Sustainable Development
34 mins, 2006 What’s meant by sustainable development? This film offers a stark account of the dangers threatening the planet and explores what we can do to avoid disaster. INDUSTRIALISATION: The problems started about 250 years ago with the industrial revolution. First coal, then oil, fuelled a world of mass production, mass consumption – and… Read more »
Systems In Local Government
35 mins, 2006 Local councils are often huge organisations, providing a wide variety of services, from running libraries to keeping the roads free of ice. Critical to their operation are information systems. This film visits Cornwall County Council to explore how five of these information systems work. ADMINISTRATION: Councils are vast bureaucracies generating mountains of… Read more »
Systems In A Theatre
27 mins, 2005 A star from Eastenders, Toyah and a load of corny gags – the pantomime at the Marlowe Theatre has the lot. But how do their information systems work? TICKETING: The computerised ticketing system reserves you a seat and even warns if there’s bad language in the show. But the real prize is… Read more »
The Struggle For Sustainable Tourism
25 mins, 2005 The People of Santa Lucia, a farming community on the slopes of the Andes, were forced to abandon their traditional way of life because of laws brought in to protect the cloud forest where they live. THE ECO LODGE: Before, they were destroyers of the forest. Now, they have learned the skills… Read more »
Systems In A Factory
27 mins, 2004 This film looks at the key systems used in a factory. It focuses on two case studies: the Glaxo Smith Kline toothpaste factory and plastic injection moulding company, Time RPS. How do they compare? TYPES OF PRODUCTION: GSK is an example of continuous flow production: they make a million tubes of toothpaste… Read more »
Systems For Leisure 2
26 mins, 2004 This is a completely new film which updates the original Systems For Leisure (TV Choice 1993), but featuring the same leisure complex, Guildford Spectrum – still the UK’s largest leisure centre. TICKETS PLEASE: In 2002 Spectrum changed over to a new ticketing system called TOREX. What benefits does it offer? What were… Read more »
Systems In Banking And Data Protection
29 mins, 2003 Banks rely on information systems but how do they work? Dave Nellist investigates. He pays a cheque into his bank. It enters the clearing system, becomes a piece of data and finally allows him to draw out cash to buy his mum a present. Every stage in the process involves systems and… Read more »
Systems In A Theme Park
23 mins, 2003 Theme parks set out to scare and excite us. But behind the fun, information systems are at work. What are they? This film takes us behind the scenes at Drayton Manor Park. Ticketing: The theme park used to issue admission tickets using adapted bus ticket machines. Now a computerised system gives them… Read more »
Systems In Travel
25 mins, 2002 The film charts the radical changes that IT has brought, through the experience of tour operator Sunvil Travel and Internet-based travel agency Expedia. While Sunvil uses computers to put its customers’ holidays together, Expedia does everything on the web. Its website allows you to book your hotel room or seat on a… Read more »
Systems In Retailing
25 mins, 2002 Bar-codes, electronic point sale systems, hand-held terminals… information technology has transformed UK retailing. At Marks & Spencer’s IT centre, mainframe computers monitor what’s been sold in all its stores and order up new stock. Computers control every step of the M&S national distribution system. And IT isn’t confined to inside the supermarket,… Read more »
Systems In A Hotel
27 mins, 2000 This demonstrates the systems in a large hotel. The hotel’s booking system shows the rooms available and helps maximise income from the rooms, discounting prices when things are quiet. For each guest the system records a guest history, with details of their likes and dislikes. When a guest feels a room is… Read more »
Systems In A Cinema
27 mins, 2000 How do cinemas use information technology? We compare two very different examples. The huge Film Works multiplex, in Manchester, has its own web-site. The much smaller Gate cinema, in London, uses e-mails to keep in touch with its customers but otherwise has much more limited IT. The Gate still issues tickets manually,… Read more »