Information

processing is when a machine or _

Will the changes caused by computerisation the morale of staff?

lower

processor interacts with the outside world and acts on the input it receives. An example of this is an automatic electric kettle which senses when the water temperature reaches boiling point and switches off. A car production line can sense when a car body is in a certain position to weld together the relevant parts of a car. Information if the information processing is only valuable can be stored and retrieved

How can the loss of jobs be handled properly? computerisation?

What can be done to help staff adapt to

ExampLes of information processing

Information processing can be done in almost all sectors of business. It is also becoming increasingly popular at home where bills can be paid either by phone or on the Internet. Other people use information through onand reports can be such processing for research and education line classes where assignments submitted use the Internet

quickly, accurately and efficiently and cannot be changed accidentally.

Setting up an information processing system

Before setting up an information processing system, a business should consider the following questions: Will computerisation problem? Is it cost effective in the long term? How large is the amount of data to be handled? Is high processing speed really important? Can the present staff manage the system? really solve the particular

electronically. In fact, all kinds of people to find a wealth of information

as current affairs news, stock prices, educational materials, on-line banking and investments, for goods and services, communication, exchange of information the world. shopping and the

with other people around

Table 5. 7 Advantages and disadvantages of information processing

Advantages
Taskscan be completed faster because data and information can be processed at amazing speeds. Computers can process large amounts of data and generate error-free results, provided that the data is entered correctly. Computing storage devices can store enormous amounts of data and information for future use. The high reliability of modern computer components means you get consistent results. Efficiency and productivity can be raised. Running cost becomes lower in the long term. Automation can be introduced. That is, tasks can be completed with little human intervention. Overall security can be increased due to less human intervention. Management can analyse new information and trends more qUickly. Customer services can be improved because operations are managed more efficiently. Data and information can be shared with other computers.

Disadvantages
It may need a high initial investment in equipment and training. More money may be needed to employ specialised staff to operate and design the information processing system. Some jobs may be lost as a result of computerisation, which may lower the morale of staff members. Some staff must be trained or retrained. Face-to-faceinteraction between staff may be reduced.

8 The customer the payment.

must sign the voucher to authorise

9 The sales assistant will verifY that the signature maintain patient records in hospitals perform computer-assisted research and diagnose operate implanted which allow patients and clinics matches that on the back of the debit card. electronically from the bank bank account to the company's monitor patients' vital signs in hospital, and at home medical tests medical conditions to live longer during operations that for example laser eye surgery computers with

10

The money is transferred customer's account.

devices such as pacemakers Sometimes automatically If the magnetic sales assistant through capabilities surgery. small keyboard. the magnetic strip reader cannot from the card. then the using a read the card number

control surgical instruments require great precision, and heart surgery enable 'telemedicine' videoconferencing

strip has been damaged, can enter the card number

train surgeons before they perform

Banking
Computers are used to keep track of all bank transactions. Customer everytime a payment accounts need to be updated transaction is made whether by in is

cheque,card or EFT (Electronic funds transfer) at thepoint of sale (EFTPOS) areader attached is useful for customers a shop.The shop assistant inserts their bank card into to the POS terminal. The payment bank account is as follows. then made directly from the customer's to that of the shop. The procedure

Payroll
1 The cost of all of the items to be purchased added up, usually on a computerised the shop assistant. 3 The card is swiped through a magnetic strip reader to input the card number and expiry date to a computer. 4 The card number, payment to the bank's computer telephone line. 5 The bank's computer looks up the customer's account details in an accounts database. 6 If the card is valid and the customer has enough money in his account then the payment is approved. 7 A voucher is printed with the card number and purchase details on it. amount and identity and of the company that has sold the goods are sent using a modem till. is A payroll system uses an information slips and record the information processing system purposes. 2 The customer presents his debit or credit card to to calculate the wages of each employee, print out payfor accounting

PayroLL example
Input: This may come from a database of employees' details, such as salaries, pay rates, bonus rates if employees are paid by the hour, then timesheets would be used to input and validate the number of hours worked and number of hours overtime, possibly using OMR or OCR techniques. Processing: Using a software application such as a spreadsheet or more complex accounting software the computer then needs to calculate the gross amount earned by each employee any bonuses any deductions such as tax, national insurance, etc. the net amount earned by each employee. Output: The computer would need to print payslips, using an impact printer if the pay-slip is required in duplicate or a non-impact for the employee's signature, otherwise update the printer

When a member takes a book out on loan, the barcode of the book and the barcode of the member's card are read by a barcode reader. The coded information, along with the date that the book was borrowed, constitutes a 'transaction'.

Library example
Input: The barcode from the book the barcode from the member's card the borrowed date, librarian's name and other relevant information This 'transaction' is then stored in the library's database. Note: Barcodes contain a check digit which is used for automatic validation by the barcode reader. Processing: The library's database would have files (tables) containing details about the books, magazines and journals in the library the members the transactions. The computer system will need to be able to calculate which books are overdue and whether any fines are due. Information retrieval: Searches would have to be

employee database using a database integrated with the accounting software output details of payments to a banker's automated clearing service to pay money directly into employees' bank accounts using electronic commerce print summary reports.

performed on the database by the librarian, to find out whether a book is currently in stock in the library or whether it is out on loan. There may also be links to other computerised on-line libraries.

Library
When a new member joins a library that is automated, a membership card is issued which has a barcode printed on it. Every book in the library also has a barcode printed inside it.

Output: Summary reports results of searches. The computerised library system is a real-time system a book is loaned out.

as data is updated immediately

ControL systems
You are surrounded by computer control systems but probably do not know it. Here are some examples of control systems. Traffic lights are triggered by the bumper of the vehicle interacting with the sensor embedded in the road (Fig 5.7).

temperature

sensor would only be able to tell the

system that the environment is hot or cold. It would not be able to tell the system how hot or how cold it is.

Analog sensor signals

Digital sensor signals

Fig 5.8 Digito/light sensors can only tell the system whether the light is on or off. Analog light sensors can tell the system how bright the light is

A traffic light control system would not be very useful or safe if it did not respond adequately to the oncoming vehicles and stop the traffic! To do this, there has to be a computer program which is constantly looking at the data from the sensors and making decisions about what the output device (the traffic lights) should do. In the kitchen microwave cookers, washing machines, and tumble dryers all have control systems inside them to make them do their job at the press of a button. In the sitting room, remote control televisions, video recorders and audio systems have built-in control systems. All modern cars have a management system which tells the engine what to do. This controls the flow of fuel to the engine and stops the engine from going too fast. Remote-control locks respond to a signal have sensors which from the key to lock the doors. Buildings with air conditioning detect the temperature and humidity inside the buildings and turn the heating on or off when needed. In these examples many of the sensors have digital outputs. In the traffic lights example, the embedded sensor that detects an approaching vehicle needs only to know whether a vehicle is there or not. So an on/off digital sensor is adequate. A digital
Sensors to detect approaching people (inside and outside) Sensor to detect people between doors Door control motor

The processing of information information,

is usually integrated

into a control system which has sensors to input a processing unit (computer) which decides how to respond to the inputs, and output devices which do what is required. A control system also needs an interface unit between the computer and the input sensors and the output devices. This unit turns the signals from the sensors into something that the computer can understand, and the signals from the computer into something that will work the output devices. The purpose of the interface is to make all parts of the system work with each other.
Status display Micro processor-board

Fig 5.9 A typical control system looks like this. Note that it does not have a screen, disk or keyboard. The program is stored in ROM

The processing unit in a control system may be a computer which has a program built into it. It will usually not be like the computers that you use, where you change the program by loading a new program from disk. The processing unit has a resident program in its electronic circuits. Such a system is called an

and repetitive tasks. In electronic circuit production, the components are automatically put in the right place on the circuit boards and then automatically soldered into position. The speed and accuracy at which these machines work are greater than those of skilled workers. The danger to the workers from the heat generated by soldering is removed by having automatic soldering systems. The number of people needed in such areas of work has changed and usually been reduced. The skills the workers need have also changed. Rather than doing the repetitive tasks themselves, they now keep the machinery running and monitor activities.

embedded controller. Embedded

controllers have

only one program in their electronics to do the job they were designed to do. This makes them much cheaper to make because they do not need disk storage devices, a keyboard, a mouse or a screen. Once the system has been tested to make sure that it behaves as it should, these elements are not needed. The outputs will be the things that are being controlled, not the screen.

Industry example
Input: Sensors take readings at regular time intervals
and send the readings to the computer. process Sensors may be measuring temperature, liquid flow rate and so on. pressure,

Industry
Sometimes, in industry, a whole manufacturing Computer manufacturing is controlled automatically by a computer system. systems do many tedious

Processing: The computer analyses the readings and

decides whether action needs to be taken.
Sensor Analog sensors Temperature How hot/cold it is Monitoring the temperature in an oven Turning street lights on when it is dark The acidity of a liquid Digital sensors Pressure pad Button Light gate If a pad is being pressed If the button is being pressed Detects an object passing through the gate Passive Detects when a into an area infrared (PIR) warm object moves Detecting cars arriving at traffic lights Obtaining a ticket to a paid car park. Measuring the speed or acceleration of objects Activating a burglar alarm if someone enters a room Monitoring water pollution Quantity measured Application

Output: The computer sends output signals to devices

which manage the process to increase pressure or temperature, for example. In other systems an actuator is a device which reacts to a computer signal and operates a simple device such as a tap, motor or switch to regulate liquid flow. Most of these systems use feedback, where the output affects the input.

Weather forecasting
Some of the world's most powerful computers are used to forecast the weather, which improves the accuracy of forecasts. People who rely on these forecasts include television companies, shipping companies, farmers, the military, and outdoor sports organisations. hurricanes Computer systems are also used to track and tornados, monitor global warming,

and monitor the ocean for systems of currents such

readings are sent to the respective meteorological office's computer systems. Processing: The data is stored in a large database. The first task is to perform a quality control check on the data (validation) and to reject all invalid readings. The data is formatted to fit in with a numerical model of readings. From this computer model, forecasts can be made. The bulk of processing is 'number-crunching' and solving thousands of inter-related equations. Output: The forecasts are normally produced as global and local charts of weather information.

Supermarket

stock controL

Most businesses need to hold stocks of goods. Shops need to hold stocks of goods they sell, and manufacturers need to hold stocks of raw materials and finished goods they make. The task of recording and maintaining stock levels is called stock control.

asEl Nino. Automatic data recording for weather forecastinghas several advantages: It is more accurate than manual data collection. Computer data can be collected continuously where humans may begin to tire, and in situations not safe for humans. It is extremely fast. Computers can easily take thousands of measurements in a second. This means that events which could not be measured by a person can now be recorded for analysis later.

Weatherforecasting example
Input: Millions of pieces of data (observations suchas temperature, pressure, humidity, infrared radiation) are collected from satellites, weather stations,weather balloons, aircraft, radar, weather shipsand automatic weather buoys. All these

A stock control system must keep an up-to-date record of all the stock held and place orders for fresh deliveries if stock runs low. Large shops, supermarkets and factories use computerised Stock control is important as: to supply delay. If stock control systems.

Processing: As each item is sold, the stock files are updated so that customer service can be much quicker, reducing queues few mistakes can be made in charging customers prices can be changed easily a fully itemised bill can be provided for the customer no staff are needed for counting stock on shelves.

Adequate stocks must be maintained a customer with goods with minimum will go elsewhere.

Output: Orders are printed when stock levels reach a

re-order point. Customer thermal printers. receipts are printed using

customers find goods are regularly out of stock they Goods must not be overstocked. By keeping stocks to a minimum, a business can limit the amount of money invested in stock and also reduce the risk of stock deteriorating before it can be sold. Minimum stock levels also reduce storage costs such as warehousing, heating, lighting and security.

1 Discuss two characteristics of information processing. 2 Discuss two things you need to consider before introducing an information processing system. processing that

A real-orne stock controlsystern

Input: The operator at a point of sale (POS) terminal
only needs to pass the barcode on each item past a laser scanner. The scanner reads the code number stored in the barcode and sends it directly to a computer. The computer checks the code and, if it is valid, looks up the product's name and price in data files held on disk. The name and price are sent back to the POS terminal.

3 Give three examples of information you use every day. 4

Explain briefly what a control system consists of. Using 'A'for analog or'D'for appropriate System
Temperature Button Pressure pad Light sensor sensor

5 a

digital, copy

and complete the table stating the type of sensor for each of the systems.

In this way the POS terminal can print out an

itemised receipt. Note that with POS systems, prices are usually only marked on shelves and not on individual items, which can cause customer confusion. Each terminal has a keyboard that can be used if a barcode cannot be read.
b For each of the above systems, give an example to illustrate its appropriate use for data capture.

Before data can be input to a computer it needs to be collected.There are several methods of doing this.

Meter Reading Form

CustomerNumber: Name: Address: Last Reading :

0262413-282-0
Ms. Reyda Gay Gardens 20 Dover

4370

Data-capture forms
These forms must be designed so that their instructions are clear and concise leaving no doubt as to how to enter the data onto the form. For example, the format for dates could be specified as 'dd/mml yyyy'so that the format 'mml dd/yy' is not used In error. such as candidate number, subject and school code is Theresponses from the forms are called humanreadable since data entry personnel manually enter the responses written on the forms. This method of data capture is liable to transcription of avoiding transcription and other errors when the data is entered into the computer. One method errors is double data entry where the data is entered twice by two different people and the computer will only accept the data if the two versions are identical. printed on the multiple-choice answer sheet by the computer. The student takes the test and fills in the answer grid by making marks in the appropriate boxes using a pencil or ballpoint pen. The form is then returned to the examination council to be fed into a special reader.
Fig 5.12 The meter reader has marked the reading as 4605 on this turnaround document

Optical character recognition (OCR) is used to read

the student's pre-printed information from the form whereas optical mark recognition (0 MR) is used to read the answers that have been added. All the information can be read into the computer automatically. The sheet is marked and the total mark is printed without any need for human intervention.

Turnaround document
A turnaround document is a machine-readable document that has some information a computer but has more information this newly added information. printed on it by added to it by a serve

human. It is then fed back into a computer to transfer These documents two purposes. They are used to: verify the accuracy and completeness that has already been entered update information data. Optical mark recognition and optical character already entered with additional of information

recognition are often used together in a turnaround document. Figure 5.12 shows an example of a turnaround document used to record the reading on an electricity meter. Another example of a turnaround documents is the multiple-choice sheets used in examinations. Information Turnaround of information barcode format. documents allow cheap, fast input system. Data documents in

into a computer

,can also be printed

on turnaround

In some industries turnaround documents are being replaced by small handheld computers. For example, many local utility companies now issue their meter readers with handheld computers. At the start of the day the names and addresses of the customers to be visited are downloaded into the computer. As the meter reader visits customers' homes, he types the meter readings into the computer. At the end of the day the readings can be transferred automatically onto the main computer to issue bills. Other businesses that use these handheld computers include courier services that deliver parcels.
Fig 5./5 These students are logging the temperature of the water at intervals by using a sensor connected to a data logger This data can then be processed to provide analysis of the environment.

Ready

Sheetl ~ sum-39
$ . 00 ~

IF 1'.'11:

121234567890;+ Ta q w e r I Y U i 0 P [ 1 CAPas<lfghjkl;' ShiftZ)(CYbnm,. J ... etl au' \ .. t ....

New fcfrt View Format Tools

A data logging system consists of sensors connected via an interface to a computer and some datalogging software (Fig 5.16).The sensors will take measurements and at required intervals the software will record the data. The results can then be displayed as a graph or a table.
Temperature sensor

t.

Input ~nnections

Output connections

Software

Fig 5.14 Turnaround documents are being replaced by small handheld computers.

Data Logging
Computers are often used by companies and scientists to automatically measure and record changes in conditions such as the temperature, the speed at which a ball is travelling in sports such as cricket and baseball, the amount of light or oxygen in a room or even the level of noise being made by vehicular traffic near a hospital.

1 Discuss one advantage each of using humanreadable and machine-readable 2 and questionnaires. 3 Describe the components 4 of a data logging system. documents. Explain why instructions should be clear on forms

Describe one example of a data logging system.

A common problem with computer systems is that

it is very easy to input incorrect include users mistyping data. Examples There are two types of errors here. Software might malfunction, erasing or corrupting previously entered data. Hardware may develop a fault (often intermittent) that corrupts data; examples of such faults are bad sectors on a hard disk or bad memory, or a power surge. The application may appear to accept data correctly but when that data is retrieved it is corrupt (Fig 5.17). Errors are part of any computer information system. a name or address in to a

database, so that letters are sent to the wrong person. However, it is also possible for a device to misread a barcode and therefore to the user. not provide any information

There are several approaches to dealing with the problems that errors cause, specifically detecting when errors occur (so that they can be corrected) and preventing errors (so that they do not occur). Here a fewapproaches are considered. Transmission errors occur when data is sent from one by the sender.

computer to another. The data received by one system is not the same as that transmitted

Data entry
Sometimes data cannot be automatically scanned into the system for storage, so a common way is to type the data directly into the computer system. Data entry errorswould then occur when an operator enters data using a keyboard and mixes up digits and/or letters.

Validation
Data validation is the computerised or incomplete) method(s) checking of input data for errors (data that may be unreasonable before it is processed. There are many different methods of validation. The most appropriate to use will depend upon what data is being entered. The most common methods are listed here.

For example, the number 32 may be entered as 23.

Other errors occur when data entry requirements not clear. Do you interpret 08/03/04 can be either accidental or deliberate. Accidental errors occur unintentionally: faith, but in error. Deliberate: if errors are made deliberately then the user probably knows enough to get round any validation checks. Examples include a disgruntled employee entering fictitious data into a company's database. Possible solutions to this problem include file access permissions and cross referencing reliable sources. imposed by the operating system, vigilances of the administrator data to other supposedly data is as 8th March are

2004 or as 3rd August 2004? These data entry errors

This type of check ensures that the data is actually entered and can be used on any field in a database. For example, every person in a particular database must be given a job title. Therefore a presence check could be carried out on the form field in each employee's record to ensure that a job title is entered in the form. entered or a command is issued by mistake, in good

Data typ~ check

This is also known as character or alphanumeric is given a type. Whenever check. When a database is created each field in the database data is entered into a field the database will check that it is of the correct type, e.g. alphabetic or numeric. If it is not, then an error message will be displayed and the data will have to be re-entered.

check rather than a validation check since the parity

Field Name Date of Birth Valid Data 26/08/1992 Invalid Data 26/18/76, Ryan 123, WA2

check ensures that data is correctly transferred from one location to another.

Range check
Range check ensures that the data entered is within a certain range. For example, when you enter a number corresponding examples: to a month of the year, the range of acceptable numbers is 1 to 12. Here are some other

Notice that a type check is not a very good validation check. There are many entries you could put in the Valid Data column in Table 5.3 that would pass the type check but are clearly incorrect. The data type check is also particularly important characters that exceed the maximum length would be lost. Length checks are usually only performed on alphabetic or alphanumeric
Table 5.4 Examples

if a

A person cannot be older than the calculation of the present year minus their date of birth. Days in the month cannot be less than or greater than 31. Other calculations would restrict certain months to 28 or 30 days.

fixed length field is defined to store the data. Any extra

data.

of valid field lengths

Valid Data Mr, Mrs, George Smith, Jones McConneyCodrington Invalid Data

Consistency check
A consistency check compares the contents of two or more fields to make sure that they make sense. There are occasions when some data fields are related. This check compares new data with previous data (for example, the age entered corresponds to the age calculation from the date of birth). Consider the following employee record. Surname Marital Status Number of children Claim for childcare allowance
Rogers

Check digit
A check digit is an extra digit added to the end of a code. It is used to detect errors arising from transcription and also to ensure that codes originally produced by a computer are re-entered into another computer correctly. It is calculated from the other digits in the number. Check digits are included in barcode numbers.

Married

I t would be useful to have a consistency check to cross-

Parity check
All data is transmitted transmission as a sequence of 1s and Os. A common type of error that occurs during data is that a bit is swapped from a 0 to a 1 or a 1 to a 0 by electrical interference. Parity checks detect this type of error, by adding an extra digit to data to make the total number of 1s (or Os) either odd or even.

check the information

in the 'Number of children' and

'Claim for childcare allowance' fields, since you should not claim for child allowance if you have no children. In this example, therefore, either an error has been made on input or this is a deliberate attempt to claim for child allowance when there are no children. Other examples of consistency checks are: Only employees of a certain category are allowed a car allowance. Check the category against the car allowance

 Only full-time employees are paid overtime. Check that these fields correspond Citizens over 75 years of age who are alive receive a pension allowance. Check the age and status on whether the citizen is alive or dead against allowance field.

Interpretation

of coded data

Before the responses to questionnaires can be analysed, they must be edited and coded before the data entry process. The person coding these responses should have no doubt as to what should be entered. This may sound simple, but consider the following case:

Verification
Data verification is the checking for mistakes suchas transcription errors when data is copied from one medium or device to another. Verification checksdo not guarantee that the entered data is correct.You should be aware that if the original formwas completed incorrectly, then the entered data may pass some verification checks despite being incorrect. Oneway to guarantee that the data is entered accurately, a procedure called double (data) entry shouldbe used. Data is entered twice using a program thatchecks each second entry against the first. The programidentifies the pairs that do not match, so that thecorrect values can be re-entered. The questionnaire is not pre-coded. Coding involves assigning a label to each question such as 'Q1' and a number or value to each response category, such as 1 for 'yes' and 2 for 'no'. Sometimes, people will write in a response such as 'can't remember' or 'unsure', and you must decide what to do. It could either be ignored or a new code and value added to the question. As another example, consider a library database where books are classified as being fiction, non-fiction or reference. This information could be stored as text in a database where the corresponding field length would be 11 to store the longest classification, 'Non -fiction'. Alternatively, the classifications could be coded like this: Fiction coded as F Non-fiction coded as N Oneverification method is to use on-screen prompts. Mter a set of data is entered, it is redisplayed on the screen. The user is prompted to read it and confirm thatit has been entered correctly. If the user has enteredany data incorrectly, it is re-entered. Thismethod of verification is not very reliable sincemany data entry personnel will not read the information that is redisplayed or check it carefully againstthe source document. However, the method is relativelycheap to use. Accidental errors can also be prevented by verification inasking for confirmation of instructions. For example,if you try to delete files the computer may ask'Are you sure [y/n]?' or it may display a summary ofinput data and ask for verification of its validity beforethe data is stored. Reference coded as R Coding information reduces the amount of storage space required and speeds up the process of typing the information in. For coding to work properly everyone needs to know what the correct codes are. All these decisions, as well as the questions and their codes, should therefore be summarised in a 'codebook' for future reference.

Check digits
Using a check digit is another way to obtain information from data. Examples of data suitable for using a check digit for validation include International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) and bank account numbers. The check digit is generated from the

number itself using an algorithm. Usually, each digit is given a weighting to avoid transposition errors, such as entering 223 as 233.

4 Add the check digit to the end of the original number to get the complete product number: 1405019417

ISBN 0-19-832844~

check digit

Validating a number
The procedure used to check a number is similar to that used to generate the check digit. 1 Input the number including the check digit, for example 1405019417. 2 Weight each digit by its position in the code and add up the results:

The following procedure generates a check digit to add to the end of an ISBN. It uses the Modulo-ll weighted check digit calculation. 1 Start with the original product number, for example 140501941. 2 Weight each digit by its position in the code and add the results. Note that the lowest weight used is 2:

Weighting Result

X10 10

X9 36

X8 0

X7 35

X6 0

X5 5

X4 36

X3 12

X2 2

Xl 7

Total
143

If the last digit in the number is an X then it is treated as the number 10. 3 Divide the total by 11. 143/11 = 13 remainder 0 4 If the remainder is 0 then the number has passed the validation check and so it is likely that it has been input correctly. It is important that each digit is weighted before the numbers are added up. If this were not done then a check digit would not detect transposition errors (where two digits are swapped around). This is a particularly common form of error when numbers are typed.

3 Divide the total by 11 and then subtract the remainder from 11. The check digit is the result of this operation:

If the remainder is 10 then the check digit is set to X. If it is 0 then the check digit is O. As the remainder in this example is neither 10 nor 0, the check digit is calculated like this:

What is data validation? What are the six main data validation checks? 2 Explain how data verification is different from data validation. 3 Copy and complete the table below by giving an example of valid data for each Field name Item Code Quantity ordered Date of order Customer Id Data Acceptable values AOOO 1 to Z9999

4 Calculate the check digit to complete the ISBN number 185029553. Show your working. Digit Weighting Result 5 A computer system uses even parity to transmit 8 5 0 2 9 5 5 3 Total

>0

data. Determine whether byte i or byte ii has been received correctly.

= today or <today
00000001 to 99999999 1 to 599 6 State an appropriate validation check for the following a c field names. b d gender surname month of the year postcode