Areas where computers are used
The following list demonstrates various applications of computers in today's arena
- Education.
Computers are widely used in the teaching & learning process. Learning and teaching using computers is referred to as Computer Aided Learning (CAL) and Computer Aided Teaching (CAT).
-To assist the Long distance learning in universities usually referred to as the Open University Concept.
-To analyze academic data.
- Communication industry.
The integration of computers & telecommunication facilities has made the transmission and reception of messages very fast and efficient.
-They are used in telephone exchanges to switch incoming & outgoing calls.
-For sending & receiving electronic messages, e.g. fax and e-mails, if connected to a computer network.
- Transport industry.
Computers are used in:
-Automobile traffic control, e.g., to monitor vehicle traffic in a busy town.
-Railway corporations to co-ordinate the movement of their goods & wagons.
-Airports (Airline industry). The computers are used;
- To control the movement of aircrafts, take off & landing through the use of radar equipment.
- Making reservations (booking purposes).
- Storing flight information.
- Library services.
Computers can be used in a library:
To enable the library personnel to easily access & keep updated records of books and other library materials.
To search for book titles instead of using the manual card catalogue.
Employment:The emergence of computers has provided employment opportunities to very many people.
- Domestic and Entertainment systems.
Computers are used at homes:
-For watching movies, playing music and computer games.
-For storing personal information.
-For calculating and keeping home budgets.
-In household items, such as, Microwave ovens, Televisions, etc.
- Multimedia applications.
-Computers are used to prepare business presentations for advertisement purposes.
The presentations are done using overhead projectors attached to computers running slide shows & digital video clips taken using a Camcorder. An overlaid voice is used to describe the product.
-Computers are used in music related equipment such as Synthesizers.
-In entertainment (i.e., games & movies), computers are used to add stereo sound & digital video clips, which make games more realistic
- Defense
Computers are largely used in defense. Modern tanks, missiles, weapons etc. Military also employs computerized control systems.
Some military areas where a computer has been used are
- Missile Control
- Military Communication
- Military Operation and Planning
- Smart Weapons
- Police (Law enforcement agencies).
Computers are widely used in fighting crime. The Police use computers to keep databases on fingerprints and also analyze them.
- The Police also use computers for face recognition, scene monitoring & analysis, which help them to arrest traffic offenders and criminals.
The information held in computers such as fingerprints, photographs and other identification details helps law enforcers to carry out criminal investigations speedily.
- Government Institutions.
Computers play an important role in government. Some major fields in this category are:
- Budgets
- Sales tax department
- Income tax department
- Male/Female ratio
- Computerization of voters lists
- Computerization of driving licensing system
- Ecitizen online services
- Weather forecasting
If computers were not used, the large number of files in government registries would make information recovery extremely difficult.
- Offices.
- For receiving & sending of messages through e-mails, fax, etc.
- Production of documents.
- Keeping of records.
- Health Care
Computers have become important part in hospitals, labs, and dispensaries. The computers are being used in hospitals to
- keep the record of patients and medicines.
- scanning and diagnosing different diseases.
- To control life-supporting machines in the Intensive Care Units (ICU).
- To enable medical experts in different countries to share their expertise or labour, thus reducing the transportation of patients & professionals.
- Diagnostic System - Computers are used to collect data and identify cause of illness.
- Lab-diagnostic System - All tests can be done and reports are prepared by computer.
- Surgery : Nowadays, computers are also used in performing surgery.
- Process control.
Computers are used in production environments such as factories to control chemical & mechanical processes. The computers are usually loaded with specialized programs & each computer is designed to do a specific job.
- Banks/Insurance industries
Computers are used by Banks & Insurance industries:
-To manage financial transactions. They use special cash dispensing machines called Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to enable them provide cash deposit & withdrawal services.
-For processing of Cheques.
-For preparation of Payrolls.
-For better record keeping and processing of documents.
-To provide electronic money transfer facilities
- Industries.
The use of computers has made Industries more productive & efficient. They are used:
-To monitor and control industrial processes. The industries use remote controlled devices called Robots. A Robot is a machine that works like a human being, but performs tasks that are unpleasant, dangerous, and tedious to be done by human beings.
-For management control, i.e. to keep track of orders, bills and transactions.
-For advertisement purposes, which enable an industry to attract more customers.
- Supermarkets.
Supermarkets and other retail stores use computers for stock control, i.e., to help them manage their daily activities.
The stock control system keeps record of what is in store, what has been sold, and what is out of stock. The Management is automatically alerted when a particular item or items are running out of stock and need to be reordered.
For calculating customer’s change.
For production of receipts.
It can be used as a barcode reader.
- Research.
Computers can be used for research in various fields. They are used by:
- Scientists to analyze their experimental data, e.g., in weather forecasting.
- Engineers & Architects to design & test their work.
- Engineering Design
Computers are widely used in Engineering purpose.
One of major areas is CAD (Computer aided design). That provides creation and modification of images. Some fields are:
- Structural Engineering - Requires stress and strain analysis for design of Ships, Buildings, Budgets, Airplanes etc.
- Industrial Engineering - Computers deal with design, implementation and improvement of integrated systems of people, materials and equipment.
- Architectural Engineering - Computers help in planning towns, designing buildings, determining a range of buildings on a site using both 2D and 3D drawings
