JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

NAME: BILALI HAMISI

ADM NO: HD232-C005-097/2011 COURSE: BBIT UNIT: SOCIAL IMPACTS OF ICT UNIT CODE: BBT 2205 LECTURER: MR. OMBIRI DUE DATE: 25TH JULY, 2013
BILALI HAMISI

1. ICT HAS RESULTED TO JOB LOSS DISCUSS

Some jobs have been lost as a result of computers being used to do the same work that people used to do. Some examples of areas have suffered job losses. The main sectors where ICT has impacted jobs include I. Manufacturing

Many factories now have fully automated production lines and skilled technicians and machinists can be replaced by computer-controlled robots which can work faster, for longer and more consistently. In a factory, many dirty and dangerous monitoring jobs have been replaced by data-logging equipment using sensors. In a factory, many quality control jobs involved routine sampling and were very boring, many have now been replaced by automatic machines. II. Secretarial Work

Offices used to employee many secretaries to produce the documents required for the business to run. Now people have personal computers, they tend to type and print their own documents. In an office, many typists can be replaced by one person using a word processor. This is a lot more efficient, for example documents can be saved and reloaded for editing rather than being re-typed and mail merging can be used to create apparently custom-typed documents. In an office, many payroll clerks using calculators and paper-based records can be replaced by one person using a spreadsheet to calculate a company's payroll. In an office, many clerks updating paper-based files in filing cabinets can be replaced by one person using a database. III. Accounting Clerks

Companies once had large departments full of people whose job it was to do calculations (e.g. profit, loss, billing, etc.) A personal computer running a spreadsheet can now do the same work. IV. Newspaper Printing

It used to take a team of highly skilled printers to typeset (layout) a newspaper page and to then print thousands of newspapers. The same task can now be performed far more quickly using computers with DTP software and computer-controlled printing presses. V. Others Include a. In a warehouse, many loading and sorting jobs have been replaced by a few staff running a computer-controlled warehouse.

b. In a telephone exchange, operators have been replaced by computer systems that make the phone connections automatically. c. In a car park, the car park attendant can be replaced by automatic ticket machines and barriers using control technology. d. In a shop, online shopping means sales staff and cashiers etc. are replaced by staff selecting and sending out goods from a warehouse etc. e. In a shop, stock control staff can be replaced by automated with bar-code readers recording items entering the building and being sold. f. In a bank, ATM machines mean less cashiers are needed inside the bank to deal with customers.

2. IMPACTS OF ICT ON;

ORGANISTIONAL STRUCTURE The use of ICT by organizations can have drawbacks as well as positive effects. Some of the main problems are cost, competition, and security. a. Communication. Using ICT has brought a number of benefits to organizations, such as: Cost savings by using e.g. VoIP instead of normal telephone, email / instant messaging instead of post, video conferencing instead of traveling to meetings, ecommerce web sites instead of sales catalogues. Access to larger, even worldwide, markets. Web sites can be seen from all parts of the world and orders can be taken wherever there is a compatible banking system to process payments, e.g. credit / debit card, PayPal, bank transfer facility. Flexible response. Organizations with good communications can respond to changes quickly. This may mean better customer relations, an improved supply chain for goods and services, faster development of new products to meet a new opportunity, etc. b. Information management. Organizations can benefit from using ICT for information management. E.g. Data mining of customer information to produce lists for targeted advertising. Improved stock control, resulting in less wastage, better cash flow and more. Mangers are better informed and will have more reliable and up-to-date information on which to base their decisions. c. Security. Although the use of ICT can bring its own security issues, it can also solve or reduce some security problems, e.g. Encryption methods can keep data safe from unauthorized people, both while it is being stored or while it is being sent electronically. CT also enables physical security systems such as fingerprint, iris or facial recognition. d. Cost. The cost of using ICT may cause a number of problems for organizations. A lot of ICT hardware and software is expensive, both to purchase and to maintain. An ICT system usually requires specialist staff to run it and there is also the challenge of keeping up with ever-changing technology.

e. Competition. Competition is usually thought of as being a good thing, but for some organizations being exposed to greater competition can be a problem. If the organization is competing for customers, donations, or other means of funding nationally or even internationally, they may lose out to other organizations that can offer the same service for less money. f. Security. Security is always a problem for any organization that uses ICT. Data must be kept secure, Internet connections must be protected from attack, new viruses and other forms of malware are released nearly every day. Organizations will usually have legal obligations to protect data such as customer information. Even if the organization does not have to comply with a specific data protection law it will usually be in the organizations interest to protect data from rivals. g. For many years it has been argued that IT will enable larger spans of control and the flattening of group ware. This has at last happened, but due as much to initiatives like BPR (business process reengineering) and the drive to cut costs. Research on whether IT encourages Cen centralization Dec decentralizations produced ambivalent results.

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY There are both positive and negative effects of ICT to people with disabilities. Some positive effects are there is better access to information, improvement of communication and security through encryption of information. Some of the negative effects are reduced personal interactions and reduced physical activities. a. Screen Readers are software programs that allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer. A screen reader is the interface between the computers operating system, its applications, and the user. The user sends commands by pressing different combinations of keys on the computer keyboard to instruct the speech synthesizer what to say and to speak automatically when changes occur on the computer screen. b. Touch Screens A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that the user can control through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with one or more fingers. Some touchscreens can also detect objects such as a stylus or ordinary or specially coated gloves. c. Eye Tracking Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Eye trackers are used in research on the visual system, in psychology, in cognitive linguistics and in product design d. Talking word processors software programs provide speech feedback as text is being typed. The student may choose to hear each letter, word, sentence, and/or paragraph as it is typed. The type of feedback that is provided is set in the speech menu of the program. This multi-sensory feedback assists students in identifying and correcting grammar and spelling errors. The programs also contain a talking spell check that is beneficial to many students.

e. Screen Magnifiers is software that interfaces with a computer's graphical output to present enlarged screen content. It is a type of assistive technology suitable for visually impaired people with some functional vision; visually impaired people with little or no functional vision usually use a screen reader.

QUALITY OF LIFE a. Improved access to education, e.g. distance learning and on-line tutorials. New ways of learning, e.g. interactive multi-media and virtual reality. New job opportunities, e.g. flexible and mobile working, virtual offices and jobs in the communications industry. b. It has led to proper access to information. Possibly the greatest effect of ICT on individuals is the huge increase in access to information and services that has accompanied the growth of the Internet. Some of the positive aspects of this increased access are better, and often cheaper, communications. c. The use of ICT to access information has brought new opportunities for leisure and entertainment, the facility to make contacts and form relationships with people around the world, and the ability to obtain goods and services from a wider range of suppliers by the use of social Medias. d. ICT has led to new tools, new opportunities. ICT gives access to new tools that did not previously exist. A lot of these are tied into the access to information mentioned above, but there are many examples of stand-alone ICT systems as well such as ICT can be used for processes that had previously been out of the reach of most individuals like photography work. e. ICT has also been used to help people overcome disabilities. e.g. screen magnification or screen reading software enables partially sighted or blind people to work with ordinary text rather than Braille. f. ICT has reduced personal interaction by being able to work from home is usually regarded as being a positive effect of using ICT hence cost saving. SUPERVISION a. Helps in security by anticrime advertising, case processing using media technology, and police surveillance systems based on the older technologies of audio- and videotaping, there is an abundance of newer media technologies capable of both facilitating and constraining communication, interaction and realization of fluid identities. b. Use of Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) the use of computer software to control machine tools and related machinery in the manufacturing of work pieces hence helping ensure supervision in the organization. c. ICT has also led to automation where machines execute commands automatically hence there is reduction in cost for hiring people to do so.

BLUE TO WHITE, COLLAR WORKERS a. ICT allow you have faster access to information about sales, our partners, and customers. We are able to react faster to problems and opportunities. It allows for accuracy, immediacy and richness of the information it brings to knowledge workers the insight and collaboration made, possible by the information. It helps to stimulate a concerted response by employees to develop and implement a business strategy. b. ICT enhances knowledge sharing and helps to build on each others ideas in real time. You need a fast flow of good information to streamline processes, raise quality and improve business execution. ICT helps you achieve this. ICT give you access to data that leads to insight into your business. c. ICT allows you to automate routine processes and allow employees do thinking work, not manual work. ICT helps to cut research from hours to minutes. d. ICT also enhance work style flexibility. For instance, a web work style also makes it easier for people who have good skill sets but who cant or choose not to work full-time. With the use of Internet such people can find work and opportunities and yet work from remote locations. Many knowledge workers will live where they want to live and structure the work the way they want it and still make major contribution to the business they work for or with. e. ICT enables an organization to empower its employees. It makes workers to pursue lifelearning skills, which will ultimately boost their productivity. This could be through training or even getting higher degrees online, we can develop our most valuable asset there is our brains and increase our intelligences. ICT according to Gates extend the capabilities of our mind.

ANY OTHER ASPECT IN ORGANISATION a. IT creates new opportunities for innovation in products and services. Services which used to be delivered in person can now be delivered over networks. Among the key levers are sequencing, simultaneity, time extension, portability, reusability and more b. Newer types of IT such as electronic mail and groupware are creating significant changes in the way that information flows around group ware, and between them and their customers and suppliers. It can hasten the development of more open and innovative cultures. c. IT is rapidly entering the era where it supports unstructured management processes as well as highly routinized business processes. It provides more effective ways of accessing information from multiple sources, including use of external information on databases and the Internet.

d. The way in which IT diminishes the effect of distance means that it creates a variety of options for reorganizing the workplace. It can provide more flexibility in the office,

allowing desk sharing and a degree of location independence within a building and wireless PCs become more firmly established. e. IT is dramatically changing the nature of professional work. There are few offices where professional do not make use of personal computers, and in many jobs involving extensive information and knowledge based work, the use of the computer is often a core activity. Becoming effective not only requires traditional skills of organizing, thinking, writing etc., but knowing how best to use the power of IT for researching sources, accessing information, connecting to experts, communicating ideas and results, and packaging the knowledge (asset) for reuse.

REFERENCES
1. Odion, F. and Adetona, C.O. (2009): Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a tool for effective performance by Academic Librarians in Edo State of Nigeria. Communicate, Journal of Library and information Science. 11(1), 27-31 2. Patra, B.k. (2011): The Role of Information and Communication Technology on Management and Services Of Academic Libraries. Techno India Group Research Journal, 1(1). 3. Castells, M. (2009): The Power of Identity. 2nd ed. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. Volume 2. Oxford, Blackwell. 4. Wikipedia.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_unemployment