Excellent! The fair was of great value for me. This not only reduced my fear of computers but also aroused my interests in the use of computers. The fair, called Information Technology Fair' 95, was held on September 26-27 at Sir Run Run Shaw Hall. It attracted many students and university staff. This Fair included four parts, display board, seminars, video shows and demonstration booths. Undoubtedly, the demonstration booths drew my greatest attention. Besides, introducing advanced technology, these demonstration booths provided a lot of fun to me. During the visit, I was busy with walking around and listening to the demonstrators who patiently explained the high-tech use of the computers in different fields such as education, accounting, research, architecture, etc.... that I had not heard before.
The computer-assisted telephone interviewing systems and Microsoft Windows 95 impressed me very much. Before I attended this fair, I always felt frustrated with the computers, but now, after I had got to know the two mentioned systems, I found total control over the computers was very important. Therefore, I would try my best to overcome my psychological obstacle and learn to use different types of computer software. Knowing how to operate computer software enables us to access worldwide information effectively and efficiently and thus we can make informative decision and keep breast with the trend. In addition, I found that it was very easy to use computer, you only need to have secondary school level of English.
Since I was a Statistics student, I paid special attention to the computer-assisted telephone interviewing system (CATI). The software facilitates the phone interview process and provides the interview results immediately such as the response rate, refusal rate and the distribution of the response for each question. This system combines with the latest and most popular Cati software (Chinese software). This software's capabilities allow users to write and administer their own questionnaires. It also provides the users with the total control over the question sequencing, presentation and screen design. Moreover, after the data have been collected, the data can be analyzed by any statistical package. In fact, this system allows the researchers to give a more accurate and objective analysis because some kinds of non-sampling errors, the errors that do not relate to the sampling process, are eliminated. So I do hope this system could be extensively adopted in the campus.
Second surprise was the newly developed Microsoft Windows 95. This high-tech invention made me feel more comfortable when I used computers. The software has a powerful function called Plug and Play (PnP) which can greatly reduce the degree of difficulties in the installation of the hardware and software for the layman. The computers with the PnP function can have its operating system automatically adjust itself to adapt the newly installed hardware and software. It also guarantees the computers to work normally and smoothly all the time. It is important to know that the computer with the PnP only cannot perform the above functions, a set of supporting equipments are needed such as PnP screen, PnP printer, etc....
Actually there were many interesting demonstration booths but I have not got enough space in my report to write on these topics. The Fair really widened my scope and enhanced my computer knowledge. Now, I realize that going to the library is not the only way to search information.
