Information Systems Information Organisation Higher 4041

Information Systems

Information Organisation

Higher

4041

Autumn 1998

HIGHER STILL

Information Systems

Information Organisation Higher

Support Materials

rs

This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes provided that no profit is derived from the reproduction and that, if reproduced in part, the source is acknowledged.

First published 1998

Higher Still Development Unit

PO Box 12754

Ladywell House

Ladywell Road

Edinburgh

EH12 7YH

Information Support Materials: Information Organisation (Higher)

CONTENTS

Section 1 Teacher/Lecturer Notes

Section 2

Section 3

Students’ Notes

Study Materials



Section 1

Teacher/Lecturer Notes

Information Support Materials: Information Organisation (Higher) 1

HIGHER STILL: INFORMATION SYSTEMS

INFORMATION ORGANISATION (HIGHER)

Aim

This unit allows students to develop an appreciation of the value of information to individuals and organisations together with awareness of the sources of information and practice in accessing these sources.

Status of this Teaching and Learning Pack

These materials are for guidance only. The mandatory content of this unit is detailed in the unit specification of the Arrangements document.

Target audience

Students should have some knowledge, understanding and skills related to the subject matter. These might have been obtained through appropriate experience, or attainment of the Information Systems course at Intermediate 2 level, or Standard Grade in

Computing Studies (Grade 1 or 2).

Progression

Within Information Systems, the unit provides background knowledge and skills to enable student to tackle Information Systems Higher level.

Hardware and software resources

To be finalised after completion of materials


Learning and teaching approaches

The pack concentrates on what the student should know and understand. It is designed to indicate the level of treatment of the unit topics; it is not a collection of worksheets, although there are a number of student activities included to aid understanding.

Where activities are included you will need to support such activities with direct teaching, and exemplification.

The pathway through the unit recommended in the pack follows the order of the outcomes in the unit arrangements. It works through the outcomes as follows:

Outcome 1: Explain the value of information

Outcome 2: Describe the characteristics and sources of information

Outcome 3: Investigate the organisation of contemporary information systems

Outcome 4: Explain the social, ethical and legal implications of information systems

This order allows students to:

• understand what information is, its origins, forms and uses

• gain detailed knowledge of the characteristics and sources of information whilst offering in addition the opportunity to discuss the various media used for transmission of information

• have the opportunity to investigate the technical make-up of current information systems, and the uses, navigation and structure of them

• consider the ethical and social implications of information technology whilst additionally examining the legislation relating to these uses.

The pack is divided into sections, one for each outcome. Sections one and two within the Student Guide should be completed in that order. Sections three and four are discrete. If you wish to go through the unit in any alternative order, simply reorder the sections and remove the linkage sentence between section one and two.

The performance criteria and range for each outcome are all covered though not necessarily in the order stated in the Arrangements. To aid usage the

Teacher/Lecturer Guide will indicate the matching of material to PCs and range.


Pathway through the unit

The concepts, terms and skills covered in a section are listed at the top of the student notes for that section and therefore not repeated here.

The suggested number of hours for each section includes time for an introduction to the topic, discussion and exemplification of concepts, use of resources and where appropriate assessment.

Title of Section

1 Explain the value of information

2 Describe the characteristics and sources of information

3 Investigate the organisation of contemporary information systems

4 Explain the social, ethical and legal implications of information systems

Page No Hours Assessed

5

10

20

5

References

Books

Managing Information - Working Smarter Not Harder Hugh Garai

Gower Publishing - ISBN 0-566-07740-X

Management Information Systems 7th Edition Terry Lucey 1995

DP Publications Ltd - ISBN 1-85805-106-1

The Information Society - Issues and Illusions David Lyon

Polity Press ISBN 0-7546-0369-6

Local Area Networks and their Application – Brendan Tangney and Donal O’Mahony

Management Information Systems – Charles Parker and Thomas Case

Managing Information Network for Competitive Advantage – Stephen R Ives

Information Systems for Managers – George Reynolds

Business Data Communications – David A Stamper

Data Communications, Computer Networks and Open Systems – Fred Halsall

Novell’s Guide to Creating IntranetWare Intranets – Karanjit Siyan

Magazine articles

“Caught Looking” by Angus Hamilton – PC Pro March 1998

“PC Policy” by Angus Hamilton – PC Pro April 1998

Internet Resources http://www.internethics.org/charter.htm

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1984/1984035.htm

http://www.dpr.gov.uk/ http://www.strath.ac.uk/Department/Law/student/PERSONAL/R_BATTOCK/crime2.

htm


http://194.128.65.3/acts/summary/01990018.htm

http://www.twobirds.com/template/archives/news.24-020-98-1.htm

http://www.eeng.brad.ac.uk/help/.regulations/.cma90.htm

http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVL Pages/QltyPages/QltyEtiq.html

http://www.csi.uottowa.ca/ ~ dduchier/misc/infohighway1.html



Section 2

Students’ Guide


INFORMATION ORGANISATION (HIGHER)

The purpose of the material following is to help you gain the knowledge needed to achieve the unit Information Organisation at Higher level.

You should already have:

Intermediate 2 Information Systems or

Standard Grade Computing Studies or relevant experience in computing

You will find a mixture of notes and activities in each section to be studied. As well as these notes your teacher/lecturer will be covering a number of topics of background information and leading discussion groups on the material. In addition you may be asked to do some extension activities in your own time - this will be made clear by your Teacher/Lecturer at the right time during your learning.

You should complete all attached materials and additional work outlined by your

Teacher/Lecturer.

You will then be able to:

• explain the value of information

• describe the characteristics and sources of information

• investigate the organisation of contemporary information systems

• explain the social, ethical and legal implications of information systems.


Section 3

Study Materials


SECTION 1 - EXPLAIN THE VALUE OF INFORMATION

This section of notes and activities will help you:

• understand the difference between data and information

• see how information is used

• classify information as useful for day-to-day, mid-term, or long-term purposes

• create a list of your own information needs for current and future plans and decisions.

DEFINITIONS OF DATA AND INFORMATION

‘Data are facts, events, transactions and so on which have been recorded. They are the input raw materials from which information is produced’

Terry Lucey 1995

Management Information Systems 7 th

Edition

‘Information is a resource and as such it is not, it becomes. What does this mean? It means information only becomes a resource when it’s of value to you. It ceases to be a resource as soon as you don’t need it.’

David Lyon 1997

The Information Society – Issues and Illusions

Data are the facts and figures that record, on a day-to-day basis, the performance within organisations. All activities within organisations function by making use of processed data.

Information is the final product created from the raw material of data. Information is one of the main resources used by organisations and should be valued in the same way as property, stock or skilled workers.

Data within organisations is collected in various forms, for example, transactions in a bank. The data are the details relating to the actions carried out on accounts during a specific time period. The transactions for each account could include:

• all uses of cash/switch cards

• all direct debits

• all standing orders

• all deposits and transfers

• all cheques issued

• all bank charges applied


The information produced would be a bank statement showing transactions and end of period account balance.

Information within organisations would be the summaries of actions carried out as required by subsequent activities within the organisation.

Once data is processed it creates a resource for individuals to use in day-to-day life and work in organisations.


WHAT IS DATA?

WHAT IS INFORMATION?

Facts and figures which on their own are not useful or valuable to you

Organised facts collected together in a form relevant to your needs conveying a message

Example

4 0 3

5 1

8 5 9

4 5

Example

0990 50 30 20

(Disney Holiday Video phoneline).

ONLY WHEN DATA IS PRESENTED IN A USEFUL FORM DOES IT

BECOME INFORMATION

Advertisement appearing in a local newspaper two months ago:

Advertisement appearing in a local newspaper today :

You can get a 25% discount in any

SuperMusic Store on any CD or

Video on presentation of this advertisement and proof of residence in that area until the end of this month.

You can get a 10% discount in any SuperMusic

Store on any CD or Video on presentation of this advertisement and proof of residence in that area until the end of this month.

This is data which has no relevance to your needs today

This is information. It is now useful (that is if you want CDs or Videos at a discount price).

SO INFORMATION HAS TO BE RELEVANT

AND OF VALUE TO YOU!


Activity

Below are samples of data. For each you should complete the gap in the information section of the table with the actions required to turn the data into what would be information to you

DATA INFORMATION

A total of three hundred and forty one thousand nine hundred and twenty two votes were cast in the local by-election by close of poll stations at 10.00 p.m. last night

Assume you are the returning officer for the byelection. The information you require is the votes cast for each candidate.

The current BT meter reading for your home phone currently shows 1203 units used

Assume that you are the person responsible for paying the bills from BT. The information you need is the bill to be paid.

The current entry requirements for your local university ranges from two to four

Highers

Assume you wish to apply for entry to a particular course next year. You need to know what the specific entry requirements are for the course that you wish to enter.

After completion of the table, you should check against the responses shown


DATA INFORMATION

A total of three hundred and forty one thousand nine hundred and twenty two votes were cast in the local by-election by close of poll stations at 10.00 p.m. last night

Assume you are the returning officer for the byelection. The information you require is the votes cast for each candidate.

An individual tally has to be made of the votes cast for each candidate

Or the data has to be organised into sets of votes for each candidate and then totaled.

The current BT meter reading for your home phone currently shows 1203 units used

Assume that you are the person responsible for paying the bills from BT. The information your need is the bill to be paid.

The number of units has to be divided into types of calls that were made and then the call charges for each have to be calculated. The call charges are added to the rental charge for the line, any additional charges for special services such as call barring and then the total has to have VAT added so that the final bill charge is reached.

The current entry requirements for your local university ranges from two to four

Highers

Assume you wish to apply for entry to a particular course next year. You need to know what the specific entry requirements are for the course that you wish to enter.

The information has to be sorted into course, the courses of interest are extracted and then sorted according to order of preference by institute.

Remember though - information to you may be data to someone else!


Data can also be known as unprocessed information.

Data becoming information for a power consumer

DATA PROCESS INFORMATION

Electricity meter reading

Name and Address

Current reading - Previous reading = Usage

Usage X Charge = Amount due

Customer = Name and Address

Electricity bill with amount due.


Extension Activity

List three examples of:

Data

Processes carried out on the data

The information which results

Make each example relevant to a need you have -

Suggestions:

Information required for a social event

Information about possible career paths

Information for organising a tour of your home area for a visitor

DATA PROCESS INFORMATION

Information is a major resource in our day-to-day lives and in running a business. Very little activity can take place without the appropriate information being available.


USES OF INFORMATION WITHIN ORGANISATIONS

What is information used for within an organisation?

•

Planning

•

Decision- making

•

Control

•

Education

Planning

Planning involves actions carried out leading to the forming of a set of aims to be achieved.

These actions are the steps to be taken in the future to get where you have decided you are going.

Having decided on a goal an organisation must know the actions to be carried out to achieve it - the activity of setting down the actions is known as planning.

Where are we going?

How will we get there?

Two methods used are forecasting and modelling each of which is based on the usage of raw data.

Decision-making

Decision-making is the ability to examine information related to any situation alternative actions available, probable results of actions available - and to identify the next action(s) to be taken.

In order to make suitable decisions all information related to a situation should be available. An informed person or group should carry out decision-making

Control

Control is the monitoring or checking of current performance against expected results.

Control allows organisations to see if everything is progressing according to plans.

Control identifies where there is a variance from the expected results. Adjustments can take place to return to the expected performance rates.


Education

Without full knowledge of developments in a field of activities, an organisation will be unable to function to its best ability. Ongoing education in relation to current developments within industry and management techniques will allow an organisation to carry out its activities to the optimum level.

• information about advancements in production techniques

• information about the latest available machines for production

• information collected about the customers of the business

• information on the latest training methods for staff

All of these are educational information for an organisation to keep up-to-date. If an organisation fails to use information to educate the staff and enhance the knowledge base available it will be much more difficult for them to continue let alone grow and improve.


PLANNING, DECISION MAKING, CONTROL AND EDUCATION

EXAMPLES

ORGANISATIONAL USES

Planning

Decision-making

Control

Education

Without a plan a business will not achieve it aims.

For example, if we wish to increase our market share we should plan activities that would allow us to make this happen within a specified time scale.

Without making decisions a business would not continue to exist. For example,

- What business are we in?

Only when that decision is made will a business progress.

Without checking against targets a business will not know its progress.

For example, in a plan to increase our market share we have to know what our share is to start with. We also have to know what we want to increase market share to, otherwise we will not know whether the target improvement has been achieved.

Without keeping up-to-date in current technological developments a business could not survive. Without knowledge of relevant legislation an organisation will be unable to function within the bounds of the law.


PERSONAL USES OF INFORMATION

Many personal uses are the same as organisational uses. It is possible to identify

Planning, Decision-making, Control and Education within personal life.

Planning

Without a plan it will be more difficult to achieve what you want. For example I want to gain a degree in computing. I have to plan what units and grades I have to achieve.

Decision-making

Control

Education

Without making decisions we would not get very much done in day-to-day life.

For example -

What will I wear to go out today?

What will I have for breakfast?

Without deciding about subsequent activities we would not progress towards anything.

Without checking against targets you will be unable to check true levels of achievement.

For example - Have I got all the entrance requirements to take the degree course in computing?

Have I got enough money to go on a night out?

In each of these cases there will be a standard to measure against and possible actions available where the standard is not being reached.

Without gaining appropriate information regarding the availability of degree level computing courses it will be difficult to carry out any of the other activities.


THE NATURE OF INFORMATION

Within organisations information will be used for decision-making, planning, control and education at many levels.

What do levels mean?

An organisation can be regarded as being like a pyramid structure made up of a number of levels. The standard names used for the levels of organisations are:

Strategic

Tactical

Operational

•

Strategic

•

Tactical

•

Operational

Each of these will have different information requirements.


Information requirements for organisations

Operational

Tactical

This is the bottom level of management within an organisation. For example,

Section Supervisors. This is the level where day-to-day decisions are made.

This level will implement decisions made by tactical management. Information required at this level would be termed operational information .

This is middle level management within an organisation. For example,

Departmental managers. This level makes mid-term decisions that are from one to three years. This level will be implementing the strategic decisions made by the level above. Information required at this level would be termed tactical information .

Strategic

This is top level management within an organisation. For example,

Directors/Board of Management. This level makes long term decisions for the future plans and development of the organisation. Information required at this level would be termed strategic information .

Each of the levels within an organisation requires using information for decisionmaking, planning, control and education.

Information used within organisations may be classified as:

•

Strategic

•

Tactical

•

Operational

Examine the list of sample information below and the classification as related to its uses in levels of an organisation.

The example organisation is a confectionery manufacturer.


USE WITHIN

ORGANISATION

SAMPLE INFORMATION

STRATEGIC

TACTICAL

Broad based information from both internal and external sources is required. Examples of external information may be: What are other confectionery manufacturers currently doing? Are they launching new products, revamping or re-launching existing products? What is the share of the market that each competitor holds? What is the general trend of confectionery sales? (are sales increasing or decreasing or even staying still?) Are there any government - local or national policies or legislation which may effect confectionery sales?

Examples of internal information of a strategic nature might be: Is the factory working to full capacity? Are all functional areas (that is departments) performing to expected levels?

Mainly internal information but some external. Internal information would tend to be functional area related. For example: Production: production schedules, downtime

(time lost on the production line due to changes in product or faults in production line), costs of production.

Personnel: absenteeism rates, staff skill levels, staff training programs, trade union agreements, and sources of new staff.

External information too relates to specific functional areas. For example: Sales and Marketing: market research, competitor actions, customer background, demographic trends (population details and make up).

Purchasing: sources of raw material, materials prices, prices of packaging.

OPERATIONAL

Largely internal information examples of which might be: staff holidays, raw materials on order, current customer orders, customer credit status, how much raw material is in stock

Again it is possible to draw a parallel between organisational and personal this time in the nature of information requirements.

Personal information too may be classified as Strategic, Tactical and Operational


Creating a list of personal requirements

To help you define personal information as strategic, tactical and operational you should complete the tables that follow.

Read the instructions carefully before you start.

Instructions

For each classification of information (strategic, tactical and operational)

1.

Enter a decision which would fall into that classification.

2.

Note the information requirements for this.

3.

Enter planning you would have to carry out in that classification.

4.


5.

Enter controls you might have to apply in that classification.

6.


7.

Enter education you might require in that classification.

8.



TABLE 1 - YOUR STRATEGIC INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

STRATEGIC

(long term, 3+ years)

Decision

Information required

Planning


Control


Education



TABLE 2 - YOUR TACTICAL INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

TACTICAL

(mid-term, 1 to 3 years)

Decision


Planning


Control


Education



TABLE 3 - YOUR OPERATIONAL INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

OPERATIONAL

(Day-to-day)

Decision


Planning


Control


Education



SUMMARY

After completion of the work in this section you should be able to

• tell the difference between data and information and explain it.

• describe the uses of information i.e. for planning, decision making, control and education.

••

classify information as Strategic, Tactical or Operational for organisational and

personal uses.

• produce a list of your own information requirements.

Information should have value to the user. In Section 2 you will examine what makes information valuable to the user.


SECTION 2 - DESCRIBE THE CHARACTERISTICS AND SOURCES OF

INFORMATION

This section of notes and activities will help you describe correctly:

• the characteristics of information

• the sources of information

• the types of media for transmitting information

What should information be like to be relevant?

In the section that follows you will examine:

WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE LIKE this will be examined in the section on characteristics

WHERE INFORMATION IS FOUND this will be examined in the section on sources

Characteristics

Aspects of information which, when present, ensure that the information is usable by the recipient.

Sources

The location where information is found. These can be either internal or external to the organisation. Information may be available on different media in both internal and external sources.

Media: paper documentation, broadcast, and digital. These will be looked at in depth later on in this section.


CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMATION

You require information to allow you to make a decision on whether to purchase a sound system you have seen in a local shop. You have also obtained advertising literature about this particular sound system.

Examine the table that follows and answer the questions in the spaces provided.

Mark YES or NO beside each according to what you think would be the case.

You require information to make this decision but what should it be like?

Below is a set of questions regarding the information you may require for this decision

Should the information be available later?

Should the information be easy to find or get?

How much will it cost to get this information?

Can the information you require be legally obtained?

(Including consideration of copyright.)

Should the information found be of value?

Should the information contain all that you need to know?

Should the information you find be in an efficient form short enough to assimilate easily?

Should the information available be correct?

Should the information be relevant for your needs?

Should it be easy to find the main points in the information?

Should the information be pleasing in presentation - in an aesthetically appealing format?


After completion of the tables you should check against the responses shown - a short justification has been supplied against each characteristic being considered to aid your understanding.

Should the information be available later?

NO

This is Timeliness.

Information should be available now or it will not be available in time to make a good decision.

Should the information be easy to find or get?

YES

This is Accessibility

If information is not easy to find it may take too much time and then be of no use for making the decision.

Should it cost a lot to get this information?

NO

This is Cost.

Information which costs too much reduces any benefits gained .

Can the information you require be legally obtained?

(Including consideration of copyright.)

YES

This is Legality.

If information is not acquired legally then you are liable to prosecution.

Should the information found be of value?

YES

This is Value .

If not of value then whatever was obtained even if it was legal would not be information.

Should the information contain all that you need to know?

YES

This is Completeness .

If information is incomplete then it is of little or no value.

Should the information you find be in an efficient form - short enough to read and absorb easily?

YES

This is Conciseness .

If not concise the information might take too long to interpret and a decision delayed until too late.


Should the information available be correct?

YES

This is Accuracy .

If information is not correct then the wrong decision could be made.

Should the information be relevant for your needs?

YES

This is Appropriateness .

If information is irrelevant then even if accurate and on time it would not be useful in making the decision.

Should it be easy to find the main points in the information?

YES

This is Structure .

If information has no structure then by the time appropriate factors have been extracted it might be too late to make the decision.

Should the information be pleasing in presentation - in an aesthetically appealing format?

YES

This is Presentation .

If information is not presented suitably then users may find it of little value.

Each word in bold is a characteristic of information. Further details of these characteristics related to organisational information for decision making follows.

Accessibility

Information should be easy to obtain or access. For example, if a Building

Society keeps all details of mortgage accounts on a kardex



system (a set of boxes each containing identically sized cards indexed, usually alphabetically or perhaps by account number), this is not particularly easy to access.

Accuracy

Information should be correct. If not, then decisions based on it can be incorrect. For 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.


Appropriateness

Information should be relevant to the purpose for which it is required. It must be suitable. For example, an organisation needs to upgrade their current

Management Information system and the consultant has recommended a new system that costs three times more than the original. The information regarding the new system loses relevance.

Completeness

Information should contain all details required by the user otherwise, if used as the basis for a decision, then the results could at best not meet expectations.

For example, if an organisation is supplied with information regarding the costs of supplying a fleet of cars for the sales force, and service and maintenance costs are not included, then costings based on the information will be considerably underestimated.

Conciseness

Information should be in a form that is short enough to allow for its examination and use. For example, a personnel manager for a pharmaceutical manufacturer has been given one week to upgrade the factory area to match new legislation relating to safety measures. The information is contained in three volumes. It may not be possible to extract relevant details in time to alter procedures. The information may be complete, available now, have cost little, been obtained legally but it is not concise enough to make changes in time.

Cost

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 forecasted initial profit from the product. The organisation would probably decide that a less costly source of information should be used, which may give inferior information.

Legality

Information should be obtained within the limits of the law. Legislation covering this in Britain would include the Data Protection Act 1984 and the

Copyright Act. Uses of information should also be within the law. For example, customers of an organisation have to agree before being put on a mailing list for other products. Their name and address may legally be passed on to another organisation. However, information held on their income may not be.


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 aesthetically pleasing to the users within the organisation.

Structure

Information in an organised, structured form is easier to use. By nature, structured information is concise. This type of information has sections, tables, headings and summaries to allow the user to extract their requirements in less time. The information is easier to search through in a short time.

Timeliness

Information must be on time for the purpose for which it is required.

Information received too late will be irrelevant. For example, a company requires information about trade fairs to allow it to display and demonstrate a new product line. The information arrives two days after the last booking date to be included in the fairs. The information is too late to be of use.

Value

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 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.


Sources of Information

Information can be obtained from a number of sources both internal and external to the organisation.

Internal - from within the organisation.

External - from a sources outwith the organisation.

Internal

Organisations have many internal sources of information. All paper documentation, procedure manuals and intranets (based on local-area networks) are internal sources of information.

Paper Documentation.

All organisations have a wide variety of paper documentation however a number of documents are commonly used by organisations. Below is a list which, although not exhaustive, should give you an understanding of the variety of documents used. You could use your own background or research to extend this list.

•

Order Form

•

Invoice

•

Credit Note

•

Budget

•

Production Schedule

•

Time Sheet

•

Clock Card

•

Sales Report

•

Requisition

•

Personnel Record

•

Holiday Request

•

Price List

Obviously these documents are ‘hard copy’ but what information can be gained from them and to what use can it be put?

Order Form –

Contains all details required to allow a customer to order a delivery of goods from the organisation. Uses: to allow completion and subsequent dispatch of goods required by customer; to use as input to the creation of an invoice. This document consists usually of customer name, address, customer number, and goods being requested including a stock reference, description and quantity required. In some companies this document is part of a ‘multi-part set’ which also includes Delivery Note and Invoice.

Can you think of another use to which the information contained in this document could be put?


Invoice

A document that details – customer name and address; customer number; date of invoice and goods dispatched. This document is in effect a bill to the customer for goods supplied. Use for the information may be - credit control

(that is to see how long it takes a customer to settle and outstanding account).

Credit Note

A document used in organisations to issue to customers the details of the goods being credited, the reason for the credit being authorised and the amount. The amount can be credited to the customer account, in which case the credit note is information for the customer. If the goods have been faulty or damaged, the customer may be issued with a document telling the customer that he/she can obtain other goods from the organisation to the value of the original purchase.

Budget

A document that states the targets of expenditure or achievement for a particular section or department within an organisation. For example, a budget might show the projected expenditure on stationery, maintenance, software upgrade, consumables and personnel costs for an information technology section within an organisation. This term can also be used to indicate the targets salespersons have to achieve in a given time period. The first is the more commonly held meaning for this document.

Production Schedule

A document that outlines the projected performance of a production line either by goods or time period. These documents are usually based on projected sales of good to be produced or required to fill customer orders currently outstanding. Sometimes information regarding staffing and maintenance requirements will also be found in this type of document.

Time Sheet

A document that indicates the breakdown of personnel time related to job or activity carried out within an identified period of time.

Clock Card

A document used in conjunction with a device that is capable of recording the time of insertion of the card into the device. These tend to be used for the calculation of gross payment for individual workers within a section of the organisation. (Often used for factory workers or any other category paid on an hourly basis.)


Sales Report

A document that reflects the performance levels either of sales representatives or products within an organisation. Frequently used in conjunction with production schedules.

Requisition

This is generally a document that is internal to the organisation and identifies the component parts that are required to be taken out of store to complete a particular task.

Personnel Record

A document outlining employee details. Areas of inclusion could be: employee name and address, National Insurance number, start date, absence record, qualifications held, development and training details.

Holiday Request

A document that is completed to allow an employee to request an allocation of time off.

Price list

A document that includes lists of stock item numbers, description and selling prices.

Procedure Manuals

A manual by definition is a set of instructions on how to carry out given activities/tasks. A procedure is a set of related activities. A Procedure Manual is a document that list sequences of instructions to be followed in order to carry out sets of activities in accordance with an organisation’s standards. This type of manual sets out standards for departments, sections and individuals to follow. This ensures that, whatever the activities to be performed, everyone in the organisation is performing them the same way.

The procedure manual ensures that from section to section within an organisation and from department to department there is standardisation. This means that no matter where in the organisation you look, things are being done the same way.

Examples of Procedure Manuals could include :

•

Procedures for production of all internal documents including naming details, paper size, paper type, layout used (including font, margins, tab positions and spacing), proforma, specific inclusions (such as contact extension number of originator).

•

Procedures for completion of organisational forms such as orders and stock requisitions.

•

Procedures for runs of computer programs.


•

Procedures for staff grievances.

•

Procedures for security with a computer installation.

In fact, where a set of activities has to be performed the same way each time for safety, security and standardisation, it is beneficial to have a procedure manual covering these requirements.

Procedure manuals are used for staff induction, staff training and as sources of information for studying the way an organisation runs.


3.

4.

5.

An example in use would be a procedures manual used by an organisation for fire evacuation procedures.

List below five sets of activities that might be included in this type of Procedure manual

ACTIVITIES FOR BENEFIT AGENCY PROCEDURE MANUAL

1.

2.


Examine the activities noted in the table below.

Examine the list of Procedure Manuals also listed below.

Write beside each set of activities the manual in which they should be included. (Use the list of Procedure Manuals given.)

Procedure Manuals

Computer Installation Security Measures

Sales Techniques

Customer Liaison

Recruitment and Selection Procedures

Grievance Procedures

ACTIVITIES

Cold calling - introduction, services available, leaving the door open

Interview Techniques

Completion of the Sales contract

Equal opportunities policy

Backup procedures

Design of Job and person specifications

Care of the workstation

Faulty goods procedures

Complaints - completion of Credit Notes, refunding to credit cards

Design of Training Programmes

PROCEDURE MANUAL


Intranets

The Intranet was designed to overcome the security issues of the Internet and allow companies to publish their own web pages for internal use. The Intranet uses the same technology as the Internet (see section on Internet) – a web server for storing and distributing the multimedia documents in hypertext format and web browsers to convert the HTLM documents back into multimedia files.

Intranets are used to publish internal information such as:

• employee lists

• internal telephone numbers

• weekly bulletins

• company manuals

• corporate newsletters

• holiday arrangements

• health and safety documents

• internal job applications

• internal electronic mail.

In fact, any internal document could be published on a company’s Intranet.

If your school or college had its own Intranet, what kind of documents would you expect to be published on it?


There are many benefits to be gained by a company installing an Intranet. These include:

•

Cost savings - electronically published documents reduce paper and reproduction costs

•

Timing – changes made to electronic documents become immediately available to all users of the Intranet

•

Accuracy – having one central document that is accessible by everyone means that all users have the latest version of the document. This ensure consistency across the entire organisation.

The Intranet is normally part of a local area network that is not connected to the outside world (the Internet). Once the Intranet is joined onto the Internet extra security precautions have to be made in order to stop unwanted intrusions from the outside.

This usually takes the form of a “firewall”, a piece of software which filters out traffic coming from the Internet but allows internal traffic to pass out onto the Internet.

Desktop System Desktop System

NETWORK TRAFFIC TO

AND FROM WEB SERVER

AND INTERNET

SERVER

RUNNING

EMAIL, WEB

AND

FIREWALL

SOFTWARE

FIREWALL

ALLOWS

TRAFFIC FROM

INTRANET OUT

TO INTERNET

FIREWALL

BLOCKS ALL

ACCESS

FROM

INTERNET

EXCEPT

EMAIL

Modem

Desktop System Desktop System Desktop System

INTRANET

INTERNET

Case Study – Central College of Commerce Intranet

The traditional way of contacting students and disseminating information is to use notice boards spread around the college. Notice boards are used to display information such as timetables, results, forthcoming events, job advertisements and information regarding the courses. With so many courses within the computing section at the college the notice boards were becoming overcrowded and students were having difficulty trying to find information.


As all of the computers within the department were networked onto several Novell

NetWare 4 servers, a decision was taken to install the Novell web server on one of the servers and use this to publish the information normally kept on the student’s notice board.

Soon the department began to see further uses that could be made of the web server.

Course frameworks, unit and module descriptors, course materials and assessments are now being put onto the server reducing the amount of paper used by the department.

The students are seeing the benefits of Intranet technology. They can now get instant access to their results making them more aware of their course progress.


EXTERNAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

These sources can include:

• published documentation

• broadcast

• the Internet

Published Documentation

Any documentation relating to a subject area produced as a summary or detailed report by an agency outwith an organisation. This type of information is obtainable from for example - government agencies, private information providers

Examples of published documentation might be:

• census figures

• judgments on court cases

• legislation, for example the Data Protection Act

• trade journals

• professional publications

• industry standards

• telephone directories

• computer users’ yearbook

• gallup polls

• national opinion polls

• ordinance survey maps

• the Internet

The list could be endless, however, information provided can be used as:

• a research basis for adoption of policies within organisations

• background information for development of new procedures in organisations

• necessary information to formulate policies and plans for organisations

Information is available and transferable in a number of different forms/media. Trends are moving towards broadcast and digital information. In society today time is at a premium for organisations, their management and staff.


Broadcast

Television

Most homes in Britain have at least one television. Many of these televisions are equipped to receive teletext. The information contained in the teletext pages is integrated into the normal television signal.

The information comes in the form of pages of text with limited graphics. Each page has an associated page number that can be used to call up the page when needed.

Teletext has no search facilities. We cannot scan through the pages looking for keywords or phrases. Instead we use an index page to locate information. If we are looking for information on a specific topic such as today’s television listings for BBC1, we can key in the number of the index page on our television remote control. Once this page is displayed we can find the relevant page number of the programme listings and key that into the remote control. The pages of text usually have links to other relevant pages or to pages which contain a continuation of the first page (you can’t get a lot of detail onto a single page).

Teletext uses a simplex form of communication, that is, information flows in one direction only. Since a television set has no means of transmitting, it cannot request that the page be sent immediately. Instead the transmission of the pages cycles around. The hardware in the television waits for the specified page arriving. When the page arrives, a frame grabber holds the page in memory allowing it to be read. Some of the newer televisions have “SmartText” which store the next couple of pages as well as the one requested as we usually read the next page anyway. This speeds up the process of viewing consecutive pages.

There are several drawbacks to using teletext as a means of delivering information.

•

It is difficult to update pages in teletext. Unlike the Internet where almost anyone can put information onto the network for a relatively low cost, teletext companies like the BBC’s CEEFAX service have to create and update the pages information providers.

•

There are a limited number of pages available. If too many pages were in use it would take too long to cycle around to the page that you need. This would make the response time for teletext unacceptable.

•

The non-interactive nature of teletext means that customers cannot order your company’s products if you were using it to advertise. They would still have to rely on more traditional methods of ordering such as telephone and mail.

Despite its drawbacks in terms of speed of access and limited content, teletext is still a very popular method of delivering information to a wide audience.

Currently trials are underway both here and in the United States on interactive television. A simple handset similar to a television remote controller can be used to


send back information from the viewer to the television station. The user can take part in live voting sessions, order videos (video on demand) and even control the view that they see from live sports programmes. Traditional broadcast systems such as television transmitters and satellite systems cannot be easily used for this kind of technology.

There is no direct connection between the viewer and the television station. A communications network such as offered by the telephone and cable TV companies has to be employed. Cable television offers a cheap and easy solution as the complete network infrastructure required is already in place.

Take a look at a teletext television and answer the following questions.

a.

Do all television companies support teletext services?

b.

Who are the main teletext providers?

c.

Is the information on all the teletext services the same? If not, why do you think this is?


Video Conferencing

Research in the United States found that 75% of the time allocated for meetings was spent travelling to and from these meetings. Video conferencing was developed to allow large corporations to hold meeting using video broadcasts. Instead of travelling long distances to attend a meeting that may only last a few hours, attendees could join in on the main meeting via a satellite link.

Originally video conferencing was a tool available only to large corporation due to the large costs involved. Each end of the link has to have the equivalent of a television studio with a transmitter capable of satellite communications. Over and above this cost was the cost of the satellite uplink itself (this can cost several thousands of pounds per hour).

With advances in technology, especially video compression techniques, video conferencing can be now done over the public telephone network. The relatively low cost of the hardware and software has made this technology more available. It is even possible to videoconference with up to 4 other people using the telephone network.

Suggest two uses that you could make of video conferencing in your school or college?


Multicasting

The latest technology to be used on the Internet is multicasting. Presently we usually send a data stream such as audio and video combined to a single user (unicasting).

Multicasting gives us the ability to employ video conferencing on the Internet. If we want to send this same stream to say 1000 users we have to send the same stream

1000 times choking the already overloaded Internet. With multicasting we can send a single broadcast across the Internet to reach multiple users simultaneously. The system uses a series of smart or intelligent routers. Routers are devices used by networks to channel data around the network. A vendor sends out only one copy of the information. The routers duplicate the information and pass it on to where it is needed.

Some big companies such as Smith Barney and BankBoston are using multicasts for sending live video and financial information to users across the Internet.

Can you think of any home uses for multicasting?


Electronic Data interchange (EDI)

Electronic Data Interchange or EDI allows computers to exchange business documents in a digital form. The data from an application such as a purchase order system can be transmitted to a supplier without the need for generating paper documents and using traditional communication means such as post or fax.

The data to be exchanged is converted into EDI format by a program known as an

EDI Enabler. The translated data can then be transmitted to the recipient via a network such as the telephone network. At the recipient’s end the data is converted back into a form useable by their application. The EDI Enabler software converts the data from the application into a standard EDI format and from EDI format back into a form useable by the application. Since the EDI Enabler is written specifically for each end of the link, the applications need not be the same, indeed the computers and operating systems at each end may be different.

There are several standards for EDI. In order to exchange business documents, both the sender and receiver must both agree to use the same standard. Once the standard has been agreed, the business documents such as purchase orders, invoices and shipping details are converted into EDI format by a process known as construction.

The EDI data is then transmitted via a point-to-point link, such as a leased line or

ISDN telephone connection, or over a network such as the Internet.

There are many benefits of EDI.

•

Reduced costs – no paper or postage bills

•

Time saved – no retyping of data

•

Improved accuracy – elimination of retyping reduces the number of errors

•

Improved response times – transactions can be made immediately

•

End-to-end audit trails – allows more tracking of goods in transit


EDI Case Study – Thomas Tunnock Ltd. Glasgow

Thomas Tunnock Ltd. was established in 1890. The company has an annual turnover of around £30M, has customers in over 30 countries and employs over 700 people. It has over 1000 customers and produces a range of over 300 products.

Until recently the company had little or no computing to aid administration. In 1990 the company changed all this by implementing a total financial, sales, production and materials management system. Not long after that customers began asking about EDI as a means of ordering products. Tunnock commissioned Kewill-Xetal, a computer company in the Kewill Systems PLC group to help them integrate EDI into their business.

Joe Hailey of Tunnock said “ We did not want to re-key the orders; that would defeat the object as one of the major benefits is automatic collection of data. The more information we could automatically gain, the greater the benefits. The Tunnock database could be updated automatically and management information produced as an automatic bi-product .”

Kewill developed the interface between the main business system and the EDI software. Tunnock now trades electronically with ASDA, TESCO, SAINSBURY,

ICELAND, SAFEWAY, and CWS with other companies coming on stream.

“ The benefits are enormous ” says Joe Hailey, “ the orders come in electronically and are fed directly to the Sales Order Processing System without re-entry of data through a keyboard. The details are processed and packing lists produced within minutes or receiving the order. The goods are picked, packed and ready for dispatch to the customer and can be on the shelves within hours, thus ensuring quality service, quality merchandise and customer satisfaction. Our sales manager can have sales statistics produced from the same data, production can be more accurately forecast, dispatch notes, goods received notes and invoices are produced automatically all from electronic data interchange without any keyboard entry. This process has also led to reduction in errors, quicker deliveries, less disputes with customers and therefore prompter payments ”.

Is your school or college using Electronic Data Interchange at present? If yes, what are they using it for?


Internet

The Internet began in the late 1960s when the Defense Advanced Research Project

Agency (DAPRA) began connecting different military installations and research sites together in order to collaborate on research and development efforts.

This very quickly ran into a problem – different institutions had different types of computers and used different communications systems. What they lacked was interoperability , the ability to communicate and work with other computer systems.

To solve this problem a common set of communication protocols called TCP/IP

(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) was developed and is still in use today. Communication protocols are sets of rules that define how information is passed between computers. If two or more users agree to use the same set of these rules then they can form a network and communicate freely with each other.

In 1969 the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the University of California

Barbara (UCSB), the University of Utah and SRI International connected themselves together using this protocol. They called themselves the Advanced Research Projects

Agency (ARPA) and the network was known as ARPAnet. The success of the new protocol persuaded many other academic and research establishments to join

ARPAnet. By the 1980s most major universities, the military network (MILLNET) and research centers had joined the network. When commercial concerns started using the network and it no longer became the domain of the academic world, its name was changed to the Internet.

Initially the Internet was used to:

• log into remote computers using the Telnet protocol

• send electronic mail using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

• transfer files using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

By the late 1980s the traditional protocols were no longer sufficient to cover the needs of the Internet community. The new multimedia documents could not be transported across the Internet. A new protocol had to be devised to achieve this.

In 1989 a research scientist at the European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN) called Tim Burners-Lea developed a protocol called the HyperText Transfer Protocol

(HTTP). This protocol allowed documents containing multimedia elements such as text, picture, sound, animation and hypertext links to be transmitted across the

Internet. This was the birth of the World Wide Web.

The use of hypertext links allows the user to navigate around inside large or multi paged documents and to fetch other documents from the same or different servers on the Internet.


The standard for creating these hypertext files is called the Hypertext Markup

Language or HTML. Using this standard, files can be transferred to other, different types of computers. The receiving computer requires a piece of software called a web browser that will take the HTML file and convert it back into text, graphics, sound and hypertext links.

There are many such browsers available today. The most popular at the time of going to print are Netscape’s Navigator and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. These have risen to prominence due to the “browser wars” which are raging today. This is a testament to the commercial value of the Internet. There are browsers available for most popular operating systems such as Windows, Unix, NT, DOS, and Apple’s Macintosh OS.

Data transferred using HTTP protocol

Web

Page on

Server

Disk

Web

Server

Navigating Using Hypertext Links

The Internet

Data transferred using HTTP protocol

Running

Web Broswer

HTML documents contain multimedia elements such as text, graphics, sound, video and animation. They also include hypertext links. These links, when the user clicks the mouse button on them on the screen, cause other HTML documents or files to be loaded. The link usually looks like a part of the hypertext document and can be a graphic or text describing to where and what the link is connected. Underneath the onscreen link, in HyperText Markup Language, is the actual address, more properly called the universal resource location (URL). The URL is made up of two parts. The first part describes the type of protocol required to transfer the information, and the second part is the location of the file itself. The following examples show the most popular protocols in use today. They all assume that there is site on the Internet called www.mysite.com.

ftp://www.mysite.com/upgrades/version5.exe

transfer a file called version5.exe

using the file transfer protocol http://www.mysite.com/next.html

fetch the HTML document called

“next.html” mailto://admin @ www.mysite.com

sends an email to user admin

Most web browsers keep track of which documents you have viewed in a history list.

You can select documents from this list to enable you to backtrack and try a different route when you are searching for information. The browser program usually has buttons that allows you to quickly navigate forwards and backwards through this list.


To speed up navigating forwards and backwards through documents that have previously been downloaded across the Internet, the browser stores these recently downloaded pages on the local machine (your PC). This is called caching . It is far quicker to read the files from your local disk than it is to transfer them again from a web server on the other side of the world.

A

B C D

E F G H

Suppose a web server had its documents and links arranged as shown in the diagram.

We started our search for information in document A and we used one of its links to find document C. From C we moved onto document F but found that the information contained in F was not what we were looking for. We had gone down the wrong path.

We could use the history list or the browser’s back button to return to document C and try another route, possibly to document E or G.

As a document can contain links to many other documents, the structure of the pages on a web server can become very complex. Deleting a page from the web server may result in broken hypertext links or pages that become unreachable. In the previous example, if the administrator of the web server deleted document C there would be no link to document F, it would be unreachable, and the link from D to C would be broken. Careful management of the web server is required to ensure that links are not broken and documents do not become separated. There are tools available that will help the web administrator manage and check the web site.

Because of the vast size of the Internet and the ability for almost anyone to become a web publisher, the accuracy and timeliness of the information published may be questionable. We cannot assume because a web page is published on the Internet that all the copyright laws have been adhered to. Indeed, the very international nature of the

Internet makes copyright a serious issue. What is considered copyright in one country may not apply in another. The onus is on the user of the information to ensure that they are abiding by the law.

Good web page design dictates that web pages should not be of any great length. If the page is too long it may contain information that is overlooked. Long pages may also result in a significant delay in receiving the pages from the web server making viewing and reading a tedious chore. Web pages should be short and to the point. If there is too much information to be displayed on one page then that page should be


broken down into several smaller pages with links to maintain the continuity of the information.

The Internet is growing at an exponential rate and consequently the network infrastructure that was put in place several decades ago cannot cope with the stress of the traffic attempting to flow around it. At times the Internet visibly slows down. This usually occurs around 2.00 p.m. in this country which is when the West Coast of

America, where the majority of the Internet users live, wakes up. As a result of this we cannot guarantee the time it takes to send or receive information on the Internet.

Due to the openness of the Internet it is not a good place for storing confidential or sensitive information. Web sites that are protected by passwords and other security measures become magnets to network hackers whose only aim in life is to break into these sites. To overcome this problem and to enable companies to use web server technology to publish their own internal documents the Intranet was developed.


SUMMARY

After completion of the work in this section you should be able to:

• identify information sources and be able to describe and classify each as internal or external.

• describe the media on which information is available; paper, broadcast or digital.

• use examples of information and describe the characteristics of each.


SECTION 3- INVESTIGATE THE ORGANISATION OF CONTEMPORARY

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

This section of notes and activities will help you:

• correctly describe the characteristics of the information system

• correctly describe the technical components of a system

• correctly describe the applications of an information system

• correctly describe the navigation and searching facilities

• correctly describe the structure of an information system

• carry out the investigation efficiently and outline the effective use of a system.


TECHNICAL COMPONENTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

NETWORKS

A network is defined as

“ an interconnected collection of autonomous computers ”

Andrew S Tanenbaum

Computers are considered to be interconnected if they are capable of exchanging information. “Autonomous” in this sense means that no computer on the network can start, stop or control another.

Networks can be broken down into two basic types:

•

Local Area Network

•

Wide Area Network

Before we look at ways of implementing networks we should consider the benefits of installing a network within an organisation or company.

Why do Organisations Use Networks?

Device Sharing

Devices like printers can be connected to a network and be accessed by all network users. This cuts down on the need to have large, expensive printers on each person’s desk saving on purchase costs, office space and maintenance costs.

Sharing devices is not limited to printers. Almost any device can be attached onto a network and shared by users. These include: faxes, modems, plotters, CD-ROMs, scanners etc. Not everyone logged onto the network has access to these devices. The

Network Operating System (NOS), through the use of access controls, can prevent unauthorised users from using these devices. The network administrator whose role is to manage the network and its resources normally sets up the access controls.

Software Sharing

Instead of everyone having a copy of applications software on his or her local workstations, the software can be stored centrally on the network. As with devices, access controls limit who can use this software. The advantages of using software sharing are as follows:

• upgrades to software can be quickly implemented. Only one copy of the software needs to be changed before all users have access to the updates. Contrast this with the situation where a technician has to upgrade the software on each machine in the organisation.


• reduced costs. Suppose we have an application that is run by everyone in the organisation and there are 100 computers in the organisation. Further suppose that this application is not to be run all the time. In fact, there are no more than 40 users running this application at any one time. Without software sharing and a network we would have to purchase 100 copies of the software. Putting the software onto the network means that we can purchase a license to cover the maximum number of concurrent users reducing the cost of the software by 60%. In order to comply with the software license agreement we need to include some form of software metering which will monitor the number of concurrent copies of the software running and prevent the license count being exceeded.

• standardisation. Since all users on the network are sharing the same applications software it means that compatibility of data files is ensured across the organisation.

If every user is using the same spreadsheet program there should be no problem with users swapping data files. Using different software, or even different version of the same software, can result in data files that are incompatible. The data files have to be translated before they can be used. This sometimes results in loss of information.

Data Sharing

As well as sharing program files, data files can be shared by users on the network.

Word processing documents, spreadsheets, database tables etc. can be accessed by authorised users. The benefits of data sharing include the following:

• all users have access to the latest version of the data file;

• standardisation. Sharing templates for word processing documents and spreadsheets means that it is easier to impose a corporate style for all printed documents.

The downside of data sharing is that we need an operating system capable of handling multiple users attempting to update a document simultaneously. Suppose two users opened the same document at the same time. The first person to finish editing the document will save his/her changes in the new file. When the second user is finished with the document that they are working on, the changes made by the first user will be overwritten when the second user saves the amended file. In order to stop this from happening the network operating system will put a lock onto the file after the first person has opened it for editing. Anyone else trying to access the file will only be able to view the original file and be prevented from making any changes to it. Once the first user has finished editing the file, the operating system will automatically remove the lock allowing others to edit it now.


Communication

Connecting workstations to a network not only gives us the ability to share data and software, we can also communicate with other network users using the network. The growth of email over the past five years is a direct result of computers being linked to networks and networks internetworked together. Now messages can be sent not only to other users within the organisation but across the world. Customers can now communicate directly and quickly with your organisation.

Types of Network Server Architecture

Application Server

With an application server, the application (database management system, spreadsheet, word processor etc.) and all the data required by the application reside on the server.

When a user wants access to this data the appropriate application is run on the server and the data extracted. All that the user requires on his/her desktop is a “dumb” terminal capable of sending keystrokes to the server and receiving screen updates from the server. All the processing takes place on the server. The advantage of this architecture is that the user requires a simple terminal. In a network with many users this can amount to a large saving in hardware costs. The downside to this architecture is that the server requires a lot of power in terms of processor and memory requirements.


File/Server

In this type of architecture applications programs and data reside on the file server as before. When a user wants to access the data, the application required to process the data and the data are transferred across the network to the user’s workstations. From here the application is run and the data extracted. If changes are made to the data then they must be written back to the server when the application finishes.

This type of architecture does not require a powerful processor on the server as little or no processing takes place on the server. Instead, the power required to process the data is transferred to the workstation. For small organisations this setup is adequate for their data processing requirements. This system stops being cost effective when many workstations are required.

One of the main drawbacks to the File/Server architecture is that other users cannot use the data whilst it is being processed by a user. If more than one copy of the data was in use it would quickly get out-of-date as users applied changes then saved the data back to the server overwriting the recent changes made by other users.


Client-Server

This architecture is a hybrid of the application server and the file/server architecture.

Here servers dedicated to special functions such as database management or communications are placed in the network. The client, a computer on the network, sends a message to the servers requesting a service. The appropriate server picks up this message and the resulting data is transferred back to the client across the network

– for example, a database query from a client to extract order information from the orders and parts table to make up an invoice. The client would possibly use SQL the standard query language to form the message to be sent. The SQL message would look like this:

SELECT PARTNO, QTY, UNITPRICE, DESCRIPTION FROM

ORDERS, PARTS WHERE ORDERNO = “1234”

The database server would pick up this message. It would translate the message into a request to extract the data from the database.

3125, 1, 52.60, Motherboard

1826, 4, 23.50, 16 Mbyte SIMMs

4180, 1, 286.00, Quantum Fireball 4.3 Gbyte Disk

The extracted, raw data is then sent back across the network to the client workstation.

Here, the raw data would be formatted into the invoice.

The client-server architecture splits the processing between the server and the client’s workstation. The server gathers the data required by the client and passes this data back where further processing is performed on the data to turn it into meaningful information.

SQL QUERY

RAW, UNFORMATTED DATA

TRANSLATED

MESSAGE

EXTRACTED

DATA

DATABASE

SERVER

CLIENT

INVOICE

1 Motherboard 52.60

4 16 Mbyte SIMM 73.60

1 Quantum Drive 160.00

TOTAL 286.20


LOCAL AREA NETWORKS

With the number of computers used for information processing increasing daily, the local area network has become an important part of any information system.

A local area network is usually confined to a single building or campus. In a local area network all the workstations and servers (nodes) are directly connected to each other using a common cabling system. Once the network exceeds the physical limits imposed by the wiring system (usually around 10 kilometres) it becomes a wide area network.

Local Area Networks Topologies

The geometrical arrangement of the wiring schemes used in local area networks is called the topology. Devices like workstations, routers, printers etc. connected to the network are called nodes. There are three main topologies:

•

Star

•

Bus

•

Ring

Star Topology

In the star topology one node acts as a switching circuit accepting a message from a sender and forwarding it on to the destination node. All the complexity of this type of topology lies in the central switching node.

The star topology is very popular in mainframe and mini computer systems where the central processing unit acts as the central switch.

Advantages of the Star Topology

•

It makes for shorter paths between any two nodes with a maximum of 2 links to cross.

•

As all the network messages must flow through the central switch, it simplifies the tasks of monitoring and auditing the network.

•

Fault finding is a relatively simple task. Since there is a one-to-one relationship between a node and the switch, any cable faults can be quickly found.

•

Simple access protocols. Since only one node is connected to the switch by each cable, we do not need the sophisticated protocols that other topologies require where many users are contending to use the same network cable.


•

Easy expansion. To add another node to the network simply plug that node into the central switch and configure the switch to recognise the new node (see disadvantages below).

STAR TOPOLOGY

Disadvantages of the Star Topology

•

Routing all the messages through a central switch introduces a single point of failure to your network. If the central switch fails we effectively lose the network.

•

As each node has a single connection to the central switch we require many cables to make up the star network.

•

Although we said earlier that it was simple to expand the network, it can also be very costly to achieve the same result. If we run out of ports on the central switch we have to install a second switch or replace the existing switch with one which supports a greater number of ports.

•

Greater initial costs. When installing a star network we have to purchase the switching hardware that will be required for the final size of the network.

Central switching units like hubs are now becoming very sophisticated and reliable making the star layout a popular choice for today’s local area networks.


Bus Topology

The bus layout consists of a single cable to which nodes are attached. Signals sent out by the host are distributed in both directions along the cable making them instantly available to all nodes on the network. Ethernet is an example of the bus topology.

Advantages of the Bus Topology

•

Simple wiring layout since there is only one cable connecting all nodes.

•

Easy to extend. Additional nodes can be connected to an existing network at any point along its length. The signal get weaker as it passes along the cable. This is called attenuation. This attenuation factor puts a physical limit on the length of the cable (around 100 metres). A repeater can be used to add another cable segment to the network and boost the signal if the length of the cable exceeds the physical limit.

CABLE

SEGMENT 1

Repeater

CABLE

SEGMENT 2

Disadvantages of the Bus Topology

•

Fault diagnosis is difficult. Unlike the star layout where each node has its own cable, each node on the bus shares a common network cable. This makes tracing cable faults difficult.


•

Faults in the network cable will stop all traffic along the cable segment where the fault occurs.

•

More sophisticated protocols are required to handle many users wishing to send messages on the single cable.

•

More sophisticated hardware is required on each node to handle multiple access to the network.

•

As there is no single point on the network where all the traffic flows through as there is in the star topology, monitoring and auditing the network becomes more complicated.

The Ring Topology

In the ring layout each node is connected to its two neighbouring nodes. Data is sent around the ring in one direction only. Each node passes the data onto the next one in the ring. When the data returns back to the originator it is removed from the network.

It is important to note that each node reads the data and resends it onto the next node.

In this way the signal is amplified or boosted. Thus the ring network does not suffer from the attenuation problem which affects the bus topology.


Advantages of the Ring

•

Suitable for fibre optic cables. Since the data travels around the network in one direction only this topology is ideally suited for fibre optics where the light is used as the medium for carrying the signal. This makes high transmission speeds possible.

•

The boosting of the signal at each node eliminates the attenuation problems experienced in bus networks.

Disadvantages of the Ring

•

Node failure will cause network failure as each node relies on the previous node for its data. The faulty node will have to be taken out of the ring or bypassed before traffic can flow around the ring again.

•

Difficult to diagnose faults. Since failure of any node causes network failure it is difficult to determine where on the network the failure has occurred.

•

Extension of the network is impossible without bring the rest of the network down.

Unlike the bus or star topologies, the ring cannot be extended without breaking the ring. Additions to the ring can only be made when there are no users using the network.

Hybrid Topology

The three main topologies can be combined into a hybrid format to gain the best characteristics of each topology. For example, it is quite common to have a bus backbone with hubs feeding star networks.

STAR

NETWORK

Hub

STAR

NETWORK

Hub BUS

BACKBONE

SERVER

WIDE AREA NETWORKS

SERVER


HYBRID NETWORK

66

Wide area networks can be broken down into two main categories:

•

Enterprise Networks – connects local area networks of a single organisation or company. For example, large corporations like General Motors which have many site located around the world.

•

Global Networks – a network that spans the globe linking networks from different organisations. The classic example of a global network is the Internet that links academic institutions, government department and industry and commerce.

Wide area networks use existing networks to communicate. An example of an existing network would the telephone network supplied by a telecommunications provider such as British Telecom, AT&T, Atlantic Telecom or Mercury.

X.25 Wide Area Netork

Moscow

Helsinki

London

Paris

Warsaw

Rome

Madrid

If a lot of information is being passed around from site to site then dedicated leased lines are usually used. These lines are expensive but they are better quality than the standard telephone connections and give a greater data transfer rate. Where small amounts of information are being passed, the leased line is not cost effective. A better


solution is to use the normal telephone network to dial and connect when information needs to be passed. In this way the company is only paying for the actual time connected.

The new digital network ISDN (Integrated Standard Digital Network) can connect very rapidly, pass the information at 64 kilobits per second and then disconnect. This is called “ISDN Spoofing” and greatly reduces the cost of connection as you are only paying for actual time the data is being transmitted.

Where wide area networks cross international boundaries, great care must be taken to ensure that telecommunications carriers in other countries with a different telecommunications system can pass on the information sent to them. To ensure this compatibility the international committee on telecommunications, the Consultative

Committee on International Telephone and Telegraph (CCITT) devised a standard called X.25. X.25 defines the interface between the host, called a Data Terminal

Equipment (DTE) and the carrier’s equipment, called a Data Carrier Equipment

(DCE). As long as all telecommunications carriers abide by this standard, wide area networks can span the globe.

Wide area networks are used in many situations:

•

Banks - use wide area networks to connect branches to the head office and to connect automatic teller machines to a central computer.

•

Credit card sales – electronic cash registers are used to send credit card details to computers which can verify the credit card is not stolen and that sufficient credit is available in that account to pay for the transaction.

•

Airline reservations – ticket offices in airports and travel agencies are linked to computers that hold details of flight details and availability of seats.

Can you think of any other areas where wide area networks are used to connect terminals to central computers?


Hardware Used in Wide Area Networks

The public telephone networks were initially design to carry speech. Speech consists of sounds at different frequencies and different levels. Signals that contain different levels and frequencies are called analogue signals. Signals used by computers are binary, they are either on or off. The two are incompatible. In order to connect to external networks, the data that passes around the internal network in binary format has to be converted to an analogue signal so that it can be carried on the public networks.

In order to create wide area networks extra hardware is required.

Modem

A modem (MODualtor/DEModualtor) is a device for taking binary data (digital signals) used by computers and converting them into a form that can be sent over normal telecommunication links (analogue signals). This process is known as modulation. It is also capable of taking the analogue signals and converting it back into binary data - demodulation.

Because of the physical limitations of analogue telephone lines which were designed to carry speech and not computer data, the maximum reliable data transmission rate that can be sent over a telephone line is 9600 baud (bits per second). With clever encoding techniques this transmission rate can be increase to 56K baud.

Binary Data Analogue Signal Binary Data

Modem

Modulation

Communications link

Modem

Demodulation

Multiplexer

A multiplexer is a device that allows a single communications channel to be shared by many devices. For instance, a single telephone line may be connected to several modems. This reduces the number of telecommunication lines needed. The multiplexer has equal input and output rates. If four devices are connected via a multiplexer to a single communications line, the devices will operate at one quarter of the multiplexer’s input speed.


9600 bps

Modem 1

9600 bps

38,400 bps

Modem 2

Multiplexer 9600 bps

Modem 3

9600 bps

Modem 4

Concentrator

The concentrator is a device similar to the multiplexer but with one main difference. In a multiplexer, it is assumed that all devices require access to the shared communications channel at all times and hence the output from the multiplexer is divided equally between each channel. The concentrator on the other hand allows a device to use the full input speed if no other devices are using the communications channel.

Comparison between Local Area Networks and Wide Area Networks

A local area network can be distinguished from a wide area network in several respects:

•

The physical distance between nodes is limited. Because of the limitations of cabling technology the maximum distance a LAN can cover is approximately 10 kilometers.

There is no limit on the distances a wide area network may span.

•

The maximum data transmission speed in a wide area network is approximately 1 megabit per second. Local area networks usually work between 8 and 100 megabits per second. This figure can be improved further with the use of fibre optic cables.

•

Errors in transmissions are significantly lower in local area networks.

•

Local area networks are usually confined to a building or campus. Wide area networks can span entire continents.


INVESTIGATION

In this section we are going to investigate an actual information system. We will look at the hardware and software required in obtaining the information and at the characteristics of the information.

A question that is frequently asked is “What was the name of the character X played in the film Y?” For example, “Who did Michael J Fox play in Mars Attacks?” To find out the answer to this question we will be looking in the Internet Movie Database, a large collection of facts and figures about films.

Hardware

To connect onto the Internet, we will require a personal computer with a modem attached. We can use Apple Macintosh, IBM PC compatible, Amiga, Archimedes or just about any other personal computer. Since most web pages include a large amount of graphics, a fast modem is required. These range from 28,800 Baud to the newer

56,000-Baud modems.

Communications

In order to use the Internet, we will need a connection to it. Internet Service Providers such as RM Net, BT Internet, American On-line and CompuServe will supply us with a connection for a charge. They will provide us with a local telephone number that is connected to a bank of modems. These modems are connected to routers that pass the information to and from the Internet.

Software

Apart from the operating system for the personal computer, we will require a web browser that is compatible with the PC’s operating system. The most common browsers in use at the time of writing are Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape’s

Navigator.

Finding the Information

After connecting to your Internet Service Provider and starting your web browser, you have to type in the URL (uniform resource location), the Internet address of the web page you require. Remember that the URL is made up of two parts: a) the protocol used to send the information and b) the address of the web server and file name.

The URL of the Internet Movie Database is http://www .imdb.com

.

Notice in this case that we only gave the network address in the URL. If we do not specify a filename, the web server will send the default or index page.

The web browser takes our request for a page and converts it into a Hyper Text

Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request. HTTP is the protocol used on the Internet to send and receive HTML pages.


As you can see from the above figure, the hypertext links are underlined and in a different colour from the rest of the text. Moving the mouse pointer over one of the links and clicking the left button will instruct the web server send the page to which the link is pointing.

Since we are searching for information, we will click on the “SEARCH” link. The web server will send us a page containing a form that we can use for our query.

We can search for information based in several criteria:

• By title of film/movie

• By cast/crew

• By character name

• By quote

The form also allows us to restrict the search by allowing us to add a sub-query to the search. For example, when searching by title we can restrict the search to either movies or television series. This should speed up the search and give us a more concise answer.

In the movie title field on the form we will type in “Mars Attacks”. It does not matter whether we type in the film name in upper, lower or a mixture of cases. The search engine will convert all requests into upper case. Information in a database is usually stored in upper case characters. This reduces the number of possible mismatches when performing a search. For example, even a common name like John Smith has many


permutations if are allowed to mix the case of the letters. We could have John Smith,

John SMITH, JOHN SMITH and so on.

The computer does not understand the information it is processing. It can only handle numbers. Each letter has a unique numerical code. When searching for a match, the computer compares the numerical value of the letters in the search string against the numerical value of the letters that makes up the data in the database. If they do not match exactly then the computer will declare them to be a mismatch. For example, it will see a letter “A” as having a value of 65 and the letter “a” as 97.

To speed up the search we will click on the “Movies” radio button to restrict our search to movie films only.

When we fill out the form and click on the “Search” button, the web browser will: take the information we typed onto the form, our query; convert it into a form used by the web server; and send this request off to the web server as a HTTP request.

If you look in the “Location” box on the browser you will see the request that is sent off to the web server. In this case the URL is: http://us.imdb.com/M/title-substring?title=mars+attacks&tv=movies

The web server will break apart the URL into three components: us.imdb.com

– the name of the web server


/M/title-substring – the location of the file on the server title=mars+attacks&tv=off – the data from the form. On the form we filled out two fields. The first, called “title” contains the name of the movie – “mars attacks”. Notice how we cannot send a space in a URL. The web browser converts the space to a ‘+’ character. The web server software at the other end will convert the ‘+’ back into a space. The second field, separated from the first by the ’&’ character is a radio button called “tv” that has the TV series value set to off.

When the HTTP request is received at the web server end, a CGI program (Common

Gateway Interface) will extract the query data from the third part of the URL and use this to search the database. The data found is converted into HTML code by the program and returned to our web browser so that it can display the search results.

In this case the search revealed two matches, “Mars Attacks! (1996)” and “Mars

Attacks the World (1938)”. Both of these matches are hypertext links to further information in the database. Since we have not yet found what we are looking for

(“What part did Michael J Fox play in Mars Attacks”) we have to search further.

Clicking on the “MarsAttacks! (1996)” link takes us to the page where we can finally get the information we are looking for (plus a lot more beside).

Michael J Fox played Jason Stone in the film.


We saw in section 2 that we have to examine the characteristics of any information we receive in order to determine whether it is of any value to us. The following table lists the characteristics of the information we just retrieved:

Characteristic

Timeliness

Accessibility

Cost

Legality

Completeness

Result

Yes, the information is available now

It was reasonably easy to navigate our way to the information. We could repeat the exercise without too much effort

It did not take long to search for this information so the connection cost was minimal

The information was legally obtained. We did not hack into a computer to get the information. It was retrieved from a recognised public access source

We found all of the information for which we were looking


Conciseness

Accuracy

Appropriateness

Structure

Presentation

The information was concise. We did not have to read through a long description of the parts each actor played.

The part played was opposite the actor’s name in a simple list.

The information was accurate

The information found was relevant to our query on the part played by Michael J Fox in the movie

The information was displayed in a page in a simple list making it easy to read

The information was laid out in a well presented web page

Exercise

There are many information systems in schools, colleges, libraries, businesses and industry. There are also many more areas of the WWW to explore. You have to choose an information system to investigate. Organise you investigation and report writing under the following headings and sub-headings:

• hardware

− workstations

− networks

− topology

− server architecture

• software

• communications

− type of communication link

− speed of communication link

• information

− applications

− searching and navigation

− structure

− timeliness

− accessibility

− cost

− legality

− completeness

− conciseness

− accuracy

− appropriateness

− structure

− presentation


SECTION 4 - EXPLAIN THE SOCIAL, ETHICAL AND LEGAL

IMPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

This section of notes and activities will help you explain accurately:

• the social implications of information technology

• the ethical implications of information technology

• the legal requirements relating to information technology

• the extent and limitations of current legislation

Throughout this section there will be areas for you to discuss either in small groups of

2 - 4 or as larger class groups. You could even arrange a debate on some of the issues covered.

‘The age of information technology - IT as we call it here - has arrived. I know of no other technological advantage which has brought together so many area of rapid and exciting development. Computers and telecommunications are converging very rapidly, huge investments are being made, and the impact of information technology will be felt at every level in our society; in industry, in commerce, in our offices and our homes.’

Kenneth Baker 1982

Social implications of Information Technology

What impact has information technology had on society?

Like Alice in Wonderland - we have to run faster and faster in order to keep up with ourselves.

Information Technology is increasingly widely used and its use continues to widen at an almost alarming rate. Miniaturisation and technological advances leading to faster more efficient processors means that the time taken to process information has lessened and the amount which can be handled has increased.


What of those who handle information?

Organisational theorists and writers of today indicate that industrialisation is decreasing whilst the sector of the workforce handling information (information workers - those who spend their work time immersed in information handling) is steadily increasing. Alongside these technological and communications advances is telecommuting, that is home information workers (a cottage industry). The telecommuter works at home by using telecommunications rather than travelling to a workplace. The time and effort involved in travelling to and from work is eliminated leaving the worker to schedule work activities around home requirements and family timetables.

Is society moving towards the inclusion of an information sector? Is the ‘paperless society’ being brought about by the advancements in technology and communications?

Could it be that technological advancements will ultimately change the whole structure of the workforce?

There is a potential reduction in job availability. Previously labour intensive procedures have become automated; from factories to service industries the nature of the workforce is changing. Labour saving electronic data processing is increasing in use, reducing the manpower requirements by many organisations. It may be possible that, while existing organisational roles will be eliminated, there will be a corresponding expansion in information-based jobs.

If you examine the role of information technology in the early 1970s and early 1980s you will find the role of network administrator does not exist. Help-desk personnel are relatively few in numbers. Programmer analysts are just starting to emerge. The changes are numerous in jobs directly related to computing and the probability is that in the very near future there will be information handling jobs which have not been heard of yet.

Organisations are recognising the change in the workforce makeup. Staff are now being employed on a more flexible basis. Through flexi-time for information handlers, many organisations are encouraging telecommuter working. After all, when does the computer rest? It can be used as a resource at any hour of the day or night - it never tires. The organisation gains by encouraging alternative employment modes.

Additionally international trade must benefit as time differences almost cease to matter.

What effect do these trends towards a more diverse workforce have on society apart form changing the location of the workbase? What of family life? Will it change accordingly? There could be advantages - the telecommuter is available as a support to the family, being present in the home during ‘working hours’. Children can benefit by the parent(s) being present during formative years. Education of children can be enhanced as ‘work resources’ in the form of equipment used can also be used to increase breadth of learning. Less time is ‘wasted’ by pointless travel.

Communications and meetings can be easily arranged and take place given the appropriate equipment from the home base.


What is the other side of the coin?

These developments may bring about insular family units that centre on the home environment - work, education, social contact. Would this kind of development in working practices lead to alienation, a loss of social skills and the creation of closed communities? Has this already started - are there family units where social skills have been reduced by many hours being spent communing with computers whether for business or pleasure instead of communing with people? What of those who have little or no access to computer equipment for work or pleasure activity. Will this lead to yet another type of social deprivation in the forming of groups of ‘information rich’ and

‘information poor’?

Can predictions be made on the basis of current trends or will there be further technological advances in this areas? Take for example virtual reality; will this give us a new dimension in which to work and play?

Research into current evidence and trends and discussion are the only way to reach any conclusions regarding the social impact of Information Technology.

Areas for Research and Discussion

Consider

What percentage of the working population requires information technology skills in their work environment?

To assist you - research into the information technology content in education courses for different areas of work or professions. Find information regarding purchase of information technology equipment by organisations.

Discuss

The computer is as common as the television in homes today, and access to the

Internet is fast becoming the research and communication mechanism for people.


Ethical implications of Information Technology

This is considering the way that Information Technology is used including:

• on-line conduct – netiquette

• censorship

• uses/privacy of information

There is a whole host of information available on the Internet regarding the ethics of its use, including articles about ethics. There is also socially unacceptable material in many forms on Internet sites and you should consider the ease of access to such materials.

The Internet is almost impossible to regulate: it spans international borders. Users having access to the appropriate services and the correct equipment can gain access to anything available; so too can contributors. Greater consideration has to be given to the ethics involved in its contents and uses as the Internet grows.

Netiquette

This is a user’s guide to the polite way to conduct yourself when using the

Internet or an Intranet. It comes in the form of advice on overall conduct,

e-mail usage and newsgroup usage.

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 Information Technology.

•

Use accurate details when referring to other Internet resources or sites.

•

Ensure that you are not wasteful of others resources when sending e-mails 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.

Users of the Internet or Intranets, if they intend to be frequent users, should ensure that they adhere to the rules of polite conduct. For example, did you know that all capital letters in an e-mail message is considered the same as SHOUTING at a person?


Censorship

There is already current legislation to deal with unacceptable material, whether written or visual, as far as censorship is concerned. Control of what is ‘shown’ in 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 in varying degrees of unacceptability dependent on perception. For example, you may have arachnophobia and find a web site 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 very clear from the summary or titles what the contents of these sites should include. If you visited these sites that would be deemed to be a deliberate action and you would be accountable for using the information you viewed. Sometimes the description of the site bears no resemblance to the actual contents, in which case you could plead ignorance.

Another consideration is the use of unsolicited e-mail. This is becoming a major problem on the Internet 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-mail to anyone they wish?

Regulating the content of the Internet

Conscious access should have been made before ‘offensive’ or ‘unacceptable’ material is displayed. If there is concern that users of computer equipment in organisations will access this type of information, software can be installed which will monitor what accesses are made 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 available 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.



Consider:

‘1984’ - George Orwell’s book on a society where information is not freely available to the public. The information, which is available, is filtered and tailored to the point where actual fact disappears.

Discuss:

More than a decade on from George Orwell’s 1984, how freely is information available to members of society. Should there be restrictions on information available and who has access to it?

Discuss:

Many have striven throughout history to attain freedom of speech. Would control of the content on the Internet cause us to lose a privilege for which many have fought?

Is there freedom of speech anywhere, or do we always have to monitor and control what is said in order to lead a peaceful life?


Legal Requirements related to Information Technology

What contemporary legislation is there on uses and communication of information?

The main Acts are:

•

The Data Protection Act (1984)

•

Computer Misuse Act 1990

•

Copyright, Design and Patents Act (1988)

Computer systems must conform to all of these areas of legislation designed to monitor and control uses of information in automated systems to ensure that no ‘abuse of privilege’ can take place.

The Data Protection Act

The act became law on 12 July 1984. It was designed to allow people to access the personal data being held about them on computer systems. Additionally, it ensured that no damage to the trading interests of Britain is brought about by other countries in

Europe unwilling to transfer data to countries lacking suitable control on data systems.

Details of the Act can be found on the Internet. You can also view the Register of

Data Users on the Internet.

The Act concerns:

Data Users:

Persons or organisations holding, using or intending to use personal data on individuals within an automated system. The data user must register personal data fields, the purpose for which the data will be used and the sources of the data.

Personal Data:

This includes information about a living person, including any opinions about that individual.

Computer Bureau:

A person or organisation that either processes or allows to be processed personal data on their equipment.

Data Subject:

The person about whom personal data is related.

Data Users, that is persons or organisations holding and using personal data on individuals within an automated system, must adhere to the main principles of the Act.

A broad outline of the principles is:

•

The collection and processing of data must be fair and lawful.


•

Data must only be held for specified lawful, registered purposes.

•

The use of data must only be for registered purposes and only disclosed to registered recipients.

•

Data should not be excessive to the purpose for which it is held but must be adequate and relevant.

•

Data must be accurate and maintained in an up-to-date form.

•

Data must only be held for as long as is necessary for its stated purpose

•

A data subject is entitled to be informed by the data user that data is being held on them and should have access to the data at reasonable intervals and where appropriate is entitled to have data held corrected or erased.

•

Appropriate security measures must be taken to protect data held.

Can an individual do anything regarding contravention of the Act?

Contravention related to loss, destruction or unauthorised disclosure may lead an individual to:

•

Seek compensation for damage and distress

•

Apply for correction or removal of inaccurate data

•

Gain access to data of which he/she is the subject

Are there any exemptions from the Act?

If you are a data user it is safe to assume in the first instance that there are no exemptions from the Act. However, there are some special cases which are noted below:

Unconditional Exemptions, these include:

• data related to national security

• data which by law has to be made public

• personal management such as household or recreational data


Conditional Exemptions, these include:

• some standard book-keeping and accounting data

• data used for payroll

Disclosure is restricted for example to auditors

Access provisions have some exceptions including cases involving criminal records, solving crime and some areas where the Secretary of State can override access rights

Offences under the Act

For offences the Data Registrar has the power to serve

•

Enforcement Notices

•

Transfer Prohibition Notices

•

De-registration Notices

Possible offences:

•

Holding personal data without having either applied for registration or being registered.

•

Holding data, using data, obtaining or disclosing data or transferring data knowingly or recklessly.

•

Operating as a Computer Bureau recklessly without proper registration in respect of personal data.

•

Registered address not being kept up-to-date

•

Supplying the Registrar with false or misleading information, knowingly or recklessly, on either registration or change of particulars

•

Knowing or reckless disclosure without authority.

•

Intentional obstruction of a person executing a warrant.

•

Failure to comply with a Transfer Prohibition Notice or an Enforcement

Notice.

•

Failure without reasonable excuse to give reasonable assistance in the execution of a warrant.



Consider:

As part of the legislation governing information technology the Data Protection

Act has been in force since 1984. What effect has it had on organisations?

Use the Internet or library facilities to find prosecutions under the

Act. Identify the range of sentences that have been given.

(As an alternative your teacher/lecturer will issue you with a number of articles regarding appropriate cases to consider.)

Discuss:

Do you feel the Act has been successful in monitoring and controlling the use of personal data?

Consider:

How severe are the possible sentences for contravention of the terms of the

Act?


Computer Misuse Act 1990

The long title of this Act is:

‘An Act to make provision for securing computer material against unauthorised access or modification; and for connected purposes.’

The Act consists of three sections:

Section 1

This is concerned with unauthorised access to computer material

A person is guilty of contravening the Act if they knowingly attempt unauthorised access to any computer.

If convicted a sentence of up to six months imprisonment or a fine or both can be given.

Section 2

This is concerned with unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences.

A person is guilty if an offence under Section 1 is committed with intent to commit an offence or assist someone else to commit an offence.

The offence does not have to be committed at the same time as the unauthorised access.

A person guilty of this offence is liable to a fine or up to six months imprisonment or both. This is for a summary conviction. For indictment the term of imprisonment can rise to five years.

Section 3

This is concerned with unauthorised modification of computer material.

A person is guilty if any act that causes an unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer is carried out with intent. The person should have the knowledge that this is unauthorised .

An action leading to impaired operation whether temporary or permanent is considered the same.

The jurisdiction of this section regards the person or the computer or both as being in the home country.

A person can also be prosecuted for conspiracy and incitement to commit this type of offence under the Act.


Proceedings under the Act may be started up to six months after the procurator fiscal has sufficient evidence to warrant prosecution. No proceedings can be commenced more than three years after the offence was committed.

In Section 17 of the Act clarification is given on the terms used to assist in interpretation of the legislation.:

Securing Access the person causes the alteration or erasure of program or data the person copies or moves program or data within storage medium the person executes or outputs the program

Unauthorised Access

Where the person is not specifically allowed, or has not been given permission to use the computer.

Programs or Data

This includes any programs or data on media currently in the computer.

Modification

This includes alteration or erasure of data or programs, also any additions of program or data.

Authorisation to do so should be specifically given to the person or consent given from another authorised person. Otherwise this would be unauthorised modification.

The Act has been criticised as having a number of loopholes and few prosecutions have been made since the date it became active. Could this be the

Act working to deter computer misuse? Prosecutions have tended to be largely internal unauthorised access though some have included prosecution against spread of viruses.

Problems with the Act

In cases of prosecution being brought it should be considered that judges and juries might not regard offences under the Act as being sufficiently serious to be punished. It may be that differentiation between levels of seriousness within the Act could be improved. Production of evidence may cause difficulty. For example, proving who accessed a computer system and whether or not authorisation had been given, might not be perused vigerously if it was felt that security measures were lax or inefficient.

There is also a question of whether computer generated evidence regarding recording of access to systems should be acceptable in the courts.


Copyright, Design and Patents Act (1988)

An extensive act which encompasses legal protection for many areas including software. The text of the Act as many others is available through HMSO publications.

Parts of the Act:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Copyright

Rights in Performance

Design Right

Registered Designs

Patent Agents and Trademark Agents

Patents

Miscellaneous and General

Copyright issues

It is best in the first instance to regard any copies of software as illegal unless specific permission from the copyright holder has been given.

Prior to this Act, when software was mainly used in business environments, legislation in the areas of contract and trade secrecy contributed to protect designers, writers and producers of software. As a direct link or agreement was being made between the supplier and the users of software, conditions of use could be stated concisely on a single relationship basis. It is more difficult nowadays to regulate with wider use of software across networks. The

‘contract’ is encompassed in tacit user agreement to the licensing conditions accompanying off-the-shelf software.

Within the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 a computer program is regarded

‘as it applies’ in relation to a literary work (that is to all intents and purposes it is treated the same as a literary work). The Act allows not only for protection regarding copying of a work but also has controls over programs and translation to other languages.

Programs are protected for fifty years from the end of the year the program was made.

Educational software is not exempt. However many software producers will allow educational establishments either to use restricted versions of their software or allow purchase of educational licenses.

Control on software duplication and unlicensed use is also regulated by the Federation

Against Software Theft (FAST) who are able to take offenders to court.

On conviction for contravention of the act sentencing can range from extensive fines to imprisonment or both.


Research and Discussion areas

Discuss:

The time taken to develop software has lessened since the 1988 Act. Therefore the crime of unlicensed copy taking of software should not be frowned upon too much as software companies make a big profit anyway.

Discuss:

Considering the amount of time and investment in software it is only right that the unlicensed copying of software should carry a much harder punishment than current legislation allows.

Discuss:

‘We have enough legislation related to Information Technology and any more would only cloud issues’.


Information Systems Information Organisation Higher 4041

Information Systems

HIGHER STILL

Information Systems

Information Organisation Higher

Support Materials

Section 1

Teacher/Lecturer Notes

Section 2

Students’ Guide

Section 3

Study Materials

WHAT IS DATA?

WHAT IS INFORMATION?

INTRANET

Characteristic

Result

Related documents

Products

Support

Information Systems Information Organisation Higher 4041

Information Systems

HIGHER STILL

Information Systems

Information Organisation Higher

Support Materials

Section 1

Teacher/Lecturer Notes

Section 2

Students’ Guide

Section 3

Study Materials

WHAT IS DATA?

WHAT IS INFORMATION?

INTRANET

Characteristic

Result

Related documents

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