Education

EDUCATION, WHAT IS IT?
Education is the only way that people in this day and age need to obtain a well paid job. In order for our society to thrive, we must offer an up to date and advanced form of education so that students can do as well as possible. ICT has affected education in many ways, very positively. Therefore, it has allowed us to offer advanced and well rounded educational tools to help students of all ages and genders, achieve the best of their potential. The four influences that I will examine are; the use of Smart boards (Whiteboards); websites such as Fronter; websites such as Mymaths and the newest innovation, a Smart Pen.






Firstly, Smart boards have innovated classroom interaction for both student and Teachers. From a personal point of view i have found that my concentration level has increased and level of interaction in lessons and has also allowed me to keep up my concentration levels at all times.  Smart boards allow the users to link their computers or laptops to them and then this allows the the tutors to show and involve the class in discussions and and also enables them to interact with the resources as well as find information together. This has affected our lives today as it has allowed us to become more involved in learning and has allowed for a broader choice of learning tools. Another great feature of Smart boards are that they have completely eradicated the need for chalkboards and the demand for chalk. This has affected businesses as there is a new market which they can invest in . Also, it has allowed schools and our overall society to become more eco-friendly as it has resulted in a reduction of the use of chalk.

Therefore, schools are able to save this money and reinvest it into more useful products as well as school trips. The interaction of students has been improved as the teachers are able to produce presentations and  allow the students to view them and also answer questions on them. This results in more alert students which are achieving the highest in potential which then relates in our societies statistics. This also saves time in getting the students to write done everything that would have been dictated via a chalk board which would have 'had not interaction at all' (quote from my dad). Also, another great advantage is that the whiteboards can be controlled via a mouse, key board or a remote. This versatility allows the users to adapt to their own preference and means that the teachers can interact in the lessons much better. This then results in students understanding more from the lesson. This is also a positive or businesses who make these navigational products as well as the whiteboards themselves as there is a new demand for them. Therefore, this also builds on the economic outlook as there is more products being sold. Teachers and students can also write on the board with a smart board pen which is also a new innovation; This means that the students are able to answer questions on the board, which means that there is more movement and interaction in the classroom. This is also used in lectures as there are always a lot of people in a lecture room. This then results in more interactions in lectures as well. 

Secondly, websites such as Fronter has innovated The technical side of education as it has resulted in an increase in efficiency and accessibility. The first thing that comes to mind is my personal experience of Fronter. I have found Fronter to be extremely easy to operate and therefore it has been very easy to hand in all my work on time and get the latest information to do with the school. It has also allowed me to have effective contact with my tutor. In broader terms, this has resulted in an increase in help given by tutors to students and therefore, has affected education very effectively and positively. I am also able to use Fronter from any computer or internet enable device so it is really flexible to do all my work and hand it all in at different points in time.

 This has allowed for more flexibility in the time taken to hand in work and this has also become a less daunting experience for students; Therefore, encouraging them to do better and hand in work that they feel they have put all of their effort into. Fronter has also allowed for students to also ask tutors questions without feeling scared. This also results to a boost in confidence which also influences the students education as they are getting into what they are learning about. Fronter has also allowed Tutor to have extra free time to then develop there lesson plans further as they can do all of their marking online without the hassle of using paper. This also means that Fronter has also made education more eco- friendly as we are using and consuming less paper unnecessary. This is also a positive for the creators as it they can sell their service Fronter as an eco-friendly service which will there fore bring them more business and also result in a positive economic outlook. Handing in work is not the only property of Fronter; as it also enables users to pas on resources as well as communicate and ask questions. The ability for tutors to put up extra resources as well as set homework on Fronter allows them to encourage their students to do better and push themselves further in their education without having to ask them to look in several places for information; That would result in slacking and confusion. Finally, Fronter can also be adapted to store information about the school which is incredibly efficient and also very eco-friendly as there is less paper used and more information given out. This all not only reflects in the students education, but also the schools reputation as they will be seen as an incredibly good asset to the ever growing technological society. I HAVE ALSO DONE A SURVEY ON THE USE OF FRONTER.

The innovation of educational websites such as Mymaths not only have proven to be very popular but have also been very successful in providing excellent resources and services to students and institutes. It has allowed the users to have educational access to the internet and some argue that it may be better than actually highering a tutor. This site is designed to help students with their maths work which is seen as one of the hardest subjects in the National curriculum. Firstly, Mymaths allows students to login via there school user and then there own user; This is a very good system of login and results in students putting their trust in the site as they have reassurance that their work will not be tampered with. 

This therefore increases the number of users using this service and has also benefited the creators as they are getting more business and a increasingly better reputation. The expansive educational level resources allow a expansive audience to use the website as they are willing to look at resources which their tutors have possibly recommended for them. The resources themselves are very useful as they allow the students to revise the topics of their choice and then do the homework set on the topic by the tutors who have the ability to do so. This has resulted in extra teaching and then results to the students being more interested in the topics as well as being more prepared or their exams. The students are able to pick from the grade boundaries of their choice which makes the site extra flexible and also reassures the students that they can work at their own pace without feeling pressured into doing too much. This also results in more schools using the websites like this one as they have known in to result in achievement. In my own experience, I can safely say that Mymaths is an excellent online revision tool that is being used by many of my friends even today to help them with their A level revision.

The final innovation that has allowed ICT to innovate our learning in education is the all new Pulse Smart pen which is being sold for less than £200. The pricing is an incredible lure for everyone involved in education as it has allowed us to record lectures. Firstly, students find it more productive to just listen to their lecture over and over again as it allows them to remember the lecture more. They also find it easier than going to the lecturer for more help; this then results in the students taking in more of what has been said as it allows them to to understand more of what is being said. This then results in a good word being passed around by students and anyone else using the pen; therefore leading to a new innovation and new market for businesses selling the pens and they can also find that they will have a very increased demand for the product. 
While students are recording what the tutor or speaker is saying, they can also find that they are able to write down any key point with the pen and also refer back to any key points while playing back the recordings. This is because the pen can also remember what is being written and it has a USB attached to it so that the written notes as well as the speech can be translated straight onto the laptop, computer or android device for later reference. It can then be customised using the computer applications for the users own preferences.

THE GENERAL DRAWBACKS OF THE INTERNET AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION-

Some students copy large chunks from the world wide web without quoting their source of information. this opens them up to charges of plagiarism, which is one of the greatest academic sins. The universities have seen this as such a large problem that they have invested in a great deal of devicing programs that spot such copying. 

As it is so easy to publish on the internet, almost anyone can do it. therefore, it is easy to publish inaccurate, biassed or plain incorrect material as it is to publish properly edited and refereed material. the reason for doing this may be completely innocent, humorous or wicked, but either way the the material is basically misinformation rather than information. 

Another growing problem is that many providers are finding ways to charge for the information that had previously been free. It is now commonplace to have to join a site.

This section of information has been sources from the edexcel GCE in Applied ICT AS single award by Trevor Heathcote and Steve Farrell.

Health 

Article

Curse of the screen: PCs 'dull children's brains and should be banned until nine

By LAURA CLARK, EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT All By This Author - 12/06/2010 11:11:41

Early exposure to computer screens in schools and nurseries is threatening the development of a generation of young children, a top psychologist warns today.

Toddlers 'at risk' from curriculum that forces them to usecomputers

06/02/2008 23:31:44

Toddlers will be taught to turn on and operate televisions and computers under a mandatory new curriculum. The so-called 'nappy curriculum' which covers children from birth to five states that from the age of 22 months children should 'show an interest in ICT (information and communications technology)'

• I think that these stories are very relevant to this topic as they are focusing on the disadvantages of the use of ICT in education.

Working Styles

ICT has affected our society so much that in this day and age, there are aspect of ICT in every kind of employment from corporate law firms to local florists, ICT is everywhere. I will be looking at the way ICT has affected the how people communicate in their working lives; how it  is used to assist employees; How it has improved flexibility and how ICT has affected freedom and self-reliance.

Firstly, ICT has affected how people are communicating now. In the past when technologies hadn't been founded, people had to communicate through letters that had to be sent by travelling through people power.  However, due to the innovation of ICT, people are now able to communicate from any points in the world as well as being able to view video reception of the person or people that they are contacting. In the working field, people are using the most sophisticated technologies such as switchboards and mobile phones. Another innovation is E-mail and it is being frequently used by businesses as a way of contacting and communicating with the internal staff. This shows that ICT has positively impacted the way people are passing massages from the smallest note to the most discrete files. People are now able to communicate from all over the world through video links and Cyber worlds. This is known as computer conferencing; This allows the users to communicate and visually see the person or people that they are communicating with. They will also be able to transfer files and messages directly  to the recipient(s). This shows The positive affect that ICT has had on the society as well as the working styles of businesses, it has enabled people to have much more ease on how they choose to communicate internally and externally within their businesses. Even to communicate with the people across the room employees and other staff members are able to send sort E-mails. This may become a problem for some people, as it may cause them to become quite reliant on these technologies, therefore becoming very lazy. This is a disadvantage to society as it poses a lot of questions about the levels of effort that employees are actually putting into their work. People are now able to communicate through new android devices such as the iphone, this shows that people are now able to communicate from anywhere and are now able to pick and choose the means of communication that they prefer the most. For example, the micro-blogging site Twitter enable the users to list their co-workers est. This shows how positively ICT has affected the way people can communicate and has shown how it has developed and is still developing through computer conferences and chat rooms. 

Secondly, ICT has also affected employees in terms of assistance. For example, EPOS electronic point of sales which has allowed the employee to have access to a computerised piece of machinery which is directly linked to a stock database and/or a live stock database which will assist them in looking up the item that they have scanned and then refreshing the stock list. This will then allow for an automatic stock update signal or an automatic order for the stock; This system is very automated and is extremely quick and efficient to use. Another payment system is EFTPOS which means the Electronic funds transfer at point of sale. This is the system   that allows debit and credit cards to be used in order to pay for goods and services. This is extremely helpful or the employee as this system automatically funds automatically from the customers account to the seller's account. This shows the level of assistance that is gained by the employees and is effectively impacting the businesses as they are able to take on more transactions. Even in other types of markets such as mechanics, the employees are able to use ICT in the form of computerised analysis equipment in order to diagnose the problems with the customers vehicles. This is a major advance in technology and affects our society as it enables  us to use ICT in new and exiting ways. 

 

Working styles, have been made more flexible by ICT as there are many alternatives for pen and paper. The first alternative is E-mailing; E-mailing is very straight forward and easy to use and the is no need to waste time in mailing and spending extra money on stamps and delivery fees. The second alternative is that work can be done anywhere at any time using devices such as laptops and android phone devices which can receive broadband connection. This is a dramatic change in our society today because we are now able to multi task while going about our everyday tasks and our working lives. This has also had a positive affect on the economy as it has allowed businesses to innovate such technologies and then sell them for a tidy profit; Therefore, resulting in a positive economic outlook. In personal experience, I have found that it has been very flexible to continue my work on several different devices that only need a broadband connection if I want to use the internet. I am also able to easily send various email and other multimedia products without having to go through numerous procedures and waste time and energy in organising information. I have also found that the negative aspect is that I have become quite reliant on ICT which sometimes leads to loss of data as a result of not having backed up information. As an example of flexibility caused by ICT, satellite navigation systems have made travelling a more flexible work style. The GPS  signal locates the users location and the system software then gives direction on which way to turn. We have already established that we have become very reliant on technology, but what would happen if the technology was incorrect of at fault? Here is a link to a story published by the guardian newspaper about the dangers of faulty GPS software. The story focuses on how GPS  software in the satellite navigation system lead a man to his death as he drove straight into a reservoir. This highlights the disadvantage to ICT as we may incur faults, which we should be prepared for. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/04/gps-driver-death-spanish-reservoir

Finally, the affect that ICT has had on employees self-reliance and freedom has been very expansive. Staff are now able to use different devices to enable them to undertake their tasks. For example, teachers have the freedom to put text books to one side and use resources from the internet to teach pupils. This is a positive impact that ICT has had on our society as it has allowed people to experiment with different techniques which will then result in pupils achieving much better results and being able to think for themselves. This is the right state of mind that is needed to innovate future technologies and therefore, improve business in general and the end product of a positive economy. In my personal experience, I have found that when teachers have made the lessons more interactive with the use of ICT, I have been able to take in more information and therefore, achieve better results. The only negative aspect is that The information cannot always be reliable and cannot always be taken as it is as present. An example of this is Wikipedia on the internet; The free encyclopaedia  can be edited by anyone. Therefore, you should always make sure that the information you obtain from the internet is researched and is correct. However, other aspects of ICT have allowed teachers to have the freedom to have options of how to teach; For example, an interactive whiteboard is a new innovation which allows the user to have a large screen that can be written on via a interactive pen that is connected to the whiteboard. This is a very positive aspect and also assists the employees to achieve the most from the lessons that they provide.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3205080.stm

This story is of relevance as it is showing a direct change in working styles through ICT.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11119488

This is a great example of what can go wrong connected with working styles if there is a loss of equipment which is all relating to ICT.

Banking and Shopping

ICT in the information age has innovated the way that customers purchase their goods and services as there are many ways that customers are able to purchase and compare their purchases. ICT has also affected the way that banks are able to offer their services to their customers, as they are able to offer online services and electronic services in the banks.This is very positive as it has increased the pace that the businesses work at to enable their work to be easier to undertake.The businesses also benefit from this change as the customer doesn't need to leave the house in order to do any banking or shopping, as it is all online.Therefore, businesses only need minimal contact with their clients, which can also be done online and the benefit of this for the banks and large is that they don't need to employ as much staff as they would normally need as there is less face to face time needed with the clients. This has also allowed room for customers to become more independent, therefore leading them to learn more about the technologies they are using within the services provided by the businesses. I will analyse the affects of ICT on the following four topics;

1. Use of ICT in stores,
2. Use of ICT in online stores,
3. Use of ICT in bank branches,
4. Use of ICT in online banking.

The use of ICT in stores has helped staff build easy and effective systems to organise their services. Firstly, self checkouts allow customers to scan and pay or their products without the assistance of employees. the advantage of this is that it allows for more accessibility and it is also very time saving for the customers. This is an example of how ICT has changed the way we shop in a very positive way. Another reason why the self checkout is very good is that it allows the customers to experience the new technologies and be exposed to them. They are also extremely easy to use as they accept card and cash and has a built in guide to show the customer how to use it. This is not the only benefit in stores, if you go into the operating of supermarket's such as Sainsbury's, have bar coded their products so that when they are scanned in the till the system automatically updates so that it can reorder the products. This use of ICT in this way has affected the businesses very positively as it has allowed them to get the least labour to undertake this procedure and being able to get the most time saved from this process. This then allows them to expand their profit prospects as less time is taken restocking. Some stores offer customer reward and advantage cards for example, the Nectar card is used to to encourage customer to spend in order to gain points on their card which they can later spend. In other words, it can be seen as a discount card. This has shown that ICT has affected the consumers in a positive way, as it has allowed them to save money on their shopping and also receive a number of discounts. The customers can also use these points to spend on other things such as discount on holidays and fuel. The points can also be spent online in e-Nectar stores such as Amazon where the choice is very broad and extensive. This is a huge advantage on the businesses as it has allowed for collaborations interlinking different markets to allow for an increase in business; This results to a positive economic outlook, which shows the positive impact of ICT. From a personal prospective I have also found this to be an advantage. I obtain a Boots advantage card, which is exclusive to their customers, and I can receive four points for every pound that I spend in store and this also applies to the consumers in general. 








Online shopping has become very popular, the positive aspect  is that it has helped people with disabilities with their general day -to-day activities and has saved them time. This is because the customers can order and view the images of items from the comfort of their home, as well as being able to get their order delivered to them in the same day.This is also great for businesses; as they are now able to advertise their other products which can then catch the customers eyes, therefore, resulting in extra sales. This is also an innovation for customer leading a busy and hectic lifestyle as they are able to shop online and when they are constantly on the go through android devices such as the iphone. However, the disadvantage is that ICT has made a large portion of customers opt for the easier option which is to shop online.This can lead to online fraud as customers are automatically putting their trust in illegal online sites which have been designed to hack into and take the customers personal details. This can lead to a chain of unfortunate events for the customer, resulting in them loosing interest in online shopping and ICT in general. Another negative aspect is that society is becoming lazier as they are relying on the online access to stores to order and pay for their goods as well as services and then having them delivered straight to the billing address. This is leading to people becoming less active, which may relate to a number of health problems such as obesity and poor eye sight. This is such a negative aspect as it shows that ICT is causing our society to become less able, and is also putting unnecessary pressure on services such as the NHS. Online services has allowed customers to increase their own knowledge of how to use the ICT that is available all around them. The accessibility is very good and simple to use as it allows the customer to browse and choose the specific product of their choice. This allows the customer to have a broader choice and coverage of stores a a click of a button, which saves a lot of time and energy. ICT has also allowed the creation of new online comparison sites which compare prices of all of the major supermarkets and other product and service stores. This has shown how ICT has encouraged and increased the growth of our economy in the recent unsettled climate. It also evaluates how big of an influence  ICT has become to the society and how society has become extremely reliant on new technologies and innovations such as comparison sites.

ICT has affected banking similarly and also in completely different ways. firstly, ICT has been used to maximise the accuracy in banking in several ways. For example, one major advantage is that ICT has been used in the form of software that helps stock brokers to identify and anticipate movements in the stock market. This is a huge innovation that has developed and increased business, therefore affecting our economy in a positive way. Another way that ICT has affected banking is that it has resulted in ATM's which are also referred to as holes in the wall. ATM's allow the customer to undergo various transactions such as; taking out cash; paying in; printing statements and requesting statements to be sent to the customers address. This also is an advantage as it has decreased the need for extra staff, this has affected banks as it has saved them money and has also allowed them to employ more people to carry out customer services inside the branches. therefore, this has also had a positive impact on the customer service that banks and building societies provide to their customers. Another aspect of ICT that has influenced Banking in branches is that it has allowed the businesses to expand technically. The expansion of their computer systems as well as their accessibility to communicate has increased and become really accurate through the telecommunications and the internet. The computer systems have allowed banks to co ordinate and organise different aspect of work and has filtered though all of the departments such as Human Resources and Finances and has become a valuable tool to them as it has improved their research and their tasks. 




Online banking has been innovated due to ICT. it has become so advance, it allows the user to undergo all transactions and enquires at a click of a button, which fit the WAI recommendations. For example, at the NatWest online users are able to do private banking, personal banking; business banking and commercial banking. Firstly, it has enabled users to get exclusive access to all of the latest deals and discounts that are exclusive to the online customers. This is beneficial as ICT has been shown here to result in customers receiving extra benefits; The banks have also been able to make extra money as they have the ability to advertise extra offers to their customers without them even realising. However, online banking posses a very serious issue. The threat of identity fraud and theft, and the threat of the hackers who invade account to obtain information and then , they become the user and use the details to steal the information and money from the users account. This shows the disadvantage to the innovation of ICT in online banking as it can result in customers loosing their money and decreasing their credit rating. This also results in the customer scope for the online side of the business decreasing and therefore leading to a fall in demand and profit. It will also lead to the fear that the customers will have while using the website and may end in customer not using the website at all. The businesses reputation will not benefit from online fraud as it will show the business to be untrustworthy and unreliable, therefore giving the business a bad name. On the other hand, a benefit of online banking in the favour of the customers is that ICT now allows them to do all of their banking online, which reduces any need for them to go into the branches after a day at work, when they could be doing other important tasks. ICT has also enabled society to pass money through to any part of the world through online banking. Money transfers fifty years ago would have taken very lengthy periods of time to arrive to their destination via man power; Whereas, now money transfers can be done with the touch of a button on any any android devices with the aid of a broadband connection. 

News 

Article

A mysterious email and a split-second mistake: That's all it took for internet gangsters to hijack my life...

By JANE CORBIN All By This Author - 15/01/2010 22:35:44

I became one of thousands of victims of 'phishing' - the word is a combination of 'fishing' and ' phreaking', which means breaking into a phone system.

I feel that this story has importance as it shows the disadvantages of using the internet when dealing with personal information.

Banking...in bed: Mobile phones will revolutionise the way you handle your finances

By JO THORNHILL, MAIL ON SUNDAY ASSISTANT PERSONAL FINANCE EDITORAll By This Author - 21/03/2009 22:52:16

Online banking on a computer will soon look as oldfashioned as writing a cheque. The future is banking via mobile phones - when and where you want.

I feel that this story is very important as it shows the innovations of ICT and how they are used to our benefits in this information age.

Employment Opportunity

Employment opportunities have really been enhanced by the use of the new technologies within ICT. the three main attributes that relate to this are automation, globalisation and  flexibility. Also, I will be exploring direct employment opportunities generated by ICT. I will be explaining and giving examples of how the four aspects affect the use of ICT in the new information age.

Automation, What it is and examples of advantages and disadvantages-

What is automation?
This is the change in technology which has enabled us to develop different types of machinery, which are able to undertake work which some people are able to do. These pieces of machinery are automated and therefore, save time and energy for businesses such as factories.



This is a video showing how automation is being used to generate jobs and is also talking about an example of how countries are trying to improve employment opportunities

For example, a disadvantage to this new innovation of automated technologies is that it is putting a decline on employment opportunities for a large proportion of people including factory workers and banking staff. In the case of factory workers, they are being replaced by automated machinery and robotics overseas where the goods can be produced at a more competitive price without having the increased expense of human labour. This is also an advantage to businesses as there is a 100% decrease in human error as the work will be completely done by machinery programmed to follow instructions and they also preform at the same pace and quality as they don't have to rest or under preform like human workers.
In terms of the disadvantage linked to banking staff, there is a decline in demand for certain types of employees as the tasks they would have undertaken are now being preformed by automated robotics and machinery. As in the case of factory workers, they have all lost their traditional jobs in factories such as wrapping and packaging; labelling; loading and sorting. Now, even though they have lost their work in factories, they are able to take on new opportunities that have been created because of they innovation in ICT. The example of this are; call centres- which has allowed us to provice a huge amount of vacancies to the unemployed. Call centres are used as a place where the public and external customers of the business can ring up with any quieries and any problems that they are facing with the service that they have been provided with. This is a great use of automation as in a call centre, they use computers and headsets to communicate and find information. This also affects employment opportunities in a great way as it enables the employees to learn new skills and to have new abilities and understanding of the innovation of automation. Also, the use of ICT in call centres is very complex as there are a lot of systems put in place to help employees get on with their tasks such as; databases- which allow the employees to look up any technical information that relates to the customer at a click of a few buttons; answer machines and waiting lists which are basically systems used to sort out the customers needs. This system is convenient for the employees as it is used to help them organise the task in hand and the system is a disadvantage for the customers as it can become a lengthy process which can become very costly depending on the type of number.


Globalisation, what it is and advantages and disadvantages-
The process enabling financial and investment markets to operate internationally, largely as a result of deregulation and improved communications. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/globalisation

There are many advantages and disadvantages  to how ICT has affected employment opportunities through globalisation. One of the most successful outcomes of globalisation has been call centres. All of the technologies used in a call centre are due to the the development of ICT; This is an important factor as it has allowed us to create a new environment for people to phone in and enquire as well as using this opportunity for marketing, research and customer service purposes.firstly, we have been able to use a call centre as a means of customer service. This is done by employees being available to answer constant queries over the phone. An example of how ICT has affected this process is the headsets that are used by the employees to answer the calls. This affects society as it has lead to more flexibility when answering the phone as it has allowed users to talk in different areas when they want.

This has also affected businesses as there has been a new market for this product and there is also a constant demand as for example, call centres have them in continuous use; this then allows businesses to employ more staff in order to meet the demands of their clients. The globalisation of call centres has allowed call centres to be based all over the world where there is an accessibility to the internet and also ICT. This has allowed use to employ more people, therefore making globalisation a very great advantage to our society as we have benefited because of the substantial decrease in unemployment. This has meant that life in the information age has become aster and more efficient as issues such as identity theft can be talked through and worked out over the phone with employees from the company who are delivering customer services in call centre. The disadvantage of globalisation in call centres is that there has been a reduction in face-to-face customer services as the process of calling into a call centre may be robotic which can lead to a very generic service which does not have a personal feel. This affects society as the customers are not getting the best service that the expect and require all of the time.

This is monster.com 

Flexibility- examples of advantages and disadvantages
Flexibility in employment opportunities is the ability to have a choice of where to go to look for prospective employment opportunities. An example of flexibility in the information age that has directly linked to employment opportunities is the numerous websites that have been constructed in order for the businesses to market their job listings and vacancies. for example, the use of ICT has allowed such sites as http://www.monster.co.uk/WT.srch=1&WT.mc_n=Srch_UK_SK_G_BRA&s_kwcid=TC|21030|monster.com||S|e|5789936082 to offer thousands of jobs to prospective employees. They include job listings from graduate jobs to part time and full time job listings. This is an advantage to society as it has meant that jobs from all over the world which has shaped the diversity of our society and the choice of work has become very broad. It has also allowed room for people to come across major opportunities to work for the most well known companies and businesses which also benefit businesses as they get to pick from the high volume of curriculum vitae that they receive from people and the websites that are hosting their vacancies. However, there are also some disadvantages to flexibility. Firstly, most opportunities require applicants to have the correct qualifications, without these qualifications many opportunities will pass you by. This affects society as in the information age, if you don't have the right qualities you won't get any opportunities.
 This therefore means that there is a larger social divide in society due to the advance. Another major disadvantage to these websites is that it is first come first serve, which means that there is a large volume of people going for the opportunities when there is not enough. This then results in people finding that even though they have the right qualities, they are unable to apply for any opportunities. This then leads to a positive for some businesses who offer training for those that are in need of new skills.

This is the business link website page, #they provide free training to businesses
Not only are their sites that offer employment opportunities, there is also the  flexibility that relates to the training that people can gain to either start up their own business or to gain certain skills in order for them to be able to get back into the working world. This shows that flexibility is a very positive factor of the use of ICT in employment opportunities as when it rises problems, it also has solutions to them which benefits everyone.

Jobless total falls below one million

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The Government today maintained that the UK was on the road to full employment after the number of people claiming benefit dipped below one million for the first time in over 25 years.

The claimant count fell to 996,200 last month, the lowest total since December 1975.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-30340/Jobless-total-falls-million.html#ixzz12pUcDLeG




I feel that this story is relevant as it is showing the most recent development in unemployment levels which is a crucial factor as unemployment level depend on various issues.

JOB CLINIC: I'm jobless, so what's on offer to get me working? 

Last updated at 8:15 PM on 19th December 2009

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Answered by David Way, deputy chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service.

I have been on Jobseeker's Allowance for five months and have heard that after six months I am guaranteed a training place or job. How does it work?

After six months you are entitled to take up one of a number of options to help find work, one of which is known as the Training Offer.

It began in April and it means those who have been unemployed and on Jobseeker's Allowance for six months will be offered extra help to get back into work quickly.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1237185/JOB-CLINIC-Im-jobless-whats-offer-working.html#ixzz12pUyow00


I feel this story is relevant as it is an example of how flexibility of helping people get back into the working world.