Modul 1

Her er link til video for modul 1

Her har jeg lært å bruke verktøyet BlueJ for å kunne åpne, lukke og lagre prosjekter. Jeg har lært hvordan jeg skal kunne lage objekter og kalle metoder for disse objektene, både uten parametere og med parametere (string, int, objekt som parameter). Jeg hadde vært litt inne på programmering i C# fra før, og derfor var det noen likheter som gjorde at det gikk fort å lære det helt grunnleggende. Leste blant annet gjennom kildekoden til de forskjellige eksempelprosjektene i blueJ for å lære litt om syntaxen i java.

Modul 2

Bileksempelet er gjort og trenger godkjenning (Kommer Mandag 24.11).

For denne modulen lærte jeg mer om klassedefinisjon og hvordan man skal lese den. Da lærte jeg blant annet hva fields og constructors er, og hvordan man skal organisere koden for en klasse.

• Fields er feltene hvor man lagrer data permanent for et objekt
• Constructors er koden for å lage et objekt

Jeg gjorde valgte å gjøre bileksempelet for denne modulen, og bygde videre på eksempelet som var tilgjengelig på fronter. I tillegg til koden som lå der, utvidet jeg eksempelet med å legge til følgende:

Felt

• String merke
• String modell
• int pris

Metoder 

• Constructor for Bil hvor jeg la inn de nye feltene
• getMerke, returverdi string som returnerer bilens merke
• getModell, returverdi string som returnerer bilens modell
• getPris, returverdi int som returnerer bilens pris
• skrivBil, void som skriver ut informasjon om bilen

Etter å ha skrevet eksempelet la jeg inn PMD og Checkstyle å lærte å bruke de,  og rettet eventuelle feilmeldinger og mangler som kom frem.

Modul 3

Video for modul 3

I modul 3 lærte jeg mye nytt når det kom til å skrive kode selv, og hvordan dette burde gjøres.
I eksempelet mitt skrev jeg to klasser, Skip og Passasjer. Dette er enkelt forklart et program for å legge til passasjerer i et skip. Her legger man til objekter av klassen Passasjer inn som parameter i et objekt av klassen Skip, og når man kaller metoder (f.eks. skriv passasjerliste) på skipsobjektet, skal det hentes ut informasjon fra alle Passasjer-objektene som er lagt i objektet av Skip.

Jeg har sett litt på hvordan man skal bruke debuggeren i blueJ, og lært om nye begreper som abstraksjon, modularisering, primitive typer og objekttyper.
Enkelt forklart:

• Modularisering: Å dele opp et problem til mindre og mer definerte deler, som du kan bygge og utforske separat.
• Abstraksjon: Evne til å ignorere små detaljer og fokusere på det store bildet.
• Primitive typer: som int og boolean, de har ingen metoder
• Objekttyper: Definert av klasser og kan ha metoder, noen er definerte i javaspråket og andre skriver vi selv

Hva har jeg lært Modul 1-3:

Selv om jeg hadde vært borte i programmering før var objektsorientert programmering helt nytt. Det startet i det helt enkle med å lære seg å bruke verktøyet BlueJ, å kunne kjøre helt enkle metoder både med og uten paramter (og forskjellige typer parameter, som f.eks å kunne bruke objekt som parameter), og om de helt grunnleggende datatypene til variabler som int og string. I løpet av kapittel og modul 2 lærte jeg mer om å skrive selve koden selv, fremfor å bare se på den i eksemplene i BlueJ. Her lærte jeg mer om syntaxen i java og kodestruktur, og kunne skrive klassedefinisjoner og if-setninger, og enkle metoder som get, return og print. Lastet inn PMD og Checkstyle og lærte jeg hvordan de skulle brukes, og hvordan de hjalp meg. I kap/modul 3 gikk det videre på å skrive flere klasser og å koble de sammen. Etter å ha lest og gjort oppgaver i boka og sett på fagstoffet vi har tilgjengelig begynte jeg å skrive et eksempel som inkluderte læringsmålene frem til det stadiet. Jeg skrev et program med to klasser, skip og passasjer. Skip-klassens objekt er et skip, som skal frakte passasjerer (objektene av klassen passasjer). For å hente inspirasjon å lære hvordan jeg kunne gjøre dette, så jeg på lab-classes eksempelet i blueJ. Og slik lærte jeg å skrive klasser og kode for å lage objekter fra bunn av. Når jeg jobbet med eksempelet gikk jeg nok litt forut læringsmålene til modul 3 og begynte med arrayliste, for-each løkker, while løkker og bruk av iterator, dette går jeg mer i detalj på i samtale for godkjenning av modul 4.

Modul 4

Eksempelet nevnt for modul 3 henger sammen med modul 4, og dette er et videreutviklet eksempel. Klar for samtale og godkjenning.

Det nye stoffet her var: arraylist, for each løkker, while løkker og bruk av iterator.

Arraylist: Et dynamisk array/en liste som kan endres i størrelse mens et program kjører. Brukes hvor data endres forløpende (f.eks å kunne legge til eller fjerne elementer fra listen)

For: Gjør en bestemt handling for innhold i en samling

While: Gjør en bestemt handling for bestemt innhold så lenge koden oppfylles. f.eks:

while (counter < 10) {
System.out.println(counter);
Counter++;
}

Da vil den loopen kjøre så lenge telleren (counter) er mindre en 10, men slutte når det kravet ikke oppfylles lengre.

Iterator: Når du f.eks sletter en del av en liste med en for loop (f.eks. en person i en passasjerliste) vil listens størrelse og de andre delene flytte seg, og da vil man få en feilmelding når man kommer til slutten av listen. Derfor bruker vi en iterator til å holde styr på listen, og dette lar deg endre elementer i listen uten at den forstyrres.

IS-109

Jobbet videre med blueJ, fokuserte mest på leiebil-eksempelet fra forelesning denne uken, ettersom det var en del arbeid i andre fag. Lest litt i boken, men ikke jobbet med oppgaver denne uka.

IS-100

Har jobbet med oppgaver og review questions for både kapittel 3 og 4 (ikke helt ferdig med kap 4 enda, oppdateres senere i uken, eller legges ved neste uke). Lest i boka, forberedende til forelesninger og litt ekstra.

Review questions chapter 3

1.    How do applications support organizational business processes?

They help to automate business processes, and enables processes that would otherwise not even be possible. For instance, accountants have for centuries used thick books for maintaining the accounting records of a business; automating the associated tasks using accounting software applications not only has helped to make the tasks less effortful and reduce error rates, but in addition allows quick analysis of accounting records.

2.    What is middleware?

Middleware is designed to shield programmers from having to build applications for different underlying operating systems, particularly in heterogeneous, distributed environments.

3.    Describe the different types of computers and their key distinguishing characteristics.

Supercomputer – Used for scientific research, size of a car up to the size of several rooms, million dollar product. Number of simultaneous users vary from 1 to many.

Mainframe – Used for transaction processing, size of a refrigerator, price range from $500k to $10m. 1000+ simultaneous users.

Server – Used for providing web sites or access to databases, applications or files. Size of a DVD-player, price range from $300 to $50k, 10.000+ simultaneous users.

Workstation – Used for engineering, medical or graphic design. From the size of a PC to the size of a cabinet, price range $750 to $100k. Usually one user at a time.

Personal computer, PC – Used for personal productivity, price range from about $200 to $5k, one user at a time. Size: from the size of a small laptop to a big desktop PC.
4.    Describe the key functions of system software.

The most prominent type of system software is the operating system (OS), such as Windows, Mac OS or Linux.

OS’ coordinates the interaction between hardware components (CPU, monitor), peripherals (e.g., printers), application software (e.g., office programs), and users. OS are often written in assembly language, a very low-level computer programming language that allows the computer to operate quickly and efficiently. The operating system is designed to insulate you from this low-level language and make computer operations unobtrusive.

Further, the OS provides a common layer for different underlying devices, so that applications only have to be developed for different operating systems, rather than for each different computer model. The OS performs all of the day-to-day operations that we often take for granted when using a computer, such as updating the system clock, printing documents, or saving data to a disk.

5.    List the five generations of computing.

Three examples of different data types that needs to be stored.

Operational – processing transactions or for data analysis.

Backup – short term copies of organizational data, used to recover from system-related disaster. Backup data are frequently overwritten with newer backups.

Archival- long term copies of organizational data, often used for compliance and reporting purposes.

Storing in databases using disk-based storage media such as hard drives. HDDs offer high access speeds and are thus preferred for data that are frequently accessed or where reponse time is of the essence.
Flash-based storage is increasingly used for situations where access speed is of crucial importance.

Hard drives are also used for backup of data in case disaster strikes, which will allow them to seamlessly continue business if the primary system fail. Storing backup data on hard drives enables quick recovery without slowing the company’s operations.

Data that are no longer used for organizational purposes are usually stored on long-term storage devices such as magnetic tape. Access speed is slow, however, magnetic tape has a shelf life of up to 30 years, is very low cost as compared to other storage media, and is removable.

7.    How does computer networking work?

1. A computer network connects all the, taken alone, low-value components, and makes you realize the value. For instance, the best performing database would be useless if it could not be accessed by those people or applications throughout the organization that depend on the data. Further, one of the seasons why information systems have become so powerful and important is the ability to interconnect, allowing internal and external constituents to communicate and collaborate with each other.

Virtually all types of data can be transmitted on a computer network, although each type of information has vastly different requirements for effective transmission (in essence, data size determines the requirements).

8.    What is a database?

A database is an organized collection of data. The data are typically organized to model aspects of reality in a way that supports processes requiring information. For example, modeling the availability of rooms in hotels in a way that supports finding a hotel with vacancies.

9.    What is the World Wide Web, and what is its relationship to the Internet?

The internet is a global network that enables individuals to interconnect, and is a worldwide collection of networks that use a common protocol to communicate.

World Wide Web (WWW or W3) is one of the most powerful uses of the internet. WWW is a system of interlinked documents on the internet, or a graphical user interface to the internet that provides users with a simple, consistent interface to access a wide variety of information. A Web browser is a software application that can be used to locate and display web pages, including text, graphics, and multimedia content.

10. What are URLs, and why are they important to the WWW?

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is used to identify and locate a particular web page. For example, www.google.com is the URL used to find the main Google Web server.
The URL has three distinct parts: the domain, the top-level domain, and the host name.
The domain name is a term that helps people recognize the company or person that the domain name represents. For example, googles’s domain name is google.com.

The suffix, top-level domain, is the .com (commercial organizations). Other popular top-level domains are .edu (educational), .org (non-profit), .gov (US government), .net (networking) ,and country-based ones such as  .no (Norway), .de (Germany) etc.
Host name is a particular web server or group of web servers that will respond to the request. In most cases, the “www” host name refers to the default Web site or the home page of the particular domain. Other host names can be used, for example, drive.google.com will take you to the group of Web servers responsible for serving up Google’s cloud-based storage for documents.

11. Define the terms “transmission media”, “protocol” and “bandwidth”.

Transmission media – The physical pathways to send data and information between two or more entities on a network (for instance, a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, etc.).

Protocol – A procedure that different computers follow when they transmit and receive data.

Bandwidth – The transmission capacity of a computer or communications channel. For instance, the speed of which you can download/upload files on or from your computer from or to the internet.

12. Describe the characteristics of the cloud computing model.

On-Demand Self-Service – Users can access cloud resources in a buffet-style fashion on an as-needed basis without the need for lengthy negotiations with the service provider.

Rapid Elasticity –  Servers and other elements of an IS infrastructure take several weeks to be delivered and days or weeks to be configured; in contrast, in a cloud environment, computing resources can be scaled up or down almost instantaneously and often automatically, based on user needs. Hence, there is no need to purchase expensive equipment to prepare for an anticipated surge in demands.

Broad Network Access – The cloud is accessible from almost anywhere from almost any Web-enabled device. This enables real-time management of business processes.

Resource pooling – Rather than renting out space, cloud providers manage multiple distributed resources that are dynamically assigned to multiple customers based on their needs. Customers only rent a resource.

Measured Service – Service is usually provided using a utility computing model, where customers pay only for what they use, and the metering depends on the type of resource. The fixed costs associated with the IS infrastructure are thus transformed into variable costs, which are very easy to track and monitor.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – Only the basic capabilities of processing, storage and networking are provided. Hence, the customer has the most control over the resource. For example, using Amazon Web Services, customers can choose computing power, memory, operating system, and storage based on individual needs and requirements.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) – The customer can run his or her own applications that are typically designed using tools provided by the service provider. The user has control over the application but has limited or no control over the underlying infrastructure. For example Microsoft’s Windows Azure, which acts as a cloud services operating system that customers can use to deploy custom applications.

Software as a service (SaaS) – The customers uses only applications provided via a cloud infrastructure. Typically, such applications unclude Web-based e-mail services and Web-based productivity suites, but also advanced applications such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, as provided by salesfore.com. Usually the customer cares only about the application, with no knowledge or control over the underlying infrastructure, and typically has only limited ability to control or configure application-specific settings.

13. What is Moore’s law and how is it relevant to information technology?

Moore’s Law was a prediction that Intel cofounder Dr. Gordon Moore hypothesized in 1965, saying that the number of transistors on a chip would double every two years. The first CPU had 2,200 transistors, the newest models have broken the 2-billion-transistor mark, so Dr. Moore’s prediction has been fairly accurate so far. The number of transistors determines at which speeds a CPU is able to process. For instance, a modern Intel Core i7 Extreme CPU can complete hundreds of millions of operations every second.

This is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, information systems become increasingly powerful and capable of dealing with the required tasks. On the other hand, the rapid improvement of systems requires regular updates and upgrades, and is a huge cost to organizations.

14. Define grid computing and describe its advantages and disadvantages.

Grid computing is basically combining the power of a large number of smaller, independent, networked computers (often regular desktop PCs) into a cohesive system in order to solve problems that only supercomputers were previously capable of solving. Supercomputers have limitations and a much, much bigger cost. Similar to cloud computing, grid computing makes use of distributed resources; however, in contrast to cloud computing, the resources in a grid are typically applied to a single large problem. To make grid computing work, large computing tasks are broken into small chunks, each of which can then be completed by individual computers.

Some of the positives are: Lower cost as opposed to a supercomputer, no need for storage space (supercomputers occupy big spaces), utilizing otherwise unused resources (idle computers/computers with leftover computing capabilities), no limitation on processing power.

Some negatives: Demands to the underlying network infrastructure or software managing the distribution of tasks, the slowest computer can bottleneck the whole grid. Though some of these disadvantages can be overcome by using a dedicated grid.

15. Give a few examples of advanced cloud applications.

16. Describe why green computing has become so important to modern organizations.

There are several important aspects as to why green computing has become important. Firstly, companies are being increasingly scrutinized for their contribution to societal issues such as global warming. This causes more and more organization trying to portray a “greener” image when it comes to the use of energy and natural resources.

There’s also big money to be saved on saving energy. A computer in your home might not be a big impact on your energy bill, but within an organization with hundreds or even thousands of computers, the difference is enormous. For instance, General Electric saved $6.5 million in electricity annually by simply changing the power saving settings for its computers. Further, discouraging employees from printing out e-mails or documents can help to reduce the waste of paper – an average office worker prints more than a tree’s worth of paper each year.

IS-109

Har jobbet med bil-eksempelet og prøvd å skrive programmet på egenhånd uten hjelpemiddel, har til en viss grad kontroll på oppgaven nå. Har samtidig jobbet en del med kapittel 2 og lært mer om bl.a.:
– Fields
– Constructors
– Parameter
– Assignment/tildeling
– Return statements

IS-100

Har blitt mye arbeid med LAB og gruppeoppgaver i IS-104 og arbeid med java i IS-104, har ikke fått gjort så mye annet en å lese litt i boken denne uken. Satser på å få lastet opp review questions fra kapittel 3 (og kanskje litt ekstra) neste uke.

IS-109

Oppdateres.

IS-100

Har jobbet med review questions kapittel 2  (oppdateres fortløpende) og lest kapittel 3-4

Review questions chapter 2 page 116

1.    List the management levels and their corresponding information systems solutions.

Operational level – information systems at this level are designed to automate repetitive activities, such as sales transaction processing, and to improve the efficiency of business processes at the customer interface.

Managerial/tactical level – Information systems here are used not used for the same repetitive routines as on the operational level. For instance could an information system here be used to bring a manager analytics, forecast on sales/income, inventory levels, or overall production capacity.

Executive/strategic level – At this level information systems are designed to help with unstructured decisions. They can be used to obtain aggregate summaries of trends and projections of the future. They provide KPIs that are focused on balancing performance across the organization, other KPIs are used to benchmark the organization’s performance against its competitors.

2.    Compare and contrast automating and learning.

Automating – The automating perspective of technology is that it’s there to help complete a task faster, more cheaply, or with a greater accuracy or consistency.

Organizational Learning – Using information systems to learn and improve. By analyzing information created when automating a process, improved understanding about the underlying work processes can be developed.

The learning mentality builds on the automating mentality because it recognizes an organization to use past behavior and information to improve its business processes.

3.    List five general types of organizational strategy.

• Broad differentiation
• Focused differentiation
• Focused low-cost leadership
• Overall low-cost leadership
• Best-cost provider

4.    What are the sources of a competitive advantage?

Quality (Toyota), service (IBM), low cost, proprietary (manufacturing technology, formula or algorithm i.e. Coca-Cola), innovation (Apple), brand (Nike), and value (Nintendo)

.5.    How can information systems add value to a business organization?

Information systems can add value to a business organization in several ways. You can:
1) implement enterprise resource planning system to reduce costs and be able to react more quickly; implement Web site to offer better service to customers.
2) Improve Web site to reach customers and differentiate product; use inventory control system to lower costs and better manage excess capacity.

3) Implement customer relationship management system to serve customers better; implement computer-aided design and/or computer-aided manufacturing system to improve product quality.

4) Use Internet to establish closer electronic ties with suppliers and to create relationships with new suppliers located far away.

5) Use decision support system and customer purchase database to better assess trends and customer needs; use computer-aided design systems to redesign products.

6.    What is a business model and what are its primary components?

A business model is a summary of a business’s strategic direction that outlines how the objectives will be achieved; a business model specifies how a company will create, deliver, and capture value.

Key components of a business model: Customer segments, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners, cost structure.

7.    Describe the multidomestic business strategy and how it affects the flow and control of information.

The multidomestic business strategy is particularly suited for operations in markets differing widely. It uses a loose federation of associated business units, each of which is rather independent in their strategic decisions. In other words, the degree of integration is very low, and the individual subunits can respond quickly to their respective market demands. Multidomestic companies can thus be extremely flexible and responsive to the needs and demands of local markets, and any opportunities arising in the local markets can be quickly seized. However, working in a decentralized fashion, much of the knowledge generated is retained at the local subsidiaries, and knowledge transfer between the individual subsidiaries is often limited, leading to inefficiencies and mistakes that potentially can be repeated across subsidiaries. In sum, for companies following a multidomestic business strategy, very little data and control information flow between the home and subsidiary locations.

8.    Why is successful application of innovative technologies and systems often difficult?

Information systems are often bought from or built by someone else. They are often either purchased from a vendor or developed by a consultant or outsourcing partner. In these situations, the information systems are usually not proprietary technologies owned by the organization. For example, although a soft-drink company can patent the formula of a cola or a pharmaceutical company can patent a new drug, an organization typically cannot patent its use of an information system, particularly if someone else developed it. The data in the system may be proprietary, but the information system typically is not. One classic counterexample, however, is Amazon.com’s patented “one-click” ordering process that has been successfully defended in the courts.

9.    List the key requirements for implementing innovative projects.

Process requirements – To deploy innovative information systems well, people in the organization must be willing to do whatever they can to bypass and eliminate internal bureaucracy , set aside political squabbles, and pull together for the common good.

Resource requirements – Organizations deploying the system must also have the human capital necessary to deploy the new systems. The organization must have enough employees available with the proper systems knowledge, skills, time, and other resources to deploy these systems.

Risk tolerance requirements – The organization members must have the appropriate tolerance for risk and uncertainty as well as the willingness to deploy and use new systems that may not be as proven and pervasive as more traditional technologies.

10. Using past examples, explain what is meant by a disruptive innovation.     

Disruptive innovations are new technologies, products, or services that eventually surpass the existing dominant technology or product in a market. For example, retail giant Sears nearly failed in the early 1990s when it did not recognize the transformational power of the disruptive innovation discount retailing; today, discounters like Walmart and segment-specific stores like Home Depot dominate retailing. In addition I can mention the collapse of 1970’s midrange computer giant Digital Equipment Company (DEC) clearly illustrates the innovator’s dilemma. DEC was ultimately surpassed in the marketplace by microprocessor-based computers, with the microprocessor being the disruptive innovation.

11. Describe the competitive forces model.

12. What is freeconomics, and what are several approaches for applying its concepts to various industries?

Uke 38, 15.09.2014-21.09.2014

IS-100:

Oppdateres iløpet av uken etterhvert som oppgaver blir gjort.

Review questions page 72

Review questions

1. List three distinct phases of change within the world’s civilizations.

The first big change and new phase of our civilization is when humans started working with agriculture and handwork, as opposed to the nomad lifestyle of hunting and gathering.

The second major change is what we call the industrial revolution, which started off in Great Britain in the late 18th century. People started working in factories for wage as opposed to working the land and farming their own food. Machines were developed and industry became the leading source of family income.

The third major change arrived with the information age. Information became the currency of the realm. For thousands of years information was limited, it was transmitted verbally between people, this was about to change. With help of the printing press information could be saved, absorbed, debated, and written about in publications.

2. List three examples of technology usage at Starbucks.

Connecting with Customers- Connectivity is one of Starbucks’ atmosphere key components. Free Wi-Fi, access to music, and content from big newspapers makes it more than a simple coffee shop. It’s a place where you can meet friends or coworkers, study, work, or just hang out.

Mobile Payments- A smartphone app that allows customers to pay with their phones by creating a 2D bar code that can be read by an in-store terminal. In addition to allowing transactions this generates a wealth of information about Starbucks’ customers.

Contextual Retailing- Creating an individualized experience for every customer. With the information gathered from mobile payments the baristas at Starbucks can be alerted if a regular customer enters the store, know the customers preferred drinks, or suggest alternatives based on their preferences.

3. What are cloud-based systems? Give examples.

Cloud computing is one of the “megatrends” in the information age, where things such as applications are stored in a “cloud”, which means using the Internet as a platform for applications and data, as opposed to the user storing this on their own devices (PC, phone, etc.).

Google has several examples of this, such as Gmail, Google docs, or Google Calendar, all of which are accessed via a Web browser, freeing the user from tasks such as installing or updating traditional desktop applications. This also means you don’t have to worry about backing up your data, if your computer is destroyed, you can access the files from any other computer.

4. Describe and contrast the economic, cultural, and technological changes occurring in the world.

Economic Changes-

• For instance increase in international trade has given us a wealth of products and services that otherwise wouldn’t be available.
• It has increased the development of global financial systems and currency, and increased the outsourcing of labor.

Cultural Changes-

• There’s a big increase in multiculturalism made available through television, movies and the internet.
• A big increase of the frequency of international travel, tourism and immigration.
• The availability of ethnic foods and restaurants greatly increasing.
• Increase in worldwide fads and phenomena such as Pokémon, Sudoku, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Technological Changes-

• Development of low-cost computing platforms
• Availability of communication systems such as e-mail, Skype, Instant messaging etc.
• Low-cost global telecommunication infrastructures like the Internet, and the enforcement of global copyright laws.

5. What is information technology and how is it different from information systems?

Information Systems is a large umbrella referring to systems designed to create, store, manipulate, or disseminate information. Example: a pencil and a piece of paper, the two are just separate tools, but put together they form a system.

Information technology is a single object, a part of an information system. For instance servers, computers, and an operating system are objects that together form an information system.

6. List and describe several reasons why companies are choosing to outsource business activities.

Economic – Perhaps the most common reason to outsourcing is the economic side. In big parts of western society employees have very high wages compared to countries such as China or India. So relatively big services such as tech support can be outsourced to India and it will save a lot of resources for the company, and the bottom line in business is making as much money as possible.

Knowledge- Outsourcing to other cultures in other parts of the world will provide a chance to tap in to and leverage a global knowledge base, having access to world class capabilities.

Delegating- Some companies prefer to keep their own resources focused on their core business, and delegate mundane time consuming processes to external agencies.

7. List and contrast several challenges of operating in the digital world.

Business- In a digital and globalized world the competition will increase significantly. Every customer or user has a wider variety of services and products offered. Harder competition means you will have to adjust your prices and support, and this will push companies to the limit. Less profit means less resources, and this might increase unemployment rates and lower wages throughout the world.

Privacy- The loss or danger of having your privacy exposed. We leave digital footsteps everywhere, apps and social networks save and share information about ourselves, maybe more than you know. For instance Google will save information about your searches and activity on the internet. They use this to find your preferences and tailor ads and sponsored links for you. There’s also the danger of hackers and criminals accessing information you think is safe. Recently apples “i-cloud” (a cloud service provided by apple) was hacked in to, and several celebrities had private photos and videos leaked for the public to see.

8.Define the term “information systems” and explain its data, technology, people, and organizational components.

Information Systems are combinations of hardware, software and telecommunications networks that people build and use to collect, create, and distribute useful data, typically in organizational settings.

Data- Data is the root of any information system. Data are raw symbols or numbers that have little meaning before processed. For instance, if I asked someone to tell me what the number 11 meant, they wouldn’t know.

Components/technology- When we talk about information systems we are talking about computer based information systems. This system consists of hardware, software and a telecommunication network. Hardware components are the physical computers, monitors, keyboards, etc. , Software is the operative system and applications that run the hardware, and the telecommunication network refers to a group of two or more computer systems linked together with communications equipment.

People- The builders, managers and users of information systems, we develop, maintain and study IS. Almost everyone is a user of IS these days, and this increases the demand for IS personnel. IS professionals do not only work with technology anymore, they are also highly involved in management and organizational tasks in companies.

9. Define and contrast data, information, and knowledge.

Data- Data is the root of any information system. Data are raw symbols or numbers that have little meaning before processed. For instance, if I asked someone to tell me what the number 11 meant, they wouldn’t know.

Information- Information is basically formatted, organized or processed data. Contextual cues, such as labels, are needed to turn data into information. The number 11, as mentioned above, is raw data and doesn’t mean anything. If we label it as the age of a person, 11 is now information.

Knowledge- This is what we know. You can’t store knowledge in anything other than a brain (currently). A computer processes data and gives us information, but the computer doesn’t know what it’s doing, we, users/humans turn the data and information into knowledge.

10. Explain how decision support systems are different from knowledge management systems.

A decision support system (DDS) is a computer-based IS that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSS serves the management, operations, and planning levels of organization and help to make decisions.

Knowledge management (KM) is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational knowledge. It refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.

A DDS is computer-based and uses data and information to make decisions, while as KM uses knowledge from people.

11. List and define three technical knowledge and/or skills core competencies.

12. Define the term “knowledge economy”.

Knowledge economy is the use of knowledge to generate value. Quite obvious this means using knowledge in your business, for instance in a KMS (knowledge management system).

13. List and define four of the systems knowledge and/or skills core competencies.

14. List the effects of globalization on business.

In a digital and globalized world the competition will increase significantly. Every customer or user has a wider variety of services and products offered. Harder competition means you will have to adjust your prices and support, and this will push companies to the limit. Less profit means less resources, and this might increase unemployment rates and lower wages throughout the world.

On the other hand the market size and user groups become bigger, this gives opportunities. Businesses that supply a rather unique service or product will flourish.

It’s easier for businesses to outsource or bring in ideas and resources from other nations and cultures. Many nations are multicultural, and the possibility to make your business multicultural might be beneficial to your profits.

15. Describe the evolution of the information systems function within organizations.

The business applications of information systems have expanded significantly over the years.

From 1950s to 1960s: The role of most information systems was simple: transaction processing, record keeping, accounting, and other electronic data processing applications.

From 1960s to 1970s: Another role was added. Processing all this data into useful information reports, to help the manager in the decision making. The concept of management information system was born.

From 1970s to 1980s: The previous IS were effective in the company organization. However, the manager during this stage needed a special suitable support factor to deal with different management facts. So the concept of DDS was born.

From 1980s to 1990s: Computers became normal, and “end user computing” became a thing. Managers needed a new system to provide the corporate executes with some simple information, so the concept of “executive information systems” was born. The systems role was to provide top executives with the right way of finding the critical information when they wanted it.

From 1990s to 2000s: Rapid growth of internet, intranet, extranet, and other interconnected global networks in the 1990s dramatically changed the capabilities of information systems in business at the beginning of the 21^st century. Internet- and web-based enterprises, e-business and commerce systems.

16. Discuss the issues surrounding information privacy, and how you can protect yourself.

In our digital world information privacy is an increasingly important topic. Facebook, web-based banking, and e-mail contains a lot of information about both you and your friends.

Examble, Facebook: Think before you post. Everything you type or post to facebook will be stored, this means other people can access it (in theory). There’s been talk about criminals scouting people on facebook, and when the victim goes on vacation, the criminal breaks into their home. You should think about what you post online, the information is never truly safe.

A general tip is to rethink what information you’re putting out there. Don’t post about everything you do and everywhere you go, don’t keep sensitive information stored on the internet. You should have a firewall enabled on your computer, and have an anti-adware application on your computer to keep your computer clean from things such as viruses and keyloggers. Adware can compromise your passwords and extract information from your computer.

17. How are the digital divide and computer literacy related?

The digital divide is an economic and social inequality. It is based on the amount of people in a given population that has access to, use of, or knowledge of information and communication technologies (internet, smart phones, etc.)

Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to utilize computers and related technology efficiently, in a range from elementary use to programming and advanced problem solving.

Just by looking at the definition of the two you can see that they are related. The people with access to computers are also the ones who knows how to use the technology.

Uke 35, 29.08.2014

• IS-109

Har jobbet meg gjennom første kapittel og lært det grunnleggende i BlueJ. Er straks ferdig med modul 1.

• IS-100

Uke 36, 05.09.2014

Har hatt noe influensalignende denne uken og har ikke fått jobbet så mye som jeg ønsket. Har prøvd å holde meg oppdatert i de forskjellige fagene, men det har ikke blitt så mye jobbing.

• IS-109