Saturday, May 5, 2012

Impact of Computer on Modern Society

INTRODUCTION: In the past fifteen years or so, there have been immense changes that have come about through technologically. These remind one of the speed at which the human mind has been working; man has invented and innovated things so that they can serve their purposes more conveniently. This has resulted in the purpose for which things were made; computers for instance are modified so significantly that they are now in demand for various functions that may not have been perceived years ago. 5What is computer? Computer is an electronic device which takes raw data as input from the user and processes these data under the control of set of instruction (called program) and gives the result (output). 1Who invented the computer? Many inventions have contributed to the development of modern computers. French mathematician Blaise Pascal and other inventors in the 1600s began making machines that could add and subtract numbers. Wheels, levers, and other moving parts made these machines work. In the 1800s, British mathematicians Charles Babbage and Augusta Ada Byron, countess of Lovelace, worked on plans for machines that could store information on cards with holes punched in them. American inventor Herman Hollerith made a machine that automatically totaled population figures for the 1890 United States census. His company joined with other companies to become International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924. Other inventors built better computers. But none of these early computers were digital—that is; none used the digits zero and one. The first digital computer, called ENIAC, was built in the 1940s. It was huge. It was as big as a house. It had more than 18,000 glass tubes inside and weighed more than five elephants. The first computer used by business was called UNIVAC. Big computers like ENIAC and UNIVAC were called mainframes. The desktop or laptop computer that you use today is much more powerful than those big machines. In the 1940s, scientists at Bell Telephone Laboratories invented a tiny electric switch called the transistor. In the 1960s, scientists and engineers invented integrated circuits or computer chips. Computer chips cram millions of transistors into a space the size of your little fingernail. Computer chips allowed computers to be smaller. Personal computers (PCs) were invented in the 1970s. Most PCs are meant to be used by only one person at a time. They are small enough to fit on a desk. The Altair 8800 was the first PC. Apple Computer made its first PC in 1977. IBM made its first PC in 1981. 3Advantage of computer:- Some of the major computer application fields are listed below. An aid to management: The computer can also be used as a management tool to assist in solving business problems. Banking: Branches are equipped with terminals giving them an online accounting facility and enabling them to information as such things as current balances, deposits, overdrafts and interest charges. Industrial Application: In industry, production may be planned, coordinated and controlled with the aid of a computer. Road Traffic Control: Computers assist with the control of traffic lights. Telephones: Computerized telephone exchanges handle an ever increasing volume of calls very efficiently. Medicine: Computers are widely used in hospitals for such task as maintaining drugs, surgical equipments and linen, for payroll and also for checkup and treatment of diseases. In addition computers are also used for recording and film studios, research, military, etc. Computers have both positive and negative impact in our daily life as well as in our social life. In addition to the impact that computers have had in the homes of many, they have also impacted other parts of the society. OBJECTIVE OF STUDY: 2“In the worlds no one is perfect otherwise everybody became god” Yes, this is true. Computer is also like coins which have both sides head and tail, same likes this computer also have advantage and disadvantage. In this term paper our objective is to find out, how are computers and internet affecting the society? In simply what was disadvantage/impact of computer in our societies? METHODOLOGY: Computer, one of the most powerful machines today, is being used everywhere that’s why there are many source of book and website about title computer advantage. In order to find out, what was disadvantage/impact of computer in our societies? By the group discussion on these topics and help of secondary source on internet and encyclopedia, we finished our term paper without any problem. RESULT: 4Data on computer of SAARC:- Afghanistan: Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0 (2000) Personal Computers per 1,000 Populations (2004) ... Internet Users per 1,000 Population (2007) 21.0 Bangladesh: Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0 (2000) Personal Computers per 1,000 Population (2004) 12.0 Internet Users per 1,000 Population (2007) 3.2 Bhutan: Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 13 (2003) Personal Computers per 1,000 Population (2005) 16.0 Internet Users per 1,000 Population (2007) 46.0 India: Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0.82 (2003) Personal Computers per 1,000 Population (2004) 12.0 Internet Users per 1,000 Population (2004) 32.0 Maldives: Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 19 (2003) Personal Computers per 1,000 Population (2004) 109.0 Internet Users per 1,000 Population (2004) 58.0 Nepal: Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0.39 (2003) Personal Computers per 1,000 Population (2004) 4.6 Internet Users per 1,000 Population (2004) 6.8 Pakistan: Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 1 (2003) Personal Computers per 1,000 Population (2001) 4.2 Internet Users per 1,000 Population (2004) 13.0 Sri Lanka: Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0.98 (2003) Personal Computers per 1,000 Population (2004) 28.0 Internet Users per 1,000 Population (2004) 15.0 This data shows that user of computer is increasing day by day. Computers and the Internet have touched almost all aspects of life. It is rare to come across a business or household that does not experience routine use of a computer in some shape or form. Technology has allowed people to have higher levels of convenience and proficiency. Many people today would find it very difficult to go back to an age where computers were not in existence. In addition, society has become accustomed to on-demand answers or solutions to requests or services and the Internet is the platform which fulfills this need. These are some of the positive effects of technology on society. While there have been many positive effects of computers on society, there have also been some drawbacks too. As we had used the mentioned methodology for findings, we found many impact of computer on modern societies but we presented the impact of computer on the modern societies by four ways which is presented below. And Here we talk only the main impact:- A. Impact of computer in modern societies according to age group 6 : 1. Impact on children :- If you ask to the children what is your favorite movie? Maybe say cartoon-like movies or a movie that is full of action. Cartoons are called animated films. Artists draw the scenes. They draw the background and the characters. Each drawing of the character is slightly different. Making drawings that seem to move is called animation. Some enjoyable animated films include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), and Finding Nemo (2003). In some films, there are both animated characters and human actors, as in Space Jam (1996). Space Jam stars Bugs Bunny and basketball star Michael Jordan. They can use computers to make new images. Dinosaurs made by computer looked like they were charging toward people in Jurassic Park (1993). Computers can even make images of actors. Many images in Titanic, including crowds of people on the ship, were actually made by computer. In The Matrix (1999), computers were used to make the actors look as if they were fighting while floating in the air. This unbelievable thing/action make Psychology impact on children. They practice these activities from which problem like child mortality rate, injury, disabilities and death is increase day by day. According to raisesmartkids.com, a kid who plays too much video or computer games can be socially isolated and spend less time interacting physically with friends and family members as well as less time on physical activities. Children do not go out to play now, but instead are forming 'alliances' On-line with each other. Their world is the gaming world within their computers, this in turn, has led to the advance in obesity. long hours spent playing video and computer games can hamper children’s social skills, discourage more imaginative play, and—in the case of more explicit games—promote violence. 2. Impact on adult 7b:- The youth of today have perhaps particularly been affected in this way. While teenagers of bygone eras would get together to do what teenagers do, many of them are now too busy sitting in their bedrooms, talking on a Messenger service or updating their social networking pages. This is leading to isolation of a form which could very well lead to them developing a reduced ability to interact with others in a personal sense in later life. They chat to each other until midnight from which problem on eye sight increase. A person can use the computer to design an image and upload it to a website for the world to see. Photos and movie clips can also be shared on certain websites. From this type of facilities social crime is also increase. Before some month ago we heard a new that girl is mainly affect from social networking sites because bad company boy sent nude photo and unnecessary words through this sites. Different information, video and many other materials can easily found on internet. That’s why adult can easily download blue films from this facility. Due to which Psychology impact on adult and disease related to STIDS is increasing. 3. Impact on elder age :- One famous quotation in Nepali communities,” Aago tapnu mudako, kura shunnu bhuda ko!”Yes. This is true because Elder age people have more experience about many works. But Computer and internet facilities to stay elder people at home like frog in tank. B. Impact of computer in modern societies according to different sectors :- 1. Impact on Business :- a. Staff dependency on computer: We can search anything we said one year ago, even ten years ago with the indexing tools. The computer also made information processing in the office super fast thanks to the Word and other office tools such as excel. Now we need no longer to manually write everything and then achieve it on the wall or the desk, now you can have everything on your desktop or laptop or even online or all together combined. b. Change our job style7c: The greatest effect of computers on society is the way they change the way how certain jobs are being done. The strongest impact, I believe, is on the typist's job. Today, a typist can use word processing software that can help him or her to save some time and perhaps some paper as he or she can easily make corrections with it. Previously on a typewriter, a typist would have to use whiteouts or erasers that would leave awful marks on the paper to delete errors. If the typist wanted a clean and error-free copy, he or she would have retyped the entire document again. With computers, authors can more quickly complete their work. Accountants who once only used the calculator and manually entered figures into the ledger can now use accounting software to ease their work. Graphics designer can now use graphic designing software that can help them save time in designing and provide suggestions to them. Architects can use a program that allows them to design and to see it in 3D without having to build a real 3D model. Composers can use composition software to listen to how his or her composition will sound like without having to gather members of an orchestra. One of the greatest inventions was the spreadsheet that allows its user to enter numbers into tiny rectangular boxes known as cells to create meaningful statements with numbers and to easily make calculations on the numbers entered. Today with the Internet, it is even easier to obtain the required software. Instead of having to go to the store, a person can download the software from a website and install it directly onto the computer. If you have been exploring Google, you may have notice that the famous Internet business also provides programs that you can use directly on their website without having to download any of them. With the Internet, it is now possible to share spreadsheet files and word-processed documents with another without having to make copies and to post the copies. An author may now submit his or her work via the Internet to a publisher for consideration. c. Increasing crimes: Crimes such as identity theft, hacking, embezzlement, and other kinds of monetary theft have increased the risks of doing business online, and these have to be mitigated through using software and being vigilant. These concerns should not deter people from using the Internet, but it is a real concern which must be dealt. Companies that do business exclusively on the Internet do not have the expense of maintaining physical retail outlets; they can pass the savings on to customers. d. Privacy7d: As society has become increasingly computerized, more and more personal information about people has been collected and stored in databases. Computer networks allow this information to be easily transmitted and shared. Personal privacy issues concern who is allowed to access someone's personal information, such as medical or financial data, and what they are allowed to do with that information. A software pirate is a person or a company that uses a copy of a program that was not purchased legitimately. The software industry loses billions of dollars each year to piracy. Due to Digital piracy it affects music business. Worldwide, audio CD sales had decreased by more than 10 percent at the beginning of the 21st century as a result of people illegally sharing electronic (MP3) music files over the Internet. e. Information theft7a: The hackers electronically identified wireless networks with security flaws simply by driving past stores. Hackers then used “sniffer programs” to capture transaction information such as card numbers. The stolen numbers were either sold online or encoded in the magnetic strips of blank cards that could be used to withdraw money from automated teller machines (ATMs). The total amount of money stolen as a result of the card-number thefts was unclear. 2. Impact on industry7c: Human made machine that can move quicker than humans can and never get bored is Robot that are controlled by computers. Robots do every work that is impossible to do. That’s why many industries kept robot in order to reduce investment and decreased the number of labors also. Due to this increase the problem of unemployment. The industry spawned many new companies, called start-ups, to create products out of the new technology. Competition is fierce among computer companies, both new and old, and they are often forced by market pressures to introduce new products at a very fast pace. Many people invest in the stocks and securities of the individual “high-tech” companies with the hope that the companies will succeed. Several regions around the world have encouraged high-tech companies to open manufacturing and development facilities, often near major universities. Perhaps the most famous is the so-called Silicon Valley just south of San Francisco in California. 3. Impact on health7b: The Internet makes it easy for people from different parts of the world to interact with one another. For example, a person who is in the United States can now play computer games and chat with someone in Australia. However, in my opinion, a person's health may be affected if he or she spends too much time playing computer games and less time on physical activities. Before the Internet was available, the only ways to gain knowledge and to get some information were to read print materials like a book, a magazine, or a newspaper; watch a video; and listen to some audio or someone. Today, a person can just visit websites to get the needed information quickly. A search engine can also be used to look for the most appropriate websites. This indeed can save a lot of person's time. However, a person's health may be affected as he or she may not have to walk to the library any longer which may mean less time is spent on physical exercise as walking is a form of exercise. Let's see the hospitals. What can they do today compared with 100 years ago? Data sharing. Now one doctor can share over the internet of the hospitals all the patients’ data on a simple website only accessible by a password. This is the best way of all to handle the patient’s health information on a daily basis. It's much like Google Docs where you can write all the information on a document and then to share it with everyone you want and just these people. What can be better? Total security and portability, you no longer need to carry all that information inside a pen drive that you can lose and most of the times are not encrypted. Computers also made possible for doctors to search instantly for any information about any disease or patient at light speed thanks to modern indexing tools and thanks to Google desktop too. Now you do not have to wait long minutes while the doctor is pulling that entire document on the desk to find what you want. 4. Impact on communication: The Internet changed the way people communicate and interact with one another; obtain information and knowledge; and perform certain tasks. With the Internet, a person can send messages using the email technology and messengers. Before the Internet was readily available to everyone, we have to physically move to a letterbox to send our messages. 5. Impact on education7a: Where previously we may have had to browse through such as reference books at great length, all we do now is simply type the parameters of our search in to a search engine portal and find what we are looking for in milliseconds. The time saved in this respect is phenomenal and has also brought about great learning opportunities for many of us. We have access to information which we could before only have dreamed of so can learn more about our world round about us and the different aspects of it. a. At school: Schools at all levels recognize the importance of training students to use computers effectively. Students can no longer rely solely on their textbooks for information. They must also learn to do research on the World Wide Web. Schools around the world have begun to connect to the Internet, but they must be able to afford the equipment, the connection charges, and the cost of training teachers. b. At libraries: Libraries that traditionally contained mainly books and other printed material now have PCs to allow their patrons to go online. Some libraries are transferring their printed information into databases. Rare and antique books are being photographed page by page and put onto optical discs. 6. Government Issues7a: - a. Strike (Andolan): News on internet is danger to government because it can be hear and look by every people. From it government can also change. b. Cybercrime: Computers, with all the benefits they offer, also unfortunately can enable cybercrime, or computer crime. Of course, the computers and their electronic components have always been the targets of thieves. But with the decreasing cost of hardware and the increasing value of software and information, criminals have begun to concentrate on the latter. Law-enforcement agencies throughout the world have had to learn ways to combat computer crime. C. Impact of computer in modern societies according to characteristics that are the root of this impact :- Traditionally, courses that deal with computers and society issues focus primarily on enumerating the various ways in which computers impact society. This is done by listing categories of topics such as privacy, computers in medicine, military uses of computers, etc. Classic cases of computer abuse or errant systems are typically described in detail, as a way of simply making students more aware of how computers affect society. These examples are meant to serve as warnings to future professionals, in the hopes that they will practice their profession with greater care. What is missing from these discussions, however, is why computers have the impact they do on society. What are the characteristics that are the root of this impact? Are there fundamental differences between this technology and others that have transformed our world in the past? The intent of developing a list of these characteristics is that it could lead to a better understanding of the nature of the social impact of computers. In this way, it might be possible to examine a new computer project at the time of its design (not, as is the usual case, a long time after the project has been implemented and disseminated) to determine its potential impacts as a social change agent. The characteristics given below are not necessarily unique to computer technology. However, in many instances computers have created situations that were previously impossible to accomplish (such as space flight), were essentially inconceivable until the technology was applied, or at least were very difficult to achieve without the aid of computer technology. Furthermore, even though other technologies may have had impacts similar to computers in many ways, computer technology has greatly amplified their effects to the point of entirely overshadowing any previous technology's impact. Finally, the term computer technology is meant to be inclusive of any device that is essentially controlled by a basic computer (CPU, program, etc.). This would include, therefore, modern telephones, VCRs, microwave ovens, CAT scanners, supermarket scanners, and the like. The following are in no particular order. Also, some devices or examples are likely to fit into more than one of the categories below: (1) Ubiquity - It is perhaps stating the obvious that computers appear to be everywhere today. Even when we don't encounter them directly in their various forms of modern convenience devices, such as digital watches, microwave ovens, VCRs, and the like, we generate transactions that are processed via computers without actively doing anything: the utility companies are recording our usage, the phone company records incoming calls, our answering machine might be recording a message while we are doing something else, someone is performing a credit check on us, etc. (2) Magnification - Computers tend toward magnification in several different ways. First, the explosion of the availability of information is due in large part to the computer's ability to generate, collect, and store an ever increasing amount of raw data. Since the ability to create and collect data is growing exponentially, so too is the generation of information that can be synthesized from this data. Second, the types of negative impacts a single error can have has grown enormously with computer technology. Finally, the number of people directly affected by a system error has also grown enormously, to where a single software system literally can affect millions directly. (3) Accessibility - Access to information continues to increase at hard to believe speeds. To begin with, the vast quantities of information available on-line (through, for instance, the Internet) appear to be growing exponentially. In addition, we now have unprecedented accessibility to information and communications from nearly anywhere we happen to be. Next, information is available to an unprecedented number of people. Finally, the promises of the "information superhighway" to open up new lanes of access, including text, voice, graphics, and video increases the types of information to which we have access to include all media. (4) Reproducibility and Disreputability- The major concern of the recording industry regarding the introduction of digital audio tape (DAT) systems was the ability to make exact duplicates of digital material, indistinguishable from the original. The concern, of course, has been that DAT technology would cause unprecedented bootlegging of recordings, to the obvious detriment of the recording industry, composers, and performers. Clearly, any digital file can just as easily be duplicated. Many information resources are available only in digital form, via, for instance, the Internet. As more information is converted to digital form (e.g. voice and video), the ability to duplicate and distribute such information increases enormously. Indeed, there are some forms of publishing that can exist only within the context of a computer system. The concept of hypertext and hypermedia (including audio and video), the ability to create non-linear accessibility to information, was conceived out of the ability to randomly access information via computers. Its increasing success easily shows how important information in a digital form has become already. (Oz, 1994). (5) Lack of Accountability - It has become a popular complaint that it is getting more and more difficult to locate a human being who is willing to accept responsibility for an error made by a computerized system. While it is tempting to blame such problems on incompetent employees, in truth the problem may be a poor user interface, lack of training, or an error in the software, none of which can be solved by those providing the front-line service. Another difficulty is finding someone who will, indeed, fix an error in an account. It is often the case that service representatives are reluctant to accept the responsibility for making a necessary change. In addition, it can often be difficult to even find a human being to deal with a problem. Getting lost in a voice-mail system has become a modern urban legend. (Nissenbaum, 1994). (6) Temporality - Computers have several effects on time and the timeliness of information. It seems that computer technology is to blame in large part for the "speed up" of modern society - everything has to get done faster, be there sooner, and be available immediately. Another form of temporality in computer systems is that information can be retained over long periods of time, even when they appear to have been destroyed (consider the classic case of Col. Oliver North). There is little reason that information should be entirely lost any more, even due to accident. And it is reasonable to suspect that every scrap of information generated today will be available virtually forever. Another temporal shift for which computers have been responsible is that people who work together do not necessarily have to do so at the same time. Finally, services and information are more frequently available on a 24-hour basis. This allows people to request a service or seek information when it fits their schedule, rather than when it fits the service provider's schedule. (7) Spatiality - Computers have done more to shorten distances than any previous technology, even the supersonic jet. It is possible to send large amounts of data, messages, video, etc. virtually anywhere in the world via networks such as Internet. Long distance learning, using information databases or video feeds of courses via satellite, is a reality for a growing portion of our modern society. We can now even be on the move when we talk with someone on the phone, or receive a fax. (8) Surveillability - Is there any doubt that computers have made surveillance easier than at any time in history? In addition to the usual surveillance equipment such as cameras and microphones, transactional data is increasingly being collected for virtually all types of transactions, even cash purchases and the acquisition of services. There has even been discussion by the government of using a universal health care, which is seen by many as the first step toward finalizing the move (begun with the co-opting of the social security number) in the US toward a national identification card. (9) Shifting of Relationships/Changes in Intercommunication Protocols - One of the more difficult characteristics to track is how computer technology has changed communication between people and groups of people. In particular, the use of email has been shown to eliminate a lot of the usual visual and verbal cues we often use in communicating with one another (which can be viewed as both an advantage and as a disadvantage). In addition to removing such cues, computer-mediated communications mask attributes such as race, gender, age, or physical disability, in addition, perhaps, to the person's social or management status within an organization. (Grudin, 1994; Perrole, 1987). (10) Illusion of Precision - It is not difficult to make many (perhaps even most) people who are not in the computer field believe that any numeric result generated by a computer is correct. Those not well versed in the hardware of computers have little understanding of the fact that numbers must be converted back and forth between decimal and binary forms, or that there is a limitation on the accuracy of numbers due to memory constraints. As a result, they willingly accept values generated by a computer as infinitely accurate. (Liffick, 1985). D. Other impact of computer on modern societies: 1. Spam: By the early 21st century, unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail, called spam, was thought to account for at least half of all e-mail messages sent each day. Spam became increasingly disruptive around the world, clogging up computer systems and often exposing users to advertisements for pornography. In many areas governments passed new laws or began enforcing existing ones that restricted the sending of unsolicited e-mail. Many computer users and organizations run filtering software to help keep unwanted messages from flooding their inboxes. 2. Computer fraud and predators: Criminals can log into the Internet just like everyone else, and they can commit crimes against other people who also are logged in. They may give out false information to encourage others to send them money or personal information. They may also be predators who use the anonymity afforded by chat rooms and discussion groups to lure children into meeting them in person. 3. Viruses and worms: In an effort to sabotage other people's computers, malevolent computer programmers (sometimes called hackers) create software that can manipulate or destroy another computer's programs or data. The most common of such malicious programs are called viruses. A computer virus infects, or secretly runs on, a computer to cause some mischief or damage. It can attach itself to a legitimate program, often in the computer's operating system, and then copy itself onto other programs with which it comes in contact. Worms are self-contained programs that enter a computer and generate their own commands. Viruses and worms can spread from one computer to another by way of exchanged disks, over local area networks, or over the Internet. If undetected, they may be powerful enough to cause computer systems to crash or even shut down large portions of the Internet. CONCLUSION: Computer, machine that performs tasks, such as calculations or electronic communication, under the control of a set of instructions called a program. Without a shadow of doubt computers and the Internet have been the greatest invention in the history of mankind. Although Computer has become an important part of our life because of its unbelievable capacity in doing hundreds of kinds of works in reliable way, the characteristics described above are factors in the social impact of computer technology. For most there is at least anecdotal evidence of their existence (with seemingly countless examples). For some, there is also experimental evidence. It has finally become widely accepted that technology is not value neutral, as originally thought. By examining this list and using it as a set of landmarks for evaluating new systems, it may be possible to better anticipate the social impact of new systems, prior to their dissemination. Perhaps this will help achieve the development of what some have called a Social Impact Statement, which is intended to be analagous to the Environmental Impact Statements (Scheniderman, 1990; Huff and Finholt, 1994) required by the Environmental Protection Agency prior to most building projects. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. www.britannica.com 2. Bible (lamentations 17:3) 3. Encarta Encyclopedia 4. www.worldbank.com 5. “Computer basics”- Hemanta Baral Published by: Universal Language & Computer Institute 6. www.raisesmartkids.com 7. www.google.com Helium, Inc. by member on: Effects of computers and the Internet on society a. Wayne Leon Learmond b. Rainier Wong c. Leigh Goessl d. Red Bull 8. Grudin, J. (1994). Groupware and Social Dynamics: Either Challenge for Developers. Communications of the ACM. 37(1):92-105. 9. Huff, C. & T. Finholt (1994). Social Issues in Computing. New York: McGraw-Hill. 10. Liffick, B. (1985). Software Developer's Sourcebook. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 11. Nissenbaum, J. (1994). Computing and Accountability. Communications of the ACM. 37(1):72-80. 12. Oz, E. (1994). Ethics for the Computer Age. New York: Wm. C. Brown Communications. 13. Perrole, J. (1987). Computer and Social Change. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.Schneiderman, B. (1990). 14. Human Values and the Future of Technology: A Declaration of Empowerment. Computers and Society, 20(3), 1-6

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