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London School of
Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Modules
Economics, Management,
Finance and the Social Sciences -
138 Information and
communication technologies: principlesand perspectives
Prerequisite
If taken as part of a BSc Degree 60
Introduction to information systems and 129
Introduction to programming.
Exclusion
This unit may not be taken with 103 Elements of information and
communication
technologies.
Aims and objectives
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are the foundation for
virtually all modern computing applications. Consider an email system.
Users send
and receive email to and from other users across the world. The creation
of such an
ICT system raises many complex questions. Some of the most important of
these
concern how an ICT is used, how an ICT stores data, and how an ICT
communicates. Three complementary topics, or elements, concern these
issues.
These are human-computer interaction, databases and network
technologies. The
main aims of this subject are therefore to:
? To introduce students to three key, complementary elements of ICTs in
an
integrated manner.
? To develop understanding of how ICTs can be designed to be as usable
as
possible by studying the field of human-computer interaction.
? To develop understanding of how data can be represented and stored in
an
ICT by studying the theory and application of databases.
? To develop understanding of how ICT applications use networking
technology to communicate.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
explain how HCI can be used to guide the development of ICTs that
might
have databases and interact over networks such as the Internet;
explain the importance of HCI in the design of interactive systems;
discuss and critique the various theoretical perspectives on HCI;
apply HCI theory to practical interaction problems with ICT systems;
employ evaluation techniques to investigate the usability of
interactive
systems;
determine when and how
to apply appropriate user-centred design techniques
in the development of ICTs;
describe the main components and features of a DBMS and related
architectures;
discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the database approach and
its
different applications;
identify and specify (the set of) requirements for an ICT-based
database
application;
demonstrate how a database is first conceptualised using the Entity
Relationship (ER) model and then translated into the relational model;
describe key elements of a database language and how these are used to
manipulate data in a database;
outline the issues connected with data protection, in particular those
related to
security; recovery and concurrency control, and how these relate to ICT
application issues;
discuss how local area networks are used to support ICT communication
discuss how wide area networks are used to support ICT communication;
discuss how communication and internetworking can be organised in
technologies such as the Internet;
discuss how ICTs use the client-server model to communicate;
present several examples of networked applications and their
functional
requirements. Syllabus
There are three topics in this unit. However, rather than approaching
these as
separate, individual themes, this unit presents them as a single,
integrated topic that
will assist you in the creation of ICT supported applications. This unit
therefore
considers these topics to be key elements of ICTs. These are:
Human Computer Interaction (HCI): This will introduce you to HCI and
interactive systems design from an ICT perspective and show how
psychological
issues in HCI are fundamental to good ICT design. It will also examine
how
issues for interactive systems design arise from the ICT context (social
and
organisational interactivity), along with a review of the tools and
techniques for
interaction design, as well as user-centred design, prototyping and
evaluation.
Finally, current research issues in HCI will also be considered where
they impact
on the use and future development of ICTs.
Databases: From an ICT perspective, database systems, DBMS and
architectural
issues will be introduced. Creation of databases, specifically the
relational model,
database design, data protection and current trends will also be
investigated.
Networking: In ICTs, communication is fundamental. This element will
consider
this from the perspective of Intranets and the Internet by introducing
networking
application requirements, the client-server model and networking and
internetworking technologies such as LANs, WANs and MANs. The
organisation of communication will also be considered including
protocols and
middleware support.
Essential reading
Preece, J., Y. Rogers, H. Sharp, D. Benyon, S. Holland and T. Carey
Human
Computer Interaction. (Wokingham, England: Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company, 1994) [ISBN 0201627698].
Connolly, M.T. and E.C.
Begg. Database Systems: A Practical Approach to
Design, Implementation and Management. (Harlow: Addison-Wesley, 2005)
fourth edition [ISBN 0321210255].
Comer, D.E. Computer Networks and Internets. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall
International, 2003) [ISBN 0131433512].
Assessment
This unit is assessed by a three hour unseen written examination. |
