INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY
-Kimberly Leed

Year 1
Term 1

INTERNAL ASSESTMENT:
Requirements
-

Each candidate is requires to identify and examine a problem in their

own environment which requires an IT solution. The candidate should
define the problem, collect data, relevant to that problem, identify and
examine options (of more than one solution) and present the selected
solution is an I T Based. The report (1500-2000 words)

Problem Definition (2 marks)

-

Clearly define the problem. You must define one (1) problem.
The person or organization affected by the problem.
Reason for the concern
Background in which the problem occurs (do not say what caused the
problem)

Ideas: (gov. book rental, sports, student registration)

Ghantt Chart

CHARACTERISTICS OF DATA AND INFORMATION

Data - raw facts, unprocessed facts and figures
CHARACTERISTIES
- Unprocessed, unorganized and discrete (in separate, unrelated chunks)
- Qualitative (opinion based, subjective)
- Quantitative (measurement based, objective
- Detailed
- Sampled
QUALITATIVE DATA
-

Deals with the descriptions.

It is data than can be
observed no measured
They are usually subjective
and opinion based.
E.g. colors and textures,
taste and smell.
All those mentioned cannot
be measured.

QUANTITATIVE DATA
-

Data deals with numbers

This is data that can be
measured and these are
usually objective
E.g. length, height, area.
All these mentioned can be
measured by the use of
numbers.

Detailed data contains specific information about one item.

Sampled data is an examination of a random selection of items. For example:
an opinion of 1000 voters can be used to draw convulsion about voting
trends, of a whole electorate.
QUESTION:
2009 May/ June:
Data my either be qualitative or quantitative.
(ii) A hotel website consists of a discussion board where guest share views on
their experience at the hotel. The website also features the total number of
visitors per year. Identify two appropriate pieces of data that may be found
on this website and state the type of each piece of data identified (4 marks)
Quantitative (number of visitors) because it can be measured and their views
would be qualitative.
Knowledge: The ability to make decisions.

Information: Processed data

Data: Raw facts
HOME WORK: Due Thursday Night
(TEACH TCT glossary)

MAY/JUNE 2011

CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMATRION
-

To be valuable to managers and decisions makers, information should

have the following characteristics;

CHARACTERIC
S
Reliability

DEFINATION

Relevance

Relevant information is important to the decision maker.

Information showing that lumber prices might not be
relevant to a computer chip manufacturer.

Accurate

Accurate information is error free. In some cases,

inaccurate information is generated because inaccurate
data is fed into the computer. This is commonly called
GIGO (Go In Go Out)

Timeliness

Information should be available when it is needed for

decision making and not sometime afterwards.

Incompletene
ss
Distorted

If information is not complete, bad decisions can be made.

Disguise

Information must be clear and unambiguous

Inconsistency

The final form of information must be similar to or means

the same as the original form. In other words, facts must
not be omitted.

Reliable information can be depended on. I.e. a rumor from

an unknown source that oil prices might go up might not
be reliable.

The quality or form of information must not change

communications or transmission e.g. misinterpreted or
incomplete facts through the (grapevine or gossip)

Incomprehens
ibility
Subject to
Interpretation

Information must be clear and easy to understand.

Value

Information must be important and useful.

Confidentialit
y
Security

Is the information private or public? E.g. Personal Health

Sharability

The ability to share retransmit or reprint information.

lifespan

Information can become outdated. e.g. It may not be

relevant next year

Information
as a
commodity
Format

Information may be bought or sold

Medium

Information can be in a textbook / magazines.

Availability

Is the information available 24/7?

You need to be able to understand what the information

means

Information should be secured to avoid eavesdropping or

being stolen.

Information may be in the following format e.g. text, audio,

graphic/pictures etc.

SENIOR
MANAGEMENT
- strategic
decisions

MIDDLE
MANAGEMENT
tactical decisions
OPERATIONAL
MANAGEMENT
operational
decisions

MAY/JUNE 2010
(b) Using an example, explain how each of the following characteristics of
information could aid in decision making.
(i) Accuracy If you are in a law firm, and have to decide between two
companies to invest in, accurate information can help you make a decision to
choose the best company in order to gain more money rather than investing
in a company that you would profit less from.
(ii) Completeness People change grades in order to get into companies and
the company itself not knowing all the right information hires a person not
well suited for the job, which can cause major problems within the company.
(iii) Timeliness - If a boat is required to pick up a package for a company
along with many other packages, and the package does not arrive on time,
the boat will therefor leave the package behind causing the company major
losses if the certain package was supposed to be delivered. This can cause
the company even more expense since they will have to pay for another boat
to pick up and deliver a package.

IT
09/36/16

HW CORRECTIONS
Data consists of raw facts and figures, without any meaning.
E.g. 77, 91, 98, 10
Information data which has been processed into some meaningful form.
E.g. 77,83,75,54 represent test scores of students
Knowledge - the ability to understand information and to then form
judgement, opinions, make predictions and decisions based on that
understanding.
E.g. if the class teacher applies a rule that students whose scores are less
than 50, then the teacher needs to discuss it with the students to see what
needs to be done to improve it.

1. Many persons use the terms data and information interchangeably.

However, IT, this ought not to be so.
- From an IT perspective, explain the term information. (2 marks)
- Using two (2) separate examples, explain how data could be
transformed into information. (6 marks)
For example, the sources for CAPE IT exam papers were asses to determine
the grade to be awarded to each candidate.
Scores Data 85, 72, 85
Addition Process (85 + 72 + 85/3)
Grade Information Grade 2

Grade I (85
90)
Grade II (75-

IT
30/09/16
Part of a job description in an advertisement in the newspaper indicated that
the newspaper indicated that the applicant needed to use information from a
variety of sources, interpret summary reports related to the company as well
as address issues involving economy trends and shareholders. What level of
information would successful candidates use?
a) Tactical
b) Operational
c) Strategic
d) Confidential
STRUCTURE AND NATURE OF INFORMATION
1) Strategic a wide range of unstructured information that is used by
executives and directors in planning the companys way forward and
its future state in the long term e.g. company mission, goals,
objectives, strategies and policies.
2) Tactical medium range of semi structures information used by
managers in planning for branches/department in the short to medium
term e.g. budgets and production schedules.
3) Operational a narrow range of structured information used by
operation managers/ supervisors in planning for the department in the
short term; e.g. daily/weekly production schedules
Information can be classified by its structure as follows:
-

Unstructured unstructured information is summarized, less current,

highly subjective, covers a broad range of facts; and is concerned with
events outside as well as inside the organization.

Semi-structured includes some structured information and some

unstructured information. Unstructured information is summarized, less
current, concerned with future events, records range of facts and cover
activities outside as well as inside an organization.
Structured is detailed, more current, not subjective; covers a narrow
range od facts and is concerned principally with events inside the
organization.

Question: A high school wished to develop a computerized registration for its

students.
With respect to this system, discuss one example of data and one example of
information, describing fully how each maybe appropriately represented in
the system.
Data birth date 16/09/99 this is a list of numbers.
Information Name: John Doe a persons name. This is data which has been
processed and has meaning.

Information Processing
Information processing is the set of activities done in a particular sequence,
by which data produce information. These activates are called processing
activities.

DATA

PROCESSIN
G
ACTIVITIES

The set of activities in a manual system

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Collecting
Collating
Analyzing
Presenting
Disseminating

INFORMATI
ON

MAY JUNE 2012

Information is an important asset for the effective and efficient operation of
an organization.
1) For each of the following types of information, identify the likely users
and the purpose for which the information is used.
- Strategic CEO
- Tactical
- Operational
- Describe an information processing task where data might be the
focus.

IT
10/03/16

Manual information system a term used to refer to an information

system relying upon the technology of paper-based forms and types of
business documentation.
Types of Manual Information Systems:
-

Card Catalog in a Library a card based system

Payroll
Inventory
Manual Accounting Systems
Invoicing

Automated Information System a computerized system that consists of

computer hardware, computer software, data, procedures and people.
Types of Automated Information Systems:
-

Computerized Accounting Systems

Library Management Systems
Medical Diagnostic System

Data can be represented as follows:

1) Character e.g. letters, special symbols, punctuations marks,
parentheses, brackets etc.
2) String
- e.g. a group of letters, a word, phrase or sentence, a
combination of letters and numbers/special character, digital
signature.
3) Numeric (all types of numbers)
4) Aural (sound) or auditory e.g. Morse Code (dots and dashes, musical
notes, speech)
5) Visual e.g. individual frames of a movie, finger prints, retina
6) Musical Symbols

TYPES OF INFORMATION SOURCES

Wikis and online libraries are both popular means of conducting research on
the web.
a) Explain these two web-based sources of information (4 marks)
b) Universities have taken a clear position that references for academic
research from wikis will NOT be accepted. Discuss why universities
would need to take such a position. (4 marks)

a) Wiki a website or database developed collaboratively by a community

of users, allowing any user to add, and edit content.
b) Online Library a web-based resource consisting of reading material
such as books, periodicals, newspapers, and often materials such as
musical and video recordings are kept for use and lending. E.g. Wiley
Online Library
c) Universities will not accept academic research taken from wikis
because anyone from a subject expert to a layman can make an entry
on a wiki. Universities expect academic research work to be taken from
journals where subject experts are employed to write academic papers
based on scientific research.

TYPES OF INFORMATION SOURCES

-

The medium from which information can be obtained.

Types of information sources

-

Libraries
People
Printed media Books, Journals, Catalogs, Magazines/Periodicals,
Newspapers
Electronic media Online Libraries, CD-ROM, DVDs, Electronic
databases, websites, intranets, virtual private networks (VPNs) , blogs,
wikis, radio, television
Printed sources

Advantages and disadvantages of the following information:

-

Books
Journals
Catalogs
Magazines
Newspapers
Online libraries
CD ROMS
DVDs
Electronic databases
Websites
People
Blogs
Wikis

CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMATION SOURCES:

1) Availability personal contacts are likely to be more available than
expansive abstract journals; or indeed any scholarly journal.
2) Cost the cost to acquire information from a specific source. For
example, it may be cheaper to source information from the Internet
than travelling to and reading books at the library.

3) Currency textbooks ar3e often published at least two years after they
have been written. As a result, textbooks in a rapidly changing field are
not the most up to date source of information.
4) Depth different information sources also differ in the amount of detail
that they cover e.g. newspaper articles are usually written for a
general audience and may not contain the depth required for a
research project. Articles in scholarly journals, on the other hand, often
analyze material to a greater level of depth.
5) Breadth of coverage- similar considerations as depth.
6) Reliability the fact that certain publications are referred was already
mentioned, however, publications that have gone through a rigorous
process of peer review that are more likely to be reliable than those
that do not.
7) Format Layout

QUESTION:
Ali told his friends that his father is a stockbroker. The MOST important
characteristic of information sources to his fathers job is:
A.
B.
C.
D.

Currency of information
Amount of detail
Cost of the information
Breadth of coverage

The operations manager was heard to remark that while the report produced
for the tactical team was outstanding and satisfied ALL of the characteristics
of good information; it was of little use to him. The MOST LIKELY reason for
this is that the report
A.
B.
C.
D.

Contained inaccurate information

Was not laid out properly
Did not satisfy his requirements
Was not understandable to the tactical team.

Paul has been contacted by the Ministry of Education in his country to

conduct research in order to assess the level of Information and
Communication Technology usage in the county.
(a) State three sources of information that would be appropriate for Pauls
research.
- Libraries
- Interviewing people
Indicate the most appropriate source fir the following scenarios
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Statistics on HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean Journal, (online agencies

that contain stats)
Map of the Caribbean Atlas
Biographies on centenarians Personal data gathering.
Latest storage devices Online

Tools used in the entry, retrieval, processing, storage, presentation and

dissemination of information
Communication tools
-

Search Engines
Usenet
Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
Telnet
ftp file transfer protocol
newsgroups
message board
mailing list
internet telephony

Software tools Microsoft..

Hardware tools - Printers, speakers, mouse, keyboard etc.

Representing Information
Information includes:
-

text ( words, phrases, sentences, instructions/ directions)

Graphs
Sound
Video
Special purpose notations (mathematical scientic and numerical
notations)
Graphical representation (graphs and charts)
Tables

Types of hardware
-

Input
Output
Storage
Communication

IT
17th/10/ 2016

Tools associated with the Internet including online services

1) Search Engines
- Programs that find websites, webpages, images, videos, news and
other information related to a specific topic.

2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Usenet
IRC Internet Relay Chat
Telnet
FTP File Transfer Protocol
Newsgroup an area online where users of the group could have
discussions on a particular project.
7) Message board
8) Mailing List

Wired Transmission Media

(Wired)
-

Fiber Optic tstt cables

Twisted Pair telephone wire

Coaxial cable television cables (white)

(Wireless)
-

Bluetooth
IR Infrared
Microwaves
Communication Satellite

Digital communications
Advantages of using electronics libraries, database, blogs, wikis
Main memory, cpu, alu etc LEARN
what information sources the person will use.. What is a blog, wiki.give
disadvantages/ advs.
Human computer interface a part of an operation system that users
interact with so that they can access specific programs- command line, gui
(graphical computer interface)
And expert user will use command line
A novelist will used gui
What is Transmission media? Substance of media