Informatics

Social informatics is the study of key social, cultural, ethical, legal, public policy and economic issues related to information technology. Social informatics helps individuals explore and understand these key issues, which they will come across in their careers. As the infomation overload continues, the importance of social informatics will increase, and the necessisty of people with knowledge of technology, and its various social affects will increase. Let us look at the social effects of the Internet, which were discussed in the second unit of the Social Informatics course. Topics that were discussed included, Internet as a

communication tool, Internet webpages, and self presentation on the Internet. Knowlwdge of these topics will help individuals in their future carrers. Understanding of social affects of the internet, culture, legal, public policy, and other social factors is very important for everybody in the information filled society we live in today. Haveing knowledge of culture can be very beneficial in a future career. In unit three, we discussed culture and iits effects on the diffussion of new technologies. Having knowledege of property laws is very important and usefull in a creer in the future. We discussed property laws in unit six, which provided important rules and guidelines for the use of works of other individuals. An individual can create a personal website, and present himherself in the manner heshe prefers. These were just some of the topics discussed in the Social Informatics coure. The Trade Secret law is applicable to almost all employees, it provides guidelines for employees on what information to share and what is not to be given out. For instance, as a database designer, or a web designer, an individual must keep certain aspects of culture in mind so the design is easy to use for the employees and consumers. The employers can view these websites, which can contain the individuals resume and other relavant informations, and this could leed to possible job offers. With the use of the Internet, a person can do research on potential employers by visiting their websites and find the type of company heshe would like to work for. Having knowledge of the Copyright law can prevent you using others work unknowingly.