How society uses computers ?
Ø EDUCATION
In today’s society, computers
are an integral tool in education. Beginning in grade school, students are
taught to use a computer. Almost all students have a computer in their home,
and all students have access to computers either in computer labs or public
libraries. However, students are not the only ones who use computers in
education; working professionals incorporate computers in their continuing
education as well.
One way in which computers are used to help
educate professionals is by offering on-line courses to keep them abreast of
advancements in their industry. For example, public accountants (CPA’s) are
required by the American Institute of Public Accountants (AICPA) and public
accounting firms to enroll in courses to continue their education.
The firm I work for, Deloitte
& Touche, requires that all staff members complete a specified number of
courses a year. These courses cover a range of subjects, such as professional
ethics and advancements in technology and methodology. These courses are
available on-line on the company’s website. Other firms are required to take
continuing education courses and use their company’s website to enroll and
complete them.
Ø FINANCE
The discovery of computers has
transformed the financial industry and how business deals are transacted. It is
possible for accountants to keep large amounts of data, conduct intricate
calculations and manage financial transactions from a computer. Computer
technology enables global economies capabilities impossible decades ago.
Computers influence both business and personal financial management.
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Customer information
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Products
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Reports and Profits
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Transactions and Goals
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Creadit applications
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Delinquency
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Miscellaneous
Ø GOVERNMENT
Like businesses, state and
federal government offices use computers. Government employees must set up
meetings and distribute various reports. Computers help these workers expedite
these tasks, as most government-issued computers contain numerous software programs
like word processing, spreadsheets and database management programs, according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Computer uses in government offices also include various e-mail
functions, payment distribution, record keeping and even coordinating mailings.
Ø HEALTH CARE
As technology has advanced
medicine, computers have become a bigger and bigger part of the health care
field. Whether it's databases used to keep patient files, or computers being
used to help doctor's interface with more advanced scanning equipment, the
importance of computer technology is steadily increasing.
Research and Development mark
significant presence of computers in the daily life. The high-end machines used
for diagnosis and cure of many diseases are nothing but computers. For example,
the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), CT scan, ultrasound devices, etc are
amongst the most ubiquitous uses of computers in hospitals. Even many surgical
procedures, known as laparoscopic surgeries, need the help of computers. Web
conferencing helps doctors treat people remotely.
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Handling
Medical Data
Every
day hospitals and clinics which are attached to it churn out enormous volumes
of data regarding patients, ailments, prescriptions, medications, medical
billing details, etc. Such medical records, are nowadays recorded into medical
billing software. Such mammoth databases are known as Electronic Medical
Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR). These databases are operated
by a set of computers and servers, and come in handy during medical alerts and
emergencies. The concept of EHR is a bit broader than the EMR, as the database
is accessible from different clinics and hospitals. Thus, a patient's medical
history can be retrieved from any hospital by medical practitioners.
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Scanning
and Imaging
'Tests'
are medical procedures where specified components of the human body are
scanned. A test can be as simple as a regular blood test or it can be a complex
CT scan. This process is often referred to as a medical imagery. In order to
increase the precision of such procedures, computers have been adopted and
integrated into the testing equipment. The Ultrasound and the MRI are the best
examples where computers have been adopted, in order to make the process faster
and precise. Thus medical tests and tools have become more advanced as a result
of the use of computers.
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Examination
and Monitoring
Many
systems are underway for the development of medical monitoring which will help
humans to properly monitor their own health. In many cases doctors and surgeons
also use sophisticated computer aided equipment to treat their patients. Such
systems and procedures include, bone scan procedure, prenatal ultrasound
imaging, blood glucose monitors, advanced endoscopy which is used during
surgery and blood pressure monitors. Basically these medical tests and tools
provide significant convenience to medical practitioners. You will find that
major laboratory equipment and heart rate monitors have already been
computerized in many hospitals.
Ø SCIENCE
In the last decades, computers
have become a normal part of life. They are used to send e-mail, write a school
report or look up recipes. They are used to keep track of the balance in your
bank account. They are used to deliver money to you at an ATM, crunch the
latest baseball statistics and deliver phone calls to the right residence. They
might even be used to help drive your car!
As much as computers have become
a part of our daily lives, they have also become an integral part of modern
science. They are essential in helping scientists to understand the world
around us. Computers have changed the face of science so that scientists are no
longer constrained to doing just experiment-based or theoretical research.
Now scientists can enter results
and data into a computer and the computer, utilizing mathematics and abiding by
the physical laws, can recreate a virtual physical world right on the computer
screen.Supercomputers have especially revolutionized the scientific process and
are used in everything from meteorology to molecular biology to astronomy to
environmental science.
Ø PUBLISHING
Publishers use computer
technology in both traditional and self-publishing ventures. Desktop publishing
combines the use of a personal computer and page layout software to create
publication-ready documents. Electronic book readers have emerged as a means of
purchasing and obtaining access to book publications, either produced by the
author or a publishing house. In the world of self-publishing, consisting of
not only e-books, but also blogs and user-created content websites, computer
software and hardware systems are essential.
Ø TRAVEL
To maintain all the data related
to logistics of travel.They use it to guide you find the best option for in
terms of economy and other related issues like where you can stay at what
budget,your tour options and many others as they maintain a database related to
tours and travels only.
Many computers help us travel by
air and road. Air-travel computers include those that control air traffic
safely, warn pilots of potential midair collisions and help pilots navigate.
Road-travel computers include those that help drivers navigate and help engines
run more efficiently and cleanly.
Ø MANUFACTURING
Computers are now widely used in
product design and in automation of selected areas in factories. Within the
next decade, the use of computers in the entire spectrum of manufacturing
applications, from computer-aided design to computer-aided manufacturing and
robotics, is expected to be practical and economically justified. Such
widespread use of computers on the factory floor awaits further advances in
computer capabilities, the emergence of systems that are adaptive to the
workplace, and the development of interfaces to link islands of automation and
to allow effective user communications.
Computers are used in
manufacturing in many, many ways. Most commonly computers are used to generate
labels for products, control and/or monitor larger machines (presses, robotics,
etc.), and for general reporting. Computers are also used in manufacturing for
the shipping process, i.e. Bills of Lading printing, sending electronic
communications to vendors and customers and others.
