Transcript Chapter 4

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
•
What is Communication Technology?
–
–
Communication technology: all the things people
make and do to send and receive messages.
Examples:
•
•
•
E-mail
Cell Phones
Fax Machines
COMM. INNOVATIONS AND TRENDS
• Innovation: something new, whether a new device, process,
or idea; innovations lead to trends.
– Examples:
• Cell Phones, Satellite Navigation
• Trend: a general movement or inclination toward something;
NOT a specific device, process, or idea but represented by
several devices, processes, or trends; tries to improve one of
the following three areas:
– Quality of Communication (CD’s, Fiber Optics, HDTV)
– Convenience & Portability of Devices (Laptops, Cordless Phones,
MP3 Players)
– Speed and Efficiency of Devices and Systems (Internet, Dual-Core
Processors, DDR2 SDRAM Memory)
WHY DO WE NEED COMM. TECH.?
• Comm. Tech. extends our ability to send and receive
messages; enables us to do the following things better
and faster:
– Educate (DVD’s, computer programs, hydrophones,
seismometers)
– Entertain (MP3’s, Internet, X-Box, T.V., cell-phones)
– Persuade (Virtually all advertising on radio, Internet, T.V.,
or billboards; political persuasion; social reform)
– Inform (newspapers, Internet, T.V., radio)
– Control (control mechanisms and sensors on computers;
control of traffic signals, which sends a control signal to us)
PARTS OF A COMM. SYSTEM
• Communication Systems include:
– Sender: the person or device sending the message
– Message: if you need help with this, we need to talk
– Comm. Channel: the path over which a message must
travel to get from the sender to the receiver (cellular signal,
DSL/Cable Modem, T.V.)
– Receiver: the person or device receiving the message
• Communication Systems contain 4 parts:
– Input(s) – time, people, information, capital, materials, tools &
machines, energy
– Process(es)
– Output(s)
– Feedback
COMM. SYSTEM INPUTS
• People: – create the messages to be sent; create the
technologies to send the message; work in the careers
necessary to broadcast messages; perform the
production tasks necessary to send the message, etc..
• Information: needed about a variety of technologies to
design, create, install, and repair the equipment &
devices needed to send messages (micro-processing,
digital electronics, photonics, electronic imaging);
consumers need information to make educated
decisions when purchasing communication equipment;
people working in the communication industry need
information, knowledge, and skills regarding science,
mathematics, social sciences, and language arts
COMM. SYSTEM INPUTS (cont’d)
• Materials: used to make the items we use to send and receive
messages:
– Trees and water (for paper),
– petroleum products (for plastics that are manufactured into
nearly all of the items we use to communicate)
– metal wires and/or glass fiber optic cables laid each year to
connect communication devices,
– metal for the transmission towers that send and receive signals
• Tools and Machines:
– Simple manufacturing drawing tools and programs
– electronic communication devices
– tools and materials needed to print and publish
COMM. SYSTEM INPUTS (cont’d)
• Energy: fundamental to communication systems:
– mental and physical energy individuals use
– Mech. and light energy that must be changed into electrical
energy to power almost all electronic comm. devices
– radiant energy in the form of electromagnetic waves
• Capital: without the money, land, and equipment needed to
produce communication devices, they wouldn’t exist:
– needed to buy equipment, pay workers, and pay for the energy
necessary to operate communication systems
– capital investments needed to research and develop emerging
communication technologies
– capital is needed to build the infrastructure necessary for
communication technology to exist.
COMM. SYSTEM INPUTS (cont’d)
• Time: needed to design and develop new
communication technologies. New technologies
themselves save people a very precious commodity –
time.
• Time-saving feature of communication technology:
– Improves efficiency and productivity
– Gives people more options on how they use their time
• laptops that are used on a plane to finish a report or project
• cell phones that allow people to conduct business while on
their way to work
• internet and network connections that allow people to work
from home
PROCESSES
• Processes are all the things done with or to the inputs of a
communication system to get the desired result or output:
– Using a computer to access information on the internet
– All the tasks involved in getting a newspaper or magazine printed
• Photography
• Writing the articles
• Printing the publication
– The actual processes used in communication technology constantly
change and improve with time:
•
•
•
•
1400’s – took two years to print 200 copies of the Gutenberg Bible.
2012 – 1000 copies in 1 day
Early 1900’s – several days for Titanic news to reach Europe
2012 – would take 10 seconds
OUTPUTS
• Once a message is created, coded (if necessary), and transmitted
(sent), the desired output of the communication system has been
achieved – the message has been sent.
• Outputs come in many forms:
– Images
– Words
– Sounds
• Positive Impacts of Communication Technology Outputs:
– Long-Distance Communication: the Internet & VOIT (voice-overinternet-technology – Vonage) providing long-distance service at a
fraction of the cost
– Communication in Schools:
• handle, store, retrieve, and send incredible amounts of information;
• Internet and computer-based databases enable students to for information in
large databases.
• PARENT CONNECT LETS YOUR PARENTS KNOW IF YOU’RE FAILING
OR PASSING A COURSE – INSTANTANEOUSLY!
OUTPUTS (cont’d)
•
Negative Impacts of Communication Technology Outputs:
– The Internet:
• initially created as a means to send information.
• As it developed, it also became a source that could be used for evil intentions (terrorist
websites, chat rooms where predators try to deceive and lure innocent children).
– Privacy:
• potential sources for theft, sabotage, identity theft, and disinformation;
• telemarketers calling during the evening invades the privacy of people in their homes.
– Effects on Health and Safety:
•
•
•
•
•
Electromagnetic Radiation
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Hearing Loss from headphones
Eye strain from prolonged computer viewing
Medical devices and aviation avionics malfunctioning due to negative electromagnetic
compatibility (EMC)
– Pollution and Environmental Impacts:
• Aesthetic beauty damaged from towers and antennas
• Vast raw materials used and pollution generated turning them into industrial materials
necessary to build communication devices
FEEDBACK
• Feedback is any response directly related to the output of a
communication system. It can take many forms:
– Replying to an e-mail message
– Replying to an advertisement
– Replying to a telephone conversation
– Negative Feedback
• not being able to hear someone over the static in a cellular conversation
• dropped calls;
• yelling at a telemarketer;
• the Internet or a LAN going down, which can cause aggravation at best or
cause a system to crash, at worst
– Poor communication security resulting in theft