1 CSIS-116: Survey of Information Technology Todays Agenda –Getting to know each other –Overview course Also –Chapter 1

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CSIS-116: Survey of Information Technology

• Today’s Agenda– Getting to know each other– Overview course

• Also– Chapter 1

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• Who am I?– Dr. Eric Breimer

• 2 years at Siena• Ph.D. RPI• Research Area:

– Experimental Algorithms– Machine Learning– Bioinformatics

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=83848

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=83848

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• Who are you?

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• Course Website– I will post almost everything.

• Syllabus– Coming to lecture is very important– Don’t cheat– Don’t miss exam dates

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• Labs– 10 Labs worth 25 point of your grade– Lab 1 this week is an intro lab.

• worth 1 point– Remaining 9 labs

• worth 3 points each• 2 points for in-lab exercise• 1 point for take-home exercise

– 28 points total

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• Projects– 3 projects worth 25 points of your grade

• Project 1 – Research Report• Project 2 – Website• Project 3 – Group Project w/ Presentation

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• Exams– Exam 1 worth 15 points– Exam 2 worth 15 points– Final worth 20 points

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• Final Grade– 10 labs 25 points– 3 project 25 points– 3 exams 50 points

• Cut-offsA 92 average 90 on finalA- 89 averageB+ 87 averageB 82 averageB- 79 average

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• Tricks of this course– In lecture, I will elaborate on topics

not covered in the book• Then, I will test you on them

– Exams questions will ask you about concepts learned in lab

– Projects are graded superficially• The better it looks the better grade

you’ll get

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Chapter 1

Information Technology: Principles, Practices, and

Opportunities

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Chapter 1 Highlights

• Mostly List to Memorize– 6 characteristics of the Information Age.– 3 primary components of information

technology.– 6 information-handling functions.– 4 benefits of information technology.– 14 areas where information technology

touches us– 3 responsibilities

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The Evolution of the Information Age

• Agricultural Age: The period up to the 1800s, when the majority of workers were farmers whose lives revolved around agriculture.

• Industrial Age: The period from the 1800s to 1957, when work processes were simplified through mechanization and automation.

• Information Age: The period that began in 1957, in which the majority of workers are involved in the creation, distribution, and application of information.

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The Evolution of the Information Age

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Six Characteristics of the Information Age

1. An information-based society has arisen.– duh?

2. Businesses depend on information technology to get their work done.– Could you imagine if E-bay’s computer

systems went down?

3. Work processes are being transformed to increase productivity.– UPS is the classic model company

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Six Characteristics of the Information Age

4. Information technology provides the means to rethink/recreate/reengineer conventional business processes.

– Amazon.com: PublishersUPSCustomers5. Success in business is largely determined by the

effectiveness with which information technology is used.– Prentiss Hall vs. Addison Wesley

6. Information technology is embedded in many products and services.– Soon it’ll be embedded in all products and

service

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• Reengineering: – The reshaping of business processes to remove

barriers that prohibit an organization from providing better products and services and to help the organization capitalize on its strengths.

• Business Processes: – Collections of activities, often spanning several

departments, that take one or more kinds of input and create a result that is of value to a company’s customers.

• Effectiveness: – The extent to which desirable results are achieved.

Buzzword Definitions

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Characteristics of the Information Age

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• Reengineering efforts to attain greater productivity:– Industrial Age

• Division of Labor: Separation of work process into component task, with different workers specializing in each of the tasks.

– Information Age• Teamwork, Interconnection, and Shared

Information.



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Information Technology

• Definition of Information Technology– A term used to refer to a wide variety of

items and abilities used in the creation, storage, and dispersal of data and information.

• Three main components

1. computers

2. communications networks

3. know-how.

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• Data – Raw facts, figures, and details.

• Information– An organized, meaningful, and useful

interpretation of data.• Knowledge

– An awareness and understanding of a set of information and how that information can be put to the best use.


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Computers

• In the old days, computers come in four sizes:– Microcomputers

• now called PCs– Midrange computers

• Sometimes called servers– Mainframes

• Still have some limited use– Supercomputers

• Died in the 90’s

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Computers

• Microcomputers (called PCs)– Desktop Computers– Laptop Computers– Handheld Computers

• Tablet PCs• Personal Digital Assistants• Palm PCs

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Computers

• Midrange computers (called Servers)• Faster processor than a PC• More memory• More disk space• Sometimes built for racks

– But, very modern PCs can be faster and better than older servers.

– Sometimes PCs are used as Servers– And Servers can be used as PCs

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Computers

• Midrange computers (called Servers)– What really distinguishes a Server from a PC?– This is why they usually have to be faster and

better than your average PC

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Computers

• Mainframes: – Monopolize by IBM through out the 70’s 80’s

and 90’s– Some are still used today– Characterized by quality hardware which

makes for a very reliable computer– Fault-tolerant– They rarely crash– Expensive– Not particularly fast

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Computers

Supercomputers: – The most powerful of all computers– designed to solve problems consisting of long

and difficult calculations– Heavily used for computer graphics in

simulations and movies from the 80’s– Way too expensive– Replaced by more cost effective Server

clusters or PC clusters

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Information Systems

• System– A set of components that interact to

accomplish a purpose.• A business information system

– designed to produce the information needed for successful management of a structured problem, process, department, or business.

Information Systems

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Communications Networks

• Definition– A set of locations, or nodes, consisting of

hardware, programs, and information linked together as a system that transmits and receives data and information.

• Includes– Physical Hardware

• Wires, Hubs, Routers, Network Cards, etc.– Connected Computers– Software that makes it run– Available information

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Know-How

• The capability to do something well.

• Information technology know-how consists of:– Familiarity with the tools of IT; including the

Internet– Possession of the skills needed to use these

tools– An understanding of when to use IT to solve

a problem or create an opportunity

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Six Functions of Information Technology

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1. Capture: – The process of compiling detailed records

of activities.

2. Processing: – Data Processing, Word Processing, Image

Processing, Voice Processing

3. Generation: – The process of organizing information into

a useful form, whether as numbers, text, sound, or visual image.


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4. Storage:– computer process of retaining information

for future use.5. Retrieval:

– Retrieval is the process by which a computer locates and copies stored data or information for further processing or for transmission to another user.

6. Transmission: – The computer process of distributing

information over a communications network.


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Four Benefits of Information Technology

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• Helping People

• Solving Problems– Problem: A perceived difference between an

existing condition and a desired condition.– Problem Solving: The process of recognizing a

problem, identifying alternatives for solving it, and successfully implementing the chosen solution.

Opportunities of Information Technology

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Information Technology Is All Around Us, “Messing Up our Lives”

• Television• Education• Training• Entertainment• Shipping• Paperwork• Money and Investments

• Agriculture• Taxation and Accounting• Health and Medicine• Manufacturing• Journalism• Energy• Sports

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Responsibilities of Using Information Technology

• To be Informed

• To Make Proper Use of IT

• To Safeguard

Documents

1 CSIS-116: Survey of Information Technology Todays Agenda –Getting to know each other –Overview course Also –Chapter 1