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Information Systems Using Information

[INTERMEDIATE 2; HIGHER]

Alan Patterson

Information Systems Intermediate 2; Higher Using Information -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2

The Scottish Qualifications Authority regularly reviews the arrangements for National Qualifications. Users of all NQ support materials, whether published by LT Scotland or others, are reminded that it is their responsibility to check that the support materials correspond to the requirements of the current arrangements.

Acknowledgement Learning and Teaching Scotland gratefully acknowledge this contribution to the National Qualifications support programme for Information Systems. First published 2005 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes by educational establishments in Scotland provided that no profit accrues at any stage. ISBN 1 84399 076 8



CONTENTS Tutor introduction 4

Student introduction 8

Section 1: Data and information 9

Section 2: Organisational information systems 27

Section 3: Information management software 60

Section 4: The social, legal, ethical and economic implications of information systems

89

Section 5: Useful resources

Web links 111

Bibliography 113

Software evaluation form 114

Answer section 115



INTRODUCTION Tutor introduction (Higher and Intermediate 2) This unit is designed to develop knowledge and understanding of the principles, features and purposes of information and the systems used to create, store, process, retrieve and present information. It also develops knowledge and understanding of the wide-ranging implications of the growing use of information systems within society. It provides an opportunity to develop practical skills in the use of contemporary information handling. Candidates may then apply this knowledge and these skills to solve practical problems. Target audience While entry is at the discretion of the centre, candidates for the Higher level would normally be expected to have attained one of the following qualifications (or equivalent experience): • the corresponding unit at Intermediate 2. • Intermediate 2 Information Systems • Intermediate 2 Computing • Standard Grade in Computing Studies at Credit level. The unit has two outcomes (Higher and Intermediate 2): 1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles, features and

purposes of information, organisational information systems, information management software, and the social, legal, ethical and economic implications of information systems.

2. Demonstrate practical skills in the use of contemporary hardware and

software in the context of creating, storing, processing, retrieving and presenting information.

Outcome 1 is assessed by a multiple-choice test. Outcome 2 is assessed by a checklist. Both of these are included in the NAB.



Introduction Learning and teaching approaches The materials for Higher and Intermediate 2 have been incorporated into the one pack, making it possible to run bi-level classes. Suitable questions and activities have been included at the end of each section (with Intermediate 2 questions at the end of Intermediate 2 content and Higher questions at the end of each Higher section). There has also been an attempt to include more activities for Intermediate 2 to allow the tutor to concentrate on delivering the rest of the Higher content of the unit to Higher students. It is recommended that the assessment of the practical element and delivery of this unit be combined in order to maximise the amount of time the students are working on the unit. These study materials should be made freely available to the students during the Outcome 2 assessment, as should any tutorials, documentation or other materials relevant to the hardware or software required to complete the assessment. A mixture of student-centred, resource-based learning and tutor-led class teaching is recommended. Students will require access to appropriate computer hardware and software and Internet access throughout this unit. The shaded margins alongside of the text indicate material for the Higher. A range of suitable questions and activities is provided at various points throughout the notes, and tutors should direct students to these activities as they see fit. A wholly Higher class would be expected to study the Intermediate 2 and Higher units but would probably only be expected to undertake activities relating to the Higher Outcome 2 assessment and any others the tutor sees fit to use to enhance the course. The questions should also provide a means of diagnostic assessment as part of the learning and teaching of the unit. Hardware and software requirements This unit requires that the student has regular use of a computer system, which can be used throughout the unit for research on the World Wide Web and for completing the software tasks. At the time of going to print, the minimum specification for such a system would be: • A Pentium III 800MHz Processor based PC or a 600MHz G4-based Apple

Power Mac. • Windows 2000 operating system on a PC • Sufficient RAM which is 128MB on a PC



Introduction • Internet access • Word Processing, Spreadsheet and Presentation Software including PIM

software such as Microsoft Office 97 at least (Office 95 on a Mac) but Office 2000 at least is recommended with Outlook.

• Desk Top Publishing and Web Authoring Software • Project Management Software is optional and may be demonstrated by the

tutor. (Although Project is expensive, an evaluation package can be downloaded and used for 30 days free of charge; either SmartDraw or Microsoft Project can be used.)

Practical work The tutor should supplement this pack with a suitable range of practical activities using a range of software applications, in order to develop and consolidate the learner’s experience and understanding, and to provide evidence to support the checklist of practical skills for Outcome 2. Advice on appropriate levels of treatment of practical skills is included in the NABs provided by SQA. How to tackle this Unit A standard learning pattern is suggested for your use throughout this unit, as follows: • A clear outline of the main teaching points • Questions to check the understanding of these points • Practical work where appropriate to illustrate the learning. What is in the pack? Section 1: Data and information The difference between data and information, metadata, categorisation of information and characteristics of information. Questions and tasks. Note that in a bi-level class there is only limited Intermediate 2 material in Section 1, and the first questions will not keep Intermediate 2 students busy for the length of time taken by the Higher students to complete the rest of the topic. It is suggested that Intermediate 2 students can follow tutorials and/or complete some of the tasks for the software packages they are going to use later (Word Processing, DTP, Spreadsheet, Presentation and Web Authoring).



Introduction Section 2: Organisational information systems Explanation, definition, description and exemplification of organisational information systems. Questions and tasks. Section 3: Information management software Explanation, definition, description and exemplification of different classes of software. Questions and tasks. Section 4: The social, legal, ethical and economic implications of information systems Explanation, definition, description and exemplification of social, legal, ethical and economic implications of information systems. Questions and tasks. Section 5: Useful resources Bibliography, and useful web links summarised. Section 6: Additional resources Software evaluation pro-forma. Answers to questions used throughout the unit. PowerPoint presentation A PowerPoint presentation linked to this pack may be downloaded from the Information Systems subject pages in the e-library at www.LTScotland.org.uk/NQ

http://www.LTScotland.org.uk/NQ



Introduction Student Introduction We are said to live in an age where information and knowledge are so important that society can be divided up into two groups. These are the ‘information rich’ group and the ‘information poor’. If you are information rich you have access to many TV and radio channels, books, newspapers and journals, and of course computers and the World Wide Web. Those who are information poor tend to not have access to the Web and probably find it difficult to access relevant books and journals. Even in general conversations a discussion about a TV programme shown on satellite TV will be lost on people who only have 4 or 5 terrestrial channels. If you are following this course you will probably be information rich. We are going to examine the nature and uses of information by looking at: • the differences between data and information • organisational information systems • information management software • the implications of information and communications technology.



SECTION 1 Data and information Data is raw unprocessed facts and figures that have no context or purposeful meaning and information is processed data that has meaning and is presented in a context. For example, a computer operator may enter 36.41, which is data, because we do not know why or in what context it is being used. However, if this number then appears on a bill to show that you owe a company £36.41 for goods received then this data has changed into information, because it has acquired a context (it’s a bill) and meaning. The figures 36.41 will be held as binary data on some media such as a hard disk. It is the software which accesses this data and displays it in its context. It may also have some structure, if it is held in a program like a database for example, and a database will also give it structure. So, it is the software which turns the figures from data into information and gives them meaning. The binary patterns on backing storage devices such as a disk, CD or DVD, or memory stick, are all classed as data. For example, the binary patterns that describe an icon on your desktop are data. They become information after the operating system software has processed them, because then they become meaningful to you as the icons representative of your hard disk or Internet explorer.



Data and information

Questions on data and information

1. Look at this list and decide whether the following are data or information:

(a) The registration number of a car

(b) 234.73 (c) SA04KRT (d) An icon on a computer’s desktop (e) 00101001 (f) A binary stream held on a hard disk (g) Unprocessed raw facts (h) The contents of a field in a database (i) A paragraph of text in a word-processed document (j) 04081953 10

2. Give two examples of data that is generated in a school’s

administration and assessment system. 2

3. Give two examples of information that is generated in a school’s administration and assessment system. 2

Total marks 14



Data and information Knowledge Humans have an endless thirst for knowledge, but how do we obtain knowledge? We can read books and magazines, study course materials, and of course we can gain knowledge from watching TV and listening to the radio. The knowledge about the weekend’s sports matches can mean as much to one person as the latest advances in rocket science does to another. We tend to gain knowledge from information and we use that information to make decisions. Knowledge can be split into two categories: explicit and tacit. Explicit knowledge is rules or processes or decisions that can be recorded either on paper or in an information system. Tacit knowledge exists inside the minds of humans and is harder to record. It tends to be created from someone’s experiences, so again it is based on a set of rules or experiences. Metadata Metadata can be thought of as data that describes data. It may have been introduced to you in the Database Unit where it is defined as a data dictionary. This is one example, but other formats of metadata exist. It may be the card-index system used by libraries before computerisation, where each card told you the author, title and location of the book. It can also be thought of as data about documents or files stored on the computer. The computer keeps a file on its hard disk where it records information about each and every file on the computer. This includes information such as when the file was created or modified; who created it; the size of the file; the file type it is. This master or directory file is an example of metadata. Categorisation of information Information can be categorised under many headings that help us to determine its overall usefulness. The main categories are Source, Nature, Level, Time, Frequency, Use, Form and Type. We will examine each of the categories and their sub-categories in some detail.



Data and information Sources of information Primary information A primary source of information is one that provides data from an original source document. This may be as simple as an invoice sent to a business or a cheque received. It may be more complex, such as a set of sales figures for a range of goods for a tinned food manufacturer for one week, or it may be a set of sales figures over several weeks and several locations. There are many examples of primary sources in many walks of life, but generally a primary source is defined as being where a piece of information appears for the first time. Secondary information A secondary source of information is one that provides information from a source other than the original. Secondary sources are processed primary sources, second-hand versions. Examples of secondary sources could be an accounts book detailing invoices received, a bank statement that shows details of cheques paid in and out. Where statistical information is gathered, such as in surveys or polls, the survey data or polling data is the primary source and the conclusions reached from the survey or the results of the poll are secondary sources. Internal information All organisations generate a substantial amount of information relating to their operation. This internal information is vital to the successful management of the organisation. The information may be available from a number of sources within the organisation, for example: • Marketing and sales information on performance, revenues, markets shares,

distribution channels, etc. • Production and operational information on assets, quality, standards, etc. • Financial information on profits, costs, margins, cash flows, investments, etc. • Internal documentation such as order forms, invoices, credit notes,

procedural manuals. External information An external source of information is concerned with what is happening beyond the boundaries of the organisation. This covers any documentation relating



Data and information to a subject area produced as a summary or detailed report by an agency external to an organisation. Such information may be obtainable from government agencies or private information providers. Examples might include: • census figures • telephone directories • judgments on court cases • computer users’ yearbook • legislation, for example • gallup polls the Data Protection Act • national opinion polls • trade journals • Ordnance Survey maps • professional publications • financial services agencies such • industry standards as Dunn and Bradstreet • the Internet Nature of information Formal information This involves presenting information in a structured and consistent manner. It is usually defined, within an organisation, as the main way of communicating between and within parts of the organisation. It is also usually the main way of communicating externally from an organisation. The main methods of formal communication are still the formal letter, properly structured reports, writing of training materials, etc. Formal information is communicated in cogent, coherent, well-structured language. Informal information This describes less well-structured information that is transmitted within an organisation or between individuals who usually know each other. It tends to be categorised as ‘unofficial’ information, and is communicated by casual conversations, e-mails, or text messages between colleagues. The language used is less well structured than formal communication and tends to include colloquialisms and shorthand; and spelling is less important. Quantitative information This is information that is represented numerically. Any event or object that can be represented as a set of numbers is an example of quantitative information.



Data and information Qualitative information This is information that is represented using words. Any event or object that is represented using words to describe its attributes is an example of qualitative information. Levels of information Within an organisation planning, control and decision-making are carried out at various levels within the structure of the organisation. The three levels at which information can be used are strategic, tactical and operational and there is a direct correlation between the levels of importance of individuals or groups within an organisation and the level of information that is being communicated. Strategic information Strategic information is used at the very top level of management within an organisation. These are chief executives or directors who have to make decisions for the long term. Strategic information is broad based and will use a mixture of information gathered from both internal and external sources. In general a timescale may be from one to five years or even longer depending on the project. Some oil related projects are planned from the outset to last for 25 or more years. A supermarket building a new superstore will look at a timescale of 20 years or so, whilst even a small business may have a five-year strategy. Strategic plans will have little or no detail in them and more detailed strategic plans will be made slightly lower down the managerial ladder. A good strategic plan will be easier to flesh out lower down than a poor or vague strategic plan. Similarly, well constructed and more detailed plans will be easier to implement than poorly constructed plans. Tactical information The next level down is the tactical level, and tactical planning and decision-making takes place within the guidelines set by the strategic plan.



Data and information Tactical information will be mostly internal with a few external sources being used. Internal information is likely to be function related: for example, how much ‘down time’ a production line must allocate for planned maintenance. Tactical information is used by middle management (employees) when managing or planning projects. The timescale is usually at least between 6 months and 5 years (depending on the scale of the strategic project). Circumstances vary but a small project may have a tactical timescale of between one and six months. Tactical plans have a medium level of detail and will be very specific; they deal with such matters as who is doing what and within what specific budgets and timescales. These plans have medium scope and will address details at the operational level. They will generally have specific objectives and be geared towards implementation by operational level employees. Operational information The lowest level is operational and operational planning takes place based on the tactical plans. The lowest level of management or workers in an organisation implements operational plans. These may be section leaders or foremen in a large organisation or workers such as shop assistants, waiting staff, and kitchen staff, etc., in smaller businesses where there is no supervisory layer. The timescale is usually very short, anything from immediately, daily or at most a week or month. Results of operational work will usually be passed upwards to let the tactical planners evaluate their plans. Time Historic information This is information gathered and stored over a period of time. It allows decision makers to draw comparisons between previous and present activities. Historic information can be used to identify trends over a period of time.



Data and information Present This is information created from activities during the current work-window (day, week or month). In real-time systems this information would be created instantly from the data gathered (for example, the temperature in a nuclear power plant turbine), giving accurate and up-to-date information. Future This is information that is created using present and historic information to try to predict the future activities, trends and events relating to the operation of an organisation. An example would be sales figures for a company: if the sales figures are up 10% from those recorded this time last year it might be anticipated that next month’s sales figures will also be up by 10%. Frequency of information Continuous This is information created from data gathered several times a second. It is the type of information created by a real-time system. For example, sensors may be set up to collect temperature and humidity readings in a large commercial greenhouse. It will be important for that information to be collected constantly because any variation in either the temperature or the humidity could point to the failure of some machinery and an alarm could be sounded to alert the staff. A very important system exists on modern aircraft where the navigation and flight-control systems are continuously monitoring and making adjustments; another is on a computerised production line where constant monitoring allows the system to correct faults. Obviously many other types of real-time systems exist but a feature of them all will be that they check data continuously. Periodic This is information created at regular timely intervals (hourly, daily, monthly, annually). Different examples of information generated by an organisation are needed at specific periods of time. • Annually – On an annual basis a company must submit its report and

accounts to the shareholders. • Monthly – Banks and credit-card companies produce monthly statements for

the majority of their customers. • Daily – A supermarket will make daily summaries of its sales and use the

product information to update its stock levels and to reorder stock automatically.

• Hourly – A busy call centre will often update totals for each operator on an hourly basis and give the top employee for the hour some reward.



Data and information Use of information Planning Planning is the process of deciding, in advance, what has to be done and how it is to be done. Planning should be based on good information. Planning is not an end in itself; its primary purpose is to provide the necessary structure for decision-making and resulting actions, throughout the organisation. The process of planning provides an opportunity to construct a sequence of actions that, when executed, will achieve the required aims and objectives. Basically, planning means decisions by management about: • what is to be done in the future • how to do it • when to do it • who is to do it. An objective is something that needs to be achieved and a plan contains the activities or actions required to achieve the objective. Control Control can be defined as the monitoring and evaluation of current progress against the steps of a pre-defined plan or standard. If these tasks are not proceeding in line with expectations then action is taken to bring the project back in line with what had been planned. Control is carried out at strategic, tactical and operational levels. The type of control changes according to the level of management as does the amount of time spent on control. At an operational level the majority of the time of the manager or supervisor will be spent on control activities where the work of staff is compared to very specific financial or quantifiable terms (e.g. how many boxes have been packed). At higher levels, planning and control are more closely linked, with management being concerned with the monitoring of progress against the plan, assessing the suitability of the plan itself and predicting future conditions. Organisations and individuals must plan in order to operate effectively. Likewise they must also operate controls to ensure that progress is being made against the plan. These controls are needed because unexpected events can cause actual results to change from the expected planned results. Control activities attempt to keep the organisation in line with the original plan or to enable the organisation to change to meet the new conditions. Unexpected events range from short delays in the completion of an element of a plan – which may be relatively minor – to major disturbances such as a large new competitor entering the marketplace.



Data and information Control measures actual progress against what is expected and provides information upon which remedial action can be taken, if required, either to change performance in order to conform to the original plan or to modify the plan. Decision-making Decision-making is the process of selecting an action or actions from those possible based on the information available. Decision-making involves determining and examining the available actions and then selecting the most appropriate actions in order to achieve the required results. Decision-making is an essential part of management and is carried out at all levels of management for all tasks. All decisions are arrived at in the same way. The manager must choose, by some means, the result or results that s/he wishes to achieve and do some form of appraisal of the situation. Decision-making is made up of four phases: • finding occasions for decision making • find possible courses of action (i.e. what choices are available) • choosing among these courses of action • evaluating past choices. Forms of information Written The vast majority of information created within an organisation is in the written form. This can include hand-written or word-processed information and information in e-mails as well as reports produced from different classes of software, both general-purpose packages and bespoke software solutions. Examples of written information are reports, memos and tables, receipts, invoices, statements, and summary accounting information. The list is almost endless and different businesses will produce their own type of written information. Aural Another common form of information is aural, which is information presented as sound. The commonest form of aural information is of course speech and examples of this would be formal meetings (where minutes are taken), informal meetings, talking on the phone and voice-mail messages. Nowadays many organisations will have employees giving a presentation or talk to a group where there may be use made of music and sound effects as well as speech. Visual This form of information includes when pictures, charts and graphs are used to communicate information. Again, many presentations will make use of data projectors and presentation software that will include text, graphics and animations. Full video can also be projected via a data projector, and presentations can use video filmed with a digital video camera and then edited on a computer and distributed via CD or DVD now that DVD writers are quite common.



Data and information Types of information Detailed Detailed information might be an inventory list showing stock levels, actual costs to the penny of goods, detailed operating instructions, and so on. This information is most often used at the operational level within an organisation. Sampled This information usually refers only to selected records from a database: for example, only selected customers from a company’s full customer list. In a supermarket this may be product and sales summaries given to departmental managers (bakery, fruit and vegetables, etc.). Sampled information is often used at a tactical level within an organisation. Depending on the size of the organisation it may also be relevant at a strategic level. Aggregated This is information that consists of totals created when detailed information is collated. An example of aggregated information is the details of all purchases made by customers totalled each month and displayed in a chart showing total sales for each month over a year. In order to show all three types of information, here is an example that some of you should be familiar with. In a league of teams who play each other twice in a season, the detailed information would be the score line for each game played by all the teams in the league. Sampled information would be the details for a team in the league relating to their performance. Aggregated information would be the goals for, goals against and goal difference for a team in a league. Characteristics of information Good information is that which is used and which creates value. Experience and research shows that good information has numerous qualities. Good information is relevant for its purpose, sufficiently accurate for its purpose, complete enough for the problem, reliable and targeted to the right person. It is also communicated in time for its purpose, contains the right level of detail and is communicated by an appropriate channel, i.e. one that is understandable to the user. Further details of these characteristics related to organisational information for decision-making follows.



Data and information Availability/accessibility Information should be easy to obtain or access. Information kept in a book of some kind is only available and easy to access if you have the book to hand. A good example of availability is a telephone directory, as every home has one for its local area. It is probably the first place you look for a local number. But nobody keeps the whole country’s telephone books so for numbers further afield you probably phone a directory enquiry number. For business premises, say for a hotel in London, you would probably use the Internet. Businesses used to keep customer details on a card-index system at the customer’s branch. If the customer visited a different branch a telephone call would be needed to check details. Now, with centralised computer systems, businesses like banks and building societies can access any customer’s data from any branch. Accuracy Information needs to be accurate enough for the use to which it is going to be put. To obtain information that is 100% accurate is usually unrealistic as it is likely to be too expensive to produce on time. The degree of accuracy depends upon the circumstances. At operational levels information may need to be accurate to the nearest penny – on a supermarket till receipt, for example. At tactical level department heads may see weekly summaries correct to the nearest £100, whereas at strategic level directors may look at comparing stores’ performances over several months to the nearest £100,000 per month. Accuracy is important. As an example, if government statistics based on the last census wrongly show an increase in births within an area, plans may be made to build schools and construction companies may invest in new housing developments. In these cases any investment may not be recouped. Reliability or objectivity Reliability deals with the truth of information or the objectivity with which it is presented. You can only really use information confidently if you are sure of its reliability and objectivity. When researching for an essay in any subject, we might make straight for the library to find a suitable book. We are reasonably confident that the information found in a book, especially one that the library has purchased, is reliable and (in the case of factual information) objective. The book has been written and the author’s name is usually printed for all to see. The publisher should have employed an editor and an expert in the field to edit the book and question any factual doubts they may have. In short, much time and energy goes into publishing a book and for that reason we can be reasonably confident that the information is reliable and objective. Compare that to finding information on the Internet where anybody can write unedited and unverified material and ‘publish’ it on the web. Unless you know who the author is, or a reputable university or government agency backs up the research, then you cannot be sure that the information is reliable. Some Internet websites are like vanity publishing, where anyone can write a book and pay certain (vanity) publishers to publish it.



Data and information Relevance/appropriateness Information should be relevant to the purpose for which it is required. It must be suitable. What is relevant for one manager may not be relevant for another. The user will become frustrated if information contains data irrelevant to the task in hand. For example, a market research company may give information on users’ perceptions of the quality of a product. This is not relevant for the manager who wants to know opinions on relative prices of the product and its rivals. The information gained would not be relevant to the purpose. Completeness Information should contain all the details required by the user. Otherwise, it may not be useful as the basis for making a decision. For example, if an organisation is supplied with information regarding the costs of supplying a fleet of cars for the sales force, and servicing and maintenance costs are not included, then a costing based on the information supplied will be considerably underestimated. Ideally all the information needed for a particular decision should be available. However, this rarely happens; good information is often incomplete. To meet all the needs of the situation, you often have to collect it from a variety of sources. Level of detail/conciseness Information should be in a form that is short enough to allow for its examination and use. There should be no extraneous information. For example, it is very common practice to summarise financial data and present this information, both in the form of figures and by using a chart or graph. We would say that the graph is more concise than the tables of figures as there is little or no extraneous information in the graph or chart. Clearly there is a trade-off between level of detail and conciseness. Presentation The presentation of information is important to the user. Information can be more easily assimilated if it is aesthetically pleasing. For example, a marketing report that includes graphs of statistics will be more concise as well as more aesthetically pleasing to the users within the organisation. Many organisations use presentation software and show summary information via a data projector. These presentations have usually been well thought out to be visually attractive and to convey the correct amount of detail. Timing Information must be on time for the purpose for which it is required. Information received too late will be irrelevant. For example, if you receive a brochure from a theatre and notice there was a concert by your favourite band yesterday, then the information is too late to be of use.



Data and information Value of information The relative importance of information for decision-making can increase or decrease its value to an organisation. For example, an organisation requires information on a competitor’s performance that is critical to their own decision on whether to invest in new machinery for their factory. The value of this information would be high. Always keep in mind that information should be available on time, within cost constraints and be legally obtained. Cost of information Information should be available within set cost levels that may vary dependent on situation. If costs are too high to obtain information an organisation may decide to seek slightly less comprehensive information elsewhere. For example, an organisation wants to commission a market survey on a new product. The survey could cost more than the forecast initial profit from the product. In that situation, the organisation would probably decide that a less costly source of information should be used, even if it may give inferior information. The difference between value and cost Many students in the past few years have confused the definitions of value and cost. Information gained or used by an organisation may have a great deal of value even if it may not have cost a lot. An example would be bookshops, who have used technology for many years now, with microfiche giving way to computers in the mid to late 1990s. Microfiche was quite expensive and what the bookshops received was essentially a list of books in print. By searching their microfiche by publisher they could tell you if a particular book was in print. Eventually this information became available on CD-ROM. Obviously this information has value to the bookshops in that they can tell you whether or not you can get the book. The cost of subscribing to microfiche was fairly high; subscribing to the CD-ROM version only slightly less so. Much more valuable is a stock system which can tell you instantly whether or not the book is in stock, linked to an on-line system which can tell you if the book exists, where it is available from, the cost and delivery time. This information has far more value than the other two systems, but probably actually costs quite a bit less. It is always up-to-date and stock levels are accurate. We are so used to this system that we cannot envisage what frustrations and inconvenience the older systems gave. The new system is certainly value for money.



Data and information Questions and tasks for data and information 1. Describe the differences between data and information. 2 2. (a) Explain the relationship between knowledge and information. 1

(b) Explain the difference between explicit and implicit 2 knowledge, giving an example of each and of the 1 kind of information that made that knowledge possible. 3. What is meant by metadata? Give an example of metadata. 2 4. For each of the following situations say whether the information is primary or secondary and internal or external.

• the minutes of a golf club committee meeting • a till roll showing the day’s transactions in a corner shop • a university prospectus • the published accounts of a large public business. 4

5. Describe the differences between:

• formal and informal communication 2 • quantitative and qualitative information. 2

6. There are three levels of information, strategic, tactical and operational. State the characteristics of:

• information used for decision making at the strategic level 2 • information used for decision making at the tactical

level 2 • information used for decision making at the operational

level 2 7. Explain the differences between information categorised by time:

• historically 1 • in the present time 1 • in the future 1



Data and information 8. Information can be used in planning, control and decision-making. Describe how information can be used in:

• planning 1 • control 1 • decision-making. 1

9. There are three forms of information, written, aural and visual. Explain with the use of examples the difference between the three forms. 3 10. The type of information one may receive can be detailed, sampled

or aggregated. Explain the differences between the three types of information with regard to the level of the information. 3

11. For each of the following characteristics of information explain why

that characteristic affects the quality of the information:

availability or accessibility accuracy completeness reliability or objectivity timing conciseness presentation value 8

12. Explain the distinction between value and the cost of information. 2

Total marks for questions 44



Data and information Task for data and information Imagine that a friend of yours would like you to use the Internet to find out about university courses that he or she is interested in. They would like you to find out which universities offer Information Systems as a degree course in Scotland. But before doing this you could use your knowledge of Information Systems to make up a checklist of criteria you want to use in your search. There are two websites you want to check out, the UCAS site (www.ucas.ac.uk) and the Heriot Watt University site (www.macs.hw.ac.uk). Complete the pro-forma below giving an example in each case of either the information you supply or that the website supplies to you.

Nature of information and criteria

www.ucas.co.uk www.macs.hw.ac.uk

Data supplied Information received

Knowledge gained

Any metadata?

Categorisation of information in terms of: (a) Source (b) Nature (c) Level (d) Time (e) Frequency (f) Use (g) Form (h) Type

Comment on each of the characteristics of the information you have found. (a) Relevance (b) Accuracy

http://www.ucas.ac.uk

http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk

http://www.ucas.co.uk

http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk



Data and information

(c) Completeness (d) Reliability (e) Timing (f) Conciseness (g) Presentation (h) Availability

Explain the difference between the cost and value of the information found.



SECTION 2 Organisational Information Systems Categories of information systems An information system is a group of interrelated components that work to carry out input, processing, storage, output and control actions in order to convert data into information that can be used to support forecasting, planning, control, coordination, decision making and operational activities in an organisation. There are several categories of information system: • Data Processing Systems (DPS) • Management Information Systems (MIS) • Decision Support Systems (DSS) • Executive Information System (EIS). This table shows how they fit into the categories of strategic, tactical, and operational information systems:

Organisation level Type of information system

Strategic Executive information system

Decision support system Tactical

Management information system

Operational Data processing system

Data processing systems Commercial computing systems were first developed in the 1950s and 60s, initially by what can only be called enthusiasts consisting of businessmen with a vision. These included Jo Lyon (of Lyon’s cakes fame) who operated a huge catering empire in London in the 1940s and 50s. The story of how they became computerised with the first commercial system is told at the site http:// www.kzwp. com/lyons/leo.htm. These systems were data processing systems that either replaced the manual clerical procedures currently in use (like bank records), or in new areas where humans were unable to perform the calculations involved due to their complexity. A Data Processing System is sometimes referred to as a Transaction Processing System (TPS), because it deals with the day-to-day transactions of an organisation. Examples include systems for accountancy, invoicing, stock control and data entry. For example, a clerk processing a customer order needs to know whether the item is in stock, what the price of the item is, as well as customer details including name and address.

http://www.kzwp.com/lyons/leo.htm.

http://www.kzwp.com/lyons/leo.htm.



Organisational Information Systems Another example is each item sold in a supermarket. For each item the bar code would be scanned and used to find the name and the price of the product and then the price used to calculate the total bill for a customer. This type of event would be stored in the supermarket’s transaction file for each day’s business. Data processing systems are usually tools used at the operational level of an organisation, since most organisations at an operational level produce large amounts of data from the events that contribute to their running. Another simpler example of a DPS, within a school context, is the gathering of pupil attendance records. Usually some attendance data is gathered for pupils in a school, in the morning and afternoon. This data is then input into the attendance information system. It can be used to calculate pupil, class, and year-group attendance percentages. Pupil support staff enquiring about pupil illness or poor attendance can also use the information produced by this system. A DPS usually involves a computer at the heart of the operation. Depending on the size of the company, this could be a desktop computer, a network, a mini or mainframe computer with ‘dumb’ terminals. The system also includes the software necessary to run the computer and handle the data. The means of collecting and outputting the data may well also be included. For example, the National Lottery DPS includes terminals in shops around the country where data is collected. Management information systems An MIS is a system that converts data from internal and external sources into information, communicated in an appropriate form to managers at different levels of an organisation. The information can contribute to effective decision making or planning to be carried out. The source of data for an MIS usually comes from numerous databases. These databases are usually the data storage for Data Processing Systems. MIS summarise and report on the organisation’s basic operations. The basic data from the DPS is condensed and is usually presented in long reports that are produced on a regular basis. MIS produce reports for managers interested in historic trends on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis (not on the day-to-day activities of the DPS). The information in these reports provides answers to routine pre-defined questions. An example from a supermarket will provide reports that show the sales figures for each department each day for a week, with weekly totals, monthly totals, comparisons with last month and the corresponding month last year. Once the information is in the system many reports can be extracted. These systems are generally not very flexible and have little analytical capability. Most MIS use simple routines such as summaries and comparisons as opposed to sophisticated mathematical models or statistical techniques.



Organisational Information Systems Decision support systems A DSS provides information and models in a form to help tactical and strategic decision-making. DSS support management decision-making by integrating: • company performance data • business rules in a decision table • analytical tools and models for forecasting and planning • a simple user interface to query the system. DSS are particularly useful when making ad-hoc, one-off decisions. These types of decisions tend to be unstructured and irregular. DSS enable a manager to explore a range of alternatives under a variety of conditions. For example, a manager may wish to know the effects on profits if sales increase and costs decrease. The source of data for a DSS tends to be a combination of summary information gathered from lower level DPS and MIS; it also includes significant information from external data sources. Executive information system An EIS provides senior managers with a system to assist in taking strategic and tactical decisions. Its purpose is to analyse, compare and identify trends to help the strategic direction of the organisation. EIS address unstructured decisions and create a generalised computing and communications environment, rather than providing any fixed application or specific capability. Such systems are not designed to solve specific problems, but to tackle a changing array of problems. EIS are designed to incorporate data about external events, such as new tax laws or competitors, and also draw summarised information from internal MIS and DSS. These systems filter, compress, and track critical data; emphasising the reduction of time and effort required to obtain information useful to strategic management. They employ advanced graphics software to provide highly visual and easy-to-use representations of complex information and current trends, but they tend not to provide analytical models.



Organisational Information Systems EIS allow the user to look at specific data that has been summarised from lower levels within the organisation and then drill down to increase the level of detail, which is provided by the information systems in different areas. This is an example of data warehouse analysis, which we will discuss later.

Interrelationships between information systems

Expert systems An expert system is a computer program that tries to emulate human reasoning. It does this by combining the knowledge of human experts and then, following a set of rules, it draws inferences. An expert system is made up of three parts: a knowledge base; an inference engine; a user interface. The knowledge base stores all of the facts, rules and information needed to represent the knowledge of the expert. The inference engine is the part of the expert system that interprets the rules and facts using backward and forward chaining to find solutions to user queries. The user interface allows the user to enter new knowledge and query the system. Reasons for expert systems in business: • To store information in an active form as organisational memory, creating an

organisational knowledge base that many employees can examine and preserving expertise that might be lost when an acknowledged expert leaves the organisation.

• To create a mechanism that is not subject to human feelings, such as fatigue

and worry. This may be especially useful when jobs may be environmentally, physically or mentally dangerous to humans. These systems may also be useful advisers in times of crisis.

• To enhance the organisation’s knowledge base by generating solutions to

specific problems that are too substantial and complex to be analysed by human beings in a short period of time.

We will go on to look at some of the concepts in relation to organisational information systems. Also we will look at their functions and at reasons for their need, and at descriptions of management strategies and at networking.



Organisational Information Systems Higher – Questions on organisational information systems

1. What is an information system? 1 2. Describe the functions likely to be performed by a Data Processing

System, giving an example to illustrate your answer. 2

3. Explain why a Data Processing System is classed as being at the operational level of an organisation. 2

4. For what purposes is a Management Information System

usually used? 2

5. Explain why a Management Information System is classed as being at the tactical level of an organisation. 2

6. Why would the management of a company like to see a

Decision Support System in place? 2 7. Explain why a Decision Support System is classed as being

at the operational level of an organisation. 2 8. Explain the purpose of an Executive Information System,

giving an example to illustrate your answer. 2 9. Explain why an Executive Information System is classed as

being at the tactical level of an organisation. 2 10. An Expert System is made up of three parts, a knowledge base,

an inference engine and a user interface. What is the purpose of each of these three parts? 3

11. Describe two reasons why an Expert System would be used

in business. 2

Total marks 22



Organisational Information Systems Concepts in relation to an Organisational Management System Speed Computers at the heart of information systems are capable of processing data very quickly. Although the computer is able to access data from backing storage at very high speeds this is one of the slowest aspects of data processing. The processor is able to carry out millions of calculations per second and some processors are optimised for speed of calculations. Accuracy For most practical purposes computers store and process numbers to a high degree of accuracy, but the accuracy also depends on the software written and, of course, on human accuracy. Much financial software is accurate to 3 decimal places rounded to 2. Once the accuracy of a calculation has been verified the software and hardware combined will perform the calculation correctly every time. Volume The number of transactions handled by an Information System in a period of time is referred to as the volume or number of transactions. A commercial data system often has to handle millions of transactions every week. For example, take a bank with 5 million customers. If each customer makes an average of 2 transactions (cash withdrawals or deposits, cheques written, direct debits or standing orders), then the system has dealt with 10 million transactions. The average for a bank of that size is probably far higher so as you can see the volume of data is huge. This has big implications for the size of backing storage, processing power and output capabilities of the system. Efficiency The efficiency of an Information System is really a combination of the speed, accuracy and volume of the data processed. It could be measured as the number of accurate transactions carried out per minute. In relation to human processing, it is substantially more efficient to carry out processing on an information system. Information systems are capable of running without interruption 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The functions of an Organisational Information System There are four basic functions of an OIS (similar in nature to the Commercial Data Processing Cycle) relating to gathering data and storing, processing and outputting information. Remember that we start by gathering data, and from storing it onwards it becomes information. Gathering data In the past there was a wide range of methods for capturing data before bar codes became almost universal on goods for sale. Many large companies employed large teams of data-processing staff often entering data from turnaround documents (like utility bills filled in and returned with a cheque).



Organisational Information Systems The original mail-order companies were another area of business that used data-processing staff. Customers chose goods from a catalogue and sent the order forms in. Operators typed in the order, and when the goods were despatched documents including a bill were produced. The customer received the goods and in time paid the bill, filling in a document to enclose with the cheque (or to pay in at the bank). The company eventually received the documents and the payment could be recorded against the customer account. In shops there were several different ways of recording sales and stock control. Some large shops used kimball tags, which were strips of cards with holes punched in them. These cards were fed into a reader at the end of the day and the reader interpreted the sequences of holes as stock numbers and stored the data on a type of disk. The disk was sent to head office for processing and at the end of a week sales figures and stock levels could be calculated. A similar system was employed with metallic stripes on the cards, which were similarly read and used. The main disadvantage of these methods is the time delay between the goods being ordered, dispatched (remember ‘please allow 28 days for delivery’) and the company banking the money; also shops were forever either overstocking or running out of stock. The current methods that are employed to capture data for an information system will be investigated. Bar codes Bar codes are small labels printed on food, books, newspapers and magazines and nearly all product packages. They are made of lines, which represent numbers. A bar code stores four pieces of information: • country of origin • manufacturer’s code • item code • check digit. The bar code is scanned (the numbers can be entered manually as well if they won’t scan). The bar code data is then used by the point-of-sale terminal to search a database of products for the name and prices. It then prints an itemised bill and uses the data to update stock levels and a sales file which can be used there and then to calculate all sorts of statistics (daily sales by department, hourly sales, etc.). Ordering goods What are the other methods of gathering data in common use? Mail order has all but disappeared and has been replaced by telephone and Internet ordering. Companies now rely on customers telephoning an order and paying over the phone with a credit or debit card. The goods are ordered instantly, the stock position can be given to the customer instantly, the money is transferred to the company’s account almost instantly, and the goods are usually despatched within a few hours and received usually within 48 hours by the customer.



Organisational Information Systems When goods are ordered over the Internet a similar situation occurs except that even more of the process is automated. The customer orders the goods from the Internet site, pays by credit or debit card and the goods often arrive either at a prearranged delivery time (supermarkets), or within a day or two. The advantages of these methods to the company are that they are paid instantly in advance for goods ordered and hopefully increase their business. To the customer, goods are received very quickly and often at the customer’s convenience and of course the customer does not need to leave their home (especially advantageous when young children are around and / or the weather is very bad). The customer also has protection from their credit-card company if something goes wrong. Magnetic strips and chip and PIN Credit and debit cards contain either magnetic strips or microchips that contain the holder’s account details. When the card is passed through the reader either the strip or the chip is read and the account details transferred to the point-of-sale terminal (POS). With a magnetic strip card a bill is printed out, signed and retained by the retailer and a receipt is printed out for the customer. With chip and pin the customer types a pin number into a device attached to the till. The PIN number verifies the sale and the receipt is printed out for the customer. It is generally quicker to use chip and PIN and much less open to fraud as there is no piece of paper for a thief to copy the number from. Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) There are numbers printed at the foot of every cheque and on the slips in a pay-in book. These are printed not in ordinary ink, but magnetic ink and are the code numbers for the bank, branch, account and cheque. When the cheque is paid into the bank, a machine is used to read the details, firstly on the pay-in slip that gives the numbers for the account the money is to go to, and then on the cheques that give the numbers of the accounts the money is taken from. The bank clerk only needs to type in the amount of each cheque and the reader sends all the details to the branch computer that stores the data. Optical character recognition (OCR) This is when the printed text is scanned into a computer. Pages of text can be scanned in very quickly and then searched for words or sentences. They can also be reprinted or edited. It is very useful in an office that receives or uses a lot of printed text, e.g. lawyers or accountants. Mark sense reader This is a device which brushes electrical contacts across the Mark Sense Document. If the contacts touch a pen or pencil mark then a current can flow between them. This is used most commonly in the National Lottery, where a player’s numbers are read from the board they have filled in and a ticket is produced. This method is also used for marking multiple-choice question papers.



Organisational Information Systems Storing information Information can be stored on a variety of media such as magnetic tape, hard disk, CD-ROM and DVD. These fall into two categories, those where data can be written to, re-written and amended, and those where data can only be written once and read many times. Generally speaking all of the data input from any of the above methods of data input will be stored on hard disks. These have very fast access allowing records on the disk to be accessed very quickly. The access is also random or direct meaning the disk heads can go to any part of the disk without starting at the beginning and working through towards the end, as with magnetic tape. Generally tape is only used for backing up large hard disks and usually only file-servers on a network. It is totally unsuitable for most modern data-processing applications. When fitted to a computer, CD-ROM and DVD drives that can be written to are usually used for backing up data from the hard disk of a personal computer. Another popular device for transporting data from one computer to another (home to school or work and vice versa) is the memory stick. This small, large-capacity device plugs into the USB port on the computer and almost immediately is recognised by the computer as an external disk drive and data can be saved to it just like a disk, except that it can have a larger capacity and is a lot faster than a disk drive. Processing data There are several types of processing that can be applied to data to turn it into information, as follows: • searching/selection • sorting/rearranging • aggregating • performing calculations. Searching involves selecting a sub-section of the data that meets a specified criterion. You may be familiar with this technique from work you may have done on databases in school or college when results of searches or queries happened instantaneously; but on a commercial basis searching can take a very long time. One example would be the National Lottery where the winning numbers are entered in as search criteria. On average it takes half an hour to find the match for any winning combination. Even if they find a match on the first record they must continue to the end, as the last of around 14 million records could also be a match. Every time a bar code is scanned the database in the supermarket is searched for a match and the details returned. Even with 20 or so tills working and some 20,000 items in store the match is fairly instant.



Organisational Information Systems Sorting involves arranging the data into some form of order. The choices are usually alphabetical or numeric, and then ascending or descending. Large commercial organisations usually have their data sorted or indexed in some way. It is common to have the customer file permanently sorted in customer number order and when transactions are made over the course of a day (orders and payments usually), the transaction file is also sorted by customer number. The files are then merged and a new file created with the transactions attached to the correct customers. A bank will sort its customers firstly into branches and then by account number within the branch. Aggregating involves summarising data by taking numerous data values and reducing them to either one value or a substantially reduced number of data values. Financial data is often aggregated, as actual totals of money earned or owed are wanted more often than the detail. For example, when you buy goods in a shop or supermarket and pay for them you only pay the aggregated total and if you pay by credit or debit card then the card company or bank is only interested in the aggregated total to debit your account. When you receive the statement for the credit card all the transactions you have made are listed on the statement but you are only really interested in the aggregated total at the bottom – the amount you have to pay. Performing calculations involves applying a formula to data to compute a new value. Obviously when using examples looked at in this section, calculations have taken place. The items have been totalled or added up; and the total found for the till receipt, the bank and credit card statements have been similarly totalled. When a utility bill is calculated then several calculations take place: Cost of units = units used * unit cost Net bill = cost of units + standing charge Total bill = net bill + (net bill * 0.175) So the total bill is calculated in three stages with the VAT finally being added. The same principles apply for electricity, gas and phone bills, although the phone bill has many more sub-sections and performs many more calculations. Outputting information Paper The most popular output method is printing information onto paper. The list of examples of paper output is almost endless, but tying them in to our examples we include till receipts and bills of many kinds to customers; in a business we call these invoices and statements. Internal reports and business communications tend to be internal printed output within a business, while many businesses exist to produce printed output to send to customers and potential customers. Screen Often in a large data processing operation the operator is only allowed to see their input screen and maybe some customer details. Managers and directors are more likely to see reports and progress checks on screen. However, with the rise of web-based and web-aware software, management reports can be viewed on screen in an interesting and visually stimulating manner, as with intranet pages (an intranet is like an internal internet for an organisation).



Organisational Information Systems File Once a database file has been updated with new information it will be saved to backing storage for future reference. In some situations reports or filtered data will be selected from the file and saved as a separate file. This allows the data to pass to another part of an information system that deals with the subset of data. Files can be e-mailed to managers and viewed on-screen to save paper. Organisational Information System management strategies When an organisation decides to install a computerised information system, several important decisions need to be made and lots of planning undertaken. There are five areas where an organisation needs to have clear strategies when planning and using information systems. These are as follows: Networks, Security, Backup and Recovery, Upgrading and Software.

Network strategy Security strategy An organisation needs a security strategy to ensure that staff or competitors do not steal important operational data. The security strategy will also deal with those areas of the network that staff can access (you cannot have data entry clerks accessing reports meant for senior management). Nowadays security must also deal with keeping unauthorised people from remotely accessing business networks; and, of course, it must protect against virus attacks. Backup and recovery strategy An organisation needs a backup and recovery strategy to ensure that operational data is not accidentally destroyed or damaged. As organisations rely more and more on information systems to store and process their data, it is vital that processes and procedures are introduced to ensure data is kept safe from loss or harm.

An organisation needs a network strategy initially to plan how to set up the network in general to manage effectively its distribution of data and information to assist its decision-making and general operation. The network strategy should be based on sound fundamentals so that no matter the advances in technology the network will be able to adapt and still deliver the services the organisation requires. The strategy needs to address the following areas: • Data transfer (traffic) • Distribution/coverage • Access and security • Facilities • Storage capacity.



Organisational Information Systems Upgrade strategy An organisation needs an upgrade strategy to ensure its information systems can continue to support the core business as the organisation grows and changes over time. There are likely to be advances in the hardware technology such as faster cabling systems, faster and more secure communications hardware and computers. Advances are also likely to be found in the software used with faster and more secure operating systems and greater functionality in the application software. Organisations need to decide whether and when to upgrade, usually when it appears cost effective to do so. Software strategy Initially the organisation will decide whether it needs bespoke or specially written software. The latter is common for large organisations like banks, insurance companies, supermarkets, and companies like call centres and modern mail-order companies. The organisation contacts a software house that will create the bespoke software. This is always expensive and many organisations will try and configure off-the-shelf application packages to suit their purposes. Often there is a mixture of bespoke and off-the-shelf packages in use, with managers often manipulating and analysing in spreadsheets figures produced in bespoke systems.



Organisational Information Systems Intermediate 2 questions Concepts in relation to Organisational Information Systems 1. How may the speed of a computer be calculated and expressed? 1 2. On what factors can the accuracy of a computer system be based? 2 3. What is meant by the volume of transactions in a computerised system? 1 4. How could the efficiency of a computer system be measured? 1 5. (a) Explain what is meant by a turnaround document. 1

(b) What has replaced kimball tags and magnetic stripes as the main method of collecting data from goods? 1

6. Explain how a bar code is used to produce an itemised till

receipt. 2 7. What are the two modern methods of buying goods without visiting a shop? 2 8. (a) Explain why a hard disk is the preferred storage medium for data processing applications.

(b) If users wish to carry quite large files from work to home, what backing storage device are they likely to use? 2

9. There are four main types of processing which can be applied to data. Name and describe each of them and give an example of each. 4 10. Name and describe the three commonest methods of outputting data and give an example of each. 3 11. Explain why an organisation needs a network strategy and state the five areas it needs to address. 2 12. Why does an organisation need to have a security strategy in place? 3 13. Why is a backup strategy important to an organisation? 1 14. Referring to both hardware and software issues, explain why an upgrade

strategy is needed. 2 15. Why will an organisation have a software strategy in place? 1 16. What effect can a centralised database have on an organisation

and what advantages can it give? 3

Total marks 32



Organisational Information Systems

Network strategy Topologies A network topology is basically the way in which the network has been built. Although there are several different variations on each of these basic topologies we are only going to look at the generic types. LAN This stands for Local Area Network and it is a network that is restricted to one room, building or site. The cabling and hardware (infrastructure) that defines the network are usually owned by the organisation. LANs allow users to share data and peripherals like printers, often they are able to log on anywhere on the network and access their own data from any computer. The network manager is able to control access through the use of usernames and passwords and ensure that data is kept secure and backups made. WAN This stands for Wide Area Network and is a network that uses some form of external communications for computers to communicate with each other. Some large companies, local authorities and government departments operate WANs. Their regional and district offices can be connected via leased lines and their computers will all operate as if they were workstations on a LAN. More common nowadays is for these organisations to use telephone lines and run a web-based service or Intranet. By far the biggest WAN in the world is the World Wide Web running the Internet. Distributed networks Distributed networks have been made possible on LANs by the use of modern networking software and by having multiple servers around the network. Each server can run a mini network within a sub-group of switches and this can reduce network traffic significantly. Users’ data can be kept on the server they are most

An organisation needs a network strategy initially to plan how to set up the network in general to manage effectively its distribution of data and information to assist its decision-making and general operation. The network strategy should be based on sound fundamentals so that no matter the advances in technology the network will be able to adapt and still deliver the services the organisation requires. The strategy needs to address the following areas: • Data transfer (traffic) • Distribution/coverage • Access and security • Facilities • Storage capacity.



likely to access although their user area should be transparent from any station on the network. A distributed network can make the working of a network like a school or college much more efficient, and in a business environment much more secure as well. Server failure at one node is unlikely to render the entire network useless. Network Hardware Client-server network This type of network has a central computer called a server, although large LANs may have more than one server. Data files and software are usually stored on the server but can be accessed from the network stations (nodes). Some software is installed centrally so that it only has to be installed once, although applications are usually installed on each workstation and this software can often be installed remotely to several stations at once. All files are stored centrally, providing a pool of data that is accessible to all workstations on the network. The network can support computers of differing types and usually different versions of the same operating system. Backup is easy to perform and there is no need to rely on users backing up their own files. Organisational Information Systems This sort of network is heavily dependent on the server. Servers need to have fast processing speeds, large memory and large hard disks. They are expensive and server-based networks are complicated to install. The commonest type of server-based LAN is based on Ethernet technology. Peer-to-peer network This type of network has no central server, as all workstations on the network are equal. Installing software takes more time, as it has to be installed on each computer. Workstations on a peer-to-peer network can access work stored on other computers on the network. This type of network is less secure as access to and from workstations needs to be open. As a server is very expensive to buy, a small peer-to-peer network is a lot cheaper then a client-server network. A peer-to-peer network is ideal in a small office where a handful of computers need to be networked. Network adapter card Every computer attached to a network needs a network adapter card. Very often now the card is built-in to the computer at the time of manufacture. The network cable plugs into the card and the other end into a socket and it therefore allows the computer to send and receive data across the network. Structured cabling Cables are the commonest form of transmission media used to build a network. They are usually made from copper wire, such as co-axial and twisted pair. Fibre-optic cables are also used for fast, large-capacity networks or to connect sections of a network in a large building like a school or college. In an Ethernet network, twisted pair cabling is normally used, and each network point will be connected back to a hub or switch, which in turn is connected to the server. However large a network becomes (and networks of 200–500 stations are not uncommon in large schools and colleges) this simple structure applies. Of



course complications develop and when longish distances are covered a repeater boosts the signal, at regular intervals to prevent the signal deteriorating until it is unusable. Network software Network operating system There are two parts to the network operating system, the version that runs on the server and the version that runs on the personal computers to turn them into network stations. The server software is needed to control which users and workstations can access the server, keep each user’s data secure, and control the flow of information around the network. It is also responsible for file and data sharing, communications between users, and hardware and peripheral sharing.



Organisational Information Systems Each workstation (computer) connected to the network needs the Network Operating System installed before it can connect successfully to the network facilities. It may be extra software added to the operating system, or more likely on modern computers running Windows 2000 or XP it comes as part of the operating system and only needs to be run to connect the computer to the network. Thereafter it runs automatically after start-up and makes any user log in before they can access either the computer or the network Network auditing and monitoring software This software keeps a track of network activity. It not only records user activity, but workstation activity as well. It records who has logged in where, at what time, for what duration, which applications have been used, printer requests and file access activity. This allows the network manager to see exactly what was happening if a problem is reported, and also to monitor any person who may be acting suspiciously as far as the network is concerned. In a commercial organisation this sort of auditing and monitoring can be used to detect fraud and suspicious activity. Security strategy Data stored on computer is vital to the success of any business or organisation. The loss of computer files is an extremely serious problem for any organisation, so it is vital that organisations take steps to protect the security, integrity and privacy of their data. What exactly do we mean by these terms and what is the difference between security, integrity and privacy? We will look at this question and investigate the policies and procedures for implementing data security and access rights on a network. Security, integrity and privacy of data Data security means keeping data safe from physical loss. This could be due to accidental damage to the computer systems, such as a fire or flood. It might be caused by electronic problems such as hardware failure or the data becoming altered due to magnetic influences. We call this data corruption. This might be intentional: for example, theft by a competitor, malicious unauthorised access deleting or altering data, or it might be destruction of the data by viruses. Data integrity means the correctness of the stored data. Measures are taken when data is entered to ensure that it is correct. In an off-line situation data is often double entered, once originally and once again for security. If there is a mismatch the data has to be checked and re-entered. On-line data entry (such as from call centres) is often checked by the software; or operators may ask customers to spell difficult names or addresses, before reading their details back to them so they can correct any errors. Data may be incorrect because of program bugs, hardware breakdown, viruses or other computer crime, or through errors in data transmission on networks or using remote terminals.



Organisational Information Systems Data privacy means protecting data so that unauthorised users cannot access it. You as a user may wish to keep your personal data at school or college private. In a commercial organisation different groups of users will be allowed access to different levels of data. Thus data is kept private to specific groups of users. You will probably rely on a network manager to keep the data secure. Its integrity is respected when the data is entered and stored and your privacy is protected by not letting other users into your personal data. The security risks to information systems A virus is a piece of programming code that causes some unexpected and usually undesirable event in a computer system. Viruses are often designed so that they automatically spread to other computer users on a network. They can be transmitted as attachments to an e-mail, as a download, or be present on a disk being used for something else. Some viruses take effect as soon as their code takes residence in a system whilst others lie dormant until something triggers their code to be executed by the computer. Viruses can be extremely harmful and may erase data or require the reformatting of a hard disk once they have been removed. Hacking is gaining unauthorised access to a computer information system. This may be as simple as trying to break into your friend’s account at school or college; or it may be as complex as terrorists trying to break into state security and military systems. Much of the security on networks exists to prevent hacking, whether user names and passwords or chip-and-pin credit and debit cards. It is not so much the breaking in that is the offence as maliciously altering data or stealing information. As organisations begin to incorporate the use of the network and Internet into their core business activities, they become more vulnerable to new risks. One of these risks comes from denial of service attacks. This involves flooding an organisation’s Internet server with a surprisingly large amount of requests for information (traffic). This increase in traffic overloads the server, which is incapable of dealing with the backlog of requests, and usually results in the server crashing or needing to be taken offline to resolve the problem. This sort of attack on a company can be very costly. An example was the attack on Yahoo in 2000, which involved their servers being flooded with 1 billion hits per minute. The attack was estimated to have cost £300,000 in lost advertising revenue alone (Financial Times, 17 November 2000).



Organisational Information Systems Policies and procedures for implementing data security Codes of conduct can be applied to anybody that uses an information system. Most organisations insist that users follow a set of rules for using their information system. These rules outline the organisation’s expectations of user behaviour – a kind of school rules for adults and professionals. Employees in an organisation often have to sign a code of conduct as part of their conditions of employment. These are not usually onerous or unduly restrictive but more often common sense and for the employee’s protection (to prevent them from breaking any laws). A code of conduct can cover basic professional competences as well as an obvious statement like ‘Never disclose your password to anybody else’ or ‘Change your password every week’. Members of professional associations, like the British Computer Society (BCS), are expected to abide by a set of principles that set out minimum standards of competence, conduct and behaviour. They have a code of conduct for members who work in the Information Systems industry, and many professional organisations have such regulations to govern how their membership carries out their work. The BCS code of ethics covers: • Professional conduct – members’ conduct shall uphold the dignity, reputation

and good standing of the profession. • Professional integrity – A member shall not by unfair means do anything that

would harm the reputation, business or prospects of another member and shall at all times act with integrity.

• Public interest – A member shall have proper regard to the public interest and to the rights of third parties.

• Fidelity – A member shall discharge his obligations to his employer or client with complete fidelity.

• Technical competence – A member shall offer only those services which are within his/her competence, and shall declare to his employer or client the relevant level of competence he possesses when his services are being sought.

Password guidelines When users are given access to an information system they will be given a specific user identity (user ID) and a password. Most systems allow the user to change the initial password to one of their own choice and they also require users to change their password on a regular basis.



Organisational Information Systems However, this free choice can result in a poor selection of password and increase the risk of a hacker guessing or deducing the password. Most password systems try to ensure a password is chosen that cannot be easily deduced, by imposing some password rules; for example, all passwords should: • have a minimum length of 5 characters • have a mix of letters and numbers • not contain any words • not be the same as the previous password • not use easily guessed strings of letters or numbers (e.g. 123456 and

abcdef). Implementing data security Virus protection Prevention A virus can, like any form of data, copy itself onto a computer via portable backing storage or across the network. There are various different ways of preventing a computer system from being infected by a virus. You can, as in some schools and colleges, prevent users from using floppy disks to transfer data. Several organisations buy PCs without a built-in floppy disk to reduce the risk of virus infection. Another form of infection is via e-mails, specifically with attachments. In recent years there have been several well-publicised examples of viruses being spread via attachments on emails. To combat this risk, organisations use filtering software to scan incoming e-mails for potentially dangerous virus attachments. The advice that users are given to prevent infection is not to open any attachments or e-mails from e-mail addresses that they do not recognise. Detection If a user does not have any anti-virus software installed on their computer system, they may not detect a virus until it causes damage to their computer or someone else receives an infected email or file from them. To detect viruses on a computer system a user needs to install anti-virus software that is capable of scanning incoming data for viruses. Virus scanning involves looking at each file for a known virus signature. If the anti-virus software has not been updated recently, there may be new viruses (and their signatures) that the system is unable to recognise. Most anti-virus software can be configured to scan floppy disks or other portable media for viruses, when they are inserted into the computer. If a virus is detected it will either refuse to read the disk or ask the user if they wish to repair the infected file.



Organisational Information Systems Repair It is generally a good idea to scan the hard disk of the computer system on a regular basis to ensure no viruses have managed to infect the system. If a virus is discovered the anti-virus software can offer to quarantine or repair the files. Quarantining involves coping the files into a secure sub-directory on the hard disk. Repairing a file involves the anti-virus software deleting the part of the file that it believes contains the virus infection. Firewall A firewall is an intelligent device or software item that is used to prevent unauthorised access to an organisation’s network. The firewall is placed between the network file server and the Internet connection (usually a router). The firewall checks all messages sent to the fileserver from outside and filters the contents. Access may be blocked for certain applications whilst being restricted for others. The firewall is a method of preventing unauthorised access to the workstations or servers in an organisation’s network, from a computer external to the organisation. It will check any requests to join the network with validated user accounts on the server and will only grant access to authorised users. Encryption When someone tries to buy goods on the Internet they usually have to give their credit card number. Hackers can monitor the servers used by the companies accepting credit cards and use ‘packet sniffer’ software to intercept the 16-digit credit card numbers and store them for later use. Internet retailers therefore use encryption techniques to protect their customers (which they must do if they are to maintain credibility). Encryption is the method of scrambling or coding messages so that anyone who intercepts them cannot understand the message, and it can only be recovered by people authorised to see it. When the data is to be used it needs to be decrypted. The usual method is called 32-bit encryption (64-bit also exists) and is thought to be virtually impossible to crack. Access rights Users of an information system usually have different kinds of access rights to their own and shared areas of the system. These rights involve how files can be accessed, modified and erased. Folders can be set so that files can be read only in the folder, files can be created, deleted or not, and so on. The main actions are explained below: • Read – relates to files and the user can read the file. Files can be made ‘read

only’, which means users cannot save changes made to them. • Write – Usually refers to folders where users have the right to write or save

files to that folder. • Create – Again in folders groups of users have the right to create files. • Erase – Similarly groups of users may be able to erase files. • Modify – Groups of users can be given rights to modify files.



Organisational Information Systems It is usual for these access rights to be grouped so that a user will have Read/Write/Create/Erase on their own drive. Maybe students have ‘read only’ access to a folder containing sample files where staff have full access. In another example, a group of users may be given access to a central file space that they can all share. In this case access rights may be restricted to read and write access, but not to erase. Other users, such as a Network Administrator, will have full access (super user access) to all areas of the system. This allows them to fix any problems with the system and configure the system for new users. Backup strategy Archive, recovery and storage methods Every computer user and certainly every network and MIS should have a strategy in place to back up their (often irreplaceable) data. Backing up is the process of making a copy of data stored on fixed hard disks to some other media. This can be tape, external portable hard disks, writeable CD-ROM or DVD. The purpose of backing up data is to ensure that the most recent copy of the data can be recovered and restored in the event of data loss. What can cause this data loss that so many companies worry about? Firstly, there are the natural perils of fire, flood, and building collapse. Secondly, there are electronic disasters. A simple example of the latter is when the hard disk becomes corrupted by a disk-head crash; this is usually due to the computer being suddenly moved when the disk is rotating, causing the disk head to crash into the surface of the disk and can render the whole disk instantly useless. Another example is when files are accidentally erased, or whole areas of the disk are attacked by a virus. This list is not exhaustive but identifies some of the main worries of a computer user. There are different types of backup procedures and we shall examine only one or two different situations. Archive Archiving data is the process of copying data from hard disk drives to tape or other media for long-term storage. This is often used to free hard disk space by off-loading seldom-used data to backup tape or other media. An example of this would be to archive last year’s accounts when they had been finalised. This year’s accounts have already been started with carry-forward figures and it is only accountants and VAT inspectors, for example, who wish to see last year’s. They can usually be easily recovered for that purpose. But accounts for the previous 10 years are usually archived and anything older than last year is said to be a long-term archive. Long-term archives are usually stored in a fireproof safe away from the main site. Banks offer a long-term archiving service at a cost.



Organisational Information Systems Recovery Data verification is an important, if often forgotten, aspect of backup strategy. After the backup process has been completed it is important to check the backup has been successful. It is important to check that the data stored on the backup media can be recovered. It would be extremely foolish to wait until the data in the information system was corrupted before testing the backup media to see if it could be recovered. Assuming that the backed-up data can be recovered it is usually a fairly simple task to recover the data. The relevant tape is brought from the off-site storage facility and the backup and recovery software will restore the data. Usually the software can be set to archive mode when the backup is taken and this means that archive data can be restored without overwriting the current data. Another method of backup is to make a full backup of the entire computer at a fixed point in time. Thereafter an incremental backup is made at predetermined times (daily, weekly, termly even). This means that only files that have been added or amended since the last full or incremental backup are backed up. Again, the recovery software can be set to ‘full’, ‘incremental’ or ‘full and incremental restore’. Storage methods Most servers have built-in tape drives to allow backup to take place easily. The mention of tape does not mean large reel-to-reel tape machines with ½-inch data tape moving from reel to reel. Such tapes were essentially analogue tapes (like VHS video and audio tapes) and nowadays we use digital tapes called DAT tapes. The older ones store around 2 or 4 GB of data and are like an audio cassette, but the modern ones can store around 20 or 40 GB and are more like a short video cassette in size and shape. Some organisations backup onto USB hard drives which plug into the computer’s USB port (USB2 is very fast). The advantage of these is that they are often the same capacity as the drive they are backing up. Frequency and version control The duration of a backup (backup window) is another important aspect. If a backup is carried out each night after close of business (out of hours), it is important that the backup method can be completed before the start of business the next morning. A full backup is usually taken at the end of a working week on Friday or Saturday night (automatically under software control – the operator does not spend all Friday or Saturday night watching the backup happening). Several sets of full tapes will be required for a 6-week rotation. A tape will be required every night for an incremental backup, which usually does not take too long.



Organisational Information Systems A version of a week’s work will then be the full backup set plus the incremental tapes made during the week. It is important that these tapes are kept together and clearly labelled. If using the Grandfather, Father, Son method then a set of tapes is required for each generation. A generation may last longer than a week; a month is quite common, with weekly increments. A school may keep four generations of a full backup and then weekly increments and that way a pupil’s work can be recovered right back to the start of the year when they accidentally deleted the most important essay they have ever written. When the rotation period is complete then the rotation starts again. Upgrade strategy Future proofing This concerns finding ways of making sure that a system has a reasonable life and does not need to be totally replaced too soon. ‘Too soon’ are the operative words, as any computer will have to be replaced eventually. Look at the systems at GCHQ now compared to the Enigma Code Cracker of 1944. That computer worked but eventually would not run programs that the management wanted to run, and was far too slow. Computers have developed so rapidly that machines which are four or five years old seem slow and their operating systems cannot cope with recent versions of the application software. It is usually the operating system which cannot run updated software (Windows ME will not run the latest software written for XP). The older hardware will not accept the upgraded operating system so you are into a cycle and the only option is to upgrade. It is not possible to predict the future other than to say it is unpredictable. Future proofing hardware is a bit of a wish and really means that you try and buy a computer that has more features than you actually need. You try and buy a more advanced and faster processor, the maximum amount of RAM that you can and the biggest hard disk you can fit into the computer. In a year or so then the super new future-proofed computer will be the standard that everyone else is buying. Software is a slightly different story as there is software that has been running for several years and works perfectly well and does not need upgraded. On the other hand some software needs to be upgraded almost immediately and is always in a state of flux. There is a happy medium and this is probably where most software is. Software is either written by a software house for a client’s needs (call-centre, bank, telephone ordering system, etc.) or is an application (like Microsoft Office). A software house will generally respond to individual customers’ requests for upgrades, while an application developer will always try and improve the product to keep it ahead of the competition. When upgrading an information system two main areas of hardware and software updating need to be investigated thoroughly. This investigation is called integration testing, and it ensures that any new hardware or software can work with all the other parts of the information system.



Organisational Information Systems Integration testing – there are several inter-connected elements that need to be tested to ensure that new developments in the information system work with the old. When considering the information system you need to ensure that all its elements are compatible. Here are some of the questions that need to be considered: • Are the peripheral devices compatible with the hardware and operating

system? • Does the network software support the hardware and operating system? • Is the application software compatible with the operating system and

computer? • Is the hardware compatible with the operating system? Over the lifetime of the information system various elements will be updated as new technology is purchased. Legacy systems – Old information systems running on out-of-date hardware and operating systems are often referred to as ‘legacy systems’. These were originally characterised by old mainframe systems but now often refer to very old micros whose specification is less than the minimum specified by the company. The reasons companies and organisations continue to use legacy systems are that the cost of buying new hardware and re-writing the application software for the new hardware is so costly that it does not make financial sense to move to the new system. Problems then arise because the old hardware companies stop building and supporting their information systems. This means that if any problems arise, or if the hardware breaks down, there are no specialists available to fix the problem; however, when a central computer system is upgraded it is necessary to try to maintain the legacy systems. These problems with legacy systems led to many computer companies developing software that conformed to Open Standards. This meant that applications would be developed for non-proprietary systems. An application running on one manufacturer’s hardware could easily be moved to another (portable) because it was designed to work with open systems. Open Standards are exemplified in Linux OS, various Communications software programs, and languages like Java. Emulation – A problem occurs when changing to a new hardware platform if the use of the old system is still required. If a change to incompatible new hardware is made, it may be possible to run old software using a software emulator. This is system software that acts as an interface between the hardware of a system and any applications running on that system in order that the application software can run on a hardware platform other than the one for which it was designed. Thus the original software can be run. The computer gives the appearance of being a different platform. Using software emulation allows access to a greater range of applications that might not be available on the given hardware platform. The use of an emulator allows data to be transferred between platforms.



Organisational Information Systems However, software emulation may not provide full functionality of the software and will not exploit all the facilities of the new hardware. As an extra layer of software is in place this will often cause the application software to run slowly. Software strategy Every organisation with an information system needs to consider very carefully the following points when writing and implementing a software strategy. It needs to take account of several important issues: • evaluating the software for use, using several key criteria • the user support for the software • the training supplied for end users of the software • the upgrade path of the software. Software evaluation Functionality – This refers not only to the number of features an application program has but the number of useable features it has. Also the tasks to be completed need to be evaluated against the features in the software. Performance – The performance of software can be measured by several different criteria depending on the type of software: Speed – A database program could be measured for the speed it takes to search through, say 10,000 records, by a variety of criteria. A spreadsheet’s speed may be measured by the time it takes to recalculate a complex formula over a set number of cells. Usability – This can be simply the look and feel of the software, whether tabs or buttons are used and whether standard menus or specific menus are used. Usability can also mean what choices one has in the menus (e.g. you expect to find cut, copy and paste in the edit menu and no other) and also whether the software does what you expect it to. Compatibility – Is the software compatible with other software on the system and also the intended hardware. The commonest compatibility problem is with operating systems. As software becomes more modern and up-to-date it is likely not to run on older operating systems. Developers write routines that they know are supported by the newest operating system, but not by a version several years old (e.g. trying to use the USB port – Windows 98 onwards supports USB, but try to use the software on Windows NT and it will not work). Data migration – The process of translating data from one format to another. Data migration is necessary when an organisation decides to use a new computing system or database management system that is incompatible with the current system. Typically, data migration is performed by a set of customised programs or scripts that automatically transfer the data.



Organisational Information Systems Reliability – Reliable software does the job it is supposed to do, and gives the expected results to test data supplied to it. It can be a long process devising suitable test data and running reliability tests but this is a very important area of testing. For example a program dealing with small decimal parts of numbers may only be accurate to 10 decimal places when the requirement is for 12 places. Resource requirements – Software must be investigated to see whether or not the computer going to operate it has adequate resources. This means questions must be asked about whether the processor is fast enough and has the correct type of processor, and how much RAM is required to run the software and deal with associated data files. The next level is to look at the hard disk space required and the type of monitor and graphics adapter. Other considerations will be more peripheral, such as sound capability and other storage requirements, CD-ROM, DVD, USB devices. Portability – When used to describe software, portable means that the software has the ability to run on a variety of computers or operating systems. ‘Portable’ and ‘machine independent’ mean the same thing – that the software does not depend on a particular type of hardware. Support – This usually means customer support, the assistance that a vendor or technical support desk offers to customers or users. Support can vary widely, from nothing at all to a phone hotline to on-site calls. The level of support usually depends on how much money the organisation is paying for the support. Training On-the-job – This type of training comes when a new user starts using an information system. A new user needs to be introduced to the software; this usually takes the form of working through a tutorial to become familiar with the functions of the software. It will either be an online tutorial program or tutorial manual that teaches the user about the software. In-house – This is when small groups of staff, within the company or organisation, receive a training course usually delivered by IT staff. This allows staff to become fully familiar with the information system; if they have any complex or unusual questions relating to using the system, the IT staff have the expert knowledge to answer them. External – This type of training is used when an organisation does not have in-house IT specialists to deliver the training internally. It is offered by specialist training providers for popular application software, such as software created by Microsoft, Macromedia and Adobe.



Organisational Information Systems User support There are numerous sources of user support that allow a user to solve a problem when using a piece of software. Manuals There are several types of manuals available for application software: • Installation guide – gives advice on how to install the software

and how to configure it to work with various hardware. • Tutorial guide – gives step-by-step instructions on how to use

the software. • Reference manual – Is an indexed guide detailing all the functions of the

software. On-line help – This is usually a facility associated with a piece of software that explains to the user what each feature of the software does. Importantly, it is a part of the program situated on the computer and is not on the Internet On-line tutorials – This is usually a facility associated with a piece of software that teaches the user how to use the software. Users are led through a set of steps that illustrate how the software works and this is usually very similar to the paper-based tutorial manual (replacing it very often). This facility is also situated on the computer and is not on the Internet. Help desk – There are two types of help desk: internal and external. They both provide support information on how to use the information system or software. Sometimes the company that is the end user of the software and focuses on solving low-level user problems operates an internal help desk. These problems can usually be solved very simply and do not require a complex understanding of the information system. An external help desk is usually associated with the software company that provided the software. They deal with complex high level user problems. They provide detailed technical information to the user and are also responsible for logging any bug reports for the software, which would require the programming team to fix. Newsgroups – A newsgroup allows users of a piece of software to post e-mail messages to the wider user community. Users subscribe to a newsgroup and when a message is posted there it is sent to all members of the group. If it is a problem that another user has experienced then they may reply with helpful advice. A newsgroup helps support a user by allowing the user group to share the knowledge of the community. It is also common for the moderator of a newsgroup to create an FAQ (see below), which is updated and posted on a regular basis.



Organisational Information Systems FAQs – This stands for Frequently Asked Questions. It is usually a file that contains a list of commonly asked user queries about a piece of software. These FAQ files are often posted on newsgroups or on a website to allow users to access them easily. They can be a simple starting point when trying to find a solution to a problem. If the user can’t find the answer in the FAQ then they can try one of the other sources of support. Decisions to upgrade software There are several reasons why an organisation may decide to upgrade their software, as it is usually a large step to take and care must be taken to ensure that the upgrade is not a costly mistake. Data files, which may be more valuable than the computer system, must be compatible with upgraded software, and upgraded software must be compatible with the current hardware, or else that will need to be upgraded also; and so the cycle continues. Lack of functionality – At some time the organisation will evolve and change. For example, a mail-order company might move over to telephone ordering. The mail-order software will not be able to cope with telephone ordering. In the case of an application package there may be new features in the software that the users want to use or need to use. An example was Web Authoring software that worked perfectly well but did not support MP3 files (which came out after the software was released), so the different companies released upgrades to cope with these and other new file formats. Hardware incompatibility – It may be that an organisation has to upgrade its computers and the new computers have an operating system that will not support the original software, so upgraded software will need to be ordered or bought. Software incompatibility – Likewise, an organisation may have to upgrade its software for operational reasons and finds that the upgraded software will not run on the version of the operating system installed. The next step is then to upgrade the operating system. Perfecting the software – If a software company releases software and it discovers there are bugs in the software, the company will try and remove those bugs and release an update. This may well be free, but users should check that their data files are upwardly compatible. Centralised and distributed databases At the heart of most organisational information systems will be found a very large and powerful centralised database. The database program is often called the database engine and it saves and indexes files in tables and manages the relationships between the tables. The other functions such as data entry screens, querying and reporting are part of the database shell and are often seen as peripheral tools for handling the data.



Organisational Information Systems Information held by the company can be found fairly easily by querying its centralised database. Usually a multi-user or network system is used which means that any user on the system can have access to the database. It can usually be configured to allow different operators different but relevant views of the information (sales screens, account screens, stock screens, etc.). The advantages of the database being centralised are that it is much easier to organise, edit, update and back-up the data. Communications are easier if the data is held on one central computer rather than spread over several and there are no real disadvantages to having a centralised database. A centralised database holds all of an organisation’s data on a central computer, whether mainframe or server. Dumb terminals on a mainframe system and PCs on a network system can access it. These terminals and PCs can be some distance from the central database, but the point is that all the data is together at the same place. The main advantage of a centralised database is that it is far easier to manage and control if all the data is in one location. For example, in an ordering system, a customer may phone orders and gives notice that their address has changed; when the order operator changes that address it has been changed across the system. If the accounts department then wish to send a statement to the customer they will have the customer’s new address. Another advantage is that the database is far easier to back up when it is centralised than if it was kept on different computers; a suitable backup strategy can easily be implemented. A distributed database is a database that consists of two or more files located at different sites on a computer network. Because the database is distributed, different users can access it without interfering with one another. The DBMS must periodically synchronise the scattered databases to make sure they all have consistent data. Traditionally a distributed database was a collection of data and files, which actually belonged to a system but was physically distributed to a number of computers that were connected via some communication network. Nowadays it is more likely to be independent database systems with facilities for exchanging data. Data warehousing and data mining As you can imagine with data files with different structures, users wanting different reports from their data, some users wanting to use archived data for analysis and other users only being interested in the immediate transactions, different techniques for archiving and interrogating the data have been developed. These are data warehousing and data mining.



Organisational Information Systems Data warehouse Data warehousing has been around since the 1990s. The idea behind data warehousing is that historical data, mainly from past transactions and orders that the company has carried out, are separated out from the business. The data is re-organised in such a way as to allow it to be analysed, the newly structured data is then queried and the results of the query are reported. Data warehousing could be used as a predictive tool, to indicate what should be done in the future. However, the main use of data warehousing is not as a predictive tool but as a review tool, to monitor the effects of previous operational decisions made in the course of a business. For example, if Marks & Spencer decided to open stores in Asia, data could be collected over the first few months as the stores opened. This could then be passed to a data warehouse. The wisdom of opening stores in Asia for the business as a whole could then be reviewed and conclusions backed up with statistical evidence. Data mining Data mining has been defined as ‘The non-trivial extraction of implicit, previously unknown, and potentially useful information from data’. It uses machine learning, and statistical and visualisation techniques to discover and present knowledge in a form that is easily comprehensible to humans. Data mining is the analysis of data and the use of software techniques for finding patterns and regularities in sets of data. The computer is responsible for finding the patterns by identifying the underlying rules and features in the data. It is possible to ‘strike gold’ in unexpected places because the data mining software may extract patterns not previously discernible or so obvious that no one has noticed them before. The mining analogy is that large volumes of data are sifted in an attempt to find something worthwhile, and (as in a mining operation) large amounts of low-grade materials are sifted through in order to find something of value. Data-mining software allows users to analyse large databases to solve business decision problems. For example, consider a catalogue retailer who needs to decide who should receive information about a new product. The information surveyed by the data-mining process is contained in a historical database of previous interactions with customers and the features associated with the customers (such as age, post code, their responses, etc.). The data-mining software would use this historical information to build a model of customer behaviour that could be used to predict which customers would be likely to respond to the new product. By using this information a marketing manager can select only the customers who are most likely to respond. The results of the decision can then be fed to the appropriate marketing parts of the organisation so that the right customers receive the right offers.



Organisational Information Systems Higher questions on Organisational Information Systems 1. Explain the difference between a Local Area Network and

a Wide Area Network. 2 2. What does a distributed network mean? 1 3. Explain the difference between a client server network and a peer-to-peer network. 2 4. What functions does a network adapter card give to a computer

on a LAN? 1

5. What advantage does a fibre-optic cable give over a twisted pair or co-axial cable? What additional piece of hardware is required in an Ethernet network when longish distances need be covered? 1

6. Explain why a file server and a network computer both require

a network operating system, and explain the main difference between the two versions. 2

7. What is the main function of network auditing and monitoring software? 2

8. Why might an organisation decide to implement a security strategy

on its network? 1 9. Describe what is meant by data security, integrity and privacy; and

highlight the differences between these three terms. 3 10. How may a virus be transmitted to a computer and subsequently activated and what is the likely effect of a virus on a computer

system? 3 11. Hacking is gaining unauthorised access to a computer information

system. How may an organisation protect itself from hackers, and what offence is actually committed? 2

12. Explain what is meant by a denial-of-service attack. 1 13. Explain how having a code of conduct in place can help enhance

the security of an organisation. 1 14. Explain how having a code governing password guidelines can

help enhance the security of an organisation. Give an example of the rules which may be in place. 2

15. How may a virus be prevented from attacking a network? If present,

how may it be detected and infected files be repaired? 3



Organisational Information Systems 16. A firewall is a method of preventing unauthorised access

to a network. Explain how it operates. 3 17. Explain why Internet retailers use encryption and describe a popular system. 2 18. Access rights involve how files may be accessed on a network. Describe the main actions that can be applied to files. 5 19. Explain why an organisation should have a backup strategy. 1 20. Describe what is meant by:

(a) Data archiving (b) Data recovery (c) Storage methods, including frequency and version control 3

21. Explain why an organisation should have an upgrade strategy in place. 1 22. What is meant by integration testing? 2 23. What problems can legacy systems give a network manager? 1 24. What does the term emulation mean in the context of organisational

information systems? 1 25. As part of a software strategy an organisation may wish to evaluate

software. Explain how the software can be evaluated with reference to the criteria of functionality, performance, usability, compatibility, data migration, reliability, resource requirements, portability and support. 9

26. Describe the methods of providing training in using information systems software including on-the-job training, in-house and external courses. 3

27. Identify and describe the means of obtaining user support. 5 28. Explain the factors that need to be considered if an organisation

decides to upgrade its software. 4 29. Explain the essential differences between a centralised and a

distributed database. Mention the advantages or disadvantages of both. 3



Organisational Information Systems 30. What does data warehousing mean and why may a company

decide to warehouse data? 2

31. (a) What is data mining defined as? (b) Describe how data mining operates. (c) Describe a business situation where data mining may

be very useful. 3

Total marks 76



SECTION 3 Information management software Up until now we have really only considered the use of database software in management information systems. But while this may be at the core of many organisations, most users of personal computers will use a range of software particularly at tactical and strategic levels. So in this section we will look at the different types of software that people are likely to use and the use they are likely to make of each type. Word processing Word processing is probably one of the most widely used pieces of application software available on a computer. It is likely to be used at all levels in an organisation with clerks and typists using word processing at an operational level, e.g. for typing. Its main use is for editing and manipulating text on a page. Originally it was simply a piece of software that allowed the user to use the computer like a typewriter. Over many years it has developed, with more complex features and facilities being added. Word-processing application software is used for writing reports, letters, memos and worksheets like this. Arguably the best-known word processing software is Microsoft Word. Spreadsheet A spreadsheet package allows the user to arrange information on the screen as a table made up of boxes called cells. As well as laying information out in a table, the spreadsheet also has the facility to carry out calculations using formulae. Spreadsheet application software is used for laying out financial information like budgets, cash-flow forecasts, profit and loss tables. It can also be used to lay out statistical data in tables, or even simple budgets such as household or departmental expenditure. Spreadsheet software can also use the tables of data to create a range of graphs and charts. There are two pieces of spreadsheet software that are popular on computers. These are Lotus 1– 2–3 and Microsoft’s Excel. Database A database package allows the user to organise and store information, which the computer will sort, search and navigate (browse) for the user. Databases contain files or tables, which may be related. The files or tables contain records and each record is made up of fields, which contain single items of data. We have already discussed several large applications of database software but on a personal or small business level, database application software would be used to store information about pupils in a school, customers for a video shop, criminals and crimes for the police, or any other collection of data. There are many powerful pieces of database software available on the market to meet the needs of an organisation. The two common pieces for desktop machines are Access from Microsoft and FileMaker Pro from FileMaker.



Information management software Graphics design A graphics package allows the user to create and manipulate pictures. This type of software can include packages that allow you to draw pictures, create 2D and 3D graphic images, create animations or films, or create and present slides of graphical information. Many professional organisations use graphic design software as a means to an end and will spend a lot of time creating and editing images prior to using them in web design, publishing or even in creating animations, movies and computer games. If you are looking for a professional drawing package you might choose Adobe Illustrator, Paintshop Pro or Corel Draw. If you wanted to edit scanned photos you might select Adobe Photoshop or Corel Photo–Paint. Browsers Browsers are programs that allow users to retrieve information from the Internet. You may think it strange that we use the plural when the only browser you may ever have seen is Explorer, but there are others. A browser’s main use is to display and navigate the World Wide Web by displaying web pages as text, graphics, animations and hyperlinks, all of them written in code (actually HTML and XTML). Browsers support other functions such as allowing the user to bookmark favourite web pages for quick retrieval at a later time and they also maintain a history of websites visited. There are also navigation functions such as forward and back buttons, and a stop and refresh buttons. Originally the dominant web browser was Netscape (where terms like ‘bookmark’ as opposed to ‘favourite’ originated), which eventually lost out to Microsoft Explorer. However, when any product is dominant commercial competitors will develop what they think are better products. Both AOL and BT Broadband use their own browsers, which make functions like e-mails and bookmarking easier, and they also plug security gaps which are not standard in Explorer, such as Pop-up blocker, anti-virus, anti-spam and parental controls. There is also an alternative culture that swears by browsers such as Safari, Opera and Mozilla, which again offer more and better functions. E-mail client This is a program which allows a user to write, send, receive and read email messages. There are in fact two different ways of using e-mail, on-line and off-line. In an off-line e-mail program like Outlook Express you can compose and read e-mails without connecting to the web, but in order to send and receive messages you need to log on. The messages are then sent and any new messages are downloaded into the mailbox where the user can read them after disconnecting from the web. The disadvantage of this method is that there is usually not much security and viruses can be downloaded along with the e-mails. The advantage is the low cost of connection time.



Information management software The other method is to connect to an on-line provider such as Hotmail, AOL and BT. All three of these providers make the user log on and stay online while they are reading and sending e-mails. The e-mail is never stored on your own computer and the security is much higher. The provider usually scans and traps viruses before letting the user read the mail, and spam can also be trapped. The disadvantage is that the user must be on-line all the time but with cost-inclusive deals and Broadband this is not a problem for many people. Chat client This is a program which allows users who are connected to the Internet to send and receive messages interactively. There are several generations of chat client. The first allowed written conversations in which participants entered their comments using the keyboard and read the replies in a window on their screen. A development on this generation was the introduction of Instant Messaging; allowing users to be informed immediately when a friend on their chat list logged on to the Internet. Another development of chat clients was the introduction of voice-based messaging. This allowed users to communicate through the chat client in a similar way to using the telephone. The most recent generation of chat clients allows video-based messaging using web cams. Now users can see and hear the messages from their friends or colleagues. Examples of these types of program are MSN Messenger, IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and Yahoo Messenger. Desk-top publishing (DTP) This software is used to create documents that can be printed on paper. It allows you to lay out text and graphics on a page for professional printing. It allows text and graphics to be positioned precisely on a page, and it allows a great deal of control over multi-page documents and different formats such as A3 foldable leaflets and A5 booklets. DTP also allows the user to prepare the pages for professional use by printers and publishers. There are various DTP packages in common use and you are more likely to come across Microsoft Publisher, Adobe PageMaker, In-Design or Quark Express than some of the other packages. Presentation This is software which allows the user to create slide shows that can be shown on a large screen via a data projector. Current versions of the software can incorporate text, graphics (real photos, clip art, etc.), sound clips and animations. Slides can be printed onto paper with 3 or 6 to a page so that the audience can have a copy of the presentation. The slides can also be printed A4 size onto acetate slides for use on an overhead projector. If you wanted to create a graphic slide presentation you might buy Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple’s Keynote.



Information management software Reference Reference software is any program that can be used to help someone learn new facts, skills or information. In the early 1990s many CD-ROMs were released covering almost every subject under the sun and many schools were given free CDs covering History, Geography and Science, etc. The Internet has superseded the subject matter of many of these. Probably the most famous reference book, Encyclopedia Britannica, has moved from being a paper-based collection of some 30 books costing up to thousands of pounds to a CD-ROM costing around £100. The CD-ROM has now become defunct and for around a £10 subscription you may log on to Britannica Online. Examples of this kind of software, which have survived on CD, are the Encarta Encyclopedia and Dictionary CD–ROM and other language-based software like a Thesaurus. Financial Financial software can be used to help manage and control money as well as to perform calculations relating to money. Budgeting at home or for a company is an example of a job a financial package may be designed to solve. They can also help control the transfer of money from one bank account to another and from one person to another. Some examples of financial application software are Microsoft’s Money 2003, Quicken’s QuickBooks Pro and MYOB. Most businesses use a small business accounting package, which deals with customer and supplier accounts and produces invoices, statements and payment advices. They can also keep the actual records up to date and handle stock control, order processing and other functions. Some companies purchase financial software that has been either written from scratch especially for their use or modified for them, whereas smaller businesses tend to purchase packages like Sage or Pegasus Accounting suites. Web authoring This type of program allows users to create web pages very easily without needing to know how to use the programming language HTML. It has developed to a level where whole websites (sometimes involving hundreds of pages) can be managed and designed very quickly and simply. Web pages and sites can incorporate text, graphics, animations, audio files and full video. However, one problem is that new file formats can be introduced and the web-authoring software cannot recognise them. An example of this was when MP3 overtook Real Player format audio files and all the packages had to release new versions with support for MP3, which also tidied up lots of other loose ends. Examples of web-authoring software are DreamWeaver from Macromedia, Adobe Go-Live and FrontPage from Microsoft.



Information management software Intermediate 2 questions – Personal and organisational uses of Information Management Software 1. What type of software would you use for editing and manipulating text on a page? 1 2. What type of software would allow the user to create and manipulate pictures? 1 3. What type of software would be used to lay out financial and statistical data in tables and apply formulas and calculations to the data? 1 4. What type of software would allow the user to create and store information? 1 5. (a) What is e-mail client software used for? 1

(b) Describe the two different methods of using e-mail. 2 (c) Give an advantage and a disadvantage of using an on-line (d) e-mail provider. 2

6. (a) Describe what browser software is used for. 1

(b) State the navigational functions supported by most browsers. 2 (c) Describe what is meant by bookmarking. 1

7. Describe the three generations of chat client software. 3 8. Describe three ways DTP software can be used. 3 9. What type of software would be used to create a slide show that could be used with a data projector? 1 10. What type of software is an encyclopaedia supplied on a CD-ROM? 1 11. (a) What may financial software be used for in a home environment? 1

(b) What may financial software be used for in a business environment? 2

12. What does web-authoring software allow the user to do? 1 13. If a company was making websites commercially what types of software would they need and why? 3 14. If a teacher wished to make a slide show to help deliver a lesson, which type of software would s/he use? 1 15. What type of software allows the user to create and maintain

customer and supplier accounts? 1

Total marks 30



Information management software Task for Intermediate 2 You will have to complete a practical assessment using several different types of software in order to complete the unit. As preparation for this work it will be necessary for you to know how to operate your chosen packages to a reasonably high level. You have to use software to process and retrieve information and also to create and store information. Your tutor will supply you with resources to teach you how to use your chosen packages: • Database • Word Processor • Desk Top Publisher • Presentation Software • Web Authoring Software • Spreadsheet There is nothing to stop you learning how to use all the packages and then make your mind up which one to use. Choose at least one task from List A and at least one from List B. For the two tasks you have to submit for marking hard-copy evidence, in the form of printouts, should be included. List A Task 1 Make up one A4-sized page which is a newsletter about your favourite celebrity, sporting hero or team. Your page should have three columns, a suitable heading or title, and at least one graphic. Use the Internet to help gather your information and graphics. After your graphic has been placed on the page ensure that it is resized (either larger or smaller). Plan out your page on paper before you start looking for information.



Information management software Task 2 You have been given the task of setting up a database to track and analyse customer details for a large mail-order store. Here is some sample data:

Customer name

Address Branch Goods Order value

Mr G Davis 12 North Road, Aberdeen

Aberdeen Philips 28' TV £799.00

Mrs H Evans 268 Long Street,Perth

Edinburgh Bosch washing machine

£525.00

Miss H Smith 10 Warren Road, Edinburgh

Edinburgh Zanussi freezer £356.00

Mrs D Carnegie

The Firs, Dunfermline

Edinburgh NEFF microwave £799.00

Mr I James 12 Panmure Place, Glasgow

Glasgow Philips PC bundle £398.00

Mr H Wragg 6 Garthdee Rd, Peterhead

Aberdeen Sony music centre £648.00

Ms H Wyness 2 New Perth Rd,Inverness

Aberdeen Playstation + FIFA £299.00

Miss F West 4 New Street, Stirling

Glasgow Food processor £99.00

• You have to enter the data into a database application. • Sort the data by branch alphabetically ascending and value descending. • Print a report or layout of your sorted data. • Can you sort the data alphabetically by customer surname? If not,

what change would you have to make to your data? Make the change; and when you have finished reorganising the data sort the data by customer surname.

The next tasks are probably quite difficult to perform using database software and you may wish to try the entire task in a spreadsheet and compare the functionality of the two packages. • Calculate the total and average order value for each branch and overall. • Show the total branch orders in a pie chart.



Information management software Task 3 Make up a small website of between three and five pages on a topic that interests you. Include as many graphics as you need and try to manipulate at least one graphic using graphics software (change the brightness and contrast or apply a filter or texture to the graphic). Remember to include links to allow navigation between pages. If you are going to submit this task for assessment please print out your finished pages. List B Task 4 Using presentation software, create a presentation of several slides using text and graphics and, if possible, sound. Some ideas are: • A sales presentation to sell a new product (computer, magazine, etc.) • A presentation about Information Systems to persuade students to enrol

next year. • The different sports a person can play in your school or college. • Some holiday destinations either at home or abroad. Task 5 Create a spreadsheet to track a small league of eight teams over three weeks. You will also need to make a small table to show the results of each week’s games. Each week the league must be updated with the points and goals scored and sorted in order of points and goal difference. The headings you need are: Team Name, Games Played, Wins (3 points), Draws (1 point), Losses, Goals For, Goals Against, Goal Difference, Points. Again, if you wish to submit this task for evidence then include a printout of each week sorted as evidence that you have completed the task.



Information management software Classes of software An attempt has been made to classify software into different types and we want to look at five classes of software and what we use each class for. Presenting information for print media Virtually all the applications described on pp 60-3 are designed to produce printed output except for graphics and web authoring which tend to be more visual. However only word processing (WP) and desk-top publishing (DTP) are classed in this group. The real differences between the two are that WP tends to be used mainly for generating text, while DTP tends to use pre-prepared text. Although a package like Word has very good graphics facilities and can handle a mixture of text and graphics reasonably well, DTP manages to handle text and graphics far more easily. WP can deal with multi-page documents but when working with a large document it can take a while to move between pages and text tends to spill onto pages when you don’t want it to. DTP handles multi-page documents far better with a display whereby a click takes you to a page and what is placed on that page stays there until you decide to move it. DTP files tend to be very large especially if real pictures are used. If an organisation is producing a brochure, magazine or catalogue that is created in PageMaker, commercial printers can use the file directly in their typesetting equipment. This can cut the cost of printing considerably. Presenting information for on-line media Probably the largest growth area in personal computer applications recently has been in the use of software to create presentations and web pages. Mostly the reasons are to do with cost and availability in that the cost of data projectors, used to project presentations on a screen, has tumbled dramatically in recent years to the extent that electrical retailers are aiming them at the domestic market. When it comes to web authoring software, not only has the choice of packages increased and the cost dropped but many more people and businesses are connected to the Internet. Also, many more people are good at creating websites so it is cheaper to have them built for a company (many companies employ students to build their websites).



Information management software Presentation software tends to allow the user to create a slide show. Slides can hold a variety of multimedia objects, text, graphics (clip art, charts, real photos and animations), sound (noises like applause, etc., clips of speech or music, and full music files) and video (short clips can be incorporated into a slide). Slides do not have to be shown sequentially, but can be sequenced and jumped to directly using hyperlinks. Without doubt the most popular package is Microsoft PowerPoint, although other packages are popular in areas such as education, with HyperCard and HyperStudio being popular with Apple users. PowerPoint, however, also allows slide shows to be saved as HTML and consequently attached to websites. Web-authoring software allows users easily to make up web pages by dragging and dropping objects onto the screen, clicking on icons to link graphics and other media files, and deal easily with linking. Underneath all this, however, the software is writing the file as HTML or XTML code. There may be a menu option or tab on your package to allow you to see and edit the HTML code. When you see it you will be glad that the software did all that boring coding for you and you can use your expertise to add the little tweaks that will make your site different. One example of this is copying in code (available on the net) to give cascading menus if the software will not allow you to create them directly. Some packages such as Microsoft Front Page and Adobe Go-Live are very easy for beginners to use; Dreamweaver is probably agreed to be the most powerful package, but also the hardest to learn of the ‘big three’. Data handling – spreadsheet There is a separate unit on database software, so to avoid repetition here we will only briefly look at spreadsheet software in this classification. Spreadsheets are probably the most important microcomputer class of software as it was the invention of a spreadsheet program (VisiCalc), which caused sales of Apple and Commodore computers to really take off worldwide. Apple used the sales revenues for research and development with the Macintosh computer being unveiled in around 1983. The success of Apple and Commodore caused IBM to rethink their Mainframe-only strategy and the IBM PC was born also around 1983; the phenomenal growth of the computer industry then began, and it was the spreadsheet that started it all off. Why? Because it is a tool used by accountants and managers and the people with money to spend on these early computers. Spreadsheet software is used in a variety of different situations in a business context, such as financial applications, modelling and simulating, and statistical analysis. Spreadsheets are used extensively in education for recording and analysing marks and results and also keeping track of budgets and other financial information, and in a home situation people keep track of household expenditure, track share values and even keep track of contacts. Spreadsheet packages are very good at formatting output and many people use them for printing address labels.



Information management software We will now look at these areas of financial applications, modelling and simulating, statistical analysis, education and home use in a bit more depth. We will also look at charting and the use of macros in spreadsheets. Financial application – Common examples are producing cash flow forecasts, statements of accounts, invoices, sales orders, purchase orders, customer quotations, managing travel expenses, and project management. Modelling and simulation – This involves creating a numeric representation of an existing situation (modelling) or predicting a new situation (simulation). In both cases the input data (variables) of the numeric representation can be manipulated to investigate different situations. This ability to experiment with the numeric model is often referred to as ‘what-if? analysis’. Statistical analysis – All spreadsheets applications provide numerous features for the analysis of numerical information. Two main examples are Descriptive Statistics and Goal Seeking. Descriptive Statistics are the functions built into the spreadsheet application that allow the user to summarise large blocks of data. Examples of these functions are: Average, Maximum, Minimum, Sum, Count, Standard Deviation and Variance. Goal Seeking describes a way of automatically changing the values in a formula until a desired result is achieved. An example of this is when a formula is used to calculate the profit made on sales of various items. Goal seeking could then be used to calculate the level of sales required to produce a specified level of profit. Education – In education many teachers and lecturers use a spreadsheet to record marks and results. These can then be added to give reporting information and used as a mail-merge file with a word processor to produce pupil and student reports. Heads of department may use a spreadsheet to keep account of their budget expenditure and photocopying or printing usage. Home – At home many people use spreadsheets, primarily to keep track of household expenditure, both what they spend their money on and a record of money going into and out of their bank account so that they can hopefully avoid getting overdrawn and incurring financial penalties. Another use often made of spreadsheets by people who are not confident with database software is to keep name-and-address lists. They can enter the name and address into a cell, format it nicely, sort the cells alphabetically, easily amend data and format it so that it neatly fits onto an address label, and then print the file onto address labels.



Information management software Macro use – A macro is a sequence of instructions that can be used to automate complex or repetitive tasks. Spreadsheets were the first software packages to incorporate macro use within themselves and the preferred method of creating a macro is the ‘learn and use’ method. A user switches on the macro recorder and follows the sequence of events through. When the recorder is stopped the macro is saved with that data file; when the file is opened and the user wants to run the sequence of events they simply run the macro. This can include selecting cells and all the functions of the package. Project management This is software used specifically to help manage a project: the planning, monitoring and control of the various activities or resources that contribute to its success. Project management involves identifying and assigning the activities that need to be carried out to complete the project. Duration, cost, resources, employees, inter-relationships – all need to be factored in. The project leader can use the software to schedule the activities to ensure the project is as efficient and effective as possible. Some examples of project management software are: Microsoft Project; CA SuperProject and Hoskyns Project Managers Workbench. When a project is under way, its objectives must be closely monitored. This involves comparing the actual activities with those planned. This should happen on a daily basis for small-scale projects and weekly for larger projects. The software can be used to automate the collection of progress data and output progress reports. Once all the activities have been defined, the software can output the project plan in a variety of formats. Two of the most common are Gantt and PERT. Personal information management Personal information management software (PIM) is a type of software application designed to help users organise random bits of information. Although the category is fuzzy, most PIMs enable you to enter various kinds of textual notes – reminders, lists, and dates – and to link these bits of information together in useful ways. Many PIMs also include calendar, scheduling, and calculator programs. Microsoft Outlook is a good example; Lotus Notes is another. Document-processing software We often define software in terms of the data objects it handles, the operations that can be performed on these objects and the formatting functions that can be applied to them. Word processing deals with the basic entering and editing of text and the data objects associated with a word processor are characters, words, paragraphs (between two return characters) and graphic objects embedded in the text.



Information management software Operations If we look at the menu options in Microsoft Word then we can see where we are going to find the operations that can be performed.

File menu – contains operations that can be performed on whole files. Edit menu – has options like select all, cut, copy and paste on selected text. View menu – lists the ways in which you can view the file, including headers and footers. Insert menu – page break, date/time, picture, etc. Format menu – contains options whereby you can format text (quite an extensive menu). Tools menu – mail merge, spelling and grammar, options and customisation. Table menu – insert table then table operations. Window and Help menus – much as in other Windows applications. Basic operations are usually to be found in the Edit menu. After selecting some text, you can choose to cut it, copy it, paste what was cut or copied or delete the text. Formatting functions are found mostly in the Format menu and also on the icons on the menu line with B I U on it. You can format the text by changing its font, size, colour and style. Paragraphs can be centred, left or right ranged, or fully justified and numbered, and bullet lists can be created. Desk-top publishing This is a screenshot of the PageMaker menus and opening toolbars.



Information management software As you can see we now have the basic File, Edit, View, Window and Help menus, which contain very similar functions to Word. However we now have Layout, Type, Element and Utility menus, which contain most of the formatting functions. There is also a Toolbox with the very important arrow and Text tools as well as basic drawing tools, and a colour palette. If you can it is a good idea to have a look at a DTP program and study the different options within the different menus. You will see more publishing terms and specialist terms like tracking and kerning and more object control than in word processing. Beyond these basic functions most word processors and desk-top publishers offer a good selection of advanced operations and functions, a few of which are described below. Page layout – deals first with the size and aspect of the page and the size of page margins. Within a document it then deals with setting margins, inserting headers and footers, and the number of columns of text on a page. This can be global (affecting the whole document) or local to a particular page. Headers and footers – In the header and footer section, which usually fits in the white space above and below the text, you can insert text, page numbers, time and date and in some cases autotext like ‘page x of y’. It is more usual to put chapter headings and so on in the header and page numbers in the footer although there is no rule that says you must do this. Columns – You can set up columns in a document, although in a word processor you cannot choose just one page in a multi-page document to apply the columns to. DTP programs do handle the use of columns and placing graphics, like a newspaper masthead, across the columns, without affecting the text. Multi-page layout – Most document production software, whether a word processor or a DTP program, allows the user to define different page layouts (formats) within the one document. Both handle multi-page documents well, but DTP allows for more precise control over where text is placed. Generally experienced users find a DTP package better for dealing with multi-page documents once the text has been entered. Pagination – There are actually two types of pagination within word processors and DTP software. The first kind refers to numbering pages in a document, and is often performed within the header or footer section. You can usually specify on what page you want the page numbering to start and the format of your page numbering. The second kind refers to dividing a document into pages. Most word processors automatically paginate documents based on a page size that you specify. Some word processors enable you to avoid widows and orphans during pagination.



Information management software Contents and indexing – Most modern document processing software provides a feature to automatically create contents or index pages. Generally, if you use the built-in headings feature (in Word, headings 1 to 9) you can then use the Table of Contents or Index features (in the Insert menu in Word) and the contents will be laid out with page numbers for you. Generally you will use a contents list at the start of a document and an index at the end. Inserting graphics – Most modern document processing software allows the user to insert graphics into the document. These graphics can be pasted into a document from the clipboard or from a file. Some software supports clip-art libraries that allow the user to search for a graphic from this extensive library either on CDROM, the hard disk or from the Internet. There are different ways in which the graphic can behave on the page. It can sit all by itself with white space above, below and to either side, but sometimes that is not the desired effect. This effect is called ‘text wrapping’. The graphic below has been formatted with ‘Tight’ selected from the Layout Tab in the Format Picture box in Word. The text then flows around the graphic and allows us to describe what is happening in the picture around it or down the side.

Style sheets – The style-sheet feature allows the user to vary font styles, which can then very quickly and easily be applied to sections of the document. Usually some styles (such as headings and body text) are predefined, but users should be able to amend these styles and add their own. When creating a document some thought should be given to the choice of font; their styles and the sizes that are to be used for headings, body text and sub-headings.



Information management software Text formatting – Document processing software allows the user almost unrestricted choice of text – fonts, styles, and sizes. If you are producing professional-looking text you should limit your use of font styles to two, Bold and Italic. Size of text can vary depending on the context of its use. If you need a heading or headline you want your text to be large and eye-catching. If you have a document, such as a newspaper, which has multiple columns, then you need to reduce the font size slightly to allow enough words to fit on each line, to make it legible and easy for the reader to absorb. Font selection – Two basic categories of font are serif and sans serif. Serif fonts are typefaces characterised by short marks stemming from the upper and lower strokes of the letters; for example, the thin-to-thick stroke transitions that can be seen on a Times font. Sans-serif fonts do not have this feature: the stroke of each character is of an equal thickness, as seen on a font like Arial or Helvetica.

Times Times Arial Arial When selecting fonts you need to be aware of two issues relating to producing text documents; these are readability and legibility. Readability refers to how easy extended sections of body text are to read. Legibility refers to how easy short pieces of text (such as newspaper headlines) are to decipher at first glance. Common rules when selecting fonts are: 1. Choose a serif font for extended body text to make it as easy to read as

possible. 2. Choose a sans-serif font for headings that you want to stand out from the rest

of the page. Colour use – On most occasions using colour when word processing will be unnecessary, as you will be outputting to a black and-white printer. But on some occasions you may wish to create a poster or similar eye-catching display, and document-processing software gives you a wide choice of colour options. You can select the font colour, the colour of lines in graphics, the fill colour of graphics and different gradients and mixed patterns. Use of colour is one of the strongest features of DTP and WP software. A standard combination of font, style, layout and colour used regularly within an organisation is called a house style.



Multimedia production – Web authoring and presentation Page structure Web authoring – Most web-authoring packages allow the user to make up either an individual web page or a complete website. When making up a web page users have to consider the layout they want and how they will incorporate text and graphics. When making up a website (two or more web pages) the question of structure arises regarding linkage. The pages can be linked to form a hierarchical structure, or they may be linked to form a linear structure. It is usual to offer a home or index page that links to all other pages. Presentation – Generally when making up a slide-show the slides follow each other in a linear fashion from top to bottom, although it is possible to hyperlink from one slide to another. A slide show is usually meant to be worked through in a linear fashion, but in a large show it may be desirable to link from one section to another. In Microsoft PowerPoint a certain area of the slide can be given over to a heading and it is usual to have a title running up the side. This of course reduces the area left in the slide for content. Incorporation of graphics Web authoring – Good web pages rely on graphics for their impact and to exemplify the text. However, the author has to be careful that the graphic is not included simply because there is an area of the page or screen that is empty. It is best to avoid this temptation. The rule to follow is only to insert a graphic if it adds to the meaning of your web page. Do not be tempted to include silly clipart. Graphics cannot be placed directly on a web page. Space needs to be set aside by whatever method the software requires and a link established to the graphic. All graphics in web pages are linked to that page and you cannot copy and paste them in. For this very reason it is also possible to link to sound, animation and video files, although care must be taken with these too, as they can be very large and for many Internet users low bandwidth is still a problem (e.g. dial-up as opposed to Broadband). Because the files are linked to the website, it is important to keep them in the same relative position, for example keep the pages and all files in the same folder, if they are then to be put onto the Internet as a website. Presentation – The same rules of inserting static and animated graphics apply to presentations as well as web pages, but the method of inserting graphics is different as the graphic is usually incorporated into the slide. There is a method of linking graphics to a slide but unless the slide show is going onto the web it is not usually so important to do that. The usual method is to insert a picture from file and that is what happens; the picture is inserted into the show and stays there wherever it is subsequently taken. Presentation style Your goal as a writer is to communicate with the reader whether on a web page or a slide show. People may not take you seriously if your writing contains flagrant spelling errors or uses abstruse and confusing language. In other words, watch your spelling and don’t use words you don’t understand. Please do not write confusing sentences. And before you start writing, you need to organise your thoughts, so that you know what you want to say.



Information management software On a practical level there are considerations of presentation style to do with font selection and colour use. Not every font is available in web-authoring software and you need to experiment with your chosen software to see what is available. Presentation software is probably able to use all the fonts in your system. Font selection – The best category of font for legibility (ability to be seen from a distance) is a sans-serif font like Arial or Helvetica. They have a constant stroke, the lines in each letter have a constant width, and there are no thick-to-thin transitions. Good serif fonts include Times New Roman. Colour use – When choosing a background colour it is best to choose a dark background with a light foreground or text colour or vice versa (very light background and dark text). This makes it easier to read the text on screen or when projected. One colour scheme to avoid is Red and Green. This colour combination cannot be seen by people who are colour blind, so no matter how much you like the colours don’t put them together. A good plan is to visit several websites looking very carefully at the colours used for background and text. Ask yourself: how legible are they? Navigation – Web pages can be linked together and when they are displayed in a browser the main method of moving between pages (or different parts of a page) is by hyperlinking. When you are on the web you can set yourself a home page to which your browser returns when you click on the icon for home. You can also use the forward and back buttons on the browser and favourites (bookmarks) and history icons to help navigate. (It is good practice to include a home link on every page of a website to take the reader back to the home page of the site.) Presentation software usually lets you move on to the next slide by clicking the mouse. You can also use the navigation button to select a slide to go directly to. Depending on whether transitions have been used the mouse click will usually invoke the transition. Templates/page masters – There are no templates as such in web authoring packages but any page can be used as a template by opening it up and then saving as to a different file name. Style sheets are used in web authoring and they can be used to apply certain styles to pages as you make them up. Presentation packages come with a vast array of templates and presentation styles that can be used to base your presentation upon. You can also set up a master slide as a template. This background information is then applied to every new slide that is made up.



Information management software Spreadsheets Spreadsheets deal with the basic entering of numbers and text into cells or groups of cells. Formulae can be applied to cells or groups of cells and the data objects associated with a spreadsheet are cells which can contain text, numbers or a formula. Operations If we look at the menu options in Microsoft Excel then we can see where we are going to find the operations that can be performed.

File menu – contains operations that can be performed on whole files. Edit menu – has options like Select all, Cut, Copy and Paste on selected cells, also options like Paste Special, which allows links to be established, Fill Down and Fill Across. View menu – the ways in which you can view the file, including headers and footers. Insert menu – rows, columns, worksheet and most importantly functions. Format menu – contains options whereby you can format cells including numeric formatting like currency. Tools menu – Spelling, Protection Macros and of course options and customise. Data menu – Sort, Filter and Pivot Tables. Window and Help menus – much as in other Windows applications. Operations in a spreadsheet are what can be done to cells or groups of cells. The main power of a spreadsheet is the ability to replicate formulae by use of Fill Down and Fill Across. Formulae, which are found in the Insert menu, can be inserted in cells or typed in on the entry line (next to the = sign in the graphic). The chart menu is accessed via an icon on the menu bar and a wide range of charts can be drawn. Formatting functions are found mostly in the format menu and also on the icons on the menu line with B I U on it. You can format the text by changing its font, size, colour and style. Cell contents can be aligned left, right or centred and one of the most powerful menu functions, the autosum, is one of the icons. Numeric cells can be formatted in a wide variety of styles to do with numbers (percentages, currency, fractions, etc).



Information management software Advanced functions All spreadsheet applications provide a large number of built-in functions that can be used to simplify the construction of a spreadsheet. Functions are normally divided into several categories: Date & Time, Financial, Logical, Lookup, Mathematics, Statistical and Text. Features of spreadsheet software often used are goal seeking and forecasting, lookup tables, advanced functions such as, nested ifs and count, and the use of macros to perform what are often thought of as advanced functions. We shall examine each of these in a bit more depth. Goal seeking describes a way of automatically changing the values in a formula until a desired result is achieved. An example of this is a formula used to calculate the profit made on sales of various items. Goal seeking could then be used to calculate the level of sales required to produce a specified level of profit. Forecasting calculates, or predicts, a future value by using existing values. The predicted value is a y-value for a given x-value. The known values are existing x-values and y-values, and the new value is predicted by using linear regression. You can use this function to predict future sales, inventory requirements, or consumer trends. There is a Forecast function in Microsoft Excel, the syntax of which is FORECAST (X, known_y’s, known_x’s) X is the data point for which you want to predict a value. Known_y’s is the dependent array or range of data, such as a column of figures. Known_x’s is the independent array or range of data. The mathematics is quite complicated but the example given in Excel’s help shows: FORECAST(30,{6,7,9,15,21},{20,28,31,38,40}) equals 10.60725 Lookup tables – This type of function is used when complex conditions are required to be checked when performing a calculation. It can also be used to code and decode values from numeric (quantitative) data into text (qualitative) data. An example of this would be using a lookup table to convert a percentage scored in a test into a grade. Count – This counts the number of cells that contain numbers and numbers within the list of arguments. We can use COUNT to get the number of entries in a number field in a range or array of numbers. Closely associated with COUNT is COUNTA that counts the number of cells that are not empty and the values within the list of arguments. Use COUNTA to count the number of cells that contain data in a range or array. An example of that is counting the number of names in a list such as a class list.



Information management software Nested Ifs – The standard IF function has the form =IF(expression,value if true, value if false). This is often not enough for us because we may want to say that ‘value if true’ is an IF statement as well. Consider the example that a student will pass the course if they pass an exam out of 70 with 35 or more and if they pass a practical test with 15 or more out of 30. This will give us: =IF(exam mark>=35,IF(practical mark>15,pass,fail),fail) This is a nested IF function because we have used an IF function within an IF function. Macro use. A macro is a sequence of instructions that can be used to automate complex or repetitive tasks and a brief explanation has already been given, but a slightly more technical explanation of macros in spreadsheets is exemplified here. If you perform a task repeatedly in a spreadsheet, you can automate the task with a macro. In Microsoft Excel a macro is a series of commands and functions that are stored in a Visual Basic module and can be run whenever you need to perform the task. When you record a macro, Excel stores information about each step you take as you perform a series of commands. You can store the macro under a keypress (for example Shift+Alt+ 1-9 allow you up to nine macros without interfering with any other commands). You then run the macro to repeat, or ‘play back’, the commands. Project management The main features of project management software are that when all the data has been input and collated then differing forms of output can be produced. These are timelines, resource allocation, Gantt and Pert charts, and optimisation and critical path analysis. Timelines – These are a simple way of showing how and when certain tasks in a project have to be completed before the next one can be started. A good example is a design and build project of a school. The design phase must be completed before the build phase can start and it must be completed before the fitting out phase, then the decorating and furnishing and finally the occupation. This can be exemplified in a chart.

May 2003 April 2005 May 2006 Jan 2007 April 2007 Design Build Fitting out Decorating

and furnishing

Occupation

This chart is well behaved, as each phase must be finished before the next one is started but sometimes we get overlap.



Information management software Resource allocation – There are software tools that help users find the best way to allocate scarce resources. The resources may be raw materials, machine time or people time, money, or anything else in limited supply. The ‘best’ or optimal solution may mean maximising profits, minimising costs, or achieving the best possible quality. The tools are generally called a resource allocation solver and are found with a good project management package. To use a resource allocation solver, the user must build a model that specifies the resources to be used using decision variables, the limits on resource usage called constraints, and the measure to optimise called the objective. The solver will find values for the decision variables that satisfy the constraints while optimising (maximising or minimising) the objective. Gantt chart – This is a type of bar chart showing the timings of each activity in the project. It can be used to monitor the progress of the project by indicating the start and stop dates for each activity. Some activities are called Milestones; these are significant events in the project, such as the completion of a prototype date or a customer inspection date. Task Duration 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Define the Problem Feasibility Study Gather Data Analyse Data and Develop Logical Design

Write systems analysis PERT chart – This can be used to show the relationship between activities. It shows the activities that must be followed in sequence, and those which can be carried out in parallel. The main route through the project, which defines the total duration of the project, is called the critical path. If there are any delays or slippages in an activity on the critical path, it will lead to delays in the completion date of the project. Optimisation and critical path analysis – Critical path analysis is a highly effective and useful mathematical process, which is becoming more widely used today, mainly in the world of industry. It is a technique concerned with optimisation of time, which has an obvious effect on cost and workforce utilisation in industrial processes. Critical path analysis can be used to reduce the duration of a process, for quicker production, the motivation behind its use being economisation, and reducing staff numbers involved in a task. It can be used for very complicated processes, such as managing a steel production line, as well as any other type of manufacturing, or for very simple sets of actions, such as getting yourself ready for school or work in the morning.



Information management software Personal information management Personal Information Management (PIM) software has been around for quite a long time, and was actually one of the first personal applications produced. Back in 1986 when filofaxes were all the rage there was a program that organised all your meetings and diary events, contacts, and a ‘to-do list’. These sections could all be printed out on special paper which when trimmed fitted into the filofax. The paper was roughly A5 size with a strange arrangement of punched holes. Nowadays most computers that are fitted with Microsoft Office also have Outlook installed. Microsoft Outlook is PIM software as opposed to Outlook Express, a dedicated e-mail program.



Information management software Contacts – This part of the PIM software lets the user record all the important details that allow him/her to contact a person. It can be thought of as a very comprehensive address book. Calendar – This part of the PIM application lets the user keep a diary of events, meetings, appointments and activities. Task list – This is also called a ‘To-do list’. It keeps a list of all the tasks that require to be carried out and reminds the user when each task is due to be completed. Communication – An important part of the PIM application is the ability to communicate effectively, using e-mail, with those individuals or organisations the user of the PIM needs to deal with. Most PIM applications support sending, receiving and management of e-mails. Evaluation of software Before an application package is bought it is common for individuals, businesses, schools and colleges and any other organisation to acquire a demonstration or evaluation copy of the software. This can usually be downloaded from the Internet or copied from an evaluation CD-ROM. Once installed users usually have 30 days in which to make up their mind whether to purchase the software or not. To aid them in their evaluation exercise it is common to refer to several criteria and try the evaluation over a range of packages using these criteria. Commonly these are: the range of data objects supported, the range of operations, formatting functions, the Human–Computer Interface (HCI) and any on-line help and tutorials available. We shall examine these criteria in a bit more depth. Range of data objects – Each type of software will deal with different objects as we have seen already above. But even with a word processor or database one may be interested in the type of graphics files that can be used in documents or records. Graphics programs would need to support bit-mapped, JPEG, GIF and even animated graphics files. Web design software would have to support graphics and then audio and video with formats such as MP3 and QuickTime video needing to be considered. Range of operations – Again, the operations available will depend on the genre of software but in general you would look carefully at what you want to achieve with the software before considering the operations. Database would need good search, sort and report facilities, whereas web design software would look at the way in which text and graphics could be arranged on the page, how linking is achieved and how audio and video files are handled. Formatting functions – Again the text-handling and graphics-oriented packages will look at fonts, styles, paragraphs, alignment, text wrap and so on, whereas a spreadsheet will also have all the formatting of cells to consider (percentage, currency, etc.).



Information management software Human–computer interface (HCI) – Users of all packages will have to consider the menus (are they complete, can they be reconfigured, etc.) and toolbars and icons (can new icons be added to the toolbar and so on). Another area is that of keyboard commands (how easy are they to learn, can keys be programmed, are all functions available on the keyboard). On-line help and tutorials – On-line help and tutorials are nowadays found in most packages. Paradoxically enough, on-line here does not mean on the Internet; it means within the program and contained on the computer. The picture is clouded somewhat with much on-line help now being displayed as web pages in your browser but locally on the computer and not on the Internet. Both help and the tutorial should be examined closely to see how good they are. Some manufacturers effectively provide the software manual as a help file, which is searchable. This can save you having to buy a manual. If you can download the software you want to evaluate, perform a satisfactory evaluation, then you can buy a licence over the Internet and you have saved the cost of the media, manual and postage and of course a delay in receiving it.



Information management software Higher questions – Personal and organisational uses of Information Management Software 1. What type of software would be required to produce a 32-page magazine? Describe at least two differences between 1 word-processing and desktop-publishing software. 2 2. What are the main differences between presentation and web-authoring software? (Outline at least two.) 2 3. Describe what spreadsheet software can be used for in

both business and education. 2 4. What are the main uses of project management software? 2 5. What functions are likely to be found in PIM software? 1 6. (a) What are the data objects likely to be found in word-processing software? 1

(b) What operations can be performed on these data objects? (Describe three.) 2

(c) What formatting functions can be applied to these data objects? (Describe three.) 2

7. (a) Explain what is meant by each of these features of

word-processing and desktop-publishing software: (i) Multi-page layout, columns, header and footer,

and pagination. 2 (ii) Use of a contents and index page. 1

(b) Describe what is meant by text wrapping around graphics. 1 (c) How can style sheets be used to implement a house style? 1 (d) What is the difference between serif and sans serif fonts? 1 (e) Describe how the use of colour and formatting of text can enhance the appearance of a document. 1

8. (a) Explain what is meant by each of these features of presentation and web-authoring software:

(i) The structuring of pages and slides. 1 (ii) The incorporation of graphics including animations. 1 (iii) A presentational style including the selection of fonts and use of colour. 1

(b) Describe how hyperlinks aid navigation. 1 (c) How can page transitions be used to enhance a slide show? 1 (d) How can templates and masters be used to implement a house style? 1



Information management software 9. (a) What are the data objects likely to be found in standard spreadsheet software? 1

(b) What operations can be performed on these data objects? (Describe three.) 2 (c) What formatting functions can be applied to these data objects? (Describe three.) 2

10. Explain what is meant by each of these features of spreadsheet software:

(a) Goal seeking and forecasting 1 (b) Lookup tables 1 (c) Nested IF and Count functions 1 (d) How may macros be created and used? (Describe two methods.) 2

11. Explain what is meant by each of these features of project management

software:

(a) Timelining 1 (b) Resource allocation 1 (c) Gant and PERT charts 2 (d) Critical path analysis and optimisation 2

12. Explain what is meant by each of these features of personal information management software and describe how each may be used:

(a) Communication 2 (b) Contacts 2 (c) Calendar 2 (d) Task lists 2

Total marks 52



Information management software Tasks for Higher You will have to complete a practical assessment using several different types of software in order to complete the unit. As a preparation for this it will be necessary for you to know how to operate your chosen packages to a reasonably high level. Your tutor will supply you with resources to teach you how to use your chosen packages: • Word processor • Desktop publisher • Presentation software • Web authoring software • Spreadsheet There is nothing to stop you learning how to use all the packages and then make your mind up which ones to use. Complete all three tasks below but only provide printed evidence of one of them. This could be the entire document for task 1; or a printout of web pages or slides (6 to a page would be adequate) in task 2; or in task 3 two printouts of your spreadsheet showing the data in one and the formulas in the other. Your tutor may give you alternative or equivalent tasks instead of the suggested tasks below. Task 1 – Presenting information for print media using word processing or desktop publishing. Choose one of the following tasks. (a) Using a word processor construct a short (4 or 5 pages) guide to using the word processing software. Use features such as columns and headers and footers and use different levels of headings to allow you to make up a contents list and index pages. Make sure you use some graphics and use text wrap features on them. Ensure that a suitable header and footer appear on each page. (b) Make up an A5 magazine of two A4 pages (giving you 8 pages in your booklet) on a subject which interests you. This could be a sport or activity you enjoy, a musical act you admire, a guide to your school or college, or any subject you like within the bounds of decency and reason. Make good use of colour and graphics and ensure that you use columns, headers and footers, and text wrapping around graphics. If your software allows, also include either a contents or index page as appropriate. Task 2 – Presenting information for on-line media using presentation or web-authoring software. Produce either a slide show or website consisting of several slides or web pages making sure that you use a template or style sheet as appropriate to the software and graphics and animations as appropriate. Make sure there is a home page and suitable navigational structure using hyperlinks in a website and a structure using hyperlinks and page transitions if making a slide show. In either case the use of audio and video clips is acceptable but not necessary.



Information management software Task 3 – Handling information using spreadsheet software. A spreadsheet is required to help a teacher keep track of marks gained in an exam and allocate grades. Students sit an exam marked out of 80 and complete a practical test marked out of 50. The pass mark for the exam is 35/80 and for the practical test 25/80. Students must pass both sections to pass the exam and the overall mark must be greater than or equal to 50%. Grades should be allocated on the basis of C >=50%, B > =60% and A >=70% and should be allocated automatically by the use of a lookup table. Even if the overall mark %> = 50% but the student has failed one component, the grade should be F. A section of the spreadsheet is shown below:

Forename Surname Exam Practical Mark Result Grade

George Smith 38 42 62 Pass B Helen Smart 32 46 60 Fail F

Intermediate 2 – Task on evaluating software Using the criteria below, evaluate either Word Processor and DTP, Presentation and Web Design, or Database and Spreadsheet, comparing the two chosen packages to find out which was better for the task chosen above. Criteria • Range of data objects • Range of operations • Formatting functions • HCI (including use of keyboard commands, menus and toolbars/icons) • Online help and online tutorials Use the Software Evaluation sheet that your tutor will give you to help you complete this task. You may be asked to write your evaluations by hand or the form may be made available to you electronically so you can fill it in on your computer.



SECTION 4 The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Implications of ICT In this section, we are going to investigate some of the social, legal, economic and ethical implications of using IT and Information Systems. Social implications Ease of access and availability Many of us have very easy access to information systems both at school, college or work and at home. These are not just computer systems connected to the Internet, but digital TV with its comprehensive news channels and the ready availability of books, magazines and newspapers, all made more available by the use made of information systems. We can have access to the Internet in our social lives as well with libraries having Internet access points and Internet cafes still being popular. Bars often have Internet access points and if you have stayed in a ‘big’ hotel lately you will find that the rooms have Internet access points for your laptop to plug into. Many people expect Internet access when they go on holiday and many hotels and apartment complexes advertise Internet access as a desirable feature, but many of us think that we go on holiday to get away from it all and are willing to let the e-mails pile up until we get home. An interesting fact emerged in the late 1990s that ‘there are more telephones in the city of New York than in the entire continent of Africa’. After a little research it was found that now the gap has not narrowed but widened, presumably because of mobile phones. Information rich/information poor There is some concern that the widespread use of computers is dividing society into two kinds of people – the ‘information rich’ and ‘information poor’. The information rich have easy access to computers and electronic communications. They get information and news from the Internet and buy the latest products through on-line shopping. They are able to follow computer-based learning and skills training courses at home, and look for jobs that are advertised solely on the Internet. They tend to find it easier to get well-paid jobs and will enjoy a more comfortable and secure life-style. The information poor don’t have easy access to computers and don’t have the IT skills and confidence to take part in teleshopping, telebanking, Internet chat and news groups. As corporations like the BBC seek public opinion on current matters increasingly via the Internet, the voices of the information poor may not be heard. The jobs on offer to them will be less skilled, paid less and much more insecure. The information poor will have to work longer hours just to survive and will have less leisure time. Gradually the difference in access to information may create a real social divide between the materially rich and materially poor.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication One effect of high levels of unemployment has been that families feel more secure with two wages coming into the family. This has meant that more and more mothers have careers. As a result, they may not have any children till they are thirty or older and even then they may only have one child because they do not want, or are afraid, to interrupt their careers. Although this change in family patterns may only be indirectly and partly caused by computerisation, are there any risks to the family and to society as a whole from this development? More and more families enjoy television, computers and electronic games in their homes. Father may be watching television; mother may be teleshopping over the Internet while the children are in their bedrooms playing arcade games. Research has shown that families are spending less and less time together. In addition, with the growth of teleworking, fewer people are meeting with colleagues to discuss business matters during the day. Is there a risk that computers are having an adverse effect on human communication skills and relations within the family and in society in general? Another less obvious effect of computers and IT on the family is the change that banks have made to our lives. Before banks were computerised, mainly relatively wealthy, middle-class professional people used them. Most workers were paid weekly and in cash, and they did not need a bank account. With the introduction of computerisation, banks started to persuade companies, government and local authorities to pay employees by cheque. In order to cash cheques it was much more convenient to have a bank account. Once a large part of the population had opened accounts, banks persuaded companies to pay their staff by transferring funds from the company account directly into their employees’ accounts. As a result, very little cash is in circulation now compared with the 1950s and 60s. Once people had become comfortable with carrying less cash, it was only a small step to persuade them to work with ‘plastic money’ – the current widespread use of debit and credit cards. Educational qualifications and ICT There have been qualifications in computing since the early 1960s, but these were solely in universities and colleges. And it was well into the 1980s before there was enough content to teach computing degrees that were able to concentrate on computing subjects and not need lots of Maths, Physics and totally unrelated courses like Philosophy and Law to fill out the degree course. It was not until the mid-1980s that computing was available in schools and not until 1999 that the two strands of software and hardware divided into Computing and Information Systems. Now there are many different courses offered at degree and NC level all related to ICT.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Look at how modern ICT allows citizens today to communicate and participate in society. We use text messaging to vote on TV shows, enter competitions and have our opinions broadcast on national TV and radio. We use digital TV to order goods, vote on TV shows like ‘I’m a computer teacher – get me out of here’, and many other functions. The most unlikely people are using ICT either because they have to or want to – teachers, lawyers, shop assistants, nurses ... the list is endless. Even grannies and aunties are downloading digital photos of the grandchildren and nephews and nieces, manipulating those photos with graphics software and saving them and producing lovely prints. Knowledge workers The term ‘knowledge worker’ describes someone who adds value by processing existing information to create new information that could be used to define and solve problems. Examples of knowledge workers include lawyers, doctors, diplomats, law-makers, software developers, managers and bankers. We can probably say that knowledge workers use their intellect to convert their ideas into products, services, or processes. A knowledge worker could be a problem solver rather than a production worker, or a person who uses intellectual rather than manual skills to earn a living, or someone who uses knowledge and information to add to existing knowledge and information. There are thought to be two main types of knowledge worker: ‘core knowledge workers’ and ‘everyone else’. Core knowledge workers are those in specific ‘knowledge management’ roles. Examples include Chief Information Officers, Knowledge Managers, Librarians, Content Managers, Information Officers, Knowledge Analysts, etc. ‘Everyone else’ constitutes all the other knowledge workers. In health care for example, that means doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, managers, technicians, administrators, etc. In short, everyone in the NHS is engaged in some form of ‘knowledge work’. Of course there is not always a clear dividing line between the two, but the distinction can be a useful one when starting out. It can be particularly useful in helping people to understand that everyone is a knowledge worker to some degree, and knowledge work is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of a few people with ‘information’ or ‘knowledge’ in their job title. Online retail For many of you reading this, Internet shopping is already here. When eighty 16–18 year olds were sampled recently, sixty of them (that is 75%) admitted to buying something online. In the same survey eighty adults (aged 24–60) were sampled and only 17 admitted to buying something online. The young people went for music, DVDs and the top buy was hair straighteners. The adults’ top buy was holiday-related items.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Regular and repeat orders were for grocery shopping and books among the adults whereas the young people tended to make one-off purchases (apart from some games and skateboard-related merchandise). Why the huge difference? What is happening to our traditional shops? It appears that many on-line shoppers buy goods they find difficult to source. It has been suggested that the shopping malls have fuelled the on-line frenzy. If the national chains, which make every shopping centre almost identical, do not carry what someone wants then people now turn to the web as their first port of call. There are recognised advantages and disadvantages to the consumer and the retailer. Advantages for the consumer • More choice of goods on-line • Cheaper prices • Home delivery – grocery shopping on-line very useful for young families Disadvantages for the consumer • Often long delivery times • Temptation to spend more than intended • Social isolation (supermarkets are the new social scene) Advantages for the on-line retailer • Can reach a far wider audience • Don’t need expensive showrooms • Don’t need to employ trained sales staff Disadvantages for the on-line retailer • Must spend money on a website with a secure payment system • Must accept a high rate of returns • Never meets customers The changing relationships between retailer and customer Internet shopping has changed to a large extent the way we shop, and the relationship between retailer and customer is changing too. As shoppers we are becoming intolerant of goods being unavailable or out of stock and very wary of over-pricing. If you live in a rural or even non-Central Belt city in Scotland you will have heard the phrase ‘Oh it hasn’t reached here yet I’m afraid.’ Wherever you live you may have heard yourself utter the words ‘How much? It’s half that price on-line’ or ‘Out of stock and it will take three weeks to get it – I’ll go on-line and get it in three days’. As consumers we are far more willing nowadays to go on-line and order from whatever retailer we find with our favourite search engine. Of course, you need a credit card to buy on-line so that cuts out all the under 18s buying goods without their parents’ consent (or at least credit card) and we seasoned Internet shoppers know the stress of waiting for goods bought when presents fail to turn up on time.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication We still maintain relationships with local newsagents, corner shops, post offices and specialist butchers and bakers; but we never really know the staff in the local supermarket even though we have a loyalty card, trading a few points for all the information they want to know about us. And some customers who buy their groceries on-line and have the same delivery driver every week often build up a good relationship with the driver. Some retailers have a very positive relationship with the Internet, with staff at both national electrical retail stores often telling customers that it will be easier and cheaper to order goods from their website rather than place an order at the shop. Similarly a bookshop chain’s staff will search really hard to find a particular book, and if they can’t find it they’ll happily just refer you to Amazon. Although the relationships between retailers and customers has changed, there is a feeling that the two types of shopping can complement each other, opening up new markets to specialist retailers and giving more choice to customers. Globalisation and the impact of IS on business and societies Globalisation, the growing integration of economies and societies around the world, has been one of the most hotly debated topics in international economics over the past few years. Rapid growth and poverty reduction in China, India, and other countries that were poor 20 years ago, has been a positive aspect of globalisation. But globalisation has also generated significant international opposition over concerns that it has increased inequality and environmental degradation. Multinational companies responsible for globalisation are as diverse in their operations as Coca-Cola and offshore oil technology, but they have only been able to achieve their globalisation through the use of information systems. Originally this was confined to just a few large companies with mainframe computers in North American and European cities. Their names would be familiar to most of you and you can probably think of several who advertise on TV now. Nowadays smaller, specialised companies can also have a global presence through the use of IT. They cannot afford mainframe computers, but they can afford a computer and modem at every location and even satellite technology where phone lines don’t exist. They can afford their own private web space and with specialist software they can publish memos, reports, etc., onto areas of their web, password-protected so only the employees with the correct access see what is meant for them. There is actually a company based in Aberdeen, with only about 13,000 employees based in around 80 countries, running just that sort of technology, administering their core business of oil supply and ancillary operations such as personnel management.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication The impact on business organisation of an IS-driven business model Traditional businesses surviving today have, on the whole, embraced IT either with open arms or as a necessary evil. In the 1970s many businesses that did embrace the new technologies foundered, as did whole industries. Businesses like banks and older insurance companies, oil companies, national retailers and so on have IT systems that have evolved and grown with the business. As a result many of these systems are a hotch-potch of new technology (point of sale systems, cash-points, etc.) and old but proven systems like mainframe accounting. At no time was all the old thrown out and replaced with the new. Modern businesses often exist because of an IS-driven business model. New-style insurance companies who advertise heavily and do most of their business by telephone are examples. Another would be a new bank, such as the Virgin One Account that opened in 1997, based on a call centre and totally computerised system and complemented by the launch of an Internet banking operation in February 2000. Call centres are another business existing because of and depending on an Information System that is actually a type of expert system (Trainline, Dell Computers, NHS direct are good examples). Identities and personas As society adapts to use the Internet as a medium for communication, these changes are having a dramatic impact on people’s lives. The ability to communicate with all – regardless of age, sex, location or knowledge – is having a liberating effect on people’s Internet identities and the personas they project. The Internet allows people to develop different identities when communicating in different forums. People do not need to be experts or have specific knowledge to offer an opinion on a specialised newsgroup or chat-room. The downside of this is of course the now-criminal offence of ‘grooming’, where an adult, usually male, pretends to be a young male keen to meet young girls. There has been much of this on the news and many parents are frightened to let their teenagers on the Internet without either supervision or some software which blocks dubious sites. You can investigate the stories of Jonathan Lebed and Marcus Arnold on the Internet at the following site. The stories are summarised here in case they are removed from the site or your Internet access is unavailable. http://news.bbc. co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/ future/ tv_series_1.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Wall street wonder Schoolboy Jonathan Lebed got into big trouble – for making a fortune in his bedroom. Working from his computer, the 15-year-old did his homework on the US stock exchange and made $800,000 by the time he was fifteen. In one day alone, Jonathan banked nearly $70,000 after posting hundreds of messages on the Internet, urging people to buy shares in a toy company. The price shot up and he then sold his own shares at a huge profit, but the US financial authorities were not happy, claiming Jonathan had manipulated the market. Jonathan eventually settled out of court with the authorities – he paid back $300,000 of the money he had made, but kept half a million dollars. Jonathan claims he was only doing what the professionals do every day. He says: ‘I think that, with the technology we have today with the Internet, it makes everybody equal and they definitely do have a chance of being right up there with the Wall Street professionals.’ Legal eagle Teenager Marcus Arnold, 15, started giving legal advice on the Internet just six months ago, initially telling people he was 20. During that time, he answered almost a thousand queries, including giving advice to the mother of a man charged with first-degree murder. So highly-rated was his advice, that the users of one prominent website voted him the best legal expert out of a field of over one hundred offering advice, many of them much better legally qualified. Marcus, whose ultimate ambition is to be a Supreme Court judge, has attracted criticism from some lawyers. But he says: ‘I’m just like everyone out there, I want to be noticed. I mean I’m 15 right now; I want people to know who I am. I’m not there to take business away from other people, that’s not my job.’ Privacy We nearly all believe that our private communications across the Internet are secure and safe. We rightly feel that it is our right to have this privacy. Our e-mails and the websites we visit should be our own private business. But what about when national security is at stake or criminal actions may have been perpetrated. Should the security services not have the power to intercept and read our e-mails to prevent terrorist activities? Should the police not have the power to check servers up the line to see if they can find out who is responsible for Internet banking crimes?



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication In fact they do have the power, and the security services generally do scan our e-mails, text messages and mobile phone calls, by using computers which look for the digital patterns representing key phrases used in terrorist and criminal activities, thus allowing the police to apprehend suspects based on these calls and mails. When the FBI announced that they had found over one thousand paedophiles living in Britain because they had accessed Internet sites in the USA and traced them by tying in their computer’s IP address with the phone number that had been dialled from, there was general disbelief that they had managed to do that, and then delight that such people could be caught in this way. Celebrities and stars believe they have a right to privacy on the Internet and the same laws that protect them in the press protect them on the Internet. One pop singer won a court case and damages against a website that had published pictures of her that she had no knowledge of and that she totally disapproved of. Although we believe in having privacy on the Internet we generally approve of measures taken by the security services to monitor terrorists and catch criminals. Legal implications of information systems The Data Protection Act The original Data Protection Act was introduced in 1984 to set out key principles (rules) to regulate the collection, storage and use of personal data. This law was introduced to protect and give rights to individuals who might feel their personal data was either incorrect or being misused. The law was updated in 1998 to cover some of the inadequacies of the original act and in the light of new technology and political circumstances relating to European legislation. A Data Commissioner was appointed and from an office on the outskirts of Manchester dealt with all complaints from all over the country. Companies that individuals and businesses complained against were investigated and if the complainant’s case was upheld then sanctions could be made against the company misusing the data. ‘Data subjects’ were defined as being people or organisations about which data was held in electronic form. ‘Data users’ (or controllers) were defined as the companies and organisations that held the data concerning the data subjects. The 1998 Data Protection Act The Act contains eight principles, which apply to all personal data processed by data controllers (the people who hold the data). • Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully. • Personal data shall be obtained only for lawful purposes, and shall not be

further processed in any manner incompatible with those purposes. • Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the

purposes for which it is processed. • Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. • Personal data processed for any purpose shall not be kept for longer than is

necessary.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication • Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data

subjects. • Appropriate measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful

processing of data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.

• Personal data shall not be transferred to a country outside Europe, unless that country ensures protection for the rights of data subjects in relation to the Act.

There are some unconditional exemptions and these are: • Data related to national security • Data which by law has to be made public (e.g. the voters’ roll) • Data held by the police and National Health Service. There are some types of data that were and still are exempt from Registration. These are known as conditional exemptions and are: • Mailing lists (names and addresses) that allow the data subject to receive

information • Data used for calculating and paying wages • Information used for club memberships • Data used by a data subject at home. Rights of data subjects – As well as the eight principles, the Act gives rights to individuals (data subjects) in relation to personal data which is held about them by data controllers. An individual has the right to see any personal data stored either electronically or manually about them. The data controller may ask that a small fee be paid to cover their costs in providing the data. As well as the right to see their personal data, data subjects have the right to have their data corrected if it is inaccurate. They also have the right to prevent their data being used by companies to send them junk mail. Responsibilities of data users – data users have to register with the Data Protection Registrar if they wish to hold personal information about data subjects. They must be willing to let data subjects see data held about them, and are entitled to charge a small fee, but they must amend any false data without charge. Data users must also be willing to remove subjects’ names and addresses from mailing lists if asked to. Changes from 1984 Act – The 1984 DPA had certain shortcomings that unscrupulous companies exploited. For example it only covered data in electronic form and companies used printed mailing lists and photocopied names and addresses onto labels to circumvent the DPA. It also had no European or worldwide dimension and there was no obligation on any data user to tell the data subject that they held any data about them. The 1998 Act covers the transmission of data in electronic form, which was not really an issue in 1984, and harmonised the European Union data protection legislation. It also made it a requirement of the Act to ask for the prior consent of data subjects to have data held about them, and that included paper-based records.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication The Computer Misuse Act 1990 During the 1980s as the use of computers and telecommunications systems in society grew rapidly, so did incidents of computer-related crime. The law as it stood was unable to deal with the new crimes being committed involving computers. The Government set up a Royal Commission to look at the whole area of computer misuse, and this resulted in the introduction of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. The Act contains three sections covering various misuses: • Unauthorised access to computer material • Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further

offences • Unauthorised modification of computer material. The first section deals with ‘basic hacking’, which is getting access to a computer system, data or a program without permission. If for example a pupil finds the teacher’s password and uses it to access the school computer system, even though no damage to files or data has been done, that is still a crime. This section of the Act only covers unauthorised access of a computer system, so viewing or printing out another user’s word-processed file without permission is also a crime. The second section applies to situations when a computer system is being used to help in committing another crime. If a computer is being used to steal money from a bank account or help disable an alarm system to aid a robbery, that is a crime covered by this section of the act. The third section of the Act covers ‘expert hacking’, which is the modification of data on a computer system without permission. It is this section that covers the deliberate planting of viruses on a computer system. It also covers the deletion or modification of another user’s file. It could also apply to a person who changes the system setup files on a computer, without permission. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act Earlier in this pack the issue of software copyright was introduced. The copyright laws also apply to other published materials as well, whether in the form of music, film, pictures or books, etc. so this is actually a very large and complex act. We only really need to concern ourselves here with a part of the Copyright section of the Act.

http://etc.so



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication There are three methods of licensing software and slightly different copyright laws apply to each kind. 1. Software can be legally bought and installed on as many computers as the

licence permits. Home and small business users usually buy a single user licence, whereas schools, colleges, local authorities and large businesses generally buy multiple licences.

2. Shareware is generally downloaded from the Internet and can be legally installed for, usually, 30 days after which time a payment should be made to the author or the software taken off the computer.

3. Freeware is similar to shareware except that there is no need to pay and therefore no trial period. It can be downloaded and installed free of charge.

In short, commercial software must be licensed before it is installed on a computer and it is illegal to copy software without a licence. As well as the applications themselves, the content created using a computer application is also protected by copyright. One area of great concern commercially is that of computer databases. They can store vast amounts of very useful information, which may be commercially valuable and may have cost the originators a lot of money to set up. The copyright laws cover the database, or an extract from it. It is also illegal to copy any published material without either the permission of the copyright holder (creator) or the purchase of a licence that allows copying. If you write a story on your word processor, you as creator own the copyright to that story. It is illegal for anyone else, without your permission, to copy and distribute that story, freely or for financial gain. It is also illegal for you to copy anybody else’s work without permission. This applies directly to material found on the Internet or the World Wide Web. It can count as plagiarism to copy material directly from Internet sites and try to pass it off as your own original work. If you must use the material it must be acknowledged in some way or another. There is software available which allows the user to capture and save complete websites. It must be borne in mind that to use that web content for any purpose at all may be illegal. If you are creating published material such as a web page or a poster, it is possible to use clip art in your work. You can use copyright-free clip art or alternatively buy a clip art disc with a licence to copy the graphics.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication It is also possible to copy some parts of published material under the ‘fair dealing’ provision of the Act. This permits copying for private study or for research of one section from a magazine, newspaper or journal. It also allows you to copy up to 5% of a book or one chapter. The material must however be for personal use. One area of great concern is that of software piracy, where illegal copies of software are sold or where software is installed on machines when no licence has been purchased. So concerned are the software houses that an organisation called FAST – Federation Against Software Theft – has been set up to try and prevent the large scale of software theft which is thought to exist within organisations in the UK. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 This Act provides for, and regulates the use of, a range of investigative powers by a variety of public authorities, such as the Police, Special Branch, GCHQ and MI5. It updates the law on the interception of communications to take account of technological change such as the growth of the Internet. It allows organisations to monitor employees, e-mail and web usage. It also provides powers to help combat the threat posed by rising criminal use of strong encryption to try to break into electronic transactions. The Act contains five parts providing for powers in relation to specific investigative techniques or establishing systems of scrutiny, oversight and redress. 1. Relates to the interception of communications and the acquisition and disclosure of communications data. 2. Relates to the use of covert surveillance, agents, informants and undercover officers. 3. Covers the investigation of electronic data protected by encryption. 4. Covers miscellaneous and supplemental matters such as consequential

amendments, repeals and interpretation. In practice the act allows the authorities to monitor our personal e-mail and Internet usage in terms of the sites we visit. Furthermore businesses, local authorities and government departments can and do monitor e-mails, even internally, and Internet usage of staff, students and pupils. This sounds very like ‘Big Brother’, and it may enrage and disturb many people to realise that this monitoring occurs. However, at a time when terrorists can be anywhere in our society it may be a relief to know that the authorities are taking active steps to catch them. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 The Freedom of Information Act for Scotland was passed by the Scottish Executive on 28 May 2002 and came into force on 1 January 2005. It gives a general right of public access to all types of ‘recorded’ information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that general right, and places a number of obligations on public authorities.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication The Act applies only to ‘public authorities’ and not to private entities. Public authorities are, however, broadly defined in the Act, and they include not only Government Departments, local authorities and many other public bodies, but also schools, colleges and universities. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 will be enforced by the Scottish Information Commissioner. Responsibilities of public authorities – Public authorities are required to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme setting out the classes of information available (e.g. prospectuses, almanacs and websites) and the manner in which they intend to publish the information, and whether a charge will be made for the information. The purpose of a Publication Scheme is to ensure information is available, without the need for a specific request. Schemes are intended to encourage organisations to publish more information pro-actively and to develop a greater culture of openness. Health and safety regulations Needless to say the regulations relating to health and safety are vast and cover every conceivable work situation, but we are only concerned here with issues such as seating, lighting, RSI and radiation as well as employers’ responsibilities. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 has been updated to include the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The main requirement on employers is to carry out a risk assessment. Employers with five or more employees need to record the significant findings of the risk assessment. Risk assessment should be straightforward in a simple workplace such as a typical office. As a result of a risk assessment it might be pointed out to a health and safety officer that the seating arrangements are not only uncomfortable but causing employees pain and discomfort due to their position. Maybe the lighting is poor and employees are suffering eye strain. Over time either of these complaints could lead to a much more serious condition, so these complaints must be taken seriously by management. One injury that is a phenomenon of modern working practices, particularly for people working with computers, is repetitive strain injury or RSI. The term RSI is used by some to refer to pain in the arm when working with computers, but is actually very serious and can lead to deformity and leave the sufferer in a great deal of long-term pain. It is often caused by being forced to work with the same few keys over and over again (such as number keys). Computer monitors emit radiation! This was a discovered back in the 1970s and the levels of radiation given off by some of the really big, old-fashioned monitors were very high. Employees, mostly female, who were affected by the radiation complained of headaches, feeling listless and in one or two cases actually miscarrying during pregnancy. Special lead-lined aprons were made available to women who were worried about the effects radiation could have on them.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication By the 1980s computer monitors were smaller and working with much lower power consumption and output. The trend has increased until nowadays, and there have been shields built into the monitors so that now radiation does not escape. A common point of escape was from the back of the monitor, the screen acting as a shield; but people who faced the back of a monitor for prolonged periods (all day, every working day) could suffer from problems. The routes of escape have now been sealed on modern monitors and there should be no danger of illness caused by radiation when using modern equipment. Economic implications of ICT Jobs in ICT Most jobs in ICT require that some further education and training is carried out after leaving school. The minimum qualification for professional jobs is probably at HND level although an IT-related degree gives access to the best jobs. There are development personnel such as systems analysts and programmers and operational personnel such as operators and support staff who keep the systems running. Starting development positions in organisations are usually: Programmer/analyst – Responsible for program development and modification, program and data changes, testing and documentation. Web administrator – Responsible for developing, managing and coordinating the posting of company material from departments onto the company website. Network administrator – Responsible for the day-to-day management and maintenance of the network. Salaries – As these are very responsible starting positions, salaries will be in the region of £20,000 to £30,000 depending on the level of responsibility. Advanced development positions are usually of the following types: Database manager – Responsible for identifying needs and developing software accordingly. There is an increasing role for data mining and data warehousing experts in this field. Project leader and Senior analyst – Sometimes separate posts, sometimes a joint post; the project leader will liaise with directors and top managers and translate ideas into computer-related documentation. IT manager – Generally in charge of the entire IT operation, staff and equipment. Salaries – These are senior posts and can carry very high salaries with fringe benefits such as company cars. The effect of new ICT on business When a business invests in new ICT there is bound to be some effect on individuals within the business. For example, if a small business invests in a computerised accounting system dealing with sales and purchase invoices, they will have spent a lot of money. Manual book-keepers will need to be retrained to use the computerised system effectively otherwise it will not be worth the company’s while investing in it.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Longer term, the company would expect increased productivity. This could mean that fewer staff members are required to do the same work, or the same staff can do far more work. In an accounting system increased functionality would be expected (automated printing of statements and letters about overdue accounts for example), and this can help get money in more quickly (increased productivity). A business would get an accountant to produce a profit-and-loss account every three or six months at great expense, but a computerised system can produce this sort of information at the drop of a hat, saving a lot of money and keeping the managers better informed. Generally a cost accountant would work out just how much more profitable an employee became after using ICT and as we have seen this can be a combination of earning more money (telesales as opposed to mail order), saving the company money (producing accounting information) and doing jobs that could not be done before (statements and letters). All these factors build up a picture of productivity and profitability of an individual. Business and ICT If a business decides to invest in an information system with all the associated costs of equipment, software and personnel then they must be certain that they will see a competitive advantage compared to competitors in the same area of business who have not made a similar investment. A company planning this step will probably employ a systems analyst to complete a feasibility study covering not only technical aspects but also legal and economic feasibility. It would have been a huge step for the first computerised but paper based mail-order company to move over to a call centre and telephone ordering tied in with an ‘intelligent warehouse’. They would have made an exhaustive economic feasibility study to see if they would gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. Maybe they did, but was it an even bigger leap of faith to be among the first companies to introduce Internet ordering? Business costs Many businesses want to invest in new technology to help them maintain a competitive advantage, whereas other businesses feel forced into making that investment to keep up with their competitors. Some ICT projects are very large, such as setting up a computerised production line or a just-in-time component ordering system in a factory, or a large call centre. These ICT investments will cost a company millions of pounds and will be central to its running. The money spent is rightly called an investment, as the company is investing it in the core activities of its business. These initial costs can be very high but the pace of competition in the marketplace can often dictate that companies invest the money needed.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Running costs can be as trivial as replenishing ink cartridges or buying printer paper for an office micro, to employing a large ICT support staff. Another area of running costs is software licences and updates and some companies prefer to pay a fixed cost for software licences and all updates every year so that their software is always up to date and there are no sudden large costs. Most organisations with a large number of microcomputers, like financial institutions, run a rolling update program where a quarter of their oldest micros are replaced every year so they can budget for this cost. Ethical implications of ICT Netiquette This is a user’s guide to the polite way you use the web and e-mail, whether on the Internet or an Intranet. It should be relevant for both personal and business users, and the more public the forum (an e-group or office internal e-forum), the more the user should be aware of and follow basic netiquette. It comes in the form of general and then some particular recommendations. Some general points are: • Treat others the way you wish to be treated yourself. • Make sure you do not contravene legislation regarding use of computers and

IT. • Use accurate details when referring to other Internet resources or sites. • Ensure that you are not wasteful of others’ resources when sending emails or

in the design of your web page. • Try and contribute to the network in your area of expertise. • Adhere to Internet standards for production of e-mail

correspondence and web pages. • Always identify yourself when joining in newsgroups and try not to interject

irrelevancies. And some particular pieces of advice are: 1. Do not type e-mails all in CAPITALS. That is regarded as equivalent to

shouting. It is also harder to read. 2. Do not leave the Subject field blank. Always fill in the Subject field with a brief

and concise description of the content of your e-mail. This is very important in helping those you communicate with to organise and manage their e-mails.

3. Refrain from formatting your e-mail with coloured text and background

colours or images in your day-to-day communications. Your colour and formatting choices can make your e-mails impossible to read. In addition, formatting could make your emails difficult to reply to without obliging your recipient to go through a time-consuming procedure to convert your e-mail to plain text first.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication 4. On those rare occasions where it is necessary to send a group of people the

very same e-mail, it is a courtesy to those you are sending to, to list all of the recipients’ e-mail addresses in the BCC field. (BCC = Blind Carbon Copy – from the old days when typewriters used carbon paper to create identical copies of a document when it was being typed.) When an e-mail address is designated in the BCC field, the recipient will get a copy of the email while their e-mail address remains invisible to the other recipients of the e-mail – some of whom they may or may not know.

5. Do not forward any stupid joke, ‘chain letter’ or unimportant emails to your

friends without their permission. Never give out phone numbers or personal information without confirming you are communicating with a reputable party. Never give out personal contact information of others without their specific permission to do so.

6. Make a reasonable effort to search a website for the information you are

seeking before e-mailing a colleague for help. 7. Do not use Return Receipt Request (RR) for each and every personal e-mail

you send because you like ‘knowing’ when someone opens your e-mail. Not only is this annoying to the recipient, this feature is intrusive especially in an on-line discussion forum or e-group where hundreds of people can get that RR.

8. Do not send inflammatory, highly critical or just plain nasty e-mails, especially

to a group. This is called flaming and can cause great offence. 9. Keep in mind that all private e-mail is considered to be copyrighted by the

original author. If you post private e-mail to a public list or board, or forward it to an outside party in whole or in part, you must include the author’s permission to post the material publicly.

10. Always minimise, compress or ‘zip’ large files before sending as your

intended recipient may have a slow connection and not be prepared to watch the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy again while waiting for a download they may not even want to receive. Better still, ascertain that they actually want the file before sending it.

11. Do not forward hoax virus warnings – enough said. Intellectual property rights Intellectual property is a form of knowledge that society has decided can be assigned specific property rights. These rights have some resemblance to ownership rights over physical property or land. With recent scientific and technical advances, particularly in ICT, knowledge has become, more than ever, the principal source of competitive advantage for both companies and countries. Much original work is regularly published on the Internet, such as newspaper articles, university papers, reports from interest groups, and information from companies. All original work so published is protected by intellectual property rights.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Intellectual property rights in relation to information also relate to musicians and the sites where music can be downloaded. There is usually no problem with listening to music over the Internet but if anyone tries to download copyright music without either paying or agreeing to the copyright conditions then they, and the site they have found the music on, could both be sued for breach of copyright. In truth, the main infringement is likely to be the website’s and it is likely to be closed down, like Napster was in 2003. Censorship Current legislation already deals with unacceptable material, whether written or visual, as far as censorship is concerned. Control of what is ‘shown’ on an organisation’s premises is already in force. However, there are ongoing discussions on the possible control and censorship measures that could be applied to the Internet as its uses grow. These controls could hinder freedom of speech. There are socially unacceptable sites on the Internet of varying degrees of unacceptability, dependent on perception. For example, you may have arachnophobia and find a website on exotic spiders wholly offensive. Can you visit these web pages by accident? Sometimes fairly innocuous searches through the Internet can produce a list of available sites with links to unusual and apparently unrelated sites. In such instances, however, it is normally very clear from the summary or titles what the contents of these sites are likely to include. So if you visit these sites, that is deemed to be a deliberate action and you are accountable for using any information you view. But sometimes the description of the site bears no resemblance to the actual contents, in which case you may plead ignorance. There is also the problem of unsolicited e-mails. This is becoming a major problem on the Internet. It is caused by ‘spammers’, people who send out mass mailings of junk e-mail. Your software can dispose of some of this junk by applying filtering rules but the spammers are getting more devious in their quest to ensure that your mailbox is bombarded with junk mail. There have already been several recent successful prosecutions of junk e-mailers in America, but can this be regarded as a form of censorship? Should these people have the right to send e-mails to anyone they wish? Regulating the content of the Internet If there is concern that users of computer equipment in organisations will access ‘offensive’ or ‘unacceptable’ material, software can be installed that will monitor what access is made and from which terminals, when and by whom. Internal organisational procedures should deal with this type of situation. The Internet is no different from other media in this respect, and any of these can contravene legislation on sensitive matters. There have been successful libel cases taken out against bulletin board operators for the materials that were published on their boards. Still the question will arise, is current legislation enough? Presumably only time will tell. Future governments and public opinion will influence new legislation.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Privacy and encryption Where can we expect privacy when using ICT? Already we have seen that text messages, mobile calls, e-mail and Internet usage can all be monitored by security organisations, but it is even more scary to think that criminals are using technology to try and intercept and read personal information. If we are to trust on-line shopping, which demands that we pay by credit or debit card, then the on-line vendors must apply security to their site. To do this they have to ensure that the card number is encrypted when it leaves the shopper’s computer until it arrives safely at the vendor’s website. There are different encryption methods available but probably the best is provided by software called PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) which uses a 32-bit encryption procedure. This is generally agreed to be unbreakable and is used by good on-line retailers who will usually advertise the fact. They may also subscribe to a code of practice (like the Which? Code for Internet Shopping) that is based on PGP and 32-bit encryption. ICT and global citizenship The study of citizenship in schools and colleges gives students the knowledge, skills and understanding to play an effective role in society at local, national and international levels. It helps them to become informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens who are aware of their duties and rights. It promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, making them more self-confident and responsible both in and beyond the classroom. It encourages them to play a helpful part in the life of their schools, neighbourhoods, communities and the wider world. Global citizenship is generally thought of as awareness of global issues such as environment, commerce, politics and society in general. If a student is studying citizenship then the use of the Internet means that information and discussion papers can be found and studied very easily. It is possible to find newsgroups about a wide range of topics in relation to the citizenship topics mentioned and in these serious newsgroups the discussion is usually interesting and informed and contributors are likely to use their own identities. Many UK schools and colleges have e-mail links with schools abroad, where many overseas students want to improve their English and are happy to discuss in English issues that help improve our and their understanding of citizenship.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Implications of ICT – Suggested tasks Your tutor will tell you if and when s/he wants you to undertake these tasks (maybe after the questions). The tasks are suitable for Intermediate 2 and Higher candidates, but a greater depth of coverage of the topic is expected from Higher candidates. Task Higher – Either on your own or in a small group make up a presentation or website. Aim to produce about 20 to 30 slides or 5 to 9 web pages and give examples. Intermediate 2 – Aim to produce about 12 slides or 4 web pages on one of the following topics. Work through one of the topics fully or give an overview of all of them. Pick either a topic, concept or particular Act and explore it fully – examples might include: • The social implications of ICT • The legal implications of ICT • The economic implications of ICT • The ethical implications of ICT • E-commerce • The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 • Competitive advantage and initial costs versus running costs • Censorship and freedom of speech.



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Intermediate 2 questions – Implications of ICT 1. Describe what is meant by ease of access and availability of ICT and give an example (preferably not from the notes). 2 2. Explain the difference between information rich and information poor. Illustrate your answer with examples. 2 3. Why must citizens now be IT aware and have an educational qualification in IT? 2 4. Name three jobs that are filled by knowledge workers. 1 5. Give one advantage and one disadvantage both to the retailer and to the customer of on-line shopping. 4 6. Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 explain what is meant by:

(a) Data protection principles (b) The rights of the data subject (c) The responsibilities of the data controller (d) The role of the Information Commissioner

4 7. What are the three misuses covered by the Computer Misuse Act? (Do not answer in terms of ‘hacking’, etc.) 3 8. In terms of computer usage what offence is covered under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1998? 1 9. How do the health and safety regulations cover seating, lighting, RSI, eye strain and radiation with regard to computer usage? 5 10. Describe the type of work carried out by someone in a starting position and also of someone working in an advanced position within an IT organisation (1 job from each level). 2 11. Explain how new ICT in a business can affect the productivity and profitability of individuals and the company. You may need to write a paragraph about this. 4 12. Netiquette is very important to both individuals and businesses. Explain why typing e-mails in capitals, flaming and sending very large files are contrary to good netiquette. 3 13. Explain why intellectual property rights are important and give

an example of where this is important. 2

Total marks 33



The Social, Legal, Ethical and Economic Implication Higher questions – Implications of ICT 1. Explain how a company operating in several countries can use ICT and

the web to aid communications. 1 2. Describe how a new type of business is likely to use an IS- driven business model. 1 3. Explain how the relationship between business and customers has changed as result of e-commerce and the Internet. 2 4. Give an advantage and a disadvantage of developing identities and personas when communicating via the Internet. 2 5. Is the right to private communications across the Internet under threat by the security issues involved? Discuss this question making two points for and two against. 4 6. Explain how the 1998 version of the Data Protection Act differed from the 1984 version. 3 7. Explain how the Copyright Designs and Patents Act relates to web content and digital media. 2 8. How does the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000) affect our use of the web and e-mail? 2 9. How has the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 affected how we can find out about decisions made and meetings held in the public sector? 2 10. Summarise the employers’ responsibilities in the UK’s Health and Safety regulations. 2 11. What impact does the use of ICT have on a business organisation in relation to competitive advantage? 2 12. What impact does the use of ICT have on a business organisation in

relation to business costs including initial and running costs and the cost of investing in the business? 3

13. Explain how ICT can be involved in censorship and freedom of speech. 2 14. Explain how ICT can be involved in privacy and encryption. 2 15. Explain how ICT can be involved in global citizenship. 2

Total marks 32



SECTION 5 Web links www.bsa.org The Business Software Alliance provides reports and information on international software piracy. http://cyberethics.cbi.msstate.edu Cyberethics: A good selection of resources on computer ethics, including case studies. www.nd.edu/~rbarger/cases.html A large selection of case studies regarding ethics, posing some excellent questions and discussion points. http://library.thinkquest.org/26658 An interactive guide to computer ethics. http://www.school.za/teachers/index.htm The ten commandments of computer ethics. www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/19980029.htm The text of the Data Protection Act 1998. www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/1997050.htm The Police Act 1997. Describes the role of the National Criminal Intelligence Service, which is entitled to authorise activities such as tapping telephone lines. http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000007.htm Information on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1996/199603.htm The Defamation Act 1996. http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000007.htm The Electronic Communications Act 2000. http://www.bcs.org/ The British Computer Society’s code of conduct and practice.

http://www.bsa.org

http://cyberethics.cbi.msstate.edu

http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/cases.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/26658

http://www.school.za/teachers/index

http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000007.htm

http://gislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000007.htm

http://www.bcs.org/



Useful Resources www.cio.com/forums/ec CIO Magazine: An e-commerce resource centre. www.ecommerce.ac.uk E-commerce innovation centre at Cardiff University provides interesting case studies and basic explanations of concepts and terms. www.ft.com/ftit Financial Times IT surveys: An excellent set of monthly articles based on case studies. http://ecommerce.about.com About.com is a portal for all aspects of e-commerce. http://www.faqs.org/faqs/ Internet FAQ Archive. This archive contains Usenet Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) postings in HTML format and in text format.

http://www.cio.com/forums/ec

http://www.ecommerce.ac.uk

http://www.ft.com/ftit

http://ecommerce.about.com

http://About.com

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/



Useful Resources Bibliography Recommended texts Doyle, Stephen, Information Systems for You, 2nd edition, Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes, 1999 Heathcote, P M, A Level ICT, 3rd edition, Ipswich: Payne-Galloway Publishers, 2003 Lucey, T, Management Information Systems, 9th edition, London: Continuum, 2005 Mott, Julian and Leeming, Anne, Information and Communication Technology for Advanced Level, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2003 Mott, Julian and Leeming, Anne, Information and Communication Technology for AS Level, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2002 Suggested useful texts for background reading Business Information Systems: Technology, Development and Management for the e-business, edited by Dave Chaffey, Harlow: FT Prentice Hall, 2003 Curtis, Graham and Cobham, David, Business Information Systems: Analysis, Design and Practice, Harlow: FT Prentice Hall, 2002 Laudon, Kenneth C and Laudon, Jane P, Essentials of Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, Prentice Hall US, 2003 Lewis, Michael, The Future Just Happened, London: Coronet, 2002 Weinberger, David, Small Pieces Loosely Joined (a unified theory of the web), New York: Perseus Publishing, 2002



Useful Resources

Software Evaluation Form Name

Class of software:

Names of the two packages:

A short description of the task:

Range of data objects

Range of operations

Formatting functions

HCI – Use of keyboard commands

HCI – Menus and toolbars/icons

On-line help

On-line tutorials

Which package better suited the task you described? Summarise the important reasons why you chose this package.

using information [intermediate 2; higher] webzite/powerpoint using... · • intermediate 2...

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