INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

1
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• The implications of IT

2
The general effect of IT on our lives

• There have been a number of general trends in
  it
• computers have become smaller cheaper and more
  powerful there has been an increased reliance on
  communications
• the electric office has basically evolved using
  new computer software and communication
  technology.
• there has been decreased use of cash with the use
  of such methods EDI, EFT and EFTPOS.
• shops and shopping methods have changed
  dramatically .

3
Effect of IT on work and employment

• Increased use of information systems brings
  advantages and disadvantages to workers.
• Jobs can be lost
• The electronic office (Word processing etc)
• Automation (Telephone exchanges, waterworks)
• Computerised printing methods (DTP etc)
• Jobs can be created
• Hardware (designing, manufacturing and servicing
  computers)
• Software (analysts, programmers, training and
  operators)
• The effect on those in work can be significant
• Staff have to be retrained to use computers
• More people are using computers such as word
  processing in order to carry out their jobs

4
The effect of IT on personal privacy

• Personal data is data about people which they do
  not want others to know.
• Privacy refers to the right to keep data to
  ourselves or to have control over its use.
• People hope for rights to
• withhold information about themselves
• stop data being passed from one database to
  another without their knowledge or consent
• find out what data is stored about them
• have inaccurate data corrected.

5
The Data Protection Act

• The Data Protection Act gives people some of
  these rights
• it defines data users and data subjects
• it created a Data Registrar, a data Tribunal and
  a Data Register.
• The act says that
• data must be obtained fairly and lawfully, must
  only be used in the way registered and must be
  accurate
• people must be able to have information disclosed
  and have it changed or deleted if necessary
• data users must protect the data they hold.

6
EXAM QUESTIONS

• Discuss the extent to which governments should
  encourage firms to use Information Technology if
  unemployment is a consequence.
• Describe two features of computer storage of data
  which might make its misuse more serious than
  misuse of the same data stored in a filing
  cabinet.
• Give three rights that the Data Protection Act
  gives to a data subject.
• What obligations does the act place on a data
  user.
• Describe two changes in employment which results
  from the introduction of computers into a
  supermarket.