Topic 5: Capabilities & Limitations of ICT Flashcards
Name four advantages of ICT vs manual data processing.
Ability to: repeat an operation exactly an infinite number of times, store data on high capacity media, process data at high speed, process data with great accuracy, search data, analyse data to make predictions, outut data in multiple formats, secure data, for example using encryption
Give an example of repetition as an advantage of ICT.
In a hospital, computers can evaluate thousands of radiology scans in exactly the same way every time. In contrast, the judgements of a human radiologist may not be consistent.
Mail merge in a word-processing application can address personalised letters or emails to thousands of people on a company’s mailing list. By linking a database of contact details with a template, mail merge repeats the process of adding each person’s details. This saves the company a lot of time.
Give an example of speed as an advantage of ICT.
A computer can locate a patient’s electronic record much more quickly than a paper file could be found. A computer can process massive amounts of data to make a diagnosis much faster than a team of experiened consultants could.
Give an example of accuracy as an advantage of ICT.
A computer can perform calculations to many decimal places without making mistakes. For example, a self-driving car relies on highly accurate calculations about other moving vehicles on the road.
Give an example of storage capacity as an advantage of ICT.
Storage on a hard drive takes up much less physical space than paper records. For example, some hospitals still have rooms full of racks of paper patient records.
Give an example of search capability as an advantage of ICT.
A computer can use multiple search criteria to find a specific piece of data, whereas a paper record can only be stored under one filing system - such as a patient’s last name, or their post code.
Give an example of output formating as an advantage of ICT.
Electronic data can be output in the format that is the most appropriate for the end user. For example, a doctor might want to see statistical analysis of a patient’s test results with graphs and tables. In contrast, the patient may only need a short summary in text.
Give an example of predictive analytics as an advantage of ICT.
Computers are able to process such huge volumes of data that they can predict the future much more accurately than humans can. For example, the Met Office can predict the weather using data from thousands of monitoring stations.
Give an example of security as an advantage of ICT.
Electronic data records can be protected with a password or other authencation method such as biometric scanning. Paper records are only protected while they are locked away.
Name 3 factors that affect the efficiency of ICT systems.
Inputs, hardware specification, software application, testing, real-time or batch processing, network communications, changability of the requirements, operational procedures, reliability requirements, cost.
How do inputs affect the efficiency of ICT systems?
Interfaces must be designed for ease of use.
Input data must be high quality, otherwise ‘garbage in, garbage out’ (GIGO).
How does hardware specification affect the efficency of ICT systems?
CPU speed, GPU speed, RAM size, hard drive storage space. Are these powerful enough for the software that will run on it?
How does the software specification affect the efficency of ICT systems?
Functionality & features - does the software do everything the customer needs?
How does testing affect the efficency of ICT systems?
Has software been checked for bugs? Does it use too much CPU time (runs slow)?
How does the need for real-time or batch processing affect the efficiency of ICT systems?
Should data be processed immediately, or can it be done overnight? Eg sensors in intensive care vs updating patients’ contact details.
