2.1.1+Systems+Fundamentals

 2.1.1 Systems fundamentals

**//Social and ethical issues//** Students must study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of IT systems. These may include:


 * the economic value of information

THE APP STORE HAS HAD 10 BILLION DOWNLOADS. SEARCH BASED ADVERTISING IS WORTH 100 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AND TECHCRUNCH WAS SOLD TO AOL IN SEPTEMBER FOR $25 MILLION (SOURCE?). THIS SHOWS THAT DIGITAL GOODS HAVE ECONOMIC VALUE.

ON THE OTHER HAND, DIGITAL FILES ARE NOT SCARCE. COUNTERFEIT OR PIRATED DIGITAL CONTENT IS JUST AS GOOD AS A PAID FOR ORIGINAL, WHICH IS CAUSING LOSS OF ECONOMIC VALUE FOR CREATIVE CONTENT AS REVENUE IS BEING LOST TO PIRACY. THE RISE OF FREE CULTURE THROUGH PROJECTS SUCH AS OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE, FREE NEWSPAPER SITES AND WIKIPEDIA IS PUTTING PRESSURE ON PAID FOR CONTENT TO REDUCE THEIR PRICES. ENCARTA DOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE. 10 YEARS AGO ENCARTA WAS THE BIGGEST DIGITAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. WIKIPEDIA HAS DRIVEN


 * environmental issues related to the production of computer components and supplies


 * environmental issues related to the disposal of obsolete hardware and computer supplies

WHAT IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTION? WHAT HAPPENS TO E-WASTE? HOW DOES INNOVATION LEAD TO UPGRADE CULTURE?


 * health issues and ergonomics related to the use of hardware


 * password protection, security, biometrics and authorized access


 * issues related to viruses on both stand-alone and network systems


 * greater dependence of organizations on IT


 * increase in teleworking and the virtual office


 * the need for ongoing training and retraining


 * the economic and psychological implications of planned IT obsolescence in hardware, software and services, which has been forced on consumers by the IT industry


 * organizational policies and standards, for example, e-mail, surveillance and monitoring policies.

**//Knowledge of technology//**

In order to study and evaluate the social and ethical issues involved in the use of IT systems, the student must have an understanding of related technological concepts. These may include:
 * key terms—data, information, hardware components, for example, input devices, output devices, processing, storage, memory (RAM, ROM), MHz, dpi, bit, KB, MB, GB, TB, ASCII, compatibility, OCR, OMR, bar code, baud, verification and validation, encryption/decryption, firewall, virus, Trojan horse, worm, logic bomb, platform, peripheral


 * use, advantages and disadvantages of analogue and digital data


 * operating systems (multitasking, boot) and utilities, for example, defragment, disk format, virus scan programs


 * responsible computer use (for example, regular back-ups, virus checking, security, storage, housekeeping)


 * <span style="color: #010101; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0mm 0pt 0mm -6pt; padding-left: 0pt;">a responsible and systematic approach to implementing or upgrading IT systems, for example, analysis, design, implementation, testing, evaluation, training, policies and standards.

Supporting Files