Types of E-book

Literature
The largest range of e-book is devoted to literature. These are good for storage space, seeing as a whole library can fin into a small pad.

Reference materials
The second most popular type of e-book is used for referencing material. Possibilities for these would be instruction manuals, encyclopedias,

Children's books
Children's e-books are the least popular of all 3 types of e-book (maybe because of the age range?).

Digital Divide

The Digital Divide is the divide between those with regular access to computers and the internet to those who don’t. This can be attributed to one of three factors, those who lack access, those who lack ability and those who lack motivation.

Issues

The internet has become a great source of information and entertainment; meaning those without access are being deprived of knowledge and culture. Furthermore, the internet offers instant communication to anyone in the world, which can be very useful. For example, in isolated farming communities such as in Laos it is important to know up to date information like when the monsoon season will start, how severe it will be and the price of crops. Internet access could mean the difference between hunger and poverty and in this case is very important.

In more developed countries lack of I.T experience can impede on job finding as it is a much sought after trait and it is unfair to exclude the poorest from opportunities. It would also be nice if large printed documents, such as phone directories, were universally stored digitally, saving great expense and helping the environment, but this can’t happen until everyone adopts internet access.

Availability

In developed countries internet access is much, much higher than in poorer areas. However, even in Great Britain some people may be excluded due to remoteness, such as the Scottish Isles, or due to Geography, such as in the Pennine mountain range on the English/Welsh border. None the less to anyone who tries hard enough it is almost universally available, the map to the left simply illustrates quality. As technology advances and demand increases it becomes even more probable that Internet Service Providers will circumnavigate these issues. The adoption of smart phones with internet browsers is causing companies such as BT to erect wi-fi hotspots across built-up areas, a sign of connectivity becoming more available.

Charity Computer Aid International promotes the donation of old PC’s in the U.K, currently running an ad campaign online and via Xbox Live they are closing the divide by making PC’s accessible.

Growing access to public computers is also helping out, with many libraries now featuring some kind of internet access for free.

Globally, more factors than line availability affect the issue. Much of Africa is missing reliable power lines and depends on generators for power. Additionally the low demand means finding a hardware dealer can prove an issue unto itself.

Another factor that affects all nations is cost. For the poor a large price tag can be as much an exclusion as lack of power source. The One Laptop per Child charity has created a $100 basic notebook to tackle these problems, by creating cheap computers to give away. These address other issues faced by less wealthy nations, such as a crank generator to bypass the power supply problem and the ability to connect to the 2G network, something areas like Africa have widely available.

Ability

Not everyone is technologically literate and capable of operating a computer. The elderly who have little experience with computers are excluded due to their ability, fortunately not all are totally walled off with some younger friend or relative to use the services for them, but those who are without this too are very stuck. To combat this, charities like Age Concern and Help the Aged run schemes to educate and motivate the elderly, such as free courses to teach them how to use I.T and taster sessions at coffee shops to give them company, feed them and entice them to the prospect of learning how to use a computer.

On the other side of the spectrum school children’s introduction and education on how to use computers has become a government aim with large investments to stop this being a problem later on.

The problem is also solving itself out through technological advancements. Gadgets like the iPad’s use of touch screens and simple interfaces mean generations can skip the complexities of mice and files in favour of a closed off, less intimidating, more logical way of engaging with the internet.

In third world countries the situation is much worse, with problems like low literacy being a major issue. In Laos literacy is a low 46% and on top of this they have their own language with it a different alphabet, meaning adapting western technology for them is difficult. Therefore technology is built from the ground up to be used in these areas. A board with images relating to subjects is used in Laos, underneath these objects is a barcode. When a mobile phones camera, which are widely available, sees this it receives a text which further information or runs a special programme, thereby accounting for the lack of reading ability.

Motivation

The final, simpler problem is people simply not wanting to go online. Either they are unaware of the internet, have a misconception of what is, are intimidated by its complexity or don’t think they will benefit from it. Much of this can be sorted out through education, but the quandary exists of them not wanting to learn. Through advertising or other incentives it is possible to help these people.

As the internet grows more popular and is further refined though it should naturally become more attractive. Every year another 2.5% of the population go online and social networking sites such as Facebook are attracting people who would normally have little interest in online.

Conclusion

While I acknowledge it is an issue I think it’s severity is over concerned. It seems to me an inefficient way to help third world countries, the hundreds of pounds used to marginally benefit one communities life could be better spent to save many lives. If it can be used to spur development, like it has in India and Dubai, it’s benefit in the long run could be great. To begin with more essential factors like political stability and food supply need addressing before I.T can be of any real aid.

Bibliography

Direct.gov.uk

Cia World Factbook

Age.uk

Masternewmedia.org

Xbox Live

National Geographic November 2009

UN.org

En.wikipedia.org

BT.net

Microsoft Think Computer Science Day 2010

Singapore Population Policy

Highest foreign population in the world
-46% foreign
-Foreign trade makes up half of the private sector


2nd densest country in the world, after Monocco


In 2008 fertility rates were 1.28, third lowest in the world and well below replacement level (2)
To overcome this, the government are
-Running an ad campaign showing the "joy of parenthood"
-Financial aid such as paying delivery charges


Pro family encouragement
-Extended maternity leave
-More time off for parents
-Grants to families who have the Granddad care for the baby


Graduate Mothers Scheme
-Women with high education make better mothers
-Encourages graduates to marry


The government is encouraging immigration
-Greatly within control of government
-Cost Effective
-Public attitude to immigration is positive

Tesco

Usability and Accessibility

It is important to have a site viewable to all people as it stops alienating potential trade. Also, discriminating against people with disabilities is illegal under the Disability and Equality Acts 2010.
The Web Contract Accessibility guideline is a set of rules and recommendations for websites to encompass disabilities, both physical and mental. Tesco.com has scored AA for it’s efforts to aid everyone. For lower resolution screens blank spaces have been left either side so the site appears all on the same screen. For the visually impaired this allows them increase font size but still see the whole page. The colour scheme has also been designed so all the text appears clearly for colour blind people.

Under viewing options in "My Account" are 5 options to reformat the site for disabilities, including removing Javascript so only the essentials remaining and underlining hyperlinks for the visually impaired. Also, a link at the bottom of the page gives instructions on how to change font size, a summary of the page design and how to edit options. All of this is great, but arguably too hidden for someone with impaired vision.


The site has been very well coded and appears perfectly, on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera & Google Chrome, which make up the vast majority of internet usage.
Javascript is used for the adverts but the site runs fine without it and it's usage is mostly cosmetic. 
Overtly, data is collected when the user registers. Covertly however, any data from shopping online or in store to taking part in promotions is added to a database. Tesco reserve the right to contact you and share your information with any of other Tesco services, but will not distribute it to any third parties.


"Cookies" are small pieces of information sent by a web server to a web browser, which enables the server to collect information from the browser.  Cookies are sent to non-registered visitors to keep track of their browsing patterns and build up a demographic profile. Furthermore, any visitor who has clicked on a Tesco.com advertisement on another site that links to Tesco.com will be sent a semi-persistent (e.g. two weeks lifetime) cookie that will allow Tesco to analyse advertising effectiveness.

Much of the web site does not require allowed cookies, they must be enabled to shop online or access any areas reserved for registered users.
For £10 you can obtain all data held on you in accordance to the Data Protection Act

Mark Scheme

• Exchanging links
• Cookies
• Encourage visitors by having free stuff and/or competitions
• Keeping the site frequently updated
• Keeping in touch with customers by email

• Disabled people e.g. large text for the shortsighted
• Colour blindness and colour choice
• People with different browsers
• People with different screen resolutions.

• Explain OVERT methods (e.g. registration and other feedback forms)
• Explain COVERT methods (e.g. Cookies)
• Some websites log the IP address of their visitors e.g. when a product is purchased.
• Some websites log usage statistics e.g. www.statcounter.com)

• Does the website have frames?

Effectiveness of Multimedia Features

• Different media may be text, pictures, sound, video, animation.
• How effective are they? 
• Will they always appear? (e.g. sound will not be heard if there are no speakers or if the volume is muted.)
• Are plugins required?
• Is a fast connection required?

Colours and Fonts

• Think about colour blind people.
• Think about the inappropriateness of certain colour combinations e.g. blue/black or white/yellow.
• Explain why certain fonts may not appear on certain computers

Terms and Conditions of Purchasing

• How are customers informed of terms and conditions?
• How can the business show that the customer has agreed to the terms and conditions?

Security Measures

• Why must the business ensure the security of customers’ personal information?
• Why must the business ensure the security of credit card information?
• Does the site use a “secure server”?  What does this mean?  How can a customer see that this system is in place? (look for “https:// or a padlock icon)

Grrr Tesco

Data Response

1. Few training centres
Lack of universities
Suitable power supply
Lack of secondary equipment
General I.T illiteracy
Lack of a well functioning phone network
Lack of money

2. Help the countries development "leap frog" ahead?

3.Terrible
4. Scarce foreign aid which could be used much more helpfully on other necessities being squandered on expensive equipment that cannot be utilised fully See 1

5. Systems analysis, programming, maintenance and consulting, and at all operational levels from basic use to management