CBCT2203 BASIC CONCEPT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

1. CBCT2203BASIC CONCEPT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

2. Objectives At the end of this topic, you should be able to: Be familiar with and understand the information era; Be familiar with the six differences between the information era and the previous eras; Identify three components of information technology;

3. Outline introduced to the information technology era, The characteristics that make it different from the previous eras. introduced to the concept of information technology (IT). This includes principles, functions, and benefits of IT.

4. Information era Do you know that, according to Alvin Tofler, we are now in the third wave, that is known as the information wave? This century does not only expose us to the beginning of the information era, but will also continue to create a rapid pace of change in the development of IT. There are no signs showing any decline in this rate of change. Instead, it continues to increase.

5. Information era The first and second waves are agricultural wave industrial wave. Some writers refer to the �wave� as �era� i.e. with reference to agricultural era industrial era the information era Now, we live in a society where information is an important resource.

6. Agricultural, Industrial and Information Eras

7. Evolution of the Eras

8. Evolution of the Eras The technologies used in the agricultural era, industrial era and information era are all different. technologies used in the industrial era bull-dozers and cranes meant for increasing the physical capability technologies of the information era computers and servers meant for enhancing workers thinking ability. Links between people are further strengthened main tool being used is IT. Despite being in the Information era, both agricultural and industrial activities are still important.

9. Six features that differentiate the information era The emergence of an information-based society: In an informative society, more workers are manipulating information, rather than working in the combined fields of agriculture and factory. The success of business and management jobs depends on IT: banking business depends very much on IT in simplifying daily transactions effectively and promptly Work processes are changed and transformed to upgrade productivity: agricultural era, tractors and ploughs are used to speed up work in the farms. However, in the information era, knowledge plays an important role in determining how and when to grow, and how to look after crops.

10. Six features that differentiate the information era IT provides the basis for re-thinking, i.e. business process re-engineering: Efficient use of IT speed up routine activities, and allows opportunities for a company to study and re-organise work processes for optimising the use of resources and to raise productivity. Success in IT depends on the effectiveness in using it: agricultural era, farmers need to know the methods of taking care of buffaloes, cows and land. The industrial era requires industry workers to know and be able to deal with the machines for working effectively. information era requires people to know how IT can increase personal happiness and improve product and service qualities.

11. Six features that differentiate the information era IT is embedded or integrated into many products and services: in the tourism industry, IT is used in ticketing, airports, hotels and rest-houses, car rentals, etc. Indirectly, IT provides added value to product and services. These values take the form of quality, reliability, skills, attractiveness, and other characteristics that fulfil customer�s needs.

12. Exercise 1.1 Between the agricultural era, industrial era and information era, in which era do you think your country is in now? Explain your opinion.

13. WHAT IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY?

14. Data, Information and Knowledge It explains that �data� which have been refined, formatted and summarised are changed into �information� Information that has been interpreted, decided and acted upon is changed into �knowledge� With knowledge, users can make the best decisions, and take appropriate actions.

15. Information Technology In general, IT is the main player in the information era. This technology is used to access, store and distribute information, especially information in digital form. IT refers to the use and deployment of various items in the creation, storage and distribution of information.

16. Definition of Information Technology Behan & Holmes Information technology is a term for explaining the technology that enables us to record, store, process, retrieve, send and receive information. E.W. Martin et al. (1994) Information technology consists of all forms of technology involved in the collection, manipulation, communication, presentation and utilisation of data (which are transformed into information).

17. Definition of Information Technology Senn (1998) Information technology contains three components, which are computers, communication, and knowhow. A combination of the three components creates opportunities for people and organisations to become more productive, effective, and generally successful without being separated. Computers and computer networks are useless without the knowledge of how to use them. Knowing when to use computers is as important as knowing how to use them. Besides the ability to use computers for communication, connecting people through information technology is also important.

18. Components of IT IT is a broad-based technology needed to support information systems. IT supports activities involving the creation, storage, manipulation, and communication of information, together with their related methods, management and applications. The core of IT is the microelectronic component, i.e. the microprocessor chip, which processes data, information, images, sound, graphics, etc that has given birth to modern computers.

19. Components of IT Computer Used to receive, store, process and present data and information. Communication Network Used for sending and receiving data and information. Know-How What, when and how IT is used to solve problems effectively, with reference to familiarity with IT tools, the needed skills, understanding when to use IT for solving problems, and the exploitation of opportunities.

20. Computer Classification You are very familiar with the types of motor vehicles on the road. motorcycles, motorcars, buses, lorries, trailers, trains, and so on. specialised and useful for various types of jobs. For example, motorcycles are very handy for a single person, while buses are good for about 40 persons. In the field of IT, likewise, there are various types of computers that you can use, depending on the job you want to do. small computers as well as very large ones. specialised in catering for the types of jobs on the basis of processing power, speed, cost, security, and various other criteria

21. Computer Classification There has never been a rigid definition of the various classes of computers. Indeed, their functions and capabilities keep on expanding and as such the number of classes is even debatable. there is a broad spectrum of computing hardware ranging from supercomputers to microcomputers, with no sharp line dividing the classes. In general, computers decrease in size and cost as you go down from the large supercomputers and mainframes to the small microcomputers.

22. Computer Classification Microcomputer: It is a desktop computer as well as a personal computer (PC). The label PC is associated with microcomputers because they are designed for use by one person at a time. It is not to be confused with the microprocessor, which is literally a computer on a chip. In a microcomputer, the microprocessor, electronic circuitry, and memory chips are mounted on a single circuit board called the motherboard. It is the motherboard that distinguishes one microcomputer from another.

23. Computer Classification Mainframe: big-sized commercial computer designed specifically for a multi-user environment and it is used by a whole corporate body. It normally has more than 100 remote terminals. It is very strong in terms of security, connectivity, and data management capabilities. It must reside in a specially controlled environment with special heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment to control the temperature, humidity and dust level around the computer.

24. Computer Classification Minicomputer: Until the late 1960's, all computers were mainframes only. Later, computer vendors began to introduce smaller machines to make them affordable to the smaller companies. This gave birth to the minicomputers. Today, a minicomputer can be defined as the smallest computer designed specifically for a multiuser environment. The system must be able to service between 2 and 100 remote terminals at one time.

25. Computer Classification Supercomputer: This is the largest, fastest, and most expensive computer available. It is extremely powerful and especially designed for high-speed numerical computations needed in complex engineering applications. Supercomputers are processor-intensive, whereas the mainframes are input-output intensive. Supercomputers can perform arithmetic calculations at a speed of billions of floating-point operations per second(gigaflops). Cray Research, NEC, and Fujitsu are the leading manufacturers of supercomputers.

26. Computer Classification Workstation, etc: There are other classifications of computers like superminis, super-micros, midi-computers, etc. they are the intermediate stages of an earlier classification. Some computers are called servers and clients these are simply service providers and consumers. The workstation is of significant importance. various people have used the term �workstation� to mean different things. It is used to mean a network terminal (intelligent, but without disc). It often refers to a terminal with RISC processors, instead of Intel. In general, a workstation is simply a highend PC.

27. Exercise 1.2 Differentiate the terms data, information, and knowledge. Then give one example for each term. What do you understand from the term �know-how�?

28. PRINCIPLES OF INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY Debates, stories and references on the effects of IT on its users can be obtained everywhere now. We have seen how IT helps special people. We have heard and read how IT has increased profitability of companies and businesses. We also know the effects of computer viruses such as Love Bug and Chernobyl, which have caused computer system failures for many organisations as well as individuals.

29. PRINCIPLES OF INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY main objective of IT is to help people solve problems and to initiate creativity, making people work more effectively with the help of IT in their daily activities. Therefore, IT frees people from routine work, enables them to focus more attention on solving problems, and improving their relationships.

30. PRINCIPLES OF INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY The main principle of IT is the Principle of High-Tech-High-Touch, the more advanced the technology we rely on, the more important will the �high-touch� (human) aspect be. This principle emphasises that we are supposed to adapt IT to people, rather than asking people to adapt to IT.

31. Functions of Information Technology

32. Functions of Information Technology

33. Benefits of Information Technology

34. Exercise 1.3 The principle of High-Tech-High-Touch gives importance to user friendly technologies. In your opinion, in our real life, does IT give more importance to human (user) factors with the developments of IT? Why?

35. Opportunities of IT In general, there are two categories of opportunities: Helping People: For example, assisting special people (the disabled), increasing human productivity, and helping people towards having better lives. Helping to Solve Problems: Assisting in the process of problem identification, exploring a number of alternative solutions, and implementing the solution with success.

36. Opportunities of IT IT has been used in various fields with the objective of solving problems and helping people. Hence, we should know basic responsibilities of IT users. The three basic responsibilities of users are: Knowing the capabilities and limitations of IT; Using IT ethically and correctly; and Ensuring data and information security against various threats

37. CAREERS AND INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY Information Technology as a Career: Technical knowledge and skills in IT provide job opportunities in the field of IT. Among careers in IT are system analyst, IT officer, network manager, software engineer, knowledge engineer, programmer, data processing manager, computer system consultant, system integrator, system administrator, chief information officer, system engineer, website manager, etc. They are called IT professionals. Sometimes, they are also considered as important players behind the computer, i.e. those who develop and maintain software and IT tools.

38. CAREERS AND INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY Information Technology Users IT users are generally known as �end-users�. End-users get involved in the use of IT, but they are not required to have technical knowledge of IT. Indeed, they know better about the use of software or specific hardware. For example, doctors use computers to access patient information, but they do not need the technical knowledge of computers. In general, users can be divided into three types novice users, semi-skilled users, and skilled users. IT applications are created for them to use.

39. Exercise 1.4 How does the IT improve the productivity in your country? Explain with an examples.

40. Summary We have touched on the meaning of the information era, and the technology used in this era that is, information technology. We need to share experiences, manpower, expertise, wisdom and all these are also termed as �smart partnership� to grab the opportunities offered by IT. We may not be the first nation to invent IT, but we can use IT as a platform to make our country a developed nation.