Apply your knowledge answers
Chapter 4: Organisations and information needs
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Charlotte Town has two small recreation centres. One of the centres has a swimming pool, which the two centres share. The two centres are considering sharing some of their other facilities, such as the aerobics area and the tennis courts. Some recreation personnel work at both centres and some members attend both. A communications link has been planned to connect the two information systems together. a What would be one of the organisational goals of the recreational centres in
Charlotte Town?
To ensure that both recreational centres share information on memberships.
To ensure a high utilisation rate of shared areas such as aerobics and tennis courts. b Both recreation centres have decided to establish a common customer information system. State what data items would allow the recreation centres to uniquely identify each member.
The information system should allow for a unique ‘Member ID’ across both recreation centres. (Revision of database unit.) c Provide two examples of data, other than personal details, that the two recreation centres may wish to share.
How often a member visits.
What facilities they routinely use.
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A school has been allowing unlimited access to the Internet for students. Their
Internet service provider has recently sent a $35 000 bill for the past six months.
The school had budgeted for only $1000 per month and instituted a policy that students should pay for their use of the Internet. When trying to implement the policy, the school discovered that there were no records of who had accessed which sites and how much material had been downloaded. a What is the problem? What category of problem does this fit into?
The problem is that the school has kept incomplete records of how much data students have downloaded on their school intranet account.
b The school has now decided to introduce login names for Internet access and to maintain log files of who visits which sites and how much each person downloads each day. Are these log files data or information? Why?
The log files are data, what the school does with the data to create meaning or make decisions is information.
I.T. Applications VCE Units 3 & 4, 3rd edition 9780170187473
© Cengage Learning Australia 2011
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c
The principal wants a printout of the Internet use log file delivered to the business manager each day so that she can deduct the appropriate amount of money from each student’s Internet account. Is it data or information at this point? The log file would have to be manipulated so that the business manager could easily deduct the appropriate figure from each students Internet account. A business manager would not be expected to process that