problem) -> system analysis (understand solutions) -> system design (select and plan best solution) -> system implementation (place solution into effect) -> systems maintenance and review (evaluate results of solution)  ->  Organizations change: the responses that are necessary so that for-profit and nonprofit organizations can plan for, implement, and handle change.

·      why?: can be causes by internal factors, such as those initiated by employees at all levels, or external factors, such as activities wrought by competitors, stockholders, federal and state laws, community regulations, natural occurrences (such as hurricanes), and general economic conditions.  Also when two or more organizations merge.

o  Sustaining change: can help an organization improve the supply of raw materials, the production process and the products and services it offers.o  Disruptive change: often harms an organizations performance or even puts it out of business, in general, disruptive tech might not originally have good performance, low cost, or even strong demand. over time however they often replace existing tech, they can cause good stable companies to fail when they don’t change or adopt the new tech.

 User Satisfaction + related to/depends on:

·      User satisfaction w/a computer system and the info it generates often depends on the quality of the system and the info. A quality info system is usually flexible, efficient, accessible, and timely. Quality info is accurate, reliable, current, complete, and delivered in the proper format.·      Technology acceptance model (TAM): specifies the factors that can lead to better attitudes about the info system, along w/higher acceptance and usage of the system in an organization. These factors include the perceived usefulness of the technology, the ease of its use, the quality of the info system, and the degree to which the organization supports its use.·      you can determine the actual usage of an info system by the amount of Tech diffusion vs. tech infusion: 

o  Technology diffusion: a measure of how widely technology is spread throughout the organization. ex. busn uses CIS in most busn functions such as marketing, purchasing, and billing.o  Technology infusion: the extent to which technology is deeply integrated into an area or department. ex. architectural firm uses CIS only for designing buildings from drafting to blue prints only, but doesn’t use it for other business functions such as marketing, purchasing or billing.

·      (TOE) framework. Diffusion and Infusion depend on the tech available now and in the future, the size and type of the organization, and the environmental factors that include the competition, government regulation, suppliers, and so on. The technology, organization, and environment framework.

 5 forces model, threat of new market entrance widely accepted model that identifies five key factors that can lead to attainment of competitive advantage, including [1] the rivalry among existing competitors, [2] the threat of new entrants, [3] the threat of substitute products and services, [4] the bargaining power of buyers, [5] the bargaining power of suppliers. Threats, (they exist): Market share: is the % of sales that a product or service has in relation to the total market. System operators: primarily run and maintain IS equipment, and are typically trained at technical schools or through on-the-job experience. they are responsible for starting, stopping, and correctly operating mainframe systems, networks, tape drives, disk drives, printers, etc. Info systems departments + how they function:

operations: system operators and tend to focus more on the efficiency of IS functions rather than their effectiveness.

systems development: focuses on specific development projects and ongoing maintenance and review. System analysts and programmers, for ex. address these concerns to achieve and maintain IS effectiveness.

support: provides user assistance in hardware and software acquisition and use, data administration, user training and assistance, and web administration.

 Info center vs. development center:

information center: a support function that provides users with assistance, training, application development, documentation, equipment selection and setup, standards technical assistance, and troubleshooting.

o information service unit: a miniature IS department attached and directly reporting to a functional area in a large organization.

 Local Area Network Administrators job duties: set up and manage the network hardware, software, and security processes. they manage the addition of new users, software, and devices to the network.  they also isolate and fix operations problems. LAN admin are high demand and often solve both technical and nontechnical problems. Technical certifications (importance): a process for testing skills and knowledge, which results in a statement by the certifying authority that states an individual is capable of performing a particular kind of job. Software engineers: Computer system hardware (components): include devices that perform the functions of input, processing, data storage, and output.

the ability to process (organize and manipulate) data is a critical aspect of a computer system, in which processing is accomplished by an interplay between one or more of central processing units and primary storage.

o central processing unit (CPU): part of the computer consists of three primary associated elements, the arithmetic/logic unit, the control unit, and register areas.

arithmetic/logic unit (ALU): part of the cpu that performs mathematical calculations and makes logical comparisons.

control unit: part of the cpu that sequentially accesses program instructions, decodes them, and coordinates the flow of data in and out of the ALU, the registers, primary storage, and even secondary storage and various output devices.

 Clock speed processers: each CPU produces a series of electronic pulses at a predetermined rate, called the clock speed, which affects machine cycle time. the control unit executes an instruction in accordance with the electronic cycle, or pulses of the cpu "clock." each instruction takes at least the same amount of time as the interval between pulses. the shorter the interval between pulses, the faster each instruction can be executed. clock speed for personal computers is multiple gigahertz (GHz), or billions of cycles per second, range. ROM vs. Ram chips:

Random Access Memory (RAM): a form of memory in which instructions or data can be temporarily and volatile stored.  RAM chips lose their contents if the current is turned off or disrupted (power outage).  Chips are mounted directly on the computers main circuit board or in chips mounted on peripheral cards that plug into main circuit board.  they consist of millions of switches that are sensitive to changes in electric current.

Read-only memory (ROM): a non volatile form of memory.  the combination of circuits states is fixed, and therefore contents are not lost if power is removed. Rom provides permanent storage for data and instructions that do not change, such as programs, and data from the computer manufacturer, including instructions that tell the computer how to start up when the power is turned on.

 Grid computing: the use of a collection of computers, often owned by multiple individuals or organizations, to work in a coordinated manner to solve a common problem. (low cost approach to parallel processing.

parallel processing: another form of multiprocessing is called parallel processing, speeds processing by linking sever processors to operate at the time, or in parallel.  The simultaneous execution of the same task on multiple processors in order to obtain results faster.

 Secondary Storage and input/output devices:

Sequential access storage devices (SASD) device used to sequentially access secondary storage data.

o sequential access: retrieval method in which data must be accessed in the order in which it is stored. ex. data stored in part numbers 100, 101, 102, if you want to retrieve data on part 125, need to read and discard all data relating to parts 001 through 124.

Direct access storage device (DASD): device used for direct access of secondary storage data.

o direct access: retrieval method in which data can be retrieved w/out the need to read and discard other data. ex. w/ direct access it is possible to go directly to and access the data that is need, such as part number 125. w/out reading through parts 001-124.  DASD are faster than SASD 4this reason.

Access storing magnetic tape: secondary storage medium; Mylar film coated w/iron oxide w/portions of the tape magnetized to represent bits. magnetic tape is slower but usually less expensive than disk storage.  The U.S. Fed. Govt. is largest user of magnetic tape in world, buying over 1 million reels a year for organizations like IRS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fed. Reserve Bank, Military branches, etc...

Magnetic Disk: are also coated with iron oxide; they can be thin metallic platters (hard disks), or Mylar film (diskettes).same as magnetic tape, magnetic disks represent bits using small magnetized areas.  Magnetic disks are direct-access storage devices that enable fast data retrieval.

RAID + data redundancy: Redundant array of independent/inexpensive disks; method of storing data that generates extra bits of data that generates extra bits of data from existing data, allowing the system to create a "reconstruction map," so that if a hard drive fails, the system can rebuild lost data.  W/this approach data is stored redundantly on different physical disk drives using a technique called stripping to evenly distribute the data.

SAN: storage area network; technology that provides high-speed connections between data storage devices and computers over a network.

Optical disk: CD-ROM (CD-R, CD-RW) compact disks hold 740 MB of data.  DVD (Digital video disk) has ability to store 135 minutes of digital video or (DVD[-/+]R/RW,

a single sided DVD can hold 4.7 GB, w/ double sided holding 9.4 GB.  Blu-ray high definition video-discs are based on blue-laser technology and stores at least 3 times as much data as a DVD now holds.

Flash memory: a silicon computer chip that, unlike RAM, is nonvolatile and keeps its memory when the power is shut off.

 Information systems operate by different influences (enterprise vs. personal):

personal sphere of influence: serve the needs of an individual user. these info systems enable users to improve their personal effectiveness, increasing the amount of work that can be done and its quality. such software is often referred to as personal productivity software.

enterprise sphere of influence: supports the firm in its interaction w/its environment. the surrounding environment includes customers, suppliers, shareholders, competitors, special-interest groups, the financial community, and government agencies.

workgroup sphere of influence: supports a workgroup in the attainment of a common goal. users of such applications must be able to communicate, interact, and collaborate to be successful.

o workgroup: is two or more people who work together to achieve a common goal. (may be large, formal, permanent organization entity such as a section or department, or a temporary group formed to complete a specific project.

 Role of an Operating System: is an interface or buffer between users and application software and hardware.  operates functions that complete a computer system.

performing common computer hardware functions, providing a user interface and input/output management, proving a degree of hardware independence, managing system memory, managing processing tasks, providing networking capability, controlling access to system resources, managing files.

 Activities capturing raw data, ex. Input:   Mainframe vs. server vs. supercomputer:

mainframe computer: large, powerful computer often shared by hundred of concurrent users connected to the machine via terminals (a network). the new role of the mainframe is as a large info-processing and data-storage utility, storing files and databases, storing backups of files and databases, which are all too large to be stored elsewhere.

server: a computer server is a computer used by many users to perform  specific task, such as running network or internet net applications.  servers typically have large memory and storage capacities, along w/fast and efficient communication abilities. A web server is used to handle internet traffic and communications. An enterprise server stores and provides access to programs that meet the needs of an entire organization. A file server stores and coordinates program and data files. A transaction server is used to process busn transactions. server systems consist of multiuser computers including super computers, mainframes, and servers.

supercomputers: the most powerful computer system w/ the fastest processing speeds and highest performance.  they are special-purpose machines designed for applications that require extensive and rapid computational capabilities.

 Linux + who developed: Linux is an OS developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991 as a student in Finland. Linux is distributed under GNU (general public license), and its source code is freely available to everyone, it is therefore called an open source OS. linus is actually the kernel of an OS, the parts that control hardware, manages files, separates processes, and so forth.  several combinations of Linux are available w/ various sets of capabilities and applications to form a  complete OS. Each combination is called a distribution of Linux, many are free to download. Netware + supports them: Netware: is a network OS sold by Novell that can support users on windows, Mac, and UNIX platforms. NetWare provides directory software to track computers, programs, and people on a network, helping large companies to manage complex networks. NetWare users can log on from any computer on the network and use their own familiar desktop w/ all their applications, data, and preferences. IBM mainframes + supports them: z/OS is IBMs first 64-bit enterprise OS. it supports IBM's z900 and z800 lines of mainframes that can come w/up to sixteen 64-bit processors.  The OS provides several new capabilities to make it easier and less expensive for users to run large mainframe computers.  the OS has improved workload management and advance e-commerce security.  z/os also allows partitions to run a version of the Linus OS, means that the company can upgrade to a Linux OS mainframe. Off the shelf vs. proprietary vs. standalone software:

proprietary software: one-of-a-kind program developed for a specific application, off-the-shelf software: an existing software program that can be purchased. standalone software:

 Application service provider: a company that provides software, support, and the computer hardware on which to run the software from the user's facilities. DBMS: Database Management Systems is a group of programs that manipulate the database and provide an interface between the database and the user of the database and other application programs. Database structures: at the highest level of this hierarchy is a database, a collection of integrated and related files. together, bits, characters, fields, records, files, and databases form the hierarch of data. characters are combined to make a field, fields are combined to make a record, records are combined to make a file, and files are combined to make a database.  A data base houses not only all these levels of data but also the relationships among them.

when building a database, an organization must carefully consider these questions:o content: what data should be collected and at what cost?o access: what data should be provided to which users and when?o logical structure: how should data be arranged so that it makes sense to a given

user?o physical structure: where should data be physically located?

 Database, record vs. file, entity + composed:

a bit (binary digit) represents a circuit that is either on or off. bits can be organized into units called bytes. a byte is typically eight bits. Each byte represents a character. ->

character: a basic building block of info, consisting of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numeric digits, or special symbols. ->

field: typically a name, number, or combination, of characters that describes an aspect of a business object or activity. ->

record: a collection of related fields. -> file: a collection of related records. -> database: files are combined to make a database.

Data Entities, attributes and keys: entity: a generalized class of people, places, or things for which data is collected, stored,

and maintained. ex. employees, inventory, customers. attribute: a characteristic of an entity. ex. employee number, last name, first name, hire

date, department # are attributes of an employee entity.o data item: a specific value of an attribute.

key: a field or set of fields in a record that is used to identify the record. primary key: a field or set of fields that uniquely identifies the record.

 Different data (logical [Visio] vs. physical [access]) + characters:

logical design: of a database is an abstract model of how the data should be structured and arranged to meet an organizations info needs. the logical design involves identifying relationships among the data items and grouping them in an orderly fashion. b/c database provide both input and output for info systems throughout a business, users from all functional areas should assist in creating the logical design to ensure that their needs are identified and addressed.

physical design: starts from the logical database design and fine-tunes it for performance and cost consideration (such as improved response time, reduce storage space, and lower operating cost).  the person who fine tunes the physical design must have an in-depth knowledge of the DBMS.

 Data model entity relationship diagram, know function/process:

data model: a diagram of data entities and their relationships. data modeling usually involves understanding a specific business problem and analyzing the data information needed to deliver a solution.

o enterprise data modeling: is an approach that starts by investigating the general data and information needs of the organization at the strategic level, and then examines more specific data and information needs for the various functional areas and departments w/in the organization.

o entity-relationship (ER) diagrams: data models that use basic graphical symbols to show the organization of and relationships between data.

relational database modeling: a database model that describes data in which all data elements are placed in two-dimensional tables, called relations, which are the logical equivalents to files.  data is organized in rows and columns, simplifying data access and manipulation. in the relational, each row (or record) of a table represents a data entity, with the columns (or fields) of the table representing attributes.

o domain: the allowable values for data attributes. ex. the domain for an attribute such as gender would be limited to male or female.

 SQL +DML + DDL: (schema: a description of the entire database).

Data Definition Language (DDL): a collection of instructions and commands used to define and describe data and relationships in a specific database.  a DDL allows the database creator to describe the data and relationships that are to be contained in the schema. In general a DDL describes logical access paths and logical records in the database.

Data Manipulation Language (DML): the commands that are used to manipulate the data in a database.  This specific language provide with DBMS , allows managers and other database users to access, modify, and make queries about data contained in the database to generate reports.

Structured Query Language (SQL): a standard data manipulation language created by D.D. Chamberlain and others at the IBM Research Laboratory in San Jose, CA in the 1970s.  The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) adopted SQL as the standard query language for relational databases. ex of commands, average->AVG, largest value-> MAX, smallest value-> MIN, to select-> SELECT.

o Selecting: manipulating data to eliminate rows according to certain criteria.o Projecting: manipulating data to eliminate columns in a table.o Joining: manipulating data to combine two or more tables.o Linking: data manipulation that combines two or more tables using common data

attributes to form a new table with only the unique data attributes.Meaning of SQL commands (table ch.3)SQL – deff statement, selecting, recording, joining: Data dictionary vs. warehouse:

data dictionary: a detailed description of all the used in the database.  data dictionary contains the following data;

o Name of the data item, Aliases or other names that may be used to describe the item, Range of values that can be used, Type of data (such as alphanumeric or numeric), Amount of storage needed for the item, Notation of the person responsible for updating it and the various users who can access it, and a List of reports that use the data item.

o A data dictionary can also include a description of data flows, the way records are organized, and the data-processing requirements.

Data warehouses: is a database that hold business info from many sources in the enterprise, covering all aspects of the companies processes, products, and customers. the data warehouse provides business users w/a multidimensional view of the data they need to analyze business conditions. data warehouses allow managers to drill down to get more detail or roll up to take detailed data and generate aggregate or summary reports. a data warehouse is designed specifically to support management decision making, not to meet the needs of transaction processing system. a data warehouse stores historical data that has been extracted from operational systems and external data sources. this operational and external data is "cleaned up" to remove inconsistencies and integrated to create a new information database that is more suitable for a business analysis.

o data marts: a subset of a data warehouse, can be deployed with less powerful hardware and storage devices and may contain more information for the specific subset than a warehouse would, usually making it more cost effective.

o data mining: an information-analysis tool that involves the automated discovery of patters and relationships in a data warehouse to find valuable info.

 Predictive analysis: a form of data mining that combines historical data w/assumptions about future conditions to predict outcomes of events, such as future product sales or the probability that a customer will default on a loan. Distributive database: a database in which the data can be spread across several smaller databases connected via telecommunications devices. Object-Oriented database: a database that stores both data and its processing instructions.

OODBMS- object-oriented database management system: a group of programs that manipulate an object oriented database and provide a user interface and connections to other application programs.

ORDBMS- object-relational database management system: a DBMS capable of manipulating audio, video, and graphical data.

 database vs. centralized database: IT importance of data, 4 steps transforming data + importance: wisdom--> Electronic Medical Systems + 4 hurdles: trying to move all EMR online to a centralized database.

1. The landscape of electronic medical information is fragmented. 2. Not many doctors use electronic health records.3. Technical standards vary, as do the use of medical terms for different data.4. Who controls the data, and how can we protect patients’ privacy?

 Data modeling – cardinality- types of entity relationships:

cardinalityo 0< zero to manyo |< one to manyo || one and only oneo 0| zero and one

entity relationshipo 1:1o 1:Mo M:M

 Wal-Mart’s well developed IT system giving them advantage (hurricane Ivan): has the industries best IS, Retail Link. which allows the merchandiser to share masses of data on a nearly real-time basis with its suppliers.  its data center tracks more than 60,000 stock-keeping units and maintains a data warehouse consuming more than 570 terabytes of digital storage.  WMT uses its

data to track demand and set inventory targets for specific products, and also correlates purchasing data w/ "factors that contribute to increasing demand for a particular product." weather is one such factor, you might expect to sell more bottled water, tarps, flashlights, batteries, and food basics like milk and eggs w/ a storm on the way.  last year’s annual report mentions that WMT it gurus were able to correctly predict how the approach of hurricane Ivan would dramatically boost demand for strawberry pop-tarts in the Florida panhandle.