National Teaching and Learning Change ProgrammeInformation and Communication Technology:
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• data
  The plural of datum. The raw material of information.
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• data capture
  The collection of data for entering into a computer. This may be done automatically, as in the scanning of bar codes in a shop, or manually as in typing in a gas meter reading.
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• data compression
  Reducing the space occupied by a large file. There are many different methods suited to different types of data.
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• data entry
  The input of data into a computer system for processing.
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• data integrity
  This describes the correctness of data both during and after processing. Data may be changed by the processing, but will still have integrity. Safeguards are needed to make sure that the data has integrity by detecting any accidental or malicious change to the data.
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• data logging
  The capture and storage of data for later use, e.g. through use of sensors to record the changes in temperature of water in a pond over the period of several hours.
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• data processing manager
  The person responsible for the overall running of a data processing department.
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• data projector
  A projector that connects to a computer, then magnifies and projects the monitor display directly onto a large screen or wall.
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• Data Protection Act
  The Data Protection Act 1998 is the UK Act of Parliament which set out requirements for the control of stored data about living individuals, both on computer systems and in other forms (such as paper). The Act covers many aspects of data privacy. The Act also defines data controllers, the individuals who are responsible for the uses made of the computerised data.
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• data redundancy
  In a database system, when a data item appears twice. This is usually undesirable.
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• data retrieval
  The process of extracting useful information from large amounts of stored data, such as a database. This usually involves making a query and also stating display and sorting instructions. This enables large amounts of data to be searched and the results to be output. Also known as information retrieval.
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• data security
  The use of various methods to make sure that data is correct, is kept confidential and safe (providing data protection). Data security includes ensuring the integrity and the privacy of data, as well as preventing the loss or destruction of the data. An important part of data security is planning to ensure reliable backing up of the data and testing that it can be restored effectively.
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• data subject
  For the purposes of the Data Protection Act, a data subject is the person to whom the data relates.
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• data transmission
  The passing of data from one device to another. This may be between parts of a computer system or between computers in a network.
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• data type
  A formal description of the kind of data being stored or manipulated within a program or system, e.g. alphabetic data, numeric data or logical data.
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• data user
  For the purposes of the Data Protection Act, a data user controls the contents and use of personal data. The data user is usually an organisation, such as a business.
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• database
  A (usually large) collection of data items and links between them, structured in a way that allows it to be accessed by a number of different applications programs. The term is also used loosely to describe any collection of data.
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• database management system (DBMS)
  Software that can find data in a database, add new data and change existing data. The database management system works automatically without users knowing how. It deals with finding the requested data, updates the data and performs other tasks including maintaining indexes. The database management system may provide its own simple user interface or may just communicate with other programs which request and use the data available to the database.
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• database manager
  A database manager, also known as a database administrator, or information officer, is the person in an organisation responsible for the structure and control of the data in the organisation
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• dataflow diagram
  Shows how data moves through a system, where it comes from, the processes it goes through and where it goes to.