Bridging the Gap - example of initiatives

Research initiatives to fund the digital divide

Intro:
Choose one of the projects described previously
What is its purpose?
How does it relate to the digital divide?
Who are its main target clients?
What are its strengths and weaknesses?
What improvements could be made?

Answer:
I have chosen the "Learn Direct" Campaign
The main purpose of "Learn Direct" is to teach adults how to use I.C.T, in schools, libraries and colleges.

Learn Direct is trying to bridge the digital divide by teaching adults how to use basic I.C.T. such as word documents and spreadsheets. You can also do qualifications which bridge the digital divide again.

Learn Direct's main targets are mostly adults, mainly mums who are out of work who need a certificate in I.C.T. Also, retired people may be interested in doing the course if they have spare time on thier hands.

The strengths of Learn Direct is the fact that the hours are fairly flexible meaning you can do the course at any time and for how long you want to do it for. Also, you can work it around to suit your hours, for example, a mum could do the course while her children were at school, and end the session in time to pick them up from school again. The weaknesses to Learn Direct is the fact that it is mainly self taught online. This means that if people are completly incapable of using computers they may struggle with the courses. Also, the course is only online meaning if you don't have access to a computer at home, you can do the course at home.

An improvement to the course may be to do an exam at the end. This tests your knowledge of the course fully rather than just getting a certificate that you have completed the course. They could also may courses more teacher based meaning participants will get more from the course rather than whats just on the screen.

Research your local community I.C.T. Access

Intro: Research the provision of I.C.T. in the community of your home town.

Answer: The dis-advantaged groups who will benefit the most from having access to digital technologies are the homeless and un-employed. These two examples are usually caused by a lack of money thus resulting in the fact that they may not be able to afford any digital technologies at all. In stubbington, the vast majority of people who have access to the internet are between ages 12-50. Also, people with jobs are more likely to have access to digital technologies. However, people who can afford them yet choose not but them are the elderly because they arn't educated in how to use many digital technologies. Stubbington Library provides internet access and computers so people can use the digital technologies, even if they can't afford them. Because libraries are free, un-employed and homeless can also gain access to them.

Investigate I.C.T. at your Library

Intro: What does your local library have to offer in terms of internet access?

Why and How is the I.C.T. used?

How convenient is it?
What, if any, has there been an impact on library life?

Answer: Stubbington library has 8 public computers with free internet access.
I.C.T. is used to give an opertunity for people to come in and do work or have access to the internet free of charge, if you have a library card. They I.C.T. is free when the library is open for anyone to use. It is fairly convenient as it is situated not far from the main stubbington village meaning people can shop, then come and use I.C.T. in the library. I.C.T. may have resulted in more people coming into the library because of the different feature that I.C.T. can result in.

Case Study - Wifi in the UK

Find out about WLANs

Intro: Where are these projects mainly located? Why have they been created? What groups do they serve and in what way? Have they, and/or will they have any impact on the digital divide?

Answer: WLAN projects are mainly located in cities around the world. Most of which are situated in the U.K. Most of the people in these towns and cities wish to have free internet access but some are also willing to pay or, there isn't enough good quality internet access for the locals to use.

WLAN projects have been set up and created because there is a lack of good quality internet access in the specific area.

WLAN projects mainly serve the local communities of towns or cities, however they also serve anyone visiting the area because they would be intilited to use the WLAN.

This project tackles the digital divide as it provides an opertunity to for people to connect to the internet.

URL: http://www.wlan.org.uk/

Causes of the Divide

Case Study - I.C.T. and Pensioners in rural England

Intro:
Do you feel that digital technologies have may a genuine impact on the couples lives?
Would their lives be poorer if they did not have access to I.C.T. at home?
The couple were able to afford thier own computer. Would access in the community center three miles away be useful?

Answer:
Yes i do feel that digital technologies have made an impact on the couples lives because they use a wide range of I.C.T. to contact and communicate with family by mobile phone. They have also learnt to communicate by E-mail with reletives in different parts of the world (Australia and Pakistan). They also now order food online rather than go to the shops which is easier and less hassle in that sense. Also, they have made good use from the word processing to keep hold of documents which may be important.

Although digital technologies have made an impact on the couple's lives, I feel thier lives would not be poorer because non of the digital technologies have made a direct impact on their livelihoods thus not improving the standard of living.

Access in the local community center would be useful to people who lived in the village without internet access, but for people who can afford their own computer, this facility won't be too useful unless thier computer broke down. For example, in the Local village, the library has internet access which i have seen people use, however, i have only used the facility in there when my computer broke down.

Dimensions of the Divide

What is the impact of internet access for the homeless?

Intro:
Write down 5 ways in which access of internet could change the life of a homeless person for the better.
Write down the impact of not having internet has on that person
Write down 5 things that are more important to a person than the internet.

Answer:
5 ways which internet access could change the life of a homeless person are the fact that they could look up and read and educate themselves of world issues which they may not be aware of. They could also look up homes which homeless people can stay in. They could also look up people in thier family so they could stay with them. They then could contact this family if they created an e-mail account. They then could browse for jobs.

The impact of not having internet on that person if the fact that they may not be as aware to the current issues in society because news streams are mainly on the internet. Also, there communication will be lacked because it is hard to communicate effeciently with someone else in country without; telephone, e-mail or letter.

5 things that are more important to a person than the internet are; having something to eat, having something to drink, having a roof over your head, having a family and having a social life.

Who studies computing subjects?

Intro:
What is the situation where you are studying? How many girls and how many boys study computing subjects post-16? If there is a significant difference between the two then investigate why this is the case. What impact do you think it has on girls and on society as a whole.

Answer:
In our I.C.T. class, there are 2 girls and X boys. This therefore shows a significant difference between the amount of girls and the amount of boys studying Applied I.C.T.

This may be the case because on the whole, boys may be more into I.C.T. than girls. In the world of work, there are generally more Men than Women who are I.C.T. teacher or technicians.

As an impact on society, I believe that this doesn't nessasarily directly impact they way in which people view I.C.T. As a streotype, people may believe that men are more likely to do I.C.T. as an A-Level or as a job than women.

Tackling the Divide : Political Initiatives

Intro: State the aim of the summit.
List 3 positive points that have come out of the summit.
List 3 negative points that have come out of the summit.
Write a short conclusion stating whether you feel it was successfull or not.

Answer: The main aim of the summit was to discuss ways to achieve the goal of having at leasy 50% of worlds population having access to electronic media by the year 2015.

A positive point that came from the meetin was the fact that alot of countries turned up to the meeting which therefore raises more awareness. They also stated a number of priciples that needed to be met if they had any chance at all of achieving this goal. Also, different countries found out the importance of the internet in economic senses.

Negatives to this meeting was the fact that some people didn't take to the idea to well because they believed that words won't change this situation, only money will which can buy resources to actually make an impact.

To conclude, I feel the summit was some-what successfull in the sense that it raised awareness of the importance of the internet. They all set a very hard goal to meet which could give these nations motivation to do something. However, it is true that words will not change things, only money and resources because you can change anything without these things.

Tackling the Divide on the Ground

Case Study - Daknet in India and Cambodia

Intro:

Discussion - The Success of Wireless Technology

Intro: Why is wireless technology sucessfull solution to the digital divide? Which of the that causes the divide does it overcome? Does the growth in avaliable wireless technology have a clear social, economic, educational and cultural benefits for the society involved?

Answer: Wireless technology is a sucessfull solution to the digital divde because it provides an easy way of providing internet access in remote areas. This is because a car, bus or even an ox cart in remote places can be drove around so the local area can recieve wireless internet. This allows even the more remote places in places such as India and Cambodia, internet access thus reducing the digital divide.

The causes of the divide that wireless technology overcomes is the fact that no infrastructure is needed to set up and use this wireless technology because it is more portable. There is no main building that has to be built, and there no wires needed making wireless technology more easier to use.

The growth in social aspects by using wireless technology is the fact that people could set up online messaging accounts meaning they can communicate easier. Also, they could sign up to a social networking website to communicate easier again. The economic growth from wireless technology is the fact that buisnesses can use the wireless technology to enhance transactions over the internet, or use the internet for research and work. An educational benefit is the fact that the internet is full of educational websites meaning people could access these and be educated online more easier than before. A cultural benefit of this system is the fact that whole communities are using the internet together making the use of the wireless technology more cultural than just the more well off members of society having access.

Case Study - Laos

Tasks: What is the extent of the digital divide in Laos? What problems have causes the divide? What is the impact of the divide on Laos? What solutions have been provided so far? What do you think the educational, social, economic and cultural impacts of these solutions are?

Answer: The digital divide in Laos if fairly large due to many different factors. The fact that there are only 15.000 computers in Laos could add to the divide because the less amount of internet access, the bigger growth in the digital divide. Also, only 1% has a fixed telephone line, yet only 4% of the population have it in households. This is because of the ammounting cost of installing a telephone line ($40). Also, electricity is only avaliable in a few urban areas.

There are many problems which have caused the divide; mountainous geography, monsoon rains, lack of coordination amoung government agencies, lack of IT standards to allow integration between systems, lack of IT at policy and skill levels, poor power and telecommunications infrastructure, poor ISP service, high costs of IT and the lack of Laotian language support.

The impact of the divide on Laos is resulting in there being less than 15,000 computers in Laos because the average cost of a computer is too high for an average Laotian resulting in a bridge in the digital divide.

Soloutions that have been provided so far are as follows; "Cantennae" is a mobile antennae which is made from a can, factory manufactured versions of this are aviable in the U.K. They have also been very successfull as phone based stations. "Pedal Powered wireless computers in Phon Kham. Phon Kham is one of the most poorest areas of Laos. There is no electricity or telephone system, but they have internet access from pedal power. A generator which is powered by a bike charges the battery for a 12 watt computer. It will also work in the monsoon season and the dry season. "The Jhai Foundation PC and communication and internet learning centers". This company has funded a number of community ICT projects. This has resulted in self sustained hubs for community learning. They also teach adults aswell as children.

The educational impacts of the solution 1 is the fact that this kind of technology can be used in schools because it is easy to make and set up. The education impact of solution 2 is the fact that this remote village will be able to be more educated because of the pedal power internet access, so even this remote village can view educational websites. The educational impact of solution 3 is the fact that the internet learning center has become a main hub meaning an anhanced chance for learning. The social impacts of the solutions is the fact that more people can use the different types on internet access, for example the people in Phon Kham can easily access the internet due to this new technology. The cultural impacts of the solutions is the fact that ther culture they are in now with no internet access will be changed. This may not nessasserily be for the better because the internet will be new to them and they may not have the skills to use the internet properly and effectivly. The economic impacts of the solutions is the fact that the countries GNP may increase due to more and easier internet access thus making transactions between countries easier.

Email in the Solomons

Intro: Study the news report on the creation of an internet link for the Solomon islands on the BBC website alongside the world bank data on the islands. Try to identify the extent of the digital divide, the problems that caused the divide, the impact of the divide and the solutions provided so far. Propose at least one furthur initative that would be useful to the islanders in reducing the digital divide.

Answer: The extent of the divide on the solomons is that they are fairly advanced as they have developed a number of different ways of communicating between a number of different islands. The main problems which caused the divide was the fact that tribes who were fighting couldn't communicate with each other by any other means accept word of mouth. However, the solomons came up with a radio-like idea, in which a small laptop with a radio and car battery, powered by the sun via solar panels, which was connected up to communicate between the different islands in the solomons. Another initative that would be useful to the islanders in reducing the divide is to envolve a second hand pc company such as www.donateapc.org.uk where people donate old computers, which are still working, to charities which then distribute the computers to remote areas for use.

How great is the divide and is this changing?

Investigate Changes in Access

Intro: The ITU has created an index to measure and monitor access to digital technologies over time. Pick two countries from its list of countries and create a short presentation on how these countries access to digital technologies has changed over time.

Answer: Presentation created seperatly

Economic and Social Impacts of the Divide

Discussion - Reducing the Divide

Intro:
What advantages are there for the developed world in bridging the global digital divide?
What advantages are there for the poorest nations?
Was President Clinton correct in saying that matching internet access levels with telephone levels will do as much as anything to reduce income equality?
Do charities such as Computer Aid do more good than harm?

Answer:
Advantages for the developed world in bridging the global digital divide is the fact that more people in the world will be more skilled in I.C.T. meaning easier ways of communication. Also, people who immigrate from poorer countries to countries in the developed world will be skilled in I.C.T meaning no extra costs for training. Also, it means that developed countries can set up buisnesses in poorer countries because they are more skilled.

Advantages for the poorest nations is the fact that they have a chance of improving their quality of living because they are more skilled in I.C.T. Also it will be easier to communicate ,through e-mail for example, with other countries. Also, it means that poorer countries will be able to keep up with the economic demands that they are facing which are I.C.T. based.

Matching internet access with telephone levels could reduce income equality because

Personally, i feel computer aid does do more harm than good because if they are suppling the best computers to poorer countries, though this will be good, it will take more time and money to train the people how to use the computers. What they should do is provide technology that is fairly modern, and is either easy to use or people know how to use it.

Sources on the Digital Divide

Investigate the Impact of access to telecomes

Intro: Using the CIA world factbook as your main source, compare the telecoms sectors of the Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Singapore, the UK and one other under-served country of your choice. Create a table for your findings with the headings; Population, Telephone - Land Lines, Mobile/Cellular, Telephone system, Radio Broadcast stations, country code, internet hosts, internet users.

Central African Republic
Population :- 4,444,330
Telephone-Land Lines in use :- 12,000 (2006)
Mobile/Cellular in use :- 130,000 (2007)
Telephone system :- "limited telephone service; fixed-line connections for well less than 1 per 100 persons coupled with mobile-cellular usage of only about 3 per 100 persons; most fixed-line and cellular telephone services are concentrated in Bangui.
Radio Broadcast Stations :- AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2001)
Country Code :- .cf
Internet Hosts :- 15 (2007)
Internet Users :- 13,000 (2006)

Costa Rica
Population :- 4,195,914 (July 2008 est.)
Telephone-Land Lines in use :- 1.437 million (2007)
Mobile/Cellular in use :- 1.503 million (2007)
Telephone system :- good domestic telephone service in terms of breadth of coverage; restricted cellular telephone service; state-run monopoly provider is struggling with the demand for new lines, resulting in long waiting times
domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available
Radio Broadcast Stations :- AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002)
Country Code :- .cr
Internet Hosts :- 13,792 (2007)
Internet Users :- 1.5 million (2007)

Singapore
Population :- 4,608,167 (July 2008 est.)
Telephone-Land Lines in use :- 1.859 million (2007)
Mobile/Cellular in use :- 5.619 million (2007)
Telephone system :- excellent domestic facilities; launched 3G wireless service in February 2005; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 150 telephones per 100 persons
Radio Broadcast Stations :- AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003)
Country Code :- .sg
Internet Hosts :- 954,475 (2007)
Internet Users :- 3.105 million (2007)

United Kingdom
Population :- 60,943,912 (July 2008 est.)
Telephone-Land Lines in use :- 33.682 million (2007)
Mobile/Cellular in use :- 71.992 million (2007)
Telephone system :- technologically advanced domestic and international system, equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems.
Radio Broadcast Stations :- AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998)
Country Code :- .uk
Internet Hosts :- 5.118 million (2007)
Internet Users :- 40.2 million (2007)

San Marino
Population :- 29,973 (July 2008 est.)
Telephone-Land Lines in use :- 21,000 (2006)
Mobile/Cellular in use :- 17,390 (2006)
Telephone system :- adequate connections, automatic telephone system completely integrated into Italian system
Radio Broadcast Stations :- AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Country Code :- .sm
Internet Hosts :- 3,344 (2007)
Internet Users :- 15,400 (2006)

All Facts and Figures taken from CIA - The World Factbook
URL: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Introduction and Factors creating the Digital Divide

What leads to being on the wrong side of the divide?

Intro: The least digitally developed countries according to the ITU are Guinea Biseau, Chad, Mali, Burkino Fasso and Niger. Using an atlas plus information from the ITU, write down some reasons why they might be on the wrong side of the divide.

Answer: These countries may be on the wrong side of the digital divide because of their geographical location. For example, places such as Chad, Mali and Niger have parts were they have parts of the country covered by the sahara desert meaning less population meaning less chance of digital equipment access. Also, Africa is the poorest continent on earth. This means they may not be able to afford the technology to provdide digital equipment thus meaning they are on the wrong side of the divide. Also, according to the ITU "ICT/Telecommunication development in least-developed countries (LDCs) is ramping up,a nd that the digital divide is being bridghed as a result." Taken from the ITU Website

URL: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ldc/newslog/Bridging+The+Digital+Divide+.aspx

Data Response

Intro: In the section, Current Status of information technology in Sub-Saharan Africa:
Dr Odedra cites a number of infrastructual reasons for the lack of effective ICT.
What are these?
What is identified as the most pressing need for Africa (in terms of ICT)?
How successful have computer-aid projects been?
Why have they failed?
What computer skills are identified as lacking?
What lack of business skills are identified as a major problem?

Answer: The infrastructual reasons for the lact of effective ICT in less econmically developed countries is the fact that there is a lack of secondary euquipment, suitable electric power, and training. This therefore leads to people not being as experienced in the technology they are using. Also, they depend alot on Multinational Corporations meaning they have to wait for the money then just using the money straight off.
Off-the-shelf software packages has been identified as the most pressing need for ICT in africa because of the growing demand in applications. Also, it is much easier to purchase as you are buying a physcial package rather than downloading the package. Also, if you don't have internet access, this will be very useful. Also, microcomputers and personal computers have become very popular in terms of ICT because of the reduction in price.
Computer-aid projects havn't been so successful. Extensive under-ultilization of equipment and major computer based projects have failed. It hasn't been as successfull in the majority of countries when it should only be the minority.
These projects have failed because of the lack of secondary equipment, suitable electric power and training. Also, the governments of the countries involved havn't set up any strategic buying plans so everything comes in bluk or too little software comes meaning more or less people need training. Also, there is a lack of avaiable resources to maintain the ICT.
Identified computer skills that are lack are; systems analysis, programming, maintainace, consulting, operational levels from basic use to management.
The lack of buisness skills which are identified as a major problem is the fact that buisness' are buying software which no one is trained in. They need to plan which software to buy, and whether their staff are trained in this area of ICT. Also, the employee's have a lack of skills to begin with meaning they can't use the software.

URL: http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu37we/uu37we0s.htm

Legislation and I.C.T.

Investigate I.C.T. Legislation

-DONE ON A PRESENTATION-

Crime and Prevention

Investigate the Pros and Cons of ID Cards

Intro: Using the internet, research exactly what is being proposed by the UK government and what the objections are.
Write a list of all of the ICT that is involved in the UK's proposed card scheme
State what the purpose of the ID card is meant to be
Evaluate whether it will meet this purpose
Enumerate the advantages of such a system and the drawbacks
Make you personal recommendation as to whether we should have ID cards.

Answer: ID cards are being proposed to be issued in 2009 to people over the age of 16. It will contain such information such as, name, address, gender, date and place of birth, fingerprints, iris pattern and a facial picture. Different forms of I.C.T. will be used to make the ID cards and to photograph iris patterns and also to take finger prints. The information will be stored in a database called the National Identity Register. In this database, only parliment can change aspects of people details. The data will only be used to determine your data accuratly. Also, biometric identifiers are being used to identify unique characteristics about a person, for example, finger prints and iris scans.
I took the purpose of the ID cards from the Home Office website. "ID cards will provide an easy and secure way for legal UK residents to prove who they are when they apply for services at private businesses, or for government benefits." Also, the website states that it will; help protect people against freud and theft, ensure that people say who they are, tackle illegal immagration and enable easier access to public services
Personally, i feel that ID cards may be able to lower the rates of freud as your finger print and iris are unique meaning that it is very unlikley that someone will be able to copy them. Also, the card will only hold basic information about a person meaning it isn't a threat to our personal privacy. These cards are being made to prove identity meaning sensitive medical records will not be held.
Advantages For ID cards are :- Easier identification at banks and national borders
:- False Identification will be reduced
:- Law enforements can identify people much more easily and effeciently
:- Age ID would be much easier to use (going into an 16 film)
:- Reduce immigration service bureaucracy
Disadvantages for ID cards are :- Driver's license, passport card serve a similar function on a more limited scale
:- Can lead to cases of discrimination if enthic background and religoin are shown.
:- Cost of manufactering ID cards could be huge.
:- ID cards may be able to be forged leading to more Freud.
:- Requirement to always carry the ID card may prove inconvient.
In my opinion i feel that ID cards shouldn't be used. First of all, we don't have them now and we are getting along fine without them. Also, i feel the ID card should be optional because some people don't need an ID card on a day to day basis. Also, people may feel it is an infringement of human rights if all their details are on 1 card. This may be stolen and then the person has your details.

URL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/passports-and-immigration/id-cards/
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID_cards#United_Kingdom

Discussion - US passports and RFID

Intro: The US department of homeland security has decided that 1 million US passports will contain radio frequency ID chips in 2005, moving to a Universal system from 2006. These RFID tags will allow customs officials to scan passports using special radio recievers. They will not have to approach the travelers directly but scan them from nearby. The passports will contain biometric and other information. (Source: 'We don't need to see your ID' New scientist 23rd October 2004.)

It will be faster and more convenient for customs but what are the dangers?

Answer:Using Radio Frequency Identifcation will be quicker and more convenient as when you are passing through an airport, you can get through customs quicker and more effiecntly than if you had to have someone check each passport. However, if someone has an old passport which the RFID tag, then they may be held up thus slowing down the system. However, 10 million passports with RFID were produced in 2005 and it is estimated that over 13 million were produced in 2006. The dangers to the system is main fraud. The fact that custom officers don't check the passports, people could get into countries more easier if they steal a passport with RFID on it. Also, it will increase the risk of non identification meaning a higher level of fraud involved in the RFID process.

Discussion - Teen Arrive Alive GPS tracking system

Intro:The company claims that nearly 78% of teens in the US are ticketed or crash by the time they are 18. Among other services, the Teen Arrive Alive organisation offers GPS tracking of teenagers to parents who may be worried if their child is late, missing, lost, abducted or not driving very well. Using a cell phone and GPS technology, parents can track their child's driving in real time. The route shows up on a digital map showing the speed travelled
Research the website and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this use of technology to "protect" teenagers

Answer:Advantages to this system is the fact that parents can monitor their child's driving and therefore provide guidence if they are doing it wrong or are speeding. Another advantage is the fact that the parent can track the child so if they are late they know were they are. This will therefore reduce panic because they know were their child is without distracting them from the road (like a mobile phone would do).
Disadvantages to this system is the fact that if the parent calls the child while they are driving telling them they are speeding may distract them from the road and they therefore may crash or be in an accident which would be ironic seeing as the system is meant to make the child more safe.

Case Study - Monitoring Internet and E-mail Use

Answer:Advantages to the content monitoring system is the fact that if there is a file which is inapropriate will be filtered out so they can't download it or view it. This therefore, discourages bad internet use, such as, view pornography at work. Also, filtering out key words in e-mails and web pages will also encourage users to not view these items on the internet rather than not working. After which, the sites the employees were viewing can then be blocked to stop more employees viewing that website.
Negative aspects that a content monitoring system may have on a company is the fact that it may dissuade people from applying to the job as they may see it as an infringement of privacy. Also, if they have something personal in one of thier e-mails, it may be an invasion of privacy to view that e-mail leading to lower numbers of employees. Also, some content have been named inappropriatly meaning purposefull content will be filtered out.
Advantages this system has for employees is the fact that all inappriate websites are filtered out so if they are searching for specific items, they will get the proper information only rather than other inapropriate information that is on the internet.
The problems this system has for an employee who is using this system for buisness purposes is the fact that some propriate information may be blocked because the file may be inapropriatly named.
This system should be in place, however, it should be limited as viewing other peoples e-mails is an infringement of privacy. So, the system should be limited to just key words from the internet web pages to stop employees viewing porography and other inapropriate websites.

Discussion - Society and the Individual

Intro: George Orwell wrote about how technology could be used to control us in his famous book of a totalitarian future, 1984, published in 1948.
Review some of the comments on the US's response to Homeland security.
To what extent should we allow society to 'look after' us and as a result, deprive us of individual freedom?

Answer: In a sense, we should allow society to "look after" us in the sense of using ambulance services and fire services is a way of society looking after us. However, when it becomes too much, such as, tracking and monitoring people, it becomes more spying rather than looking after us which then deprives us of individual freedom.

Review of US Response to Homeland security To be Done

Decision Making

Making Choices

Intro: Your grandmother wants a mobile phone. She does not have a price limit as such but she wants to spend as little as possible.
Investigate the phones avaliable for her and suggest one for her. Evaluate very carefully why she should buy the one you suggest. State any assumptions you make carefully.

Answer: Firstly I looked for a phone which would be easy to use and not have too many un-nessasary gadgets for an elderly person to have on their phone, for example, a camera for example would be un-nessasary. I look on the "Carphone Warehouse" to compare a selection of phones that she could use. Seeing as she wouldn't use it as much as a younger generation person, i firstly selected "Pay as you go" so she could top up when she needed to rather than pay £30 a month for a phone she doesn't regualary use. I am also searching for a phone which is under £30 because i see this as a reasonable price to pay for a mobile phone or an elderly people.
URL: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/servlet/gben-Home

One phone i picked out was the Nokia 2630 (Pay as you go) which can be bought for £24.95 on orange, vodaphone and T mobile. It is advertised as simple and straight forward which may appeal to an elderly lady. It has a camera phone, video recorder, radio and bluetooth which may not be used, however, i feel the simplicity of the phone may appeal to an elderly lady. It is also designed to do as little or as much as you want on that phone. Though this may be a good phone, i feel an elderly lady may not want all the extra applications the phone comes with.
URL: http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-as-you-go/nokia/2630-black/orange/ojt/

Another phone i picked out was the Nokia 2310 (Pay as you go) which is even more simpler for £19.95 on vodaphone. This phone has no camera phone or video recorder, yet it does have FM radio and a colour screen. I feel this phone is the most suitable for an elderly lady as it is the best of the simpilist phones. She most probably won't want to use a camera on a phone so theres no need to pay the extra £5 to get one on her phone. It is also very compact which would make it easy to use and travel with. It is also highlighted for being very easy to call as an elderly lady may not want to text all the time and would rather ring someone.
URL: http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-as-you-go/nokia/2310-red/vodafone/sstep/

Managing information overload

Intro: Many ICT tools have been created to help in dealing with the information explosion. In what ways can the following help in decision-making; spreadsheets, data mining tools, simulation software, exception reporting tools.

Answer:
A spreadsheet can deal with high amounts of information as there are many cells which you can access and retrieve data from. Once you put your data into a spreadsheet, you can the group it so you can manage the information overload much more effienctly. You can then make effective decisions as you have catagorised the data.

Data mining is a way of sorting through large amounts of information and only picking out what is relevant. This would be usefull for managing information overload as you can pick your way through the un-nessary or un-important data and only view the data which is relevant to you. This software is regulary used by buisnesses and financal analysts to make effective decisions on what data is relevant.

Simulation software is used to design equipment so that the final product of data will be as close to the design specification as possible without using expensive modification. So if there was a data overload, simulation software could modify equipment to handle with the amount of data coming in which would alow effective data management and good decision making.

Entertainment

Discussion - Access to Original Entertainment

Intro: It has never been easier to publish original entertainment.
It has never been harder to see and hear original entertainment.

Discussion: I agree with the first statement because with websites like Youtube, you publish nearly any video you want, this may range from comedy, sport etc. Therefore this could be see as original entertainment. A drawback however would be the fact that you can't post very long videos on youtube because of the video capacity size.
I also agree with the statement that it is harder to see and hear orginial entertainment because of the fact that most of the posts online are copies of things other people have done before. It is very rare to come across a good online original entertainment source.

Discussion - Pirated Entertainment

Intro: What is the advantage of paying a supplier such as Apple for a legal music download? What is the disadvantage of buying a pirate DVD from a market stall?
What is the disadvantage of getting a pirate download of the latest film before its UK release?
What is the disadvantage to you of visiting an illicit music download site?
Does widespread ilicit downloading discourage the funding of new talent?

Discussion: The main advantage of paying Apple for an iTunes track is the fact that you know you are actually getting what you are downloading. For example, if you payed for "In The End" by Linkin Park, you know that you are getting that song, and that song only without any other virus' coming with it.
A disadvantage to buying a pirate DVD from a market stall if firstly that you're not going to get a refund. This means that you are taking a risk if the dvd or cd you have bought will work or not. Also, the DVD or CD may be broken or damaged meaning you are risking with your money when you buy a pirate product.
A disadvantage to downloading a pirate download of the latest film before its UK release is the fact that the quality will be hugely effected. For example, if they are filiming in a cinema illegally, they might get someone standing up and miss a key moment of the film. Also, films like Transformers depend hugely on special effects which would not be shown well enough through a handheld camera.
The main disadvantage of visiting a ilicit website is the fact that the website is more than likley riddled with virus' so if you download anything off that website, you run the risk of getting virus onto your computer.
Personaly, i think the widespread ilicit downloading is discouraging the funding for new talent because record companies will either work on expandin their buisness online rather than finding new talent and market them on CD's. Show such as X Factor find new talent. However, most of the songs the participants are singing will be on the internet somewere just seconds after the live show has finished.

Discussion - Impact of Games Players

Intro: Perhaps one of the largest impacts of ICT on the personal lives of young people has been the explosive growth of home games players or "play" stations. An article in new scientist (23rd October 2004, p.26) stated that $3.8 thousand million of games were sold in 1995, rising to $6 thousand million in 1998 and $7 thousand million by 2003. It is estimated that 25% of these games were violent.
Why are computer games so popular?
Do computer games make you more violent?
Do computer games make you more isolated?
Do networked computer games make you more or less social?

Discussion: Computer games are so popular because it provides an easy way to play games without leaving the house. Also, some people would rather stay in and play computer games rather than go out the play. Also, on the whole, computer games are fun to play.
Also, i would agree that computer games do make you more violent as it is sientificly proven that playing aggressive video games causes a mild agressive arousal in your brain thus making you more prone to agressive outbursts.
Also, i agree with the statement that computer games make you more isolated as you are not generally playing computer games with friends, unless if you are playing online. So if you are generally playing computer games by yourself, you are more prone to be more isolated.
I feel that networked computer games do make you more and less social because one aspect of playing online is that you can play with and chat with friends making the experience more social. However, it lowers the social interaction between two people if you are playing an online game thus making it less social.

Education

Finding reliable, valid information

Intro: I have visited the following hoax education websites.
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blhoaz.htm
http://dreamweaverstudios.com/moonbeam/moon.htm
http://www.dhmo.org
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Network/9000/
http://zapatopi.net/afdb.html
http://www.sedftw.com/jackcon.htm
How can we access that information found on the internet is properly real?
What signs should make us distrust a site?

Answer: Internet websites could be trusted if they have been approved by a certain company or are owned by a certain company. For example, i would trust the BBC Bitesize website as it is run and monitored by the BBC which means the information will be relevent and correct. Also, ways to distrust a site if the fact that if a website is ran by a website which isn't know of as it may be providing hoax information like the websites above.

Communication

Discussion - Digital Communication vs Voice Communication

Communicating with SMS does have a social downside as the conversation isn't face to face. Also, its hard to express emotion through SMS because you can't vary the pitch or pace of what you are saying. Also, it is hard to disinguish between sarcasim and serious meaning and, once again, you can't change the prosodic features of speach in a SMS text.

Also, firing off a quick e-mail has social downsides aswell as the reciever of the e-mail doesn't recieve it first hand as they get the message when they check their e-mails, causing a delayed response. So if it is important information, they may not be able to recieve the message as quick as if you were to say face to face.

When do you use e-mail?

Mainly, i use e-mail at college and at home. I use e-mails to send items such as word documents and mp3 files to friends and also to myself as a way of sending work home. I also use e-mail to write to reletives in australia as it is cheaper and quicker than calling as they usually check their e-mails. E-mail can also be sent anywere and at any time if you have access to the internet. The major benefits in using e-mail is the fact that it is cheaper than other forms of communication. Also, it is an easy way of sending files between two people. The major dis-advantages of using e-mail is the fact that you are less likley to get a imediate response to an e-mail as they can only reply once they have read the message. Also, if your internet is down, you can't send or recieve e-mails.
E-mail is more productive for me if i need to send work home. It is a cheap way of transfering work without using a memory stick. Memory sticks can be lost but your e-mail can't. I feel e-mail does forfill its intended purpose as you can send messages quickly and for cheap. However, the response isn't always instant thus resulting it e-mail not forfilling all it's purposes
URL: http://www.learnthenet.com/english/email/000mail.htm

When do you us Mobile Phones?

The main purposes of me using a mobile phone is to send SMS messages direct to someone, werever they are. I also use mobile phones to call people. It is a easy way of a 1 on 1 communication without being face-to-face. I mainly use a mobile phone to send SMS messages rather than calling people because the tariff i am on provides free text messages thus making it cheaper to text rather than to call. I usually use my mobile phone at home as i usually text to ask where to meet up. I also use my phone outside aswell when having an SMS conversation. The major benefits of using a mobile phone is the fact that the message is sent direct to someone meaning there can be a faster response time than e-mail. Also, it's a cheap form of communication no matter where you are in the world. The major dis-advatages to using a mobile phone is the fact that sending a message or calling someone depeneds hugely on signal your phone picks up. In a actual conversation, you don't need any outside help to carry on the conversation whereas with a mobile phone you do. On the whole, i feel the mobile phone does fulfill its intended purpose as it sends quick SMS texts to a reciever and there is a quick response time as apose to the e-mail.

Evaluate Your Communication

On the whole, i use my mobile phone alot more than e-mail. I was also willing to pay a considerable amount for my mobile phone. It has the same basic features as older phones (it can call and text) yet the money i payed for it means the phone i own now comes with more features which phones are coming with (e.g. mp3 player and camera). The social aspect of SMS text is the same as e-mail in the fact that it is harder to express different emotions and prosodic features, such as saracism, in the writing you text or type depending on which communication service you are using. Everyone who are typing and texting have their own personal element added in which reflects what they would say face-to-face. They may add words in which are personal to the user for reciever. The work aspect of using e-mail is mainly to send work home as a personal aspect. However, larger companies frequently use e-mail to communicate even though they may be in the same building or office block. E-mail could provide useful links to send whereas if you were to say the link to someone, you are liable to forget.

Buisness Communication

Aproximatley 20 years ago, the modern coms for business was mainly landline telephone and typed letter. These were mainly used for long distant communications. Today, these formats are reaching the end of their uses as different forms of communication for businesses are coming in. For example, cell phones, e-mail and instant messaging are replacing older coms. These alow businesses to communicate much more easily as sending an e-mail is much easier, quicker and cheaper than sending a letter. Also, calling someone on a cell phone is more easier to get the person direct rather than calling up the company itself to get hold of 1 person.

E-mail From Amazon

Today, i recieved an e-mail from Amazon informing me of future deals and offers which i can purchase on their website. I also noticed that the items they were offering to me were simular to that of ones i had previously bought. For example, i bought I am Legend off Amazon, so they have advertised simular action films that i may be interested in.

URL: www.amazon.co.uk

Analysing the "Good Old Days"

Intro:
In the 1970’s the expenses for a small business were entered onto analysis paper (see Fig. 1.2.4). A date, description and amount were entered in the first three columns and that the figure was double-entered into an analysis column on the right. Individual expenses (e.g. postage, food, sundries and stationery) could then be analysed dimply by adding the columns. An automatic check was made on the accuracy of the addition as the individual columns had to sum to the same as the amount column on the left.

Around the same time one large multinational organisation with an HQ in London might employ over 100 managers in the finance area to set, manage and control the budgets for the European area. The managers used techniques similar to the small business. They entered budget figures onto A3 analysis sheets, which were typed up as required by their secretaries. These were then used as the basis for analysing what would happen given different sales performances, different commission rates, different interest rates etc. These were well-paid, well qualified and skilled accountants who were able to work quickly and efficiently to analyse potential changes using the latest calculators and replicate them quickly with only a tiny proportion of mistakes across all columns, and down all rows.

The speed at which they worked necessitates continual retyping so the secretaries were also kept very busy. When sheets were returned they had to be proofed, but as the managers were skilled and the secretaries well trained and highly efficient for the most part there were only a few occasions when the sheets had to be retyped. A dramatic change occurred in the early half of the 1980s to this organisation when microcomputer software became widely available.

Tasks:
Two different applications that could be used by a small buisness to improve upon the database systems that were used in the 1970's is Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel. A small buisness could use excel to format their data in a useable way. It is also much easier to add the data into the cells rather than writing them on paper. It is also easier to change details when the data is in the cells. They could also use access to format their data in a form of a database which is easier to read and you can link access and excel.

Advantages to Excel rather than a paper based tables is the fact that you can easily edit the data in the cells and move them around. Also, you can do math easier if you need to use mathematics as there is no error in the answers but there may be on paper copies. Advantages to Access rather than a paper based database is the fact that you can format the data much easier. You can also link Access with Excel so you can easily transfer data across. Databases can also use forms to show a visual aid of the data so it is easier to read. An advantage to Excel rather than Access is the fact that in Excel, you can merge and add cells which can be easier to make databases. However, an advantage to Access rather than Excel is the fact that you can add alot of data very quickly if you know how to add the data. Also, the spreadsheets and databases can be saved to the hard drive which means that you have a log of it. Even if the hard drive fails, you can back it up on your computer.

Secretaries' and Typists' employment was affected by the advent of these office packages because using Excel and Access is easier to use rather than a paper based version. This, therefore, meant that typists were not in as demand as more people are using the office packages. Secretaries will need to be trained in how to use these office packages so people who don't know how to use these office packages will become un-employed. Secretaries which had formerly written budjet figures onto A3 sheets would be out of the job as the new technology would have taken its place. The Secretaries' and Typists' were trained from years of experience and were replaced by stardard workers with I.T. skills. Overall, the job prospects for Secretaries' and Typists' declined because of the new office applications.

New job oppertunities that were opened up due to the advent of office applications are mainly people who have I.T. skills. Possibly people who have taken a degree in I.T. would be more likley to get a job rather than a person who lacks I.T. skills. Also, people are needed to work the office applications which therefore enhance employment oppertunities. Overall, i feel that more people will loose their jobs rather than gain jobs. Although there are some people with I.T. skills, a vast majority of people don't meaning that it takes longer to train someone than someone loosing their job.

Ambulance Services

Intro: UK ambulance services have experienced a revolution in working styles as a result of technology. ICT has been used extensively in command and control centres to make the service more efficient and responsive. New secure digital communications systems have replaced crackly broadcast systems. Satellite tracking of resources (such as ambulances, helicopters, paramedic cars and bikes) and geographical information systems allow the optimal resource to be deployed at all times by centre staff. Technology is used to analyse patterns of usage to roster (call in) the exact number of staff required. It uses geographical analysis to decide where it is best to position ambulances and other resources so that they can be deployed to nearby locations very quickly. Ambulances are placed at points that are closed in travel time to places of peak demand and are tracked at all times to show where they are.
The Staffordshire ambulance service says of the impact of new technology: “The adopting of this modern approach has resulted in remarkable results in the Trust performance in recorded response times. This has given the Trust the lead position in national ambulance table’s fir the last seven years. It has also seen dramatic improvements in the cardiac survival figures.”
The introduction of this system in London in the 1990s, however, was extremely problematic, not least because of the working practices that were brought about by the introduction of these measures.

Question: Research the impact on the working styles of ambulance workers in your area, and of the London Ambulance Service, after the introduction of new technologies.
Why have some workers objected to being sited in their “resources” in the most efficient place rather than being sited in the ambulance station? What other drawbacks have there been with the introduction of these ICT systems? What have been the benefits of these systems?

Answer: Some of the ambulance workers have objected to this new technology as they would rather use the technology in an ambulance station rather than on site at an emergency. The fact that radio controls are used to dispatch different ambulance services to different areas could be a limitation as there could be interferance with the radio signal causing a delay in information and could cost someones life. This dispatch unit is refered to as C.A.D. (Computer Aided Despatch) in the London Ambulance Service. However, some staff at central control had no confidence with the system and were not all fully trained. Also, the staff found themselves working in unfamiluar positions, and without paper backup, they found it harder to work with other collegues they had prevoiusly worked with before. So on the day, only using the computer software, was a high risk move as it could cost in the long run. Also, there are alot of imperfections int the C.A.D. system which made it difficult to make a final descition on certain matters. However, benifits of the C.A.D. system is the fact that the information can be sent to different units quickly. Also the computer organises the distrubution of the ambulance crew to make the most effect.

Tool Man

Intro: John is a sales representative selling tools to garden centres and DIY stores. He travels over 1000 miles a week to see new and existing clients. For the past 20 years he has carried around a large diary, an address book, a large road atlas and numerous A-Zs as well as numerous small coins for phones. He prides himself on his punctuality, but even he is occasionally late as he struggles to find a new client or is delayed by traffic. He always takes along a calculator, and a bulky sales catalogue with the latest price lists and order forms. He is usually on the road four days a week, six hours a day and spends every Friday in the office ensuring all his administration and sales are handled properly. He has always said he quite likes the time spend in his car between appointments, as it is his time when he can listen to CDs undisturbed.

Tasks: John could use a PDA (personal digital assistant) instead of his diary, address book and road atlas as the PDA has the nessary to log this information down. He can also log onto the internet and use the road atlas' online which saves space. On these websites, he could also look up potential traffic jams ahead and therefore find a different route. He could also look up up to date prices online so he could stay in competetion easily. This will mean he can look up a wide range of prices so that he doesn't need alot of catalogues in his van. He could easily access the internet through wireless. Like the PDA, a laptop would be handy if he needed to write any long pieces of writing meaning he could write diary entries in Word and then saved onto his hardrive so he can easily access it if needed. He could also use a GPS to track were he is. This would re-enhance the need not to use the road atlas as the GPS finds your exact location very quickly. He could have a GPS on his mobile phone. He could then save his address book onto his mobile phone as it is a more portable address book as a physical address book. Calculators are commonly on Laptops and Mobile Phones so he could encorperate this into his mobile phone or laptop. He could also use his laptop in the office so he has all the details from his orders in a more portable way than if he had a normal computer.

Although I.C.T. has many different uses which John can use, if the internet was to be down for a day, he wouldn't be able to access vital information which could inhibit his orders. Also, alot of the I.C.T. uses need charging with a battery. If he didn't purchase a charger for the car, his I.C.T. could run out of batteries and therefore inhibit his orders. Also, there is a cost issue involved as most of the I.C.T. costs alot of money such as the laptop and PDA. Also mobile phones arn't cheap aswell. He also may not know how to use these I.C.T. as he is used to paper copys. So it may be wise for him to keep a paper copy somewere as a back up but not for everyday use.

Blogger Access

Today I accessed Blogger on my Mobile Phone. This shows my phone can pick up internet connection and browse some websites on the web. This is usefull as i can update my blog anywere if i wanted to.

I texted this message from my mobile phone.

Online Entertainment

Entertainment technologies i have used in the past 3 months
1. BBC iPlayer
2. Youtube
3. iTunes
4. Texas Holdem Poker
5. Xbox Live

BBC iPlayer is a website in which people can watch episodes and tv programs from the BBC channels online after the time they are shown on TV. This is useful for people who missed a program and want to view it. Also BBC iPlayer provides another way of recording and saving tv programs as it has a feature to do this. However, you can only download a video for a certain number of days and the video itself is removed after 1 week. This limit the time you have to view this program. I feel BBC iPlayer is aimed at most age ranges as it have a wide variety of programs thus forfilling its purpose.

Youtube is also a video website yet anyone can post and view videos on its website. This is useful if you want to find a certain video that someone has posted online. Though in this aspect it is useful, you may not be able to find the exact video you want. Also, the quality varies as anyone can post on Youtube. Youtube is aimed at teenagers mainly as these are the ones who use it the most. Yet Youtube is appealing to more and more people because of the range of videos on the website.

iTunes is a program you can download off the Apple website. iTunes alowes you to change your mP3s into a format which an iPod can play. Also online, there is music you can listen to and videos you can watch. Though you can listen to some music, you have to pay for the full song. It is also the same as videos. Again, iTunes appeals most to teenagers as they are more likely to have an iPod.

Texas Holdem Poker on Facebook is a way of playing Texas Holdem without betting actual money. It is also free if you sign up to Facebook. It also provides an easy way to chat to friends while playing. However, anyone can own a facebook thus meaning anyone can join in games, unless you set up a private game. Also, this way of playing poker is much cheaper than actual poker as you can't loose actual money but just money you are given on the game. This would appeal from 16-25 as these age ranges are most interested in playing poker.

Xbox Live is a online way for Xbox gamers to play matches online. You can join with friends and also chat with them through the headset. Likewise with Facebook, almost anyone can own an xbox and get access to xbox live unless you set up a private game. The main purpose of Xbox Live is to expand the game you are playing into an online world where you can play other gamers. However, Xbox Live costs £40.00 a year thus being a limitation as most online games are free.

Investigate Downloading Goods and Services

Items that me and my family have downloaded.
1. Music (CDs and Ablums)
2. Films
3. Pictures

Downloading music and films online has become a huge industry recently. First of all it is easier to download a CD or Album rather than buying an actual CD. Also, the music is downloaded direct to your PC therefore it is easier once again. Services such as Limewire and iTunes have made downloading music off the internet easier, however in some cases you have to pay and in some cases you don't.

In a sense of forfilling the websites purpose, websites such as iTunes are forfilling their purpose as they are provdiding you with music that you can download online. This is the same case with Limewire yet sometimes Limewire isn't totally legal thus not completly forfilling their purpose

In the cases you don't, there is a generally a higher risk of downloading a virus onto your computer as it may not be a safe network you are downloading off. Also, if you don't have access to the internet, you can't download things online because you are downloading off some else or a different company. Also, the file you are looking for may not be on the internet yet.

Investigate Government Services

I have researched a local and national service that can be undertaken in the UK. I will be viewing Fareham Borough Council as a local government and Labour as a National Government.

Information Services
On Fareham Borough Council website, you can view about the council, local area, community, buisness and economy and council services. In the council servcies, there is an A-Z list of different services that fareham bourogh council provide and do. These include recycling, commercial waste and transportation. If you have access to the internet, you can easily view the different services that Fareham Borough Council provide for the community.

On the Labour website, you can sign up to the website and read through the policies and start campaigns. Same as Fareham Borough Council website, you can view the different services that Labour provides. There is a less comples view of this at the bottem of the page. This includes asylum and immigration, transport and schools. Because this information is provided online, there is less need to print out leaflets or flyers which cost money and waste paper. If you have access to the internet you can view relevant information.

Online Reporting and Advice
On the Fareham Borough Council website, you can go into the community section where different support is provided for people under the "people" section. Then, it is split up into different sections so you can narrow down and find what section suits you best. This also saves money and paper as all the information that could be on a leaflet is posted online.

Online Payments
On the Fareham Borough Council website, you are given a range of options in which to pay your council tax, housing rent, parking penalties and other payments. There is also an option to pay online where you can pay 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This saves money as people can pay online rather than other ways. This means they don't have to pay people to be in call centers to work for them thus saving the governments money.

On the Labour website, you can donate to Labour very easily as part of signing up. They make this easy to do as they will want to encourage people to donate. There are also other options where you can start fundraising and start campaigns to raise money for labour.


According to a Cabinet office report in 2004, the UK Government hopes to have saved £1.3 Million within three years by migtrating its services online and to have saved consumers £1 thousand million. This is possible as they can post their information online. This means they do not have to spend money on paying people to work in call centers. Also, it is cheaper to use a debit card as the bank isn't charged thus saving money again. Because the information is online, there is less demand for leaflets and flyers which cost alot of money to produce and aren't eco-friendly.

URL: http://www.fareham.gov.uk
URL: http://www.labour.org.uk
URL: http://www.directgov.org

Research Online Education

I am going to research five different online education services and rank them in order from 1 to 5.
1.ICS URL: http://www.learning-at-home.co.uk/
2.BBC Learning URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/
3.Oxford College learning URL: http://www.oxfordcollege.ac/
4.Bitesize URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/
5.Dover broecks URL: http://www.doverbroecks.com/

Personally i feel that ICS is the best online education website as it contains good data which is easily accessable. BBC learning is also a good example of this yet i feel it isn't layed out as well as ICS. Oxford College learning has a alot of information yet like BBC it isn't layed out as well. Bitesize is good for revision purposes yet it lacks depth in the learning section. Dover Broecks is also quite good at suppling information yet it is too complicated to use.

Macromedia Virtual Classroom

I visted Macromedia's website where you can access a virtual classroom or listen to a e-learning recorded seminar. 98% of the world's computers have adobe flash player installed already. Also, you don't have to download extras to it, you just need adobe flash player.

Most rooms have ongoing classrooms so you can always join. You can also make your course as part of a larger curriculum and track who has participated and completed training. You can also register learners for your classes. From then, you can send e-mails and course reminders.

Disadvantages to this is the fact that you need access to the internet to access a virtual classroom. So say if your internet is down for the day, you may miss a class and be behind.

URL: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/elearning/virtualclassroom.html

Use a Simulation

I visted NetFrog where you can disect a virtual frog online. This website would be useful for someone who didn't want to disect a frog in the classroom but still learn about it. Also, it could prepare you for the actual disection of a frog. However, the images of the frog are real therefore it is realistic. Also, you may have an issue getting a frog to disect thus making the website an easier option. This website shows that you can learn about disecting a frog almost anywhere if you have access to the internet. For example, you won't be able to disect a frog at home thus making this website more easier and accessable to use.

URL: http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/Frog1/menu.html

Explore Learning Objectives and Simulations

URL: http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/stories/the_age_of_ambivalence/02.ST.04/?scene=1

The website above is aimed at A Level Students by the way it is written on the screen. It offers information about how the internet was set up and people making money off the internet. It also covers early home computers which were set up. I think this website has covered its purposes well as it has adequate information about different information about how the internet and World Wide Web was set up.

This website shows us that education can be used on the internet rather than in the form of a book. This makes it more accessible and doesn’t use paper. However people who don’t have access to the internet or don’t have the skills required to use this website, may struggle to find this information.

eBay

eBay is an online auction website where people can sell and buy different items. Its major purpose is to host auctions between users. One user can hold an item up for auction and other users can bid for it.

eBay's target audience is from 18 years plus as people blow 18 can't own an eBay account. However, there are items on eBay which may appeal to younger buyers such as games and iPods.

The auction process starts with one user posting an item onto the website that is up for auction. They set a reserve price so the items doesn't go for under a specific guideline. Also they set a time limit for which the item needs to be sold by.

Above, you can see a section from the bidding of a iPod touch. You can see the starting big and an area in which to place a bid. You can also watch this item which keeps track on other bids for the product via your phone or instand messaging. I think eBay furfills its purposes well as it is easy for you to bid for items and also host auctions online. It is also well monitored so that only genuine items are bidded for or hosted online.

Advantages to eBay may be that you can find an item on eBay which may be hard to find on other websites. You may also be able to find collectable items that are rare. There are also very few limitations about what you can buy and sell.

Disadvantages to eBay may be that you are not 100% going to get the item that you bid for as you may be out-bidded. Also, the item you are getting is second or maybe third hand meaning the quality of the product may not be as good as brand new. Also, you can't buy illegal merchandise meaning you might not always find what you are looking for.

eBay is successful as a shopping model it easy to bid for items and easy to access as a website. Everything is also layed out clearly so it is easy to find what you are looking for. Also, you are more likley to find the item you are looking for as someone will have it and have put it on eBay.

URL: http://www.ebay.ie/ or http://www.ebay.co.uk/

Orange Top Up Online

This evening, I topped up my phone using Orange's online top up service using my parents' credit card. This service allows you to top up your phone on the computer using the internet which can be easier than going to a shop and getting the top up.

URL: www.orange.co.uk

5 Day Weather Survey

Predictions

Day 1: Sunny, 18oC, Northerly Wind (12mph), Moderate Visibility, 53 Humidity, 3 UV and Low Pollution
Day 2: Sunny, 18oC, Easterly Wind (14mph), Moderate Visibility, 56 Humidity, 3 UV and Low Pollution
Day 3: Sunny Intervals, 20oC, Easterly Wind (10mph), Moderate Visibility, 50 Humidity, 3 UV and Low Pollution
Day 4: Showers, 18oC, Northerly Wind (8mph), Moderate Visibility, 45 Humidity, 2 UV and Low Pollution
Day 5: Light Showers, 17oC, Northerly Wind (17mph), Moderate Visibility, 60 Humidity, 2 UV and Low Pollution

Actual

Day 1
19th September 2008
Weather: Sunny Intervals
Temperature: 19oC
Wind: Northenly Wind (12mph)
Visibility: Moderate
Humidity: 53
UV Index: 3
Pollution: Low

Day 2
20th September 2008
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 17oC
Wind: Easterly Wind (14mph)
Visibility: Moderate
Humidity: 55
UV Index: 3
Pollution: Low

Day 3
21st Sepetember 2008
Weather: Sunny Intervals
Temperature: 20oC
Wind: Easterly Wind (8mph)
Visibility: Moderate
Humidity: 45
UV Index: 3
Pollution: Low

Day 4
22nd September 2008
Weather: Light Showers
Temperature: 18oC
Wind: Northerly Wind (8mph)
Visibility: Moderate
Humidity: 54
UV Index: 2
Pollution: Low

Day 5
23rd September 2008
Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: 17oC
Wind: North Easterly Wind (17mph)
Visibility: Good
Humidity: 60
UV Index: 2
Pollution: Low

Results

From the above, the BBC weather reports are fairly accurate with near enough predictions for each day. Though some details were inaccurate, it was only inaccurate by a few degrees. However, had the service been paid for, i feel there would be little change in accuracy as you can't always predict the weather 100% so paying for this service wouldn't make much of a difference.

URL: www.bbc.co.uk/weather

Real Time Information - Stubbington to Tottenham Court Road

Planning a Journey from Stubbington to Tottenham Court road by car and by train

Car
Depart : 12.30
Arrive : 14.34
Time : 2hr 4min
Distance : 90.9 miles
Cost: For a Renault Clio - 8.1p per mile - 729p for 90 miles
URL: http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/inc/planner_places_redirect.jsp
URL: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/car/car-costs.html

Train
Depart: 12.35
Change train: 12.50
London Waterloo: 14.23
Tube to Tottenham Court Road: 14.40
Time: 2hr 5min
Cost: £27.00
URL: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
URL: http://www.thetrainline.com/

Car

On the AA website, you can see different events on the road including traffic jams which can lengthen your journey. This is a useful feature as you can detour around the jam to save time. However, if you don't have access to the internet, you have to rely on radio and messages. This however can be delayed which can lengthen your journey.

Train

I last tracked the train at 11.49 and it is on time.
URL: http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/pj/jd2#JourneySID1

On national rain enquires, I can check live updates of where the train is and what time it is expected to turn up at particular stations. This source is useful for checking whether the train will turn up on time or not.

Facebook

This afternoon i went on my facebook. This is a social network website where people can keep in contact with each other by exchanging their details with friends

URL : www.facebook.com

2004 Tsunami - Digital Divide

The 2004 Tsunami highlighted the digital divide as the people monitoring the earthquake sent e-mails to the countries who were going to be effected. However, less economically developed couldn't recieve the warning as they didn't have access to the internet. After the Tsunami, the communication systems were damaged or overwhelmed by people sending messages and phone calls to people at the time.

Because some communication lines were physically damaged, one hospital posted photos on their website for people to see if they knew anyone who was there. This is one way of presenting information on a different way. Another case was a man called Vijaykumar who run a telecenter in India. He recieved the information about a Tsunami before anyone in south india did. This is an example of recieving information quickly. The Nallavadu Telecenter, where Vijaykumar was a volunteer, is part of the Open Knowledge Network, an initiative that provides communities in developing countries tools and skills. Because the Nallavadu Telecenter had the ICT skills to gather information and get it out by text messages and public adress systems, they saved thousands of lives. This is an example of people greater interactions between individuals and organisations. People were bought together via the internet as they recieved e-mails from their loved ones so they could be reunited easily. Also, websites which posted messages and pictures bought people together as they were reunited in that way.

Older communication systems wern't used as apose to new ones because most of the older communication systems were physcially damamged (such as telephone lines) because of the Tsunami. Instead newer systems were in place such as text and e-mail which people can receive directly and instantly. Text and E-mails were very effective as people could know if their loved ones were ok directly. Also, internet websites purpose was forfilled as people recognised their loved ones from pictures on the website.

The URL for the information I found is http://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=84

Digital Divide Discussion Group

Today i went on Google Groups looking for a discussion on the digital divide. Personally I didn't find these discussions useful as i couldn't find anything specific about the Digital Divide or what it is. An advantage of using Usenet for finding specific information is the fact that there are alot of members in popular topics. A limitation to Usenet is the fact that alot of the discussions arn't nessasarily relevant to the topic you are searching for.

The URL to the google group I found was http://groups.google.co.uk/group/the-digital-divide07/web/help-with-digital-divide?hl=en

The main google group homepage is http://groups.google.co.uk/

SMS and E-mail Comparisons

lol r u insyne
japs r wierd dey eat sushi
tis raw fish n dat

Laugh out loud are you insane
The Japanese are wierd, they eat sushi
It is raw fish and that.

E-mail and SMS are two different ways of sending messages but they are very different. For example E-mail is free providing you have access to interenet connection. However, SMS charges 10p a text. Though it costs, SMS is more direct as people are more likly to carry their phones around rather than a hand held computer. However, with mobile phones having more access to the internet, you can check e-mail's on your phone but it costs more than if you are checking on a computer. SMS internet connection is also wireless and doesn't require any wires making it more portable wereas a computer generally needs wires to work unless you have a wireless connection.

My First Post

This is my first post on my blog