- [Craig] When new computer technologies are introduced, a number of issues need to be considered
in addition to the technical feasibility of any solution.
These include ethical, privacy, legal, environmental and cultural issues.
In this video, we take a look at the impacts of digital technology on wider society.
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In the exam, you need to be able to consider how technology impacts on different groups of people
and different levels of society.
If we take a school as a context, then we can consider technology impact from the point of view of the students,
the teachers,
the parents,
the school governors and perhaps the wider community too.
So really, anybody that has an interest in that business or that scenario would be appropriate.
There are literally thousands of scenarios that we could consider,
but in this video, we're just going to focus on on particular example,
and then you can use that as a framework for other scenarios too.
So, let's consider the rise of online banking and the effect that it's had on high street and high street banking.
As more and more people become familiar with banking online and it becomes a greater expectation in our society,
there's less need for high street banks
because people can do all their transactions and banking needs online.
This is a concern because it's resulting in a decline in the high street
and some people still rely on those services.
In April 2017, this scenario came into the news,
as a future Labour government claimed that it would bring in laws preventing banks closing high street branches.
The Labour Party said that it was part of the party's plan to rejuvenate the high street and to protect local communities.
The Consumers' Association reports that 1,046 local branches closed in the UK between December 2015 and January 2017.
The Conservatives claimed Labour's plans would see corporation tax at 28 per cent and lead to 500 billion pounds of extra debt.
Labour said it would replace government's access to banking protocol with legislation to prevent closures.
The Labour Party said that the big four banks made more than 11 billion in profit from their high street banks in 2015
and can afford to provide this vital customer service
instead of prioritising cost-saving measures that damage communities and small businesses.
Labour pointed to research that suggested lending to small business dropped by 63 per cent in areas with recent branch closures
and the loss of the local branch significantly diminishes the ability
of deprived communities and households to access even basic financial services.
At the time, the Shadow Chancellor John McDonald said
the high street bank closures have become an epidemic in the last few years, blighting our high street centres,
hurting particularly elderly and more vulnerable customers
and local small businesses whilst making healthy profits for themselves.
"It's time our banks recognise that they are a utility providing an essential public service."
So, there is clearly a difference in political opinion in the UK
in terms of high street banking and whether it's actually a business or a utility service.
So, let's break this scenario down and think about the four different groups of people in society that the situation would impact on.
We've got the customers of the bank, we've got the staff working at the bank,
we've got the banks directors and shareholders, and we've got the local community.
So, from a typical customer's perspective,
we might argue that there's no need to travel to the bank, which is an advantage.
People can access the bank 24-7 on a range of devices including their desktop PCs and mobile devices.
They can make instant decisions on loans because a lot of processes can be automated.
But there's less of a personal service and a lot of people value that,
and obviously, it's also potentially open to hacking.
For bank staff, they may lose their jobs because of closure of branches.
It might create new jobs though,
but there might be new working practices to adopt,
or maybe there's a different skill set that required the original workers to retrain.
For the bank shareholders, there are less overheads because there are probably less staff to pay.
There's no utility bills and rent for commercial premises.
They can also get advantages by target marketing directly to the customers.
They're no longer reliant on anyone coming into the branch,
but they also have to take responsibility now for people's data protection.
For the local community, the other local shops may suffer a loss in revenue
because there are less people around the area of the town centre where the bank is located.
Small businesses rely on a local service for simple things like paying in cheques.
And often, the elderly and vulnerable customers in particular value the local, personal service.
Now, what we've gone through is not intended to be completely exhaustive,
but it gives you a flavour of some of the key points that you might make
when you're tackling questions based on this area in the exams.
One thing to note is you cannot revise every scenario
and you'd be ill-advised just to revise a situation of online banking,
but you should use the framework in order to answer very similar questions.
So, what you need to do is remember some key groups of people that could be impacted.
With most scenarios, you've probably got customers, you've got staff,
you've got the company directors and shareholders, and you've got the local community.
Now, that won't necessarily apply to all the scenarios,
but with a little bit of adaptation, it does cover a vast range of possibilities.
You've also then got some key impacts.
You've potentially got increased profits, you've got increased production and productivity,
you've got loss of jobs, less overheads, less personal service and 24-7 access, just to name a few.
Again, these won't necessarily apply to all the scenarios that you'll try to tackle, so be aware.
One final idea to have in your head which can help you add extra depth and detail to some answers
would be to make sure you consider the impacts of the scenario on society at a local,
national
and international level.
But once more, this might not be totally appropriate to every scenario you are presented with.
In all situations, you need to make sure that your answer definitely answers the question you're being asked
and you don't just used it as an opportunity to say everything that you understand about the topic.
But these are just a few of the basic things that you should have in your mind
when you're answering these types of questions in the exam.
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