Explanation of the technology
Banking is the biggest place in the world that uses ICT. ICT is used in ATM Machines (electronic funds transfer at point of sale). ATM is used to withdraw money there are also other facilities that ATM machines provide other facilities for example: you can print or view balance on the screen, change pin, order statement. EFTPOS helps customers to withdraw money through Debit Card it is mostly used in shopping. The customer’s card is swiped through a card reader and the merchant usually enters the amount of the transaction before the customer enters their account and PIN number. Before the customers didn’t needed to enter their PIN number now the customers has to enter it for security reasons.
How does the technology meet the needs of the community?
Every bank has its own ATM’s machines however the bank card works in every ATM machine. These machines meet the needs of the community as people are able to withdraw money at any time. It is also quick to withdraw money as if there weren’t any ATM machines it would have taken much time queuing in a lane and getting cash from the bank. It is quicker and reliable as the customer doesn’t need to show ID when withdrawing money from your own account. ATM machines are safe as no one can get the data from the ATM.
How ATM works?
ATM is simply a data terminal. Like any other data terminal, the ATM has to connect to, and communicate through, a host computer. The host computer is analogous to an Internet Service in that it is the gateway through which all the various ATM networks become available to the cardholder the person wanting the cash.
The host computer may be owned by a bank or financial institution, or it may be owned by an independent service provider. Bank-owned processors normally support only bank-owned machines, whereas the independent processors support merchant-owned machines.
Use of ICT in the banks
- CCTV
- Database
- Security Alarm
Evaluate on the use of ICT – good/ and bad features and also advantages and disadvantages of the technology
ICT that is used in the banks is a big advantage to people working in the bank and to the public as well. ATM’s and EFTPOS services are open 24 hours 365 days in an year, this means the people in the community can withdraw money at any time so they don’t have to wait for the bank to open. Another advantage is that there are a lots of ATM machines in Southall so there aren’t big queues which is then quicker to withdraw money from the bank. People also need to skip queues in the banks so they can do banking online which helps the sort transaction quickly and efficiently. Online banking also has disadvantages as there is danger from hacker. You will need to provide your bank details so there is risk of you details transferred.
In addition the people in my community can also check their bank detail by internet it can be done 24 hours a day using a computer and internet connection.
It can help my community in various ways:
- People in my community can pay bills from the comfort of their home or the workplace.
- People in my community can also transfer money immediately to high interest accounts.
- People in my community can check balances and daily transactions on line.
- People in my community can set up direct debits and order stationery on line.
- People in my community can get higher interest rates and are available to Internet bankers.
- It is easy to shop around on line for the best interest rates and switch funds automatically.
- And also in some banks the counter can speak more than one language it benefit my community as some people in my community can’ speak English.
There are also many concerns about ATM and the Banks:
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Small banks in my community closes or having opening hours reduced
- Reductions in staffing at the major banks.
- Some customers have worries about security because of possible credit card fraud.
How ever there are two new banks which will be opening in the next few months one of the Bank has already opened ICIC. And the other banks is Panjab national it will help my community and the people in my community will benefit a lot because they can send or transfer money to their country quick and reliable. And also some people in my community won’t be able to read English so it will help the Punjabi and Indian people a lot but it will also help other people.
How does the technology benefit my community?
Modern ATMs provide customers with their bank account balance; they can issue money, print statements and even take cash deposits. Customers are able to use almost any ATM in any bank, supermarket or garage. And in this country it is normally a free service. Customers could get hold of their money without having to queue. This saved the customer’s time; it also saved the bank a huge amount of money since fewer staff was needed.
The people in my community can benefit in many different ways as there are many more banks been opened in Southall for e.g. Panjab national it will benefit my community as well as the Panjabi and Indian people benefiting other people from different culture can benefit. Panjab national provide their service to my community in many different language for e.g. Hindi, Panjabi and English
The people in Southall can also call the Centres where the Customers could now telephone the centre using either a free number or local cost number and find out information on their accounts without even leaving home. They can also change their bank detail. The people in my community can also access the their bank detail and information by internet they can open their account, check their balance online, move money pay bills and print statements from the comfort for their own homes.
Lastly the ATM machines are free to use and most of the ATM machine are free of charge.
To what extent does the technology meet my community need
Without ATM people in my community will face various problems they won’t be able to send money abroad. People will also need to keep their money in their houses where they might face robbery. Buying house will be hard as people wouldn’t be able to get loan where they will need to pay all the money. ATM’s machine also play a very big role in my community banking as people doesn’t keep all the money in their pockets due to risk of theft so they need the ATM to withdraw money whenever they need.
There are various ATM machines in Southall nearly every bank has an ATM in Southall Broadway e.g. HSBC, Abbey National, Barclays, Nat West etc.
To some extent it doesn’t meet the needs of my community as some of the people in my community are not educated so they aren’t able to withdraw money they has to go inside the bank and withdraw money which takes time. Another disadvantage is that ATM’s and EFTAPOS provide money and can’t provide advice. Last disadvantage of ATM’s Machines and EFTAPOS is that whoever doesn’t have a bank account that person won’t be able to use these facilities.
Possible development of the technology in the future
They can improve the ATM machine by storing more cash so it doesn’t run out. In the past years there were frauds where the ATM machine takes your card and doesn’t give it back. They can also improve the ATM machine by having a secure place where people can’t see your Pin number or your bank details. In some places for e.g. Tesco or Sainsbury the can charge you for taking money so it could be free of charge. And the big improvement of ATM machine could be that they can have other language on the screen for e.g. Urdu, Pashto, Farsi, Punjabi, Somalian and Gujarati.
They can make the ATM machine safe in the future where the ATM machine won’t need your pin number but it will need scanning of a customer's fingerprint.
Control and Monitoring- CCTV
Explanation of the Technology
CCTV stands for Close Circuit Television camera it is used for video surveillance. In my community CCTV is used in banks, casinos, shopping centres, streets, airports and now days it is even in the shops etc. Now it isn’t expensive people uses it at home for security. CCTV in Southall is used for security and to decrease crime it is also used as evidence. It is also used in schools which help the school to control behaviour of the students. CCTV is used by police and council to decrease crime and used it as evidence against the criminals. There are different types of CCTV cameras as some of the can turn at the bearing of 3600 and some of them are straight. There are also some cameras that have black glass cover and the people around can see which direction is the camera recording.
How CCTV camera works?
CCTV cameras in my area are continuously monitored at the Council's Communications Centre. The Police are informed of suspicious incidents as they arise and can be directed to the exact location by CCTV operators. Since CCTV has been introduce in our community and in the borough, Southall crimes have been decreased for e.g. shoplifting, Pick Pocketing, Possessions of Drugs and unauthorised taking of motor vehicles.
The control room for CCTV is in Ealing Town hall they are responsible for round the clock monitoring of over 337 CCTV cameras are fixed and 20 mobile cameras. The cameras can pan, tilt and zoom to record the action, and radio link with police make sure that the cameras are capturing the right footage.
How does the technology meet the needs of the community?
CCTV is used in various and different places in Southall, some CCTV cameras in my community are located in Southall Broadway and in High Street it control Anti Social Behaviour and some people drive over the speed of the limit it meets my community needs as it makes it easier to stop crime and record what has been happening it is also helps in controlling crime on the streets and shopping centres. It is used in streets to help the police catch crime and use evidence against trouble makers. It is also used in traffic lights which helps the police catch people who passes red lights and charge penalties those against who breaks the law it meets community needs as it decreases crime. CCTV cameras in Southall are able to zoom in and zoom out as it makes it easier and clearer for police and staff in the community to see what is happening. They are also computerised this means that it can record for some days and it can be used as an evidence. CCTV is also meets the needs of the community when it comes to use against criminals it helps my community as it produce a clear picture of the place where it is placed.
It meets my community needs in a better way because every community needs to be as secured as it can be, in Southall CCTV is used in several places which meet the needs of the people and community as it provide security and records every thing is happening around. It also helps police in the as one of the CCTV cameras are able to rotate at 360 degrees which helps the police check around direct through the camera.
Evaluate on the use of ICT – good/bad features (advantages/disadvantage of the technology
The introduction of CCTV cameras in my community has been one of the best weapons against crime in the Borough and in this community. It has been proved effective in both cutting and detecting crime and because of this people now feel safer when they're out and about.
CCTV cameras are a big advantage for my community. If my community didn’t have CCTV the crime rate would be high and people will be free to cause trouble in my community. It will be hard for the police to find evidence and use it against the criminals in the court. People also wouldn’t feel safe in shopping centres and also when traveling.
CCTV cameras can deal with everything from murder to suicides, rapes and paedophiles, although they are very rare.
CCTV cameras in my community are also used in shops and supermarkets which help the customer buy stuff safely and securely and it also helps the shop owner and use CCTV evidence against thieves.
The crimes that have been tackled in my community by using CCTV cameras are:
- Shoplifting
- Pick Pocketing
- Possessions of drugs
- Assault
- Unauthorised taking of motor vehicle
- Public order offence
CCTV is a tool that saves a lot of time.
Aside from the disadvantage of not attending school, youngsters can also get into serious trouble if they hang around unsupervised on the streets. So CCTV is the best technology to catch them. Some teenagers in South all are not scared of CCTV cameras as when they are doing graffiti in bus stop and damaging the environment they don’t stop, they carry on causing more damage. And when someone inform the police the operator attend the call then he tell the police about the incident and then they will deal about the incident so it’s a long process for the police to come and deal with the incident and it also cost a lot of money repairing the damage.
How ever if there are more CCTV cameras placed in Southall there will be less police on patrol so it won’t cost the council a lot of money.
CCTV cameras can also help my community to catch domestic and trade litterers in the act as the Council tries to get the message of Project Street clean across and those who refuse to pay their fines will end up in court. CCTV cameras are also use in Southall Railway station and it’s safer for the community to travel at night time. If people cause trouble they can call in back-up from officers to stop antisocial behaviour immediately and arrest offenders on the spot. They can also stop people intent on harming themselves. There are suicides on railways Southall station so they can stop people committing suicide.
There are many advantages of CCTV cameras but there are also disadvantages CCTV increased the workload of officers. Most of the CCTV cameras in Southall are black and white colour so it doesn’t have a good quality picture.
How does the technology benefit my community?
CCTV benefit my community if my community doesn’t have CCTV the crime rate would be high and people will be free to cause trouble in the community. People also wouldn’t feel safe in shopping centres and also when travelling.
CCTV cameras are also used in shops and supermarkets which help the customer buy stuff safely and securely and it also helps the shop owner and use CCTV evidence against thieves.
CCTV cameras are place in various places in Southall most of them are placed in Schools, shopping centres, supermarkets and busy roads. It would benefit the community if they use CCTV on busy roads because some drivers drive over the limit of speed. So it’s easy for the police to catch them.
To what extent does the technology meet my community need
To some extent CCTV cameras meet my community needs as they can control anti social behaviour and also if they wouldn’t had CCTV cameras so people would be free to cause trouble.
To some extent it doesn’t meet my community needs as most of the cameras aren’t very clear and they are placed in one place so it can’t move round as it makes it hard for the police to see around and they will need to place more cameras. Most of the advance cameras are expensive so overall it cost lots of money to install it in the community. And some time it won’t sort out some people who are causing trouble and damaging the environment. As I explained in Page 10 it’s a long period for the police to arrive and deal with the problem. The police won’t be able to catch the people but they can use the evidence of CCTV in the court.
Possible development of the technology in the future
They can improve the CCTV for the future as in Southall most of the CCTV cameras are black and white colour and have a poor quality so they can replace the old cameras with the latest CCTV cameras.
They can have more CCTV cameras in the railways so people don’t commit suicide and already in the past the number of suicide has decreased.
Internet – Learn Direct
Explanation of the Technology
Learn direct is a program run by a company for the people aged over 16. It a service for people who wants to learn online and doesn’t has time to go physically and study. It is also for people who has less education and want to have more education. It also helps people to get educated and have a good future. Learn direct tells people the easier way to achieve what the want in life and help them achieve it. These courses are available for all kinds of people whether they are educated or not. Learn direct have various centres in out community where they provide computer and internet access.
Learn direct also covers a range of inter-related services for online learning, advice and guidance. These include:
- Learn direct advice service: a government-funded telephone helpline and website providing impartial information, advice and guidance relating to learning opportunities and career development.
- Learn direct is online learning service aimed at small to medium-sized enterprises.
- A higher education offer aimed at people in work.
Deciding what's best for you depends on factors such as your personal circumstances and what you enjoy doing. If you're unsure about what you want to do next, we can learn direct can help you.
How Learn Direct works?
Learn direct can help you in lots of different ways they can help you find a suitable course or you can search their database on Learn Direct website. Learn Direct have database of nearly one million courses from right across the UK, from short courses lasting one day to longer courses lasting a few years. Learn direct courses are a brilliant way to learn. You learn either online through the Internet or by using workbooks and/or CD-ROMs, so you’re free to learn where and when you want, at a pace you choose. You can contact learn Direct on this number 0800 100 900 or email an advisor.
How does the technology meet the needs of my community?
Learn direct and the courses available meet the needs of the people in my community extremely well because there are courses available for nearly every one. Learn direct meets the needs of my community really well because Learn direct have many branches so there would be no shortage of space for people choosing to do the courses. Another big advantage for the people in my community can be that they can choose their courses online before actually talking to learn direct. There are 900, 000 different courses so there is a course for everyone.
Evaluate on the use of ICT – good/bad features (advantages/disadvantage of the technology
Learn direct is a great advantage to the whole Southall community because most people in my community and in Southall are unemployed and uneducated. The other advantage people who came to this country new they can get a lot of help from Learn Direct. But since this online system is been introduced the unemployment rate have decreased and the amount of people with futures have been increased. Learn direct is a great advantage because it offers great advantages like: there are many courses available for all people whether employed/ educated or not. Also learn direct is available to everyone and people can use it online.
Learn direct courses are broken down into bite-sized chunks, so you can do as little or as much as you like at any time, picking up where you left off. And if you get stuck, help is always at hand.
The Advantages of Learn Direct are:
- Equips people with the skills they need for employability
- Is delivered innovatively through the use of new technologies;
- Reaches those people with few or no skills and qualifications who are unlikely to participate in traditional forms of learning.
There are some disadvantage of Learn direct in my community as some people in my community doesn’t have computers and don’t have access to the internet so they will need to use the café so it will cost them quite a lot.
Without Learn Direct my community will would have lack of education and uneducated people will still be having problems in the community. Most of the people in my community work and study both, it would be hard for people to go physically to go study centre and it would take more time.
How does the technology benefit the community?
My community benefits learn direct because there are more uneducated people in my community Learn Direct give advice on phone they give advice on courses and impartial information training, apprenticeships, careers, returning to work, and childcare. They can also advise you on paying for your learning. Any one in my community can get help and advice from Learn Direct it’s also free. Some people can benefit from learn direct a lot as for women they can’t go to college physically because they have kids in the house to look after and in some culture women are not allowed to go to study and college so it will benefit women in my community as they can sit at home and learn.
To what extent does the technology meet my community need
To some extent it doesn’t meet my community needs as some people who come to this country and they are in this community they really need help and advice and most of them don’t know about Learn direct. Some people in my community don’t know how to use computer so they will need another person to show them. Most of the people in my community also don’t have access to computer so they will have to use library and library is not open all the time.
Possible development of the technology in the future
They can help my community in the future in different ways. All the staffs in Learn direct speak English so some people in my community might need help and they can’t speak English and read English so the staff should be able to speak more than one or two languages as in our community some people can’t speak English. And also there should be more advertising of Learn direct and in different languages so people can find about it easily.
Communication – Information Point
Explanation of the Technology
Information point are screens based in various places it provide a direct link to the council, free email, BBC news and sport, transport information and job search facility. It is free and every one in my community can use it. Information points provide users with local, national and international news. It also allows the user to use free email facility. It helps the people my community to communicate with other people and it lets them access to internet and search for jobs.
How Information Point works?
Information points are easy to use the best thing about information point is that it’s touch screen. As you go to the Information Point just follow the instruction on screen. It will tell you all the information about Traffic, News, and your local community it can also help you to look for jobs to the nearest location.
How does the technology meet the needs of my community?
Information points are located in various places in my community and in Southall Information point in Southall is located in South road opposite the bank. It meets the needs of the community as it makes it easier for people to access to free internet, provide them with latest information and also has link to council. This meets the needs of my community as it makes it easier for the council to contact people and it meets the needs of the people in my community as they can use it at any time and anywhere. If anyone is searching for a job they don’t have to go around and ask they can easily search at an information point. It also meets the need of my community as in council there won’t be too many people having problem so the council won’t need to have a lot of staff and it is also quicker for the staff to solve problems easily.
Evaluate on the use of ICT – good/bad features (advantages/disadvantage of the technology
Information points also attract more tourists in my community as the tourists are able to find information, events and businesses in my community.
Information Points are located in various places in Southall for e.g. it’s located in Southall Broadway Information points are widely used by the people in my community.
The content on Information Points can be tailored to suit each client, and ranges from local council, transport and community information to free email and job finding services. Users benefit from the opportunity to access what they need, where and when they need it.
The Information Multipoint broadcast screen provides an effective communication tool for councils as they can be used to promote local services to citizens, such as Real-Time Passenger Information for local transport. In addition an Information Point network ensures the most appropriate services to suit the needs of citizens are available, e.g. council, government, transport and local news services.
One of the biggest advantages of using Information Point there is not need of IT skills to use Information Point, the information provided is accessible to all. And also some people might don’t know about the Councillor of Ealing they can get information about them and also when they have to elect a new councillor they can vote by using the Information Point.
The disadvantage is that some of the information Points in my community not weather-proof and resistant to vandalism.
How does the technology benefit my community?
It also meet makes it easier for people in Southall to search for a job at anytime as there is more unemployment. It also meets the needs of the community as the council won’t have to employ more staff.
In order to provide Outdoor broadband service for everyone in our Community Information point provides network of interactive touch screen internet-based services on-street. They are free and easy to use.
As I said above that unemployment rate in Southall is high and it would be hard for people to find jobs and read news and reviews.
To what extent does the technology meet my community need
To some extents it doesn’t meet the need as there aren’t many around my community so people need to use their nearest information time. Also most of the people don’t know how to use Information points. It is also some time slow and takes time to download the page. And some teenagers do graffiti on information point and damage the point so it gives a bad image to my community.
Possible development of the technology in the future
Information Point is really useful for my community and it attract tourist. They can improve for the future by keeping clean and in a safe place because people in our community do graffiti and break the glasses. People in my community don’t look after the information point so the grand council may not introduce any more information point in Southall and other places.
Data Capture – Bar Code Scanner
Explanation of the Technology
Bar Code scanner is specialized for reading bar codes. Bar Code readers are used in various places in my community for example, supermarkets, leisure centres, community centres and local shops. It allows people to buy stuff from supermarkets easily and also they get receipt.
How Bar Code scanner works?
A barcode reader is a computer peripheral for reading barcodes printed on various surfaces. Bar code scanner is like a flatbed scanner, it generally consists of a light source, a lens and a photo. Additionally, nearly all barcode readers currently produced contain decoder bar code scanner send the information to the computer and it prints the receipt.
As I have show a picture of a Bar code scanner on the left they cashier scans the product and the scanner send all the information to the computer.
How does the technology meet the needs of my community?
Bar code Scanner meets the needs of my community as it convenient for the people of my community. It also helps as cashier can’t cheat with their customers as they can’t charge people higher price which all computerised and all the cashier has to do is to scan it and the customer will receive the receipt which say the price.
Evaluate on the use of ICT – good/bad features (advantages/disadvantage of the technology
Bar Code scanner is used in various places in my community it is mostly used in Supermarkets, leisure centres and the big stores like Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda. It is used for various purposes e.g. in leisure centres they have provided their customers a membership card which has bar code scanner and when it is scanned all the information comes up on the screen with the picture of the person which helps them to identify the person, in supermarkets it used for products as every product has bar code which is brought to the cashier and it calculates the total price and it also prints out a receipt. Bar code Scanner is also used in the local library in my community it helps the librarian to find all the details about the students and the information about the books. It is used by every single person in my community. It meets the needs of the community as it makes it easier for people to buy stuff efficiently and quick it also gives them a prove (receipt) which is then used to refund stuff which damaged.
There are also some disadvantages of Bar code scanner Bar code scanner is when it’s scan a bar code, the cursor has to be in the correct input data field, and in the correct application otherwise the bar code data will end up in whatever application that is active. This can cause all sorts of problems.
Bar code scanner is also more complicated to use as it is hard for new cashier to use and it give the wrong detail to the person who purchase the product and it can cause a lot of problem to the cashier and also to the buyer. So in my community all the people employees have to be familiar with using the bar code scanner.
How does the technology benefit my community
Bar code scanner benefit my community in many different ways it benefit my community as it makes it easier for people to buy stuff efficiently and quick it gives them a prove which is then used to exchange or refund the stuff which is damage.
To what extent does the technology meet my community need
To some extents it doesn’t meet the needs of my community as it is not available in all the shops and the shops can also charge people high prices.
Possible development of the technology in the future
They can improve the Barcode in different ways some shop’s in Southall and in my community doesn’t have Bar code scanner, some of do but it’s not the latest technology. There are many different type of Bar code scanner for e.g. Laser Barcode Scanners This is the most popular bar code scanner. A laser bar code scanner need not be close to or touch the bar code to do its job. A standard range laser bar code scanner can read a bar code from about 6 to 24 inches away, and a long range scanner can read bar code from about 2 to 8 feet away. An extra long-range scanner can read a bar code 30 feet away. Laser barcode scanners vary in price from $200 to $2,000 and come in a variety of models.
Future Developments
ICT needs to be improved for the new generation. It is hard to cope with the old technology for the new generation. For example community will need more telephone boxes on the streets they will also need to improve the facility for example some of them has the e-mail and news facility. Learn Direct will also need to improve as in the past the population of the community was less now it increased so they need to provide more centres and also more courses to give a wide choice. Community will also need to put more CCTV cameras on the streets as the crime rate increased and to put better quality cameras. My community also need to improve the transport it takes normally about 15 to 30 minutes for a bus to come. To meet the needs of the community in the future the technologies needs to be updated and improved so it will meet the community needs in a better way.
Overall Evaluation
ICT is a big help to Southall and my community ICT made several changes as in the past most of the organisation had problems dealing with task now with the help of ICT everything is done in less time and with less loss of energy. ICT meets the needs of my community as unemployment rate is high with the help of ICT it provided jobs and decreased the unemployment rate. It also helps uneducated they can learn on learn direct. ICT also provide security for my community as now the crime rate is low as more criminals are caught on CCTV and charged, people can report crimes online which saves time by going to the police station and getting a report written. Lastly with the help of ICT a person who can’t afford to buy computer or use internet café they are provided with information points which lets them send free emails and has information. Overall without ICT people in our community would have problems and small tasks would take them long time.
