How Information Technology can be Applied to Electrical Engineering - Report Example

University> How Infоrmаtiоn Тесhnоlоgy can be Аррliеd То Еlесtriсаl Еnginееring By Declaration of Originality: The work contained in this assignment, other than that specifically attributed to another source, is that of the author(s). It is recognised that, should this declaration be found to be false, disciplinary action could be taken and the assignments of all students involved will be given zero marks. Signature: Abstract The aim of this report is to investigate information tools and resources used in Electrical Engineering. The report starts with a brief introduction to Information Technology, then an overview of various components used, interviews that I have carried out, a list of tools used, analysis and finally a summary of my report. Contents Contents 3 INTRODUCTION 5 DEFINITION: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 6 Information Technology is the development and implementation of computer information application software and hardware for electronic storage, protection, processing and retrieval of information. 6 OVERVIEW: APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 6 i.Computer Technology 6 ii.Communication Technology 7 iii.Telecommunication Technology 8 iv.Satellite Communication Technology 9 v.Computer Communication (Compucation) Technology 10 TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE WORK THAT REQUIRE IT SUPPORT 11 i.Management 11 ii.Design 11 iii.Field work 12 iv.Construction 12 v.Manufacturing 12 vi.Decision support 13 INTERVIEW 14 i.Management 14 ii.Engineering 16 TOOLS AND RESOURCES USED IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 17 ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS 18 SUMMARY 21 References 21 INTRODUCTION Human beings use various styles of communication. This has evolved since the ancient times. Any technology in place has 3 stages (Schweber and William, 2008). The first stage brings new ways to do things that have been done or are still done in the community. This will translate in having faster and cheaper methods. The second stage show advances on the first stage as things are done in an all different way never done before. The final stage will see the methods being adopted and changing the way people do things. IT has resulted to the global village. People send and receive information instantaneously. Information highways have huge chunks of data relayed by users. The whole concept of IT revolves towards obtaining, processing and storage of information by the use of computers and communication technology. The improvisation of different ways to handle tasks has made humans adapt to new lifestyles. An example is in the use of mobile phone. This has been identified as the fastest means of communication to contact someone. People no longer send long letters to check on their loved ones. Instead communicate using the either messages or email services. The drastic change to the way people do things is driven by cost and reliability. DEFINITION: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Information Technology is the development and implementation of computer information application software and hardware for electronic storage, protection, processing and retrieval of information. OVERVIEW: APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY There are many components that are involved to form the whole concept of IT. The technology is highly dependent on the hardware systems, just like so many latest technologies (Schweber and William, 2008). Here are some of them: Computer technology Communication technology Telecommunication technology Satellite communication technology Computer communication (compucation) technology i. Computer Technology The last two decades witnessed only a few technologists owning computers. This has developed to a point where you need to have a computer or have no life at all. A computer is the landmark of IT, it is able to perform a set of parallel activities at high speeds depending on the various input provided. The storage system facilitates storage and retrieval of trillions of data characters. Development of computers over the years has seen various generations being produced. The speed has steadily improved after the development of faster processors. Below is a table showing the various generations of computers. The above table is from, (Schweber and William, 2008). The 1st generation posses the largest computer compared to the other generations that succeeded thereafter. The cost of the computer was too high, it was owned by an institution, and this has also reduced in the rest of the generations to the 5th generation. Recent advances in technology have resulted in microcomputer which is a common household commodity. It is used sophisticatedly to process data, text and other application software. Information Technology has merged up with the new technologies used computers. Computers have acquired a precise and accurate decision making algorithms to handles many inputs fed to them. ii. Communication Technology The human society has evolved to a small global village, thanks to IT. People are able to share information instantaneously regardless of the distance apart. Some of the new technologies include mobile phones, fibre optics, internet, television and laser light. The academic sector has had its own share in the revolution of IT and electronic engineering. There are digital libraries that have merged synonymously with the resent technologies to have a virtual library. The allies are grouped sequentially in arrays; catalogues are easily accessed by individuals with permission to interact with the files therein. The modern communication has a lot of advantages. It saves time, errors are easily avoided and there is no duplication of files. The cost of labour is reduced; computers and other electronic devices used in the offices reduce labour. The cut off staff can be used to perform other duties in the work domain. The speed is reliable; communication relies on how fast you can get your response after triggering an event. iii. Telecommunication Technology This defines the devices and techniques employed to relay information to long distances via satellite or wire without distortion. Alexander Graham Bell revolutionized communication when he invented the telephone in 1876. The telephone industry has witnessed many developments. The speed has improved; mobile phones have integrated other applications such as sharing media files. The following are some of the media types used on telecommunication network. Twisted pair cable, they are two coloured cables twisted, as the name suggests. They are used to transmit voice and telex signals. Coaxial cables, this is a common networking cable. The inner wire is surrounded by an insulator layer and a plastic covering. The higher bandwidth and good interface resistance makes it ideal to cover long distances. Optical fibres, this cable replaced the twisted pair and the coaxial cable. The pair transmits its signals as laser light rather than electronic. Finally we have satellite, it is widely used for telecommunications and also television broadcast. There are many services adopted by telecommunication to subscribers. First there is paging, this is a fast and low cost mechanism of communication in any business environment. The transmission is wireless and the devices accommodates for alphanumeric characters. Secondly is the cellular mobile phone, the recent development of telecommunication has seen the need for everyone to own a phone. The service allows two way communication systems. Base stations receive and transmit calls from the users present at the service area (Timothy and Kenneth, 2005). The base stations are interconnected to Mobile Services Switching Centre. Finally we have videoconferencing; this is a new technology for holding meetings. The method is used when the individuals a long distances apart. Data communication network enables to transmit video imaging and sound so that the parties involved can interact like it is done in a regular meeting. iv. Satellite Communication Technology Communication satellites have powerful transponders. They listen to a given part of the spectrum, amplify the input signal to be relayed in another frequency, this will avoid interference with signals. A standard satellite will have 10 – 20 transponders with 35- 50 MHz each. A 40 Mbps transponder can transmit and encode 40 Mbps data signal. The satellite is one of the most powerful technology tools in the modern world. Higher frequencies are developed to bring smaller earth station antennas. Worldwide communication is common to many individuals using the internet. People are able to interact and carry out businesses at their own convenience. The satellite has contributed a lot in cloud computing, the virtual storage of information has upgraded businesses and further developed satellite communication. v. Computer Communication (Compucation) Technology Computers have languages in which they can communicate and interact in a local or wide network. Every computer has its own machine language having binary numbers that the processor can concatenate and understand. A computer needs networking tools to effectively communicate with other computers regarding the distance apart. The internet has provided the perfect avenue for computer communication (Timothy and Kenneth, 2005). It enables file transfer over long distances, remote login, email application and promotes the social media usage. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE WORK THAT REQUIRE IT SUPPORT i. Management Hierarchy defines the duties and responsibilities of an individual in a given level. Management is a complex activity in an organization. There are many components that need IT applications to be effectively managed. There are application software used to divide departments according to their job description. Time management is one of the components. In the past, managers have had a tough time trying to manage this precious resource. The new technologies have enables the use of system login whenever an employee checks in for duty. The systems have further developed to reduce loop holes experienced in the past. Now we have systems installed with the thump print identification technology to distinctively alloy an individual gain access to the premises. ii. Design Traditionally engineering design was done on piece of paper. Technology has resulted to development of software applications that can draw and design models using computers. AUTOCAD is one of the applications that IT has used to revolutionize design. The accuracy and precision deployed by this component is spectacular. The application has zero error margins as compared to the initial designs. This technology is flexible and suitable in projects that require or may need upgrades after implementation. iii. Field work Field activities are all about gathering information from the neighbouring domain of the targeted activity. The main objective of carrying a field work is to conduct a feasibility study. The media technology has contributed a lot in carrying out these studies. Practitioners have cameras and video cameras which are used to collect data. This is an easy tool to use. The video and graphic files are stored in data form. They can be stored and retrieved for further analysis before the team leader can decide whether to take on the project. iv. Construction Construction is the main event in any project. This is the actualization of the design phase. IT has enabled the development of large machines to handle a specific task. An example is the drilling machines. The machines have fully installed digital systems with application software in them. You can interact with it to specify the width and length of the component to be drilled. v. Manufacturing The manufacture of a product passes through many stages for it to be complete and ready to be used for its intended purpose. IT has resulted in the development of many machines designed to handle a specific task. An example can be seen in the manufacture on fruit flavoured juice. There is a machine used to collect all the ingredients to be used when making the juice. Another machine will be used to determine the ration into which every ingredient is going to be used. There is a machine to mix all the ingredients at constant factors like temperature and pressure. After all that another machine assembles the different cans depending on sizes for packaging and the process is carried out sequentially. vi. Decision support Decision making is one of the complex activities an individual engages in. There are several stages involved in decision making paradigm. Analyzing the problem is the first stage. The origin on the constraint has to be identified. The second is consideration of various alternatives at your disposal. The final stage will be selecting the best choice from all of the available alternatives provided. The table below shows the main components used by IT to develop decision support systems. The table is adopted from (Timothy and Kenneth, 2005) INTERVIEW I have conducted two interviews with different practitioners over the telephone. Their busy schedule did not allow me to get a lot of information but I gathered enough. One has a management role and the other engineering role. i. Management I called Mr. James Smart, the owner of Sydney Content Developers and carried out the following conversation. Me: Hi James, How are you doing? James: I am fine, thank you. How are you? Me: I am fine. I am #### calling from Sydney, Australia. I am a student writing an essay that requires me to interview a practitioner in a managerial role on the application of IT in electrical engineering. James: that is good. What exactly would you like to know from me? I will assist you in all that you will like to know. Me: First I would like to know the tools that you use to manage your company to ensure smooth running of all the operations involved in a daily basis in Sydney Content Developers. James: ####, the whole organizations are run by an intranet connection, operated by a Microsoft server. All the employees abide by the protocol standards at their level. Almost all of our computer operations are done using the Microsoft word. The company has deployed the usage of instant messaging for communications inside the building and email services when sending documents. For security we have sophisticated firewalls which monitor network activities of employees without invading on their privacy. This also bars off hackers who would want to tamper with our system. Those are just some of the applications in use. Me: I can see your company have some of the latest technologies in your management. What are some of the benefits of its adoption? James: Time is the most precious resource in my business. My company has eventually cracked on how to utilize this resource, thanks to IT. My secretary does not have to bring me piles of files and reports for review every now and then. She just emails me then notifies me using the instant messenger if I am in the office or call me if I am out. The upgraded firewalls have boosted my security and confidence too. I can now store crucial documents in my personal computer and back them up in my email service without fear of being tampered with. Me: Thank you so much Mr. James for your cooperation I understand you are a busy man but you had time to answer my questions. Wish you all the best in your endeavours. James: welcome ####, I hope I was helpful to your essay research. ii. Engineering I communicated with William Conor, the electrical engineer at Fixit Electrical Company in Sydney. The following are the details of actual conversation. Me: Hello Mr. Conor. Conor: Hi, How are you? Me: I am fine thank you. I am ####, a student, pursuing a degree programme, in Electrical Engineering in **** university. I would like to ask you some questions to help me write a detailed paper on application of IT in electrical engineering. Conor: That is good. What exactly would you like to know about this field? Me: First I would like to know the tools that you as an engineer use in you field of practice. Conor: As an engineer I have specialised my skills in design and project management among many other activities. I apply Computer Aided Diagrams to develop models and simulations. An example of CAD application software is AUTOCAD 2009 and Pro Engineer (Pro-E, Wildfire edition). When managing projects I just use models to develop phases where each phase has individuals to work on specified tasks Me: From your own view, what do you think are the key points to have a successful career as an electrical engineer? Conor: first you need to keep in mind what the mission the company and always stick to it. Second, work on making good returns for your investment. Third, utilize resources at your disposal. Forth, you should ensure there is proper communication to the team members. Finally, always adhere to client requirements. Me: Thank you so much Mr. Conor for your time. This will positively contribute to my research and also my career. Conor: Welcome ####. I wish you all the best in your career development. TOOLS AND RESOURCES USED IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Here is a table of some of the project management tools used in IT. ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS There are four papers have been identified that are relevant in the report. They are: 1) Chonyacha, H and Nathasit G., 2009. Key factors driving the success of technology adoption: Case examples of ERP adoption, College of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, 2) Ky-hyang Y and Seung R., 2009. Information Technology, Organizational Transformation and Productivity Growth: An Examination of the Brynjolfsson-Hitt Propositon. Delhi. 3) Shan L., Gary, P, and Paul, D., 2008. Managing emerging technology and organizational transformation: An acculturative analysis School of Computing, Department of Information System, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 4) Timothy, D and Kenneth, T., July 2005. Technology adoption and the skill mix of US Manufacturing Plants, Newyork. I have gathered information on the IT applications used in Electrical Engineering over long period of time. IT has created an environment into which this engineering practice has evolved in. Newer technologies have been used after their development. The quality of end products produced has also improved; the machines in use are more accurate than before. When more products are produced faster it always translates to more returns in the venture. There are three groups in which IT can be grouped into in the engineering perspective. i) Flexible Engineering Design Automation. Some of the applications in this group are, CAD and Finite Element Analysis. ii) Administrative Planning and Control Automation. A good example of this application at work is the Electronic Funds Transfer. iii) Manufacturing Automation. The applications heavily rely on Numerical Control to create independent storage and retrieval systems. I have realized that companies want to economize on time. All the working hours are dedicated to working and bringing returns to the company. IT and electronic engineering have merged up to develop tools and applications to utilize time. Offices are adopting instant messaging services to cut call costs and time to move from one office to another. The staffs are able to handle numerous tasks without having to increase human resource. The company will post good yearly returns. The latest trends in IT are a boost to companies. Large companies are able to communicate with stakeholders regardless of the distance apart. A company may have CEOs in all the different continents and still carry out their routine-weekly meeting. Video conferencing has made this a reality. Electrical engineering is mainly concerned with the transfer of energy from one point to the other. IT has enables energy to be transmitted from outer space by the use of satellites. Using transponders, astronauts are able to gather information on the galaxy and carry out their missions successfully. The televisions are dependent on electrical engineering. The signals are sent via satellite imaging. The large bandwidth enables information to be send over long distances. The advancing of the World Wide Web and internet has resulted in live streaming services. You only need to be connected to the internet and click to the streaming link. The computer generations have reduced the cost of acquiring computers. It has turned out to be a household necessity, people want to adapt to the new life style. The society has turned digital. People no longer apply for jobs through the post office. Most organizations will tell you to email your resume. If you do not change you will be left out. My research has made me realize the various medium of communication present. We have the twisted wire pair, coaxial cables and the fibre optics. The fibre cables are the fastest to transmit data. They are also expensive, they use laser light. Electrical engineering is the core of Information technology. This field of engineering enables many small electrical devices to interconnect and transmit energy. Without energy there will be no IT. I have noted that if the computing world continues with the same trend, the cost of computers will reduce. The speed will improve over time as practitioners seek new ways of integrating the computer with so many other applications. SUMMARY The evolution of computers over the years is the backbone of the ever evolving technologies. IT has successfully integrated itself with Electrical Engineering. The tools used in all engineering application make my field of study an awesome one. I can really enjoy what I do. As an engineer I will not panic if I need to modify a model depending on the customer specification. IT has revolutionised all the studies, in Australia all universities have an online teaching platform. The students take lectures from their own conveniences. There is an interaction space, where the student responds to lecture quiz and discussions. These uses clearly show how deep IT has been embraced in the academic sector. The IT field is very dynamic. Just as I had noted in the introduction, People will change when you deliver a product that is both cheap and reliable compared to what is already in the market. There will be newer ways of handling engineering activities as long as new technologies are developed. References Chonyacha, H and Nathasit G., 2009. Key factors driving the success of technology adoption: Case examples of ERP adoption, College of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, 2009. Garag, j and Sujita, B., 2005. Systematic Approch to Information Technology. New Delhi: James, S., 2014 Manager. Sydney Content Developers. Ky-hyang Y and Seung R., 2009. Information Technology, Organizational Transformation and Productivity Growth: An Examination of the Brynjolfsson-Hitt Propositon. Schweber, G and William L., 2008. Data Communication. New York: McGrow-Hill. Shan L., Gary, P, and Paul, D., 2008. Managing emerging technology and organizational transformation: An acculturative analysis Department of Information System, School of Computing, National University of Singapore. Singapore Sooryanarayana, S., Mudhol, H and Mahesh, V., 2000. Communication Technology: It’s Impact on Library and Information Science. Delhi. Timothy, D and Kenneth, T., July 2005. Technology adoption and the skill mix of US Manufacturing Plants, Newyork. William, C., 2014. Electrical Engineer. Fixit. Read More