4.

0 Objective : At the end of this unit, we will learn about the following –

 Definition of information technology.

 Characteristics of information

 Basic data type.

4.1 Introduction : Information and communication are without doubt two key
words that represent global activity. The communication of the right information at
the right time in a convenient form can cause new directions in Business,
Research and Industrial decisions.

In this Chapter we will discuss the concept of information, data, information

and its attributes. The business managers of today cannot possibly assimilate the
flood of facts and figures, which confront them. It has been frequently observed
that the manager is surrounded by huge amount of data, but lacks. We may
consider following point to get necessary information, which must be applicable
to work effectively.

♦ Understand the term Information Technology

♦ Explain the features of Information Society

♦ Define Information and knowledge

♦ Identify type of information and scope

4.2 What is Information Technology? Information is a vital resource in

development activities of any society. All our economic and social progress
depends very significantly in the transfer of commercial, scientific and technical
information. People in different situations require information on a subject in
different forms and with different emphasis.

Information is obtained through processing of data. The storage, retrieval

and processing of data become the essential resource for all economic and social
exchanges.

Data is the recording of any meaningful event in any understandable form.

The methods used to collect and store the data, process the data into information
and communicate the information all over the world is Information Technology.
 This technology is a revolution sweeping across the world. It is interesting
to know that 75% of all information generated in the entire history of mankind has
been generated in the last 30 years.

4.3 Definition of information and data : Let us now take a detailed look into the
meaning of data and information. We are aware that many events occur in
organizations on a continuous basis. Some machine part is produced, some
material arrives, and the bill is paid. These are all examples of events that take
place in organizations. Many of the events that occur are significant or meaningful
to the organization. When an event is significant or meaningful, we record it. Data
is nothing but the facts and figures that record meaningful events occurring in an
organization.

Information on the other hand is processed data. Data is the raw material
for producing information. Information is the basis on which executives take
decisions. Though we can conceptually differentiate between data and information
there is no strict demarcation between these two. What is data to one person
could well be information to another. Data is processed according to requirements
and suitable instructions that are given.

4.3.1 Data

"Data is raw fact and figure which helps to process to produce the
Information."

OR

“Raw figure and fact which can be use as input in processing is known as
data”.

Data are already found in any event and technically collected by user .

4.3.2 Information : Information is defined as processed data that meaningful and

useful for our need. Today advanced technology is available in the area of
information management. Now information can be defined as :

"Information can be defined as data that has been processed into a form of
meaningful status to the recipient and is of real or perceived value in current or
prospective decisions".

OR
 "Information refers to an input of data processing which is organized and
meaningful to the person who receives it”.

For example, data concerning a sale may indicate the number of the
salesman. When a target number of such data elements is organized and
analyzed, it may provide important information to a marketing director who is
attempting to evaluate his sales force. Also if a production manager is told that,
not only the production is behind schedule but also it is 75% of the schedule target
is information to him.

In general, the planning information requirements of executives can be

categorized into three broad categories as follows:-

(a) Environmental Information

(b) Competitive Information

(c) Internal Information.

4.4 Data Processing System

INPUT PROCESSING MEANINGFUL

DATA UNIT INFORMATION

4.5 Characteristics of Information : Important characteristics of useful and

effective information are as follows:

4.5.1 Accuracy: Information, if it is to be aloe should be accurate and

should be truly reflects the situation or behavior of an event as it
really is. Otherwise the user will take the incorrect information as
correct and may use it for decision - making with a disastrous result.

4.5.2 Form Information: Is of value if it is provided to the user in the form

it is useful and best understood by him.

4.5.3 Relevance: It refers to current utility of information in decision

making or problem solving.
 4.5.4. Timeliness: It means that information should be made available
when it is needed for a particular purpose and not before and in any
case not after. Delayed information has far less value as a resource.

4.5.5 Completeness: Information is considered as complete if it tells its

user all what he wishes to know about a particular situation/problem.
The more than completeness of information the higher is its value.

4.5.6 Purpose: Information must have purpose at the time it is transmitted

to a person or machine, otherwise it is simply data. The basic
purpose of information is to inform, evaluate, persuade or organize
other information, create new concepts, identify problems, solve
problems, decision making, planning, initializing, controlling and
searching.

4.5.7 Reliability: The information should be reliable and external force

relied upon indicated,

4.5.8 Validity: It measures the closeness of the information to the purpose

which it purports to serve.

4.6 Scope of Information : Information has these general properties:

♦ Information is not consumed in use. This is an extremely important

property of information.

♦ It can be shared by many and can be used simultaneously without any

loss to anyone.

The scope of information can vary .It can be in detail or in summary form. It
can either be a complete set of data or only specific exceptions. We would
appreciate that the scope would vary depending on the level of management the
information is aimed at.

Information Economics : Information is an available resource in any

organization. However the preparation of formal information is not free; it costs
money. How much should an organization spend for information? Some type of a
cost -effective analysis should be undertaken.
 Cost of Information : An information system is a key place for information
generation storage and use. With the advances in information technology they are
increasingly used in day-to- day applications. So the cost of operation of
information system is:

Hardware Cost: This is normally a fixed or one time cost over a relevant
range. In case of computer based information system, with the development in
technology -hardware costs are coming down drastically.

System analysis and design and implementation cost: This is also a

one time cost. This function includes formulating a methodology for overall
electronic data processing procedure. This should include the cost for preparation
of programs and purchase of software.

Cost for Space and Environmental Control Factors: This cost may vary
from time to time. Examples of this cost are floor space, air-conditioning, power
control units, generator, and security.

Operation Costs: This is basically a cost and includes costs of personnel,

systems maintenance, supplies and support facilities.

Value of Information : Information must primarily possess virtues of

relevance, availability and timeliness, to have value and thus to qualify as
information. Measure of quality is validity, accuracy and precision of information
provided. Even if information is presented in such a way as to be transmitted
efficiently and interpreted correctly, it may not be used effectively. The
quality of information is determined by how it motivates human action and
contributes to effective decision making.

4.7 Basic data types : The most popular way of representing information is in
the textual form. In this form, a combination of letters, numerals and some special
characters are used. However, today there are several other ways in which data
can be represented. These are Text, Image, Graphics and Animation, Audio and
Video forms.

4.7.1 Text : Text is a collection of alphabets (both lower and upper case"),
numerals ""(0-9) and special characters (*~,'■,#) etc. Data presented in textual
form may be written and read. The information content in the text can be deter-
mined only after reading and interpreting it. Any collection of these characters
does not constitute information; it is necessary to organize the characters
according to some order or Plan, then only it can have informative value.

4.7.2 Image : Images are another form of data type. Images refer to data in the
form of picture, photographs, hand drawings etc. Suppose we have to create a
database for the employees of an organization to develop identity cards with
photographs of the employees. To generate the identity card, it is required to store
several attributes of employees. These are Employee Id, Employee name, Date of
Birth, Address, Telephone Number etc. All this information may be stored in a
textual form and may be printed on the identity card. A good and effective
database of employees requires that the photograph of employees should also be
stored. Collection of all attributes represented in textual form may not generate the
photograph. While generating an identity card, the photograph of an employee will
also be printed simultaneously with printing other textual attributes. Different
software would be required to generate images like photographs.

Information may be represented in the form of images. These images may

be processed and several software programs have been developed to process
images. Editing of images includes changing the size of object in images,
changing the background, modifying the colors, shading, zooming an object on
image etc. All of these change the image or photograph, thus. ^Ranging or
modifying the information contained in the image.

4.7.3 Graphics and Animation : Graphics and animations are another way of
presenting information. For example, if you have to present the information about
an organization systematically, it is possible to combine together the text, images
and sound pertaining to that organization in order to prepare a good presentation
there are various progress for preparing this type of presentation, as for example,
Microsoft PowerPoint tools. PowerPoint comes with music, sounds, and videos"
you can play during your slide shows. You can also insert music, sound, or video
clips wherever you want it on the slide. It is also possible to add different
animation effects to make the presentation more effective. The following are
popular graphics file extension used by Microsoft:

• Enhanced Metafile (.emf)

• Joint Photographic Experts Group (jpg)

 • Portable Network Graphics (.png)

• Windows Bitmap (.bmp, .rle, .dib)

4.7.4 Audio : Audio is the data in the form of sounds. Different type of sounds
produces important information. For example, the sounds obtained through
medical devices of the Heart, Speech or voice of any person provides important
diagnostic information to the doctors. The meaning or value of information con-
tained in audio can be interpreted by hearing. The audio may be stored in a
database in the form of files. Audio data may be processed by the computer, as
for example, mixing of sound, modifying the sound parameters like frequency,
pitch, amplitude, bass etc.

4.7.5 Video : Video is another important data format to hold information. It

basically combines sound and stack of images and these are displayed over a
period of time. This format stores synchronized play of both sound and image,
putting them as a sequence of images. These images are called frames. Different
frames are juxtaposed and so produced that it seems as though the objects are
moving as in real life. Storing a clip of video takes maximum storage space. Video
can also be processed in a similar way as sound and images, 'avi' and '.dat' are
popular extension of files holding video data.

4.8 Summery : In this unit, we have discussed about the conceptual view of
data/information, we also have discussed the basic characteristics type of data.