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Heinemann Information Processes and Technology: HSC Course
Heinemann Information Processes and Technology:
HSC Course
The answers below are, in many cases, only a brief guide to a full answer. Some of
the answers in the learning activities have not been provided as they involve the
student investigating, forming opinions, working in a group or completing practical
tasks on the computer.
Chapter 2: Information systems and databases
Exercise 2.1
1 Information systems perform a set of information processes requiring participants,
data/information and information technology. They are created to provide access
to information for an organisation or individual.
2 Five types of information systems are transaction processing systems (TPS),
decision support systems (DSS), expert systems, management information
systems (MIS) and office automation systems.
3 Batch processing collects the transaction data into a group and processes it later. It
has a time delay, and this may be a significant disadvantage. In real-time
processing, each transaction is immediately processed. It provides instant
confirmation of a transaction but does require access to an online database.
4 A DSS depends on the accuracy of the mathematical model and the ability of the
manager to formulate appropriate questions.
5 Expert systems are useful in diagnosis, monitoring, selecting, designing,
predicting and training.
6 The knowledge base is a set of general facts and if-then rules supplied by an
expert.
7 An MIS presents information about the performance of the organisation, such as
reports on sales, stock inventory, payroll, orders and budgets.
8 Office automation systems provide people with effective ways to complete
administrative tasks in an organisation. They use a range of software tools, such as
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word processors, spreadsheets, databases, desktop publishing and presentation
programs, and project management and communication software.
9 a
The purpose of MovieTime Video is to hire videos and sell associated
products.
b
Participants―manager and staff. Data/information―member data, video data,
barcodes, receipt. Information technology―personal computer, barcode
reader, database.
c
The membership data consists of last name, first name, address, phone
number, age, sex, date of birth, and work number.
d
The video data consists of an identity number, a title, main stars, a rating, and
an entertainment category.
e
The information processes include:

Collecting―scanning the video barcode.

Organising―searching the database for membership details.

Analysing―determining the type of information required.

Storing and retrieving―saving the database to a disk.

Processing―updating the data after it has been entered.

Transmitting and receiving―transferring the data between peripheral
devices.

Displaying―obtaining a report on a member’s transactions.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1 The effect of information systems include banking (ATMs, plastic cards), learning
(Internet, educational software), communication (Internet, email, voice mail),
shops (EFTPOS, barcode readers) and individual productivity (PCs, word
processing, databases). Student opinion.
2 Student opinion. Managers could provide staff with comprehensive guidelines and
structures on formatting documents, organising data and surfing the web. Bonuses
could be provided for staff that complete a particular task within a timeframe.
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Performance of staff could be more closely supervised to ensure time is not
wasted.
3 These issues indicate that expert systems are used in areas where the cost of the
expert system is low compared with the expense of paying an expert. Expert
systems are commonly used in medicine and the stock market. Expert systems
would not be used in any area where experts are paid small amounts of money and
are readily available.
4 Example of an information system that students regularly use is EFTPOS. A
possible DFD would contain.

Process―buying a product.

External entities―customer, sales assistant.

Data flow―product, plastic card, receipt.

Data store―database.
5 The ethical issue raise by this situation is privacy. The staff does not have the right
to sell the personal data of the members. Student opinion.
Exercise 2.2
1 Computer-based databases have several advantages over non-computer databases:

Easily edited―data can be corrected and updated without having to retype all
the data.

Large storage―data is stored on a disk and retrieved when required.

Fast find―data is searched and sorted quickly and accurately to obtain the
required information.

Display options―data is presented in a variety of ways using tables, forms and
reports to suit most purposes.
2 Flat file databases organise data using data structures called files, records, fields,
and characters:

A file is a block of data.
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
A record is a collection of facts about one specific entry in a database.

A field is a specific category of data in a database.

A character is the smallest unit of data that people can handle.
3 A primary key is a single key or compound key that must have a value. Primary
keys cannot be empty or null. A secondary key is a field that contains useful items
of data often used in searches. Secondary keys are not always unique.
4 A relational database organises data using a series of related tables.
5 A schema is the data definition for a database. It is an organised plan of the entire
database showing how and where the data is found, descriptions of the data and its
logical relationships.
6 Entities are related in three ways: one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many.
7 Data modelling is the process of identifying entities, the relationships between
those entities and the attributes of those entities.
8 A data dictionary contains information about the characteristics of each item
entered in the database, such as the field names, field sizes, data types and field
descriptions.
9 The purpose of normalisation is to result in a database that is more efficient. The
database is unambiguous and as intended.
10 A link is the highlighted text (usually an underlined word or graphic) that allows
an electronic connection. If another computer is the destination of the link, that
computer is called a node.
11 The three parts of the URL are the:

Protocol―the transfer method used to access a particular resource on the
Internet.

Domain name―the address of the specific computer where the resource is
located.

File path―the full path to the file to be retrieved.
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12 A storyboard is a series of frames, each representing a different action or screen
image. It is a tool used for organising hypermedia.
13 HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a set of special instructions that indicate
how parts of a document will be displayed and navigated.
14 Links are achieved using HTML’s hypertext-related tag. It is <A> and stands for
anchor. The document to be linked is specified using the instruction
HREF="filename". The filename refers to the location or path of the link. After
the hypertext reference, the text that will provide the link is specified.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1 Three non-computer databases are:

Card file―organises data by sorting cards into logical groups or
alphabetically. Data is stored on the cards. Individuals and a range of
organisations use card files. Advantages―inexpensive, convenient and easy to
secure. Disadvantages―data not easily used for other purposes, difficult to
manage for a large amount of data, need to continually sort data, and data is
difficult to find if incorrectly stored.

Filing cabinet―organises data into folders usually sorted into logical groups
or alphabetically. Data is stored using pieces of paper. Individuals and most
organisations have filing cabinets. Advantages include that it is inexpensive,
convenient, easy to secure, and if accurately organised provides quick access
to data. Disadvantages―data is not easily used for other purposes, difficult to
manage for a large amount of data, need to continually sort data, data is
difficult to find if incorrectly stored, and finding a physical space for the filing
cabinet.

Address book―organises data alphabetically according to the person’s family
name. Data is stored using pieces of paper in the book. Individual and
community phone directories make use of address books. Advantages include
that it is inexpensive, convenient and easy to construct. Disadvantages―data
is not easily used for other purposes and difficult to manage for a large amount
of data.
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2 Students could describe boxes, folders, cupboards, bookcases, desk drawers, filing
cabinets or books. Student answers depend on the structure of the non-computer
database they are using at home.
3 A possible schematic diagram for a library would contain:

Entities―Borrower (LastName, FirstName, Address, PhoneNo, BorrowerID),
Book (Title, Author, YearOfPublication, ISBN, Reserve, CallNo) and
Transaction (DateBorrowed, BorrowerID, CallNo).

Relationships―Borrower to Transaction is one-to-many, Book to Transaction
is one-to-many.
4 a
The primary key for each entity would be:

Customers―CustomerID.

Seats―SeatNumber.

Events―EventID.
Each of these attributes would have a value and be unique.
b
Data dictionary needs to be created for each entity (customers, seats and
events) using the given attributes. The data type for most attributes is text with
the exception of ‘Deposit’ (currency) and ‘Date and Time’ (date). Students
should accurately describe each attribute and specify a realistic field size.
c
The schematic diagram would contain:

Entities―Customer (CustomerID, LastName, FirstName, Address,
Suburb, PostCode, Deposit and CreditCard), Seats (SeatNumber, Event
and CustomerID) and Events (Event, EventTitle, Date and Time).

Relationships―Customer to Event is one-to-many, Seats to Event is one to
many.
d
Data entry form should be designed using appropriate headings and groupings
of attributes.
5 a
The attribute that is redundant is ‘DateLastGift’ and ‘GiftDate’. The same data
is stored in different attributes.
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b
The data structure would be modified by replacing the ‘Address’ attribute with
attributes called ‘Street’, ‘Suburb’ and ‘PostCode’.
c
d
The primary key for each entity would be:

Person―PersonID.

Gift―GiftID.
A data dictionary needs to be created for each entity (person and gift) using
the given attributes. The data type for most attributes is text with the exception
of ‘AmountToDate’ (currency), ‘DateLastGift (date) and GiftAmount
(currency). Students should accurately describe each attribute and specify a
realistic field size.
e
A schematic diagram would contain:

Entities―Person (PersonID, LastName, FirstName, Address,
AmountToDate, and DateLastGift) and Gifts ( GiftID, PersonID and
GiftAmount).

Relationships―Person to Gift is one-to-many.
6 Students need to create a storyboard with each frame representing a Web page. A
frame representing the Web page would then provide a simple linear path. The
hypertext document could be constructed using a software package such as
PowerPoint.
Exercise 2.3
1 A database contains the data and the DBMS accesses this data.
2 Data is accessed by referring to the index and obtaining the exact location of the
data. Indexed access requires additional time to search the index, as well as
processing time for maintenance of the index.
3 A distributed database is a database located at more than one site. It acts as a
single collection of data but is geographically dispersed.
4 Some of the storage media used by information systems include:
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
Hard disk is a magnetic disk made of metal or glass and covered with
magnetic material.

Optical disc is a polycarbonate plastic disk whose surface is covered with a
reflective layer of metal. There are many kinds of optical discs, such as CDROM and DVD.

Removable cartridge is a hard disk, encased in a metal or plastic cartridge, that
can be removed like a floppy disk. There are two common types of removable
cartridges: Zip disks and Jaz disks.

Magnetic tape is a very long, thin strip of plastic, coated with a thin layer of
magnetic material.
5 Public key encryption is a common asymmetric encryption system. It involves a
public key that is widely available and a private key that is kept secret. Both keys
are developed using complicated number theory. The public key is used to encrypt
the message before it is transmitted, and the private key is used to decrypt the
message when it is received.
6 A backup is a copy of the data that could be used to rebuild the system. A DBMS
creates a backup at a specified time. If the system goes down, the recovery process
rebuilds the system. It uses the last completed backup and a journal listing all the
actions completed by the DBMS since the last backup.
7 Sorting is the process of arranging data in a particular order. Searching is the
process of examining the database to retrieve data.
8 QBE (query by example) is a common method for describing a query. It requires
the user to enter the criteria against a field.
9 Four keywords used in SQL are:

SELECT―the data to be displayed.

FROM―the source of the data.

WHERE―the query.

ORDER BY―the order in which the results are to be displayed.
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10 A search engine’s index is built by regularly scanning the Web for new sites and
accepting submissions from Web page authors.
11 A search engine that offers directories contains lists of Web sites organised into
categories, such as technology, entertainment, or sport.
12 A search robot is a program that accesses Web sites and gathers information for
search engine indexes.
13 a
All records whose class starts with 12.
b
All records whose postcode has as the first three numbers 261.
c
All records whose last name starts with the letter ‘H’.
d
All records whose assessment is greater than 60.
e
All records whose first name is ‘Peter’ and suburb is ‘Mossman’.
f
All records whose colour is ‘Red’ and cost is greater than $500.
g
All records whose last name is ‘Tran’ or postcode is ‘2534’.
h
All records whose street number is 9 or price is less than $500.
14 a
Year = ‘12’ AND Sex = ‘M’.
b
Suburb = ‘Auburn’ OR suburb = ‘Lidcombe’.
c
Sex = ‘F" AND Age <= 18.
d
Owe > $10 000 AND Month = ‘July’.
15 a
6.
b
17 (default secondary sort on StudentID).
c
Melissa Mullins.
d
6 (sorts first digit of address attribute).
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1 This question requires students to create a relational database with a filename of
SMALL BUS. There are three entities: Bus, Patron and Job. Teachers need to
assess students’ skills when completing each task.
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2 a
The query displays the attributes FirstName and LastName using the
Employee and Wage entities. It finds all the records whose department is
‘Sport’ and weekly pay is greater than ‘1000’. The result of the query is sorted
by family name in ascending order.
b
The query displays the attribute EmployeeID using the Employee and Wage
entities. It finds all the records whose suburb is ‘Cabramatta’ and pay date is
31/07/01. The result of the query is sorted by last name in descending order.
c
SQL query:
SELECT FirstName, LastName
FROM Employee, Wage
WHERE Employee.Department = ‘Office’ AND (Employee.Suburb = ‘Ryde’
OR Employee.Suburb = ‘Hunters Hill’)
ORDER BY LastName
d
SQL query:
SELECT FirstName, LastName, Address, Suburb, PostCode
FROM Employee, Wage
WHERE Employee.WeeklyTax < $50 AND Employee.PayDate = 12/08/01
ORDER BY LastName
e
This question requires students to create a relational database with a filename
of RETAIL. Teachers need to assess students’ skills when completing this
task.
3 Student investigation.
4 Student investigation.
Exercise 2.4
1 A report is the formatted and organised presentation of data.
2 Examples of reports are mailing labels, invoices, sales summaries and telephone
lists.
3 Reports are often based on a query as the user needs to select the required records
to be presented. For example, you may not need a mailing label for everybody in
the School database.
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4 Most DBMS have the following sections in a report: report header, page header,
details section, page footer and report footer.
5 A report header appears once at the beginning of a report. A page header displays
information needed at the top of every page. A page header appears after the
report header on the first page of the report.
6 A report footer usually displays such items as report totals.
7 a
The purpose of the RTA to ensure vehicles are safe, protect road users and
provide individuals with a driver’s licence.
b
Participants―manager, staff, IT personnel; data/information―owner data,
pink slip, green slip; information technology―terminals, central computer,
database.
c
Data in the registration table would include plate number, expiry date, last
name, first name, street, suburb, postcode, year, make, model, shape, chassis
number and engine number.
d
Data in the driver’s licence table would include licence number, first name,
middle name, last name, address, suburb, post code, home phone, work phone,
birth date, expiry date, donor and photograph.
e
The information processes at the RTA include:

Collecting―entering data from pink and green slips.

Organising―searching the database for owner details.

Analysing―determining the type of information required.

Storing and retrieving―saving and backing up the database.

Processing―updating the information in the database.

Transmitting and receiving―transferring the data between terminals and
the central computer.

Copyright
Displaying―printing details on the registration form.
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LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1 This question requires students to create a relational database with a filename of
RTA. Teachers need to assess students’ skills when completing each task.

Entities―Driver’s Licence (LicenceNo, Firstname, MiddleName, LastName,
Address, Suburb, PostCode, HomePhone, WorkPhone, BirthDate, ExpiryDate,
Donor and Photograph), LicenceRego (UserID, LicenceNo, PlateNumber) and
Registrations (PlateNumber, ExpiryDate, LastName, FirstName, Street,
Suburb, Postcode, Year, Make, Model, Shape, ChassisNumber and
EngineNumber).

Relationships―Driver’s Licence to LicenceRego is one-to-many,
Registrations to LicenceRego is one-to-many.
2 This question requires students to create a relational database with a filename of
ST PETERS. Teachers need to assess students’ skills when completing each task.
Exercise 2.5
1 An informal source of data is obtained casually during a conversation, meeting or
observations. A formal source of data is obtained from a report, a book or an
official document. It often provides data that is logically organised.
2 To cite an Internet source, include the following information: author’s surname
and initial or organisation’s name, title of the complete work or Web page, URL
of the page, data of document or Web page publication, and the download date.
3 Inaccurate data is obtained by mistakes in gathering the data, by mistakes in data
entry, by a mismatch of the data and the person, or by out-of-date information.
4 Four methods of validating data are a range check, list check, type check and a
check digit.
5 A range check is used if the data is restricted to a small range of particular values.
For example, when a date is entered in the format 21/2/2001, a range check
determines whether the first two digits are in the range of 1 to 31 and the second
two digits are in the range of 1 to 12.
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6 Privacy is a major concern for those involved with databases and their use. Large
organisations, such as banks, use databases to store information about their
customers. This information is confidential. It should not be used for other
purposes or be made available to anyone outside the organisation.
7 The Freedom of Information Act is designed to allow individuals to find out what
data is being kept by the government and other public bodies. It states that
individuals have the right to access information where it relates to the individual
and does not invade another person’s privacy.
8 The problem with data mining is that many of the patterns occur by chance and
have no value in making decisions.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1 The relational database for student records will provide a more flexible way of
manipulating and combining data. Each file (student, financial, teacher and
assessment) would become an entity in the relational database. This would reduce
the duplication of data (data redundancy) such as entering students’ names into
separate files for student data and assessment data. Entering the data only once
provides a better structure to keep the data accurate and makes the data more
efficient. It is also easier to secure the data and certain entities from people
without access rights.
2 Access needs to be restricted to particular groups of people. Clearly, students
should not have access to other students’ personal data. However, some of the
questions raised by this database are debatable:

Do teacher’s need access to the financial status of their students?

Do potential employers need access to health data or discipline records?

Does the department of education need access to all the data?
Student’s need to state an opinion and justify their decision.
3 Student opinion. Personal data is a valuable resource to many organisations and
needs to be protected from unauthorised access. Is copyright protection going to
protect the personal data in databases?
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4 The ethical issue raise by this situation is privacy. Max Music does not have the
right to sell the personal data of its customers. Student opinion.
Chapter review 2
PART A
1 A
2 C
3 B
4 C
5 A
6 C
7 D
8 C
9 D
10 C
PART B
1 (g) relational
2 (k) SQL
3 (l) URL
4 (b) direct
5 (i) schema
6 (d) key
7 (a) data dictionary
8 (h) report
9 (e) normalisation
10 (c) hypertext
11 (j) sequential
12 (f) query
PART C
1 Hypermedia is a combination of media whose information is linked electronically
to provide an easy way to navigate between information. The information is stored
using a set of documents that may contain text, images, audio, video or executable
programs. Hypertext allows documents to be cross-linked in such a way that the
user can move from one document to another by clicking on a link.
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2. a
Schema is the data definition for a database. It is an organised plan of the
entire database showing how and where the data is found, descriptions of the
data and its logical relationships. A data dictionary is a comprehensive
description of each field (attribute) in the database. It is information about the
characteristics of each item entered in the database, such as the field names,
field sizes, data types and field descriptions.
b
Data validation is used to check the entry of data and includes range check,
type check, list check and check digit. Data redundancy is the undesirable
duplication of data within a database.
3 A database management system (DBMS) is used to enter, maintain, and provide
access to a database. It also performs a number of functions to help users develop
and maintain a database such as:

Organising the data using a data dictionary.

Showing relationships between entities using schematic diagrams.

Checking for identifiable errors in data entry.

Allowing flexibility to change the definition of the database.

Restricting access to the data by unauthorised people.

Providing information about the performance of the database.
4 A flat file database organises data into a single table. It organises data using data
structures called files, records, fields, and characters. A relational database
organises data using a series of related tables. Relationships are built between the
tables to provide a flexible way of manipulating and combining data. The
organisation of data in a relational database involves a schema that defines the
entities, attributes and relationships.
5 An entity-relationship diagram (ERD) is a graphical method of identifying the
entities and showing the relationships between them. There are numerous
notations for ERD. One example is to represent an entity using a rectangle and
lines to specify the relationships between the entities.
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6 Two common methods for constructing a query are QBE and SQL. QBE requires
the user to enter the criteria against a field. SQL is a query language used to access
and manipulate data in a relational database. SQL statements contain keywords
that are used to perform a particular task, such as SELECT, FROM, WHERE and
ORDER BY.
7 A search engine allows a keyword search to retrieve data from its index. A
keyword is entered related to the topic of interest. Most search engines allow a
search on a series of keywords and for specific information. When the user
requests a keyword search, the search engine scans the index for the keywords and
lists the Web sites that contain those keywords.
8 Students can select a social or ethical issue, such as data sources, accuracy of data,
privacy, access to data and data mining. They need to specify some of the methods
of protecting the rights of individuals, such as Copyright Act, data validation and
Freedom of Information Act.
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