Effects of ICT on Society

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6IUmR46CKI Questions:
1. Computer usage within businesses has increased massively over the last 30 years.
a. Describe three benefits that ICT can bring to businesses:
Faster and better communication

PPTs instead of posters

Printers and photocopiers allow information dispersal

b. State three effects that ICT has had upon employment patterns:
ATMs replace people Computers manage files replacing secretaries Satellites make ground telephone lines inefficient

c. State three types of jobs that ICT has created:

Graphic Designers Internet code writers Information Security jobs

d. State three types of jobs that have been lost due to ICT:
Bankers Stores Old fashioned teachers

e. State two jobs that have changed their nature due to the introduction of ICT:
Teaching News writing

f. The increase in high-speed broadband has led to cheaper international telephone calls using the Internet (like Skype). Name one job that may be lost due to this:
Telephone operators

Vocabulary

Retraining - process of learning a new skill Deskilling Process by which skilled labor within an industry or economy is eliminated by the introduction of technologies

Better work environment Improvement in the circumstances at which people work

Reduced costs - The lowering of the price of something Higher Productivity - Increased amount of production, more efficient Consistency - Something at a steady and reliable rhythm.

Moral and ethical considerations of ICT

What are morals and ethics?

There is a moral and ethical dimension to consider when access to ICT is raised. For each advantage of the use of ICT there are concerns about the impact on the way we live. If access to ICT and to the internet is a 'right' then we need to consider how the advantages and disadvantages associated with widespread use of ICT might impact on our lives.

We have already seen how ICT can effect 'our personal lives, leisure time and employment'. So now we are going to discuss if the advantages outweigh the disadvantage.

Group Activity
In groups of four you are going to discuss four points. 1. What advantages arise from the statement? 2. Does this advantage favor just one section of society? 3. Could anyone not feel the advantages? 4. What could be done to make the advantages felt by everyone?

Statements for the group activity

1. People are more connected and can share information or conduct business 24/7. The advantages is an increase in productivity and more jobs opportunities, It favors the rich part of society because they have access to ICT. The people without ICT access wouldn't feel the advantage. If everyone had access then everyone would have the advantage. 2. Increase productivity can lead to economic growth. The advantage is the actual economic growth that leads to a developing society. It benefits the buyers but does not benefit the workers as they will have to work harder. The workers would feel the no advantage because they would have to work harder to achieve increased productivity. For the advantages to be felt by everyone the industries should give more vacations or hire more workers to lower the working rate. 3. As we experience more and more online or telephone voting systems, ICT may bring about changes to the way we conduct our politics, perhaps making us feel that we can engage more easily with politics.

4. ICT offers a clear range of health benefits and could improve life expectancy. For example, nanotechnology allows doctors to perform complex medical procedures that could not be performed by hand. 5. Monitoring by close circuit television (CCTV) can lead to reductions in crime. It can also enable face recognition in large crowds. Less crime is a big advantage from this CCTV monitoring, It favors mainly all society except thief and people who are hiding from the government. So the people who have trouble with the government would be immediately found using this system, and maybe executed illegally. For everyone to be able to feel the advantage the CCTV should monitor us but not spy on us. Monitoring shows big issues such as crashes, murders, etc, but spying is a violation of privacy.