Introduction to Information Technology

 

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Introduction to Information Technology

Rationale

 

Information Technology (IT) is a broad subject concerned with technology and other aspects of managing and processing information, especially in large organizations. Information Technology is also known as Information and Communication(s) Technology (ICT) and Infocomm in Asia.

In particular, IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information. For that reason, computer professionals are often called IT specialists or Business Process Consultants, and the division of a company or university that deals with software technology is often called the IT department. Other names for the latter are information services (IS) or management information services (MIS), managed service providers (MSP).

 Information Technology Library

 

In the United Kingdom education system, information technology was formally integrated into the school curriculum when the National Curriculum was devised. It was quickly realised that the work covered was useful in all subjects. With the arrival of the Internet and the broadband connections to all schools, the application of IT knowledge, skills and understanding in all subjects became a reality. This change in emphasis has resulted in a change of name from Information Technology to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT in Education can be understood as the application of digital equipment to all aspects of teaching and learning. It is present in almost all schools and is of growing influence.

The growth of use of Information Communication Technology and its tools in the field of Education has seen tremendous growth in the recent past. Technology has entered the classroom in a big way, to become part of a teaching learning process.

Topics

 

Computer mathematics could refer to:

1. Scientific Computing - constructing numerical solutions and using computers to analyse and solve scientific and engineering problems

2. Numerical Analysis

3. Theoretical computer science - collection of topics of computer science that focuses on the more abstract and mathematical aspects of computing

 

 

Learning Outcomes

This is a non-taught unit designed for self-directed study by those intending to enhance their professional or managerial competence, knowledge, understanding, and skills in information technology.

Knowledge

After completing this workshop, students/entrepreneurs will have:

 

Key Skills

After completing this workshop, students/entrepreneurs will be able to demonstrate:

1. effective information technology and communication skills;

2. application of problem-solving techniques;

3. retrieval, critical assessment and effective use of information;

4. use of information-technology based tools to support his/her work;

5. application of appropriate numerical and mathematical techniques.

 

 

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Information Technology: Principles, Practices, and Opportunities

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Readings

Numerical Analysis is the study of algorithms for the problems of continuous mathematics (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). Some of the problems it deals with arise directly from the study of calculus; other areas of interest are real variable or complex variable questions, numerical linear algebra over the real or complex fields, the solution of differential equations, and other related problems arising in the physical sciences and engineering.

 

See also

 

External links

Analysis of Numerical Topics

 

IBM Technical Journals

 

Study Guide

 

 

Essentials of Computing

Tutorials

 

Readings

Originally, the word Computing was synonymous with counting and calculating, and a science that deals with the original sense of computing mathematical calculations. "Computing" has come to mean the operation and usage of computing machines, the electrical processes carried out within the computing hardware itself, and the theoretical concepts governing them (computer science).

The following definition of computing is given in the ACM report Computing As a Discipline:

The discipline of computing is the systematic study of algorithmic processes that describe and transform information: their theory, analysis, design, efficiency, implementation, and application. The fundamental question underlying all the computing is 'What can be (efficiently) automated?'

 

Definition of "Wearable Computer"

 

Humanist Computing

 

Study Guide

 

Essentials of the Internet and the Worldwide Web

Tutorial

 

Readings

The World Wide Web ("WWW" or simply the "Web") is a global, read-write information space. Text documents, images, multimedia and many other items of information, referred to as resources, are identified by short, unique, global identifiers called Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) so that each can be found, accessed and cross-referenced in the simplest possible way.

The term is often mistakenly used as a synonym for the Internet itself, but the Web is actually something that is available via the Internet, just like e-mail and many other Internet services.

 

 

See also

Internet Servers

 

External links

 

The World Wide Web

Study Guide

 

The Central Processor and Memory

Tutorials

 

Readings

A Central Processing Unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is the component in a digital computer that interprets instructions and processes data contained in computer programs. CPUs provide the fundamental digital computer trait of programmability, and are one of the necessary components found in computers of any era, along with primary storage and input/output facilities. A CPU that is manufactured using integrated circuits is known as a microprocessor. Since the mid-1970s, single-chip microprocessors have almost totally replaced all other types of CPUs, and today the term "CPU" is usually applied to some type of microprocessor.

 

CPU Computer Central Processor Unit Circuit Board

 

The phrase "central processing unit" is, in general terms, a description of a certain class of logic machines that can execute complex computer programs. This broad definition can easily be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term "CPU" ever came into widespread usage. However, the term itself and its initialism have been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s (Weik 1961). The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples, but their fundamental operation has remained much the same.

Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, usually one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular application has largely given way to the development of inexpensive and standardized classes of processors that are suited for one or many purposes. This standardization trend generally began in the era of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the popularization of the integrated circuit (IC). The IC has allowed increasingly complex CPUs to be designed and manufactured in very small spaces (on the order of millimeters). Both the miniaturization and standardization of CPUs have increased the presence of these digital devices in modern life far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones to children's toys.

 

See also

 

External links

 

 

Central Processor Central Processor

 

Study Guide


 

Storage and Input/Output Devices

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Readings

A hard disk drive (HDD, also known as hard disk, hard drive, fixed disk, fixed drive, fixed disk drive, or the now near-obsolete usage hard file) is a non-volatile, digitally encoded data storage device that stores data on the magnetic surfaces of hard disk platters.

 

Hard Disk Drive

 

 

See also

 

External links

 

Study Guide


 

Personal and PC Databases

Tutorial Six

 

Readings

A Database is a collection of logically related data designed to meet the information needs of one or more users. The term originated within the computer industry, but its meaning has been broadened by popular use, to the extent that the European Database Directive (which creates intellectual property rights for databases) includes non-electronic databases within its definition. This article is confined to a more technical use of the term; though even amongst computing professionals, some attach a much wider meaning to the word than others.

 

Distributed data

 

A possible definition is that a database is a collection of records stored in a computer in a systematic way, so that a computer program can consult it to answer questions. For better retrieval and sorting, each record is usually organized as a set of data elements (facts). The items retrieved in answer to queries become information that can be used to make decisions. The computer program used to manage and query a database is known as a database management system (DBMS). The properties and design of database systems are included in the study of information science.

The central concept of a database is that of a collection of records, or pieces of knowledge. Typically, for a given database, there is a structural description of the type of facts held in that database: this description is known as a schema. The schema describes the objects that are represented in the database, and the relationships among them. There are a number of different ways of organizing a schema, that is, of modelling the database structure: these are known as database models (or data models). The model in most common use today is the relational model, which in layman's terms represents all information in the form of multiple related tables each consisting of rows and columns (the true definition uses mathematical terminology). This model represents relationships by the use of values common to more than one table. Other models such as the hierarchical model and the network model use a more explicit representation of relationships.

Strictly speaking, the term database refers to the collection of related records, and the software should be referred to as the database management system or DBMS. When the context is unambiguous, however, many database administrators and programmers use the term database to cover both meanings.

Many professionals would consider a collection of data to constitute a database only if it has certain properties: for example, if the data is managed to ensure its integrity and quality, if it allows shared access by a community of users, if it has a schema, or if it supports a query language. However, there is no agreed definition of these properties.

Database management systems are usually categorized according to the data model that they support: relational, object-relational, network, and so on. The data model will tend to determine the query languages that are available to access the database. A great deal of the internal engineering of a DBMS, however, is independent of the data model, and is concerned with managing factors such as performance, concurrency, integrity, and recovery from hardware failures. In these areas there are large differences between products.

 

See also

External links

 

Study Guide


 

Enterprise Databases and Warehouses

Tutorials

 

Readings

A Data Warehouse is a computer database that collects, integrates and stores an organization's data with the aim of producing accurate and timely management information and supporting data analysis.

 

Components of the majority of data warehouses

 

 

See also

 

 Microsoft’s SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW)

Study Guide

 

Enterprise and Personal Communications Networks

Tutorials

 

Readings

Computer Networking is the scientific and engineering discipline concerned with communication between computer systems. Such networks involve at least two devices capable of being networked with at least one usually being a computer. The devices can be separated by a few meters (e.g. via Bluetooth) or thousands of kilometers (e.g. via the Internet). Computer networking is sometimes considered a sub-discipline of telecommunications.

 

 

See also

 

External links

How Phone-line Networking Works

Communications Networks

Study Guide



Electronic Commerce and Electronic Business

Tutorials

 

Readings

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, or e-business consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.

A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items such as access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World Wide Web.

Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses is referred to as business-to-business or B2B. B2B can be open to all interested parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or limited to specific, pre-qualified participants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce that is conducted between businesses and consumers, on the other hand, is referred to as business-to-consumer or B2C. This is the type of electronic commerce conducted by companies such as Amazon.com. Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce where the buyer is directly online to the seller's computer usually via the internet. There is no intermediary service. The sale and purchase transaction is completed electronically and interactively in real-time such as Amazon.com for new books. If an intermediary is present, then the sale and purchase transaction is called electronic commerce such as eBay.com.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions.

 

 

See also

 

External links

E-commerce

 

Electronic Business, or "e-business", may be defined broadly as any business process that relies on an automated information system. Today, this is mostly done with Web-based technologies. The term "e-business" was coined by Lou Gerstner, CEO of IBM.

 

The ePractice blog: discuss, praise, disagree.

 

Electronic business methods enable companies to link their internal and external data processing systems more efficiently and flexibly, to work more closely with suppliers and partners, and to better satisfy the needs and expectations of their customers.

In practice, e-business usually includes e-commerce. E-commerce seeks to add revenue streams using the Worldwide Web or the Internet to build and enhance relationships with clients and partners and to improve efficiency. Often, e-commerce involves the application of knowledge management systems.

E-business is more than just e-commerce. It involves business processes spanning the entire value chain: electronic purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders electronically, handling customer service, and cooperating with business partners. Special technical standards for e-business facilitate the exchange of data between companies. E-business software solutions allow the integration of intra and inter firm business processes. E-business can be conducted using the Web, the Internet, intranets, extranets, or some combination of these.

Applications can be divided into three categories:

  1. Internal business systems:
  2. Enterprise communication and collaboration
  3. electronic commerce - Business-to-business electronic commerce or business-to-consumer electronic commerce

 

Study Guide

 

Launching Information Technology Applications Projects

Tutorials

 

Readings

 

Information Technology Evolution & Organizational Hierarchy

Study Guide

 

Workshop

 

Creating Enterprise Applications

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Readings

Enterprise Application Software is application software that performs business functions such as accounting, production scheduling, customer information tracking, bank account maintenance, and the like. It is almost always hosted on servers, and is used by multiple employees of the same organization. Major subcategories include enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and supply chain management. Other categories supply operations specific to the users' industry, for example banking, insurance, universities, hospital management, or civilian government.

 

 

Enterprise Solutions

 

In an alternative definition, an enterprise application is any software application hosted on a server which simultaneously provides services to a large number of users, typically over a computer network. This definition contrasts the more common single-user software applications which run on the user's own local computer, and serve only one user at a time.

See also: Enterprise application server, Enterprise JavaBeans

Study Guide

 

Creating Web-Enabled Applications

Tutorials

 

Readings

 

 

Web-Enabled Business Solutions

Study Guide


 

Information Systems in the Enterprise

Tutorials

 

Readings

An Enterprise Information System is generally any kind of computing system that is of "enterprise class". This means typically offering high quality of service, dealing with large volumes of data - capable of supporting some large organization ("an enterprise").

Enterprise Information Systems provide a technology platform that enable organisations to integrate and coordinate their
business processes. They provide a single system that is central to the organisation and ensure that information can be shared across all functional levels and management hierarchies. Enterprise systems are invaluable in eliminating the problem of information fragmentation caused by multiple information systems in an organisation, by creating a standard data structure.

An Enterprise Information System would typically be operated by professional system administrators and be deployed on dedicated servers. It would typically offer network connectivity and provide services that supported the operations carried out by the enterprise.

This Is a software Product for main page any one can add to.

 

Information Systems

Study Guide


 

Issues in Information Technology

Tutorials

 

Readings

Legal aspects of computing are related to the over-lapping areas of law and computing.

 

Could the Internet be shut down in the West?

 

The first one, historically, was information technology law (or IT law). (It should not be confused with the IT aspects of law itself, albeit there is an overlap between the two, as well).

IT Law is a set of legal enactments, currently in existence in several countries, which governs the digital dissemination of both (digitalized) information and software itself (see History of free and open-source software). IT Law covers mainly the digital information (including information security and electronic commerce) aspects and it has been described as "paper laws" for a "paperless environment".

Cyberlaw or Internet law is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of the Internet. It is less a distinct field of law than intellectual property or contract law, as it is a domain covering many areas of law and regulation. Some leading topics include internet access and usage, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction.

 

See also

 

External links

 

Colleges face tough time regulating and safeguarding students' computer use

 

Study Guide

 

Recommended Texts

 

Information Technology: Principles, Practices, and Opportunities Information Technology: Principles, Practices, and Opportunities, 3/E

James A. Senn


ISBN: 0-13-143626-0
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2004
Format: Cloth; 672 pp

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Using Information Technology Using Information Technology: A Practical Introduction to Computers & Communications, 7/e

Brian K Williams
Stacey C Sawyer

ISBN: 0072260718
Copyright year: 2007

 

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Computer Confluence: Standard

Computer Confluence: Standard, 5/e
George Beekman

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Resources

 

The Basic Tenets of Electronic Business Model

 

 

 

 

 

 

Webopedia

Case Studies

 

Suntech

Dr Shi Zhengrong is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Suntech Power.[1] According to Forbes Magazine, he is the wealthiest person living in China, with a personal net worth of $2.2 billion US dollars as of March, 2006.[2] He has Australian citizenship.[3]

He is a graduate of the University of NSW's School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering[citation needed] (in Australia). He has donated funds for renewable energy research there "because he felt it was not getting an appropriate level of government support", according to Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne.[4]

  1. Suntech website
  2. Forbes World's Richest 2006 - China residents. March 9, 2006.
  3. Forbes World's Richest 2006. March 9, 2006.
  4. 'Climate of fear' in solar research, The Canberra Times, 30 May 2006. Accessed 5 June 2006.

 

Photovoltaics or PV for short is a solar power technology that uses solar photovoltaic arrays or solar cells to provide electricity for human activities. Photovoltaics is also the field of study relating to this technology.

Solar cells produce direct current electricity from the sun’s rays, which can be used to power equipment or to recharge a battery. Many pocket calculators incorporate a solar cell.

When more power is required than a single cell can deliver, cells are generally grouped together to form “PV modules” that may in turn be arranged in “solar arrays” which are sometimes ambiguously referred to as solar panels. Such solar arrays have been used to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft and in remote areas as a source of power for applications such as roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing, and cathodic protection of pipelines. The continual decline of manufacturing costs (dropping at 3 to 5% a year in recent years) is expanding the range of cost-effective uses.

Large-scale incentive programs, offering financial incentives like the ability to sell excess electricity back to the public grid ("feed-in"), have greatly accelerated the pace of solar PV installations in Spain, Germany, Japan, the United States, Australia, South Korea, Italy, Greece, France, China and other countries.

 

See also

 

Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL SEHK: 4331), an American computer-hardware company based in Round Rock, Texas, develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, personal digital assistants (PDAs), software, computer peripherals, and more. As of 2006 it employs more than 63,700 people worldwide and manufactures more computers than any other organization in the world. According to the Forbes 500 2005 list, Dell ranks as the 28th-largest company in the United States by revenue. In 2006, Fortune magazine ranked Dell as No. 8 on its annual list of the most-admired companies in the United States.

 

External links