Civil Liberties

Civil liberties are freedoms that the government puts in place and they include laws which are to be enforces to be able to ensure safety while using the internet. Our lives are surrounding by IT and we need these freedoms to allow us to have the right to life and understand between positive and negative rights.

Data

Data is stored by companies about customers and workers and the information gathering is kept private, however it can be sold on. The two types of data include data subjects and data users. The data is gathered by many companies, even when you are unaware. Data subjects are everyone because we are the people who are having data held about us. Data users are the people who hold the data. A data controller is only used for the people who are holding the data and it is a person who ensures the data protection act is enforced.

Data Protection Act

The data protection act started in 1998 and they had set out to protect the privacy of personal information. It only covers personal information of individuals and it covers data stored on computer and on paper through a filing system. It lets a person check all the data that is being held about them and it is currently run by the information commissioner’s office. The Information Commissioner’s Office is an independent public authority set up to uphold information rights. They believe that they do it by promoting good practice, ruling on complaints, providing information to individuals and organisations and taking appropriate action when the law is broken.

Many people will feel insecure sharing their information with people they do not know, especially when they are unaware of it as they might think it could be a hacker trying to receive information. It is legal for companies to sell your information onto other companies; however the companies have to ensure the person is notified and say: what data they want to store, what they want to use it for, how long they will keep it and who they might pass it onto. They also have to agree to follow the 8 Data Protection Principles.

Exemptions of the Data Protection Act

There are a few cases when the Data Protection Act does not apply. Some of the exemptions of the act include: national security, police investigations and examination results. If the national security is involved within your data then you are not allowed to ask for that data which is being stored. If your information is being used in police investigations then your data is not covered. Finally in examination results, results are not allowed to be seen before publications of the exam board.

CCTV

We are living in what some people call the surveillance society where there are many security cameras all around us. Offices have CCTV cameras and also schools to protect the machinery and equipment. It is said that in the UK for every 32 people there is one CCTV camera. CCTV cameras do not come under the Data Protection Act and you can argue that it is an invasion of privacy because it is as if someone is constantly watching your every move and they can also be used for the wrong reasons as they are used in many places; however some people believe they are to ensure we are kept safe.

Other Aspects

There’s a danger of our own civil liberties becoming damaged, you would want criminals to be caught, but by making their data accessible means that the innocent’s data is also accessible. This essentially means you only have privacy up to a point as they know data about you that could potentially be unnecessary. There are some things that you should never share, for example, keeping your date of birthday secret is very important. There have been cases on the Google search facility about people asking to be taken off Google because they have found defamatory information about them.

Scopes of Civil Liberties

The scopes of civil liberties include that in the Data Protection Act the company informs you about any great amounts of data they want to keep. They also inform you about who they may pass the information onto which helps the person feel more secure about who will receive their data. Finally the data is only kept for a long as they need it which is some cases could be a short amount of time.

Limitations of Civil Liberties

The limitations of civil liberties include having a large amount of invasion of privacy due to CCTV cameras and from some of your data being kept without your knowledge. Also there is a possibility that fraud could happen as someone could receive the information about you and use it against you. Finally it may make the person feel uncomfortable with sharing their data with someone they do not know.

My Personal Opinion

I think that companies should not be allowed to share the information because although the person may agree for them to share their information, they are not aware of who will receive the information and they may be led to a false agreement. I also believe CCTV cameras in some cases are unnecessary because they can be used for the wrong reasons, for example, in a local swimming pool there has been controversy about CCTV cameras in the changing rooms as it is invading your privacy in a more extreme way. However I do think that CCTV cameras are used for our safety and to prevent criminals when on the streets and in very crowded or even deserted places.

Crime and Crime Prevention

There are two things that happen with IT where crime is concerned. The ability it gives to assist us enhancing police work in solving crimes and the opportunities created from crime. There are now many devices which are used within this process and the two elements are fundamental for IT in crime for the general crime and traffic offenses.

Crime Prevention Enhanced by IT

There are many ways in which IT has helped assist the police work in solving crimes by using very developed technology to help prevent crime all around the world. We need IT to be able to help us identify criminals, especially in big cases such as murder. Some criminals are unaware of what they leave behind and with the help of IT police are able to detect fingerprints or any source of DNA from objects the criminal has come in contact with.

CCTV

Another common aspect used by the police is the use of CCTV cameras. CCTV cameras play an important role in being able to solve crimes as they are in use 24/7 and police can visually see any crime scenes happening or if a criminal has been spotted. They have also developed over the years and are now of a higher quality to give a clearer image which again helps to indentify criminals. Statistics show that in the UK, for every 32 people there is one CCTV camera; this makes people feel safer within their communities but some people disagree with this and believe it is an invasion of privacy.

Police Database

Police use a police database which is a database on criminals. Police enter all the characteristics of a crime onto the database, and it comes up with related crimes and the person or people involved allowing the criminal to be indentified quicker. Also if there are any fingerprints or other DNA samples found when investigating the crime then police can find a match with a past criminal on the database. However it can be difficult when there is a new crime as there would be no DNA they could match it up to, therefore making the process a lot longer to obtain accurate results.

Electronic Tagging

Electronic tagging is an electronic device attached to a person or vehicle for monitoring purposes. For example a tracking offender under house arrest has an alarm system on their tag which is programmed with curfew times and it is set off if the offender leaves their house outside the given times. The tag is then connected to the probation service who is immediately alerted if they leave the given area around their house and this is then transferred directly to the police. Electronic tagging helps with keeping down the number of prisoners. Another way in order to cut down theft is having electronic tags on clothing and other products, meaning that they have to be cancelled before you get out the store and they are cancelled by paying.

Contemporary Issues

A big contemporary issue is the police having ability to get the right to look at browsing history, online activity and email. People could argue that they do not look at personal or private things and they are just searching for anything suspicious to indentify criminals and help the safety of everyone. However some people believe that is in an invasion of privacy and that it is unnecessary to look at all those aspects when they should only be looking at one or two just to check.

Opportunities Created by Crime

The advances of technology have lead to more people using these developments to commit crimes such as hacking and piracy. They are using the use of computers and the internet and can cause many people to be lead into false information and accounts. This can cause many problems and difficulties for people to be involved in, then affecting the whole of society.

Hacking

Hacking has been a big issue for a very long time and it is has always been a problem. Hackers can make a living out of what they do as the more advanced they get the more money and satisfaction they get out of it. Hackers are well aware that is it illegal, however some still manage to never get caught. There have been cases of hackers being able to get into the systems of banks and many of the well known companies and this then causes a problem on a wide scale. 

Viruses

In order to stop hacking and a variety of other things people can access, new software is being created. Alongside hacking are viruses which destroy data, even of individuals. Similarly some people also create viruses for a living as they are able to gain money out of it when people are unaware of it. It takes close to a second for a virus to destroy the contents of your data and it can cause many problems on your computer.

Piracy

Piracy is another big issue that has become more frequent over the recent years as downloading has become widely popular. The material of a CD which you buy does not actually belong to you, you only buy the license to listen or watch the contents it contains. This essentially means that no one else is able to use the CD apart from you. This is also the case of music and when music is bought off iTunes, you are the only person who is able to listen to it and if someone else is listening to it, that is in actual fact, illegal. All types of illegal downloads are piracy. There are many recent cases of websites being shut down due to piracy of films that people from all around the world are able to access for free.

Scopes of Crime and Crime Prevention

The scopes of crime and crime prevention include that the use of IT used in crime enables us to prevent future crimes as criminals are put off by the evidence that can be found. Another reason is because people feel a lot safer because of all the CCTV cameras that are around. Also ID hardware can be chipped so that it can be tracked and traced if ever stolen.

Limitations of Crime and Crime Prevention

The limitations of crime and crime prevention include people feel a lack of privacy due to the amount of CCTV cameras. Also large companies and banks are highly affected from hackers. Finally the developing technology can make it easier for hackers to get into computer systems as there are many new ways which they discover.

My Personal Experience

My own experience I have had is about a year ago when my previous laptop had received a virus. The virus had not affected any of my documents or personal data, however it affected the way in which my computer system worked and it resulted in having to have my whole laptop wiped, meaning I lost all the data stored, including pictures and school work.

Entertainment in the Information Age

Entertainment has developed a lot through technological advances over the past years as the digitalised industry has greatly evolved. There are still many general sources of entertainment that are used by many people, including game consoles and digital cameras. However it is becoming less common as most things now are downloadable. Entertainment is almost inseparable without the use of internet. The whole idea of entertainment that is not downloaded is becoming unusual whereas it used to be usual to buy entertainment in shops.

Music

Listening to music is a big development where technology has taken over. It is unusual now for people to listen to CDs because most people tend to download music. When CDs first became popular they were a digital medium, which is the storage of digitalised audio. Within the music industry it never used to be the case to produce digitalised tracks, however now with modern records it is very common for singers to use auto tune.  They use auto tune so that they do not sing the wrong notes but this can sometimes have an effect on the sound and on the music track itself because they are usually incredibly over produced. Many things that are digital often get a backlash, changing the sound of the track. It also results in many singers over using auto tune and so when it comes to them singing live, they sound completely different and sometimes they end up lip singing throughout the whole song.

Film

The way in which films are made has changed remarkably. A lot of film is now CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). A very popular film that took a long time to produce and is primarily CGI is Avatar. You can clearly see a lot of time was spent in getting this film to the best quality of what they were trying to represent. On the other hand some directors prefer to use the least amount of CGI. For example, Christopher Nolan, a famous director known for the recent film ‘Interstellar’ had actually build sets for the film instead of using green screen because he believed that it is more natural.

TV
TV has also moved from analogue to digital. The analogue system was predominately used by people to get the latest headlines and news and then it had developed into digital broadcasting which is the most common way that is used in today’s developments. A main reason why analogue was replaced by digital is because an analogue circuit would make much more noise as if the signal was lost then the information being sent would also be lost causing many problems for the provider and households. However some areas in today still do not get digital TV because there are few amounts of people being affected and therefore providers are not spending money to fix the dilemma which has caused problems in households, even resulting in a decrease in their house price.

Sport Developments

A fairly recent development that has been made is in the way sports in now played, from personal achievements to precise technology. A very effective example is the goal line technology in football which after certain point after the line in the goal the football is detected and therefore can be recognised. Another useful example is the hawkeye which is commonly used in tennis as it can be very hard to detect whether the ball is in or out. The hawkeye steps in place and it can measure an accurate reading of where the ball had landed within the opponent’s area.

A very recent development would be the Adidas smart ball which had been released in May of 2014. Professional football players are more likely to use this football in training. With its built in sensors it can monitor various things, including how hard the ball is being hit. The ball is connected to an app and it tells you about the speed the ball was travelling and the flight path of the distance it covered in air and on ground. The data collected is then used to help the players improve their skills and they can also learn a variety of things from taking better penalties to how to avoid injury.

Scopes of Entertainment in the Information Age

The scopes of entertainment in the information age include that there are many benefits that entertainment has within sport to enhance personal technique and achievements. Also the use of digitalised developments can enhance people’s professional work, such as photographers as it improves the quality of the photos.

Limitations of Entertainment in the Information Age

The limitations of entertainment in the information age include that not everyone likes digital entertainment as it is a big change from what it used to be. Also the costs of using these technological advances in sport or professional work can be very expensive and can sometimes not be affordable for everyone to use. Similarly there is a lot of controversy with digital advances as not everyone is able to get hold of them and it can cause many difficulties for households.

My Personal Experience

My own experience I have had with entertainment in the information age is I listen to music very often and sometimes I come across some artists who unfortunately have over produced their vocals and you can easily notice some sort of auto tune. Likewise it is evident when I have been to concerts and heard some artists singing and it has been disappointing as they do not sound anything like their songs I have listened to.

Education in the Information Age

Education has changed greatly since the information age. It is now used for both students and teachers and it changes the way in which we are taught and the way we learn. The use of ICT with education is very new and it has changed the actual curriculum that is learnt at schools. This has all lead to new opportunities because learning is now more interactive than it was as students are visually learning rather than consisting of huge amounts of written work.

Changes in Education in the Information Age

Programmes

There have been significant changes made in education during the information age. The development in ICT has now meant that teachers and students are able to use a variety of programmes such as PowerPoint and Spreadsheets. The access to spreadsheets has made people more computer literate and it makes you more employable as it demonstrates a variety of computing skills which now many jobs require.

Interactive Whiteboards

A very popular development of ICT in the classroom is the use of interactive whiteboards, also known as SMART boards. These whiteboards allow teachers to project their computer screens and visually show their students demonstrations such as a graph from a spreadsheet. This then makes it easier for the students to understand the work they are given by helping them create an image in their head. Also using interactive whiteboards can enhance group discussions instead of just writing a load of information down.

Virtual Learning Environment

Schools are now able to access their own VLE for teaching and learning, for example, Moodle and FROG. Having a VLE allows teachers to create various lesson plans as they can use existing resources and they can also monitor students’ work that they have set for them. Students are able to use the VLE to submit assignments for teachers and they can access their school work when out of school. Usually teachers provide their planned lessons on the VLE for students to look at for revision or to prepare for future lessons; this allows them to get strengthen the teaching and learning of both teachers and students.

SIMS

A new electronic way of registration that is now widely used is SIMS. SIMS is a very easy way to keep records of the students, stating whether they are present or absent in the lesson. SIMS is a more convenient way to use because it allows the school to know whether their students are attending lessons. They have also developed it so that parents can look at their children’s attendance to see whether they have been attending school and their compulsory lessons.

E-Readers and Tablets

Recently it has become common for schools to provide teachers and students with tablets and e-readers, such as iPads, to use in lessons to help with learning. However there have been many drawbacks to using these as there is a high risk concerning security and the danger of students accessing each other’s data and losing data if anything happens to their tablet. Also it can be very hard to monitor students work because a lot of the work is independent when using their tablets.

Scopes of Education in the Information Age

The scopes of education in the information age include that it is easy to be able to work at home and then bring it back into school. Teachers can show a variety of resources to students, making lessons more interactive and it can become easier for students to understand. This can eliminate the need for printing because they can store their lessons in files on the computer for easier access. Also it has become very convenient for teachers to contact students, creating communication with them when out of school.

Limitations of Education in the Information Age

The limitations of education in the information age consist of IT being a distraction for pupils on their education. Handwriting can become a problem as it is sometimes not legible because we practice more typing than we do writing. Also the use of computers makes it much easier to plagiarise, therefore these problems have to be addressed and it can become difficult. Likewise the cost of running all these computers is very expensive unless the computers are regularly upgraded and maintained properly otherwise they will become slow and cannot be used.

Personal Experience

My own experience I have had with education in the information age is using a range of software’s such as PowerPoint and Microsoft Word for my school work at school and at home. I use FROG which is a VLE to be able to access my school work at home and it is a very easy way to transfer my documents from home onto my school account.  

Employment in the Information Age

Employment has been massively influenced by IT. Now there are very few jobs that do not require computer skills, these mainly being office jobs. Offices have changed but that is not all what has changed. The first programme that came out was processing programmes and spreadsheet programmes which Microsoft introduced. A lot of the innovations are driven by office work. Computers are now found in all sorts of jobs when they never used to be before. They have changed rapidly and it is hard to think of a job that does not involve computers.

Businesses using ICT

It is extremely hard to think of a job that does not involve computer technology; computers are found in all sorts of jobs. People behind desks now will have a computer, for example, at the supermarket your items are scanned onto a computer, or when you are buying petrol, the information from the pump to the till is transferred over. In smaller shops it was much slower to develop but they also use computers behind the desk. There are some jobs you would never imagine using IT are now being used such as people selling insurance tend to walk around with a laptop on them with all the information they need for you. However there are some places in the world that still use the old fashioned system and it is normal for them to use it.

Negative Effects of IT on Employment

Nearly every job uses computers and requires IT skills. However from technological change, people can suffer. The result of having IT in a business is beneficial for them because it is faster and cheaper as they need less people working, therefore less wages to be paid, but this hits employment very badly. An example is people losing their jobs in the car industry because they do not need workers due to developments in using car robotics which are much more precise. This is the case for many other factory based jobs as technology has taken over and there is only need for a people to overlook the machinery, this being very few.

One of the places that IT has hit hard on is skilled workers because it has taken over. There has been a huge impact in the craft industry with wood work and metal work. These jobs have all been affected by computer aided design, as they do not need people who are skilled drawers; they just need to be skilled in computer programmes. Likewise, there are now systems where the drawing is done in one office and it simply gets mailed to another office, even if it is in another country, the design can be made up in that country and it can be mailed back.

Positive Effects of IT on Employment

Employment can benefit from IT as sometimes computers can make people’s jobs easier. They can provide people with easier routes to take and it can make things much quicker. It is bad for society when computers take over their jobs. However there have been new jobs created for example computer programmers, for people to make the computers and software. Many things are made in China and there are a lot of hard drives for computers made there.

There is a big market in the computer hardware industry as computers are becoming more in demand and so more need to be made. Also many people are needed to repair these developing computers and devices. Similarly there is a large market on online shopping such as Amazon and furthermore call centres are very reliant on IT because people who call companies, such as British Gas get connected to call centres to answer their questions even if they are no help.

You can now work from great distances and these cut out a whole range of skills. We still value hand crafted products, however they have to be very precise. Computers measure to microns because a computer can do that and people can’t and computers produce it much better as it is of a very precise measurement.

Other Aspects

Computers can take away the dirty work which people do. There are devices which computers are a part of and they can go where people can’t and they are able to monitor things in dangerous places, this is so they remove the need for people to put themselves in dangerous situations. A recent example is the space probe, Rosetta, being released into space to monitor a comet.

Sometimes computers can make people’s jobs easier as they can provide people with easier routes to take and it can make things much quicker. For example delivery services would find it much easier to use a Sat Nav to travel around, especially in areas where they do not know.

Amazon now wants to introduce their ‘Prime Air’ delivery service which transports the customers bought items by drone. The goal of this system is to get packages into customers’ hands within 30 minutes of processing their order using small unmanned aerial vehicles. There could be problems with security and long distances that is why they are taking all points into consideration before they approve this service.

Personal Experience

My own experience I have with employment in the information age is having a job in a retail shop. I have to use a lot of technology being able to perform different transactions with customers and also making transactions quicker. I am able to just scan barcodes from items and then the computer processes the rest.

Life in the Information Age

We live in the information age from all these great advances we have achieved in the 21^st century. All the great advances are to do with communication and getting information through one person to another. It is said that the more you know the more powerful of an individual you become. Information and knowledge intertwine as to gather all this information you need to have good knowledge. This has been developed through the 21^st century as communication has changed.

It all started off with telegraphs, then it developed to radio and now it is wireless. These have advanced over the years so that you can communicate with people even if they are not close to you.

Computers

Computers were invented in 1969 and they were first used for adding and calculating, which is what we now call a calculator, and that is what it was ever used for in that time. Over the years it came apparent that you could use the digital code in far more sophisticated ways, being able to do billions of calculations in a matter of seconds. This was used so that information could be used from one place to another instantaneously and transforming methods and so because of this, we can call ourselves the ‘information age’. Computers are now all around us, even if we do not use the computer itself, some devices such as washing machines have computers in them and other household items we use every day. Now computers are used everywhere and are very accessible and have become an essential in people’s lives.

Calculators

The calculator when it was first invented was a very large object and it was known as a computer at the time. Due to developments in technology, they have minimised the size of the calculator and we now call these pocket calculators. Also the silicone chip was invented and it was a small quantity of silicone which you could connect a circuit through and it was found to be cheap to make and many of them could be made. These silicone chips are what we now call microchips and they are placed in many devices such as calculators and computers so that the size of these devices can be minimised.

Internet

The most recent change is the internet. The internet first started up so that universities could pass information to each other and it has now developed into people using it all over the world. At first it was easy to distinguish communication and internet, but it has changed so much that it is now all together because there are many social networking sites where people are able to communicate to each other using the internet. Similarly they had progressed internet onto phones; the iPhone was the first phone to connect to the internet easily to the extent where now all the phones we buy are smart phones.

Televisions

Televisions have developed massively over the years. When TV’s were first used they had a very limited number of channels of low quality and not many people owned them as they were expensive to buy. Now they are used like computers because you can now download things like you would on your computer but onto your TV. You are now able to watch films that are accessed through your TV and you can watch any programmes that you missed just at a click of a button. Sky has also introduced ‘Sky Go’ which is where you can watch their sky programmes wherever you are as long as you are connected to the internet. This all means that going to the cinema and other things relating to this have become digitised.

Online Entertainment

The online world has taken off from entertainment. Online entertainment is the central point of films and videos; without them there would be a limited amount of entertainment that we use today. We are able to spend many hours a day using online entertainment and it can take over our lives. Entertainment influences our everyday lives as there are many choices available to you which do not involve leaving your home.

E-Books

E-Books have become a very popular type of entertainment and have out run paper books in the American market. E-Books allow you to store many books onto one device and not have to carry those heavy books around with you. Many people find it a much more efficient to be able to download books and have them all on the same device, meaning you can read book after book with no extra weight to carry. There are also apps you can download which act in the same way as E-Books however are available on your mobile phone for easier access. One of the most successful of internet entertainment is the kindle created by Amazon.

Advances in Music Technology

Music had been a huge part of entertainment for years. Music has changed in the genres from generation to generation and the way it is recorded for the public to hear. A CD records little bits of information in which each sector contains digital information. Digital information is when the movement is instant; it is either on or off. Therefore in a CD the digital information oscillates, meaning they are constantly turning on and off, however it happens so fast that it is very hard to detect. These days, it is more commonly used to download MP3’s. For an MP3, the sound is compressed even more which allows thousands of songs to be downloaded onto a device. This is where the iPod and MP3 players came in and they had changed peoples listening habits.

Online TV

Over the past few years online TV has become a bit part of people’s lives. It allows you to catch up on TV programmes you have missed out on; some of these websites include BBC iPlayer, 4oD and ITV Player. These websites also have apps which you can download onto your phone and watch programmes on the go. You can also pick from a variety of films to watch on websites such as Netflix. Netflix has many films from all genres to suit anyone’s needs, however it does come at a price, but it is very affordable. Online TV is one of the most used sources of entertainment and it is increasingly become more accessible. Many TV’s are now being sold which allow you to connect to the internet so that you have a wider selection of programmes and films to watch on your TV and not just on your computer.

Gaming

Games have become widely popular in particular with teenagers. There are many online games to play and also a wide variety of games to be used on devices which sometimes do not require to be connected to the internet. Many of these games can lead people to spend hours playing them.

One example of an online game is Second Life, where you create your own person and control them to be whoever you want them to be. Second Life was very popular with its debut in 2003; the average session time for a user was much greater than the session time with popular social networking sites. However now it has lost its popularity due to having a lot of competition.

Another example is Sims, which is a game you download onto your computer. In this game you are able to create a family and choose their lifestyle and what you do with each individual character. With this game you can buy expansion packs which add new items to buy and new areas to play in.

Scopes of Online Entertainment

The scopes of online entertainment are that it is useful to be able to catch up on programmes and also start watching series that the websites offer. Also it is extremely accessible for you to use wherever you are. Finally there are many different options you are able to pick from to suit your own personal choice of entertainment.

Limitations of Online Entertainment

The limitations of online entertainment include the quality of music being reduced as MP3’s are compressed. Another limitation is that not everyone can afford having those extra options for entertainment. Finally if you use online entertainment too much it can make you anti-social and not interact face to face with people.

My Person Experience

I frequently use online entertainment when I want to watch films and also catch up on the TV programmes I had missed out on. When I watch films I tend to use Netflix which I have on my TV as it is connected to the internet and it allows me to watch films whenever I want and it gives a wide range of films, organised into genres, most popular and new releases. I also download music online as it is much easier as I can move it from my computer onto my phone very effortlessly.