How an online database works.

This will go over how Microsoft Access databases work, this is the database software that I have been using to create databases so I will go over in detail what happens when a database is created.

Microsoft Access has many of the same componants of a regular database application, and one big difference. Access is designed to install and run all of the components on a single computer.

Access can work with remote database such as SQL Server, but is normally used as a package on a single computer using its own database.

The Access application server is called Form View.

The Access developer modules for forms, tables, etc. are called Design Views.

The modules are so closely integrated that most people don't realize that there are several different modules.

• The Jet Database Server is installed when you install Access. Whenever you open Access the database server starts. Access can also connect to SQL Server and a few other databases, but Jet is the default.

Microsoft Access is not as easy to share with other users as separate applications and databases, but it is possible to build complex and sophisticated applications with Access, especially if the application runs against a SQL Server database, these will work very well for a website that stores a lot of passwords and accont details such as Amazon.

Entertainment, Radio, Muti-User games.

Entertainment has changed a lot over the past years, especially entertainment typically found on the internet, many websites have been set up to provide movies and tv shows to be watched online. One of these websites is 4od, the purpose of this website is to show any tv show that was shown on channel 4 for those who may have missed it.

The website is easily accessed, it only requires a free account to start watching tv shows and movies. Advertisements are quite common on this website, which is to be expected considering it is a free service.

Other website similar to this one is Netflix, Netflix allows users to pay a monthly fee of around £6 to watch any movie on the site, there is no limit to the amount of movies you can view, it even includes most new movies.

It allows you a free one month trial to see if you like the service, and after that if you continue to use the service it will charge you £5.99 a month.

These are just a couple of the many sites that offer movies and tv shows that were only previously available on the TV, watching movies and tv shows on a computer of mobile device has become increadibly easy and the popularity of such services has grown in the past few years.

Online Radio.

There are many online radio services but the most popular of which is BBC iPlayer, this website allows you to listen to live radio, as well as listen to radio from earlier which would be otherwise impossible to listen to.
This website doesn't require a log in, or any kind of payment to use the service, it is generally easy to navigate and find what you want. Although you are able to create an account which will allow you to get updates on tv shows and radio shows on your email. It will also allow you to comment on certain radio shows.

And that is just a few of the many websites that allow you to watch and listen to radio and tv shows/movies, the growing popularity of such sites are now making them very popular and easy to use, even being able to access them on you phone is a new feature that has proved very popular.

Ebook Evaluation

In order to create my Ebook I used Adobe Dreamweaver as it is an easy application to use and proved very helpful with the problems I encountered during the making of the website.

Target Audience & Purpose of the Ebook.
The target audience for my Ebook is those who wish to see what technology was like at the time of creating it, as technology is rapidly changing, this gives a good representation of what it was like to create a website, and also gives a lot of information on the current age of technology. The three categories I have in my Ebook each show a different area of technology in the world, from advancements in mobile technology to the digital divide which neglects many countries of any kind of technology.

Problems I faced while creating the Ebook.
While developing my Ebook I ran into multiple problems, most of which I was able to resolve by correcting errors in the html code, the main problem I had was the positioning of my banner that was supposed to span the top of the page, a lot of the time it wasn't centred and so to fix this I simple put the code <div align="centre"> at the end of the html code for the image. Another problem that I faced was that the web page was too large, it needed to be smaller for it to work correctly as an Ebook, I fixed this by adding a footer to the web page and limiting the height it could be. Problems with hyperlinks were also a major problem for a while, after creating a new page I had to rework the hyperlinks on that page to work with the files I was using, this was generally easy to fix but was time consuming.

How my Ebook designed.
My Ebook is designed in such a way that you can never get lost and navigation is fairly simple. On the home page there is a description of how to navigate. To the right of the page are 4 categories which are: Life in the information age, The Digital Divide, Online services and Ebook. Clicking on one will take you to a series of links which you can navigate by clicking the "Next" button at the bottom of the page, to get back to the home page you can either click home or click on the banner, you are able to get to access all of the categories and the homepage from anywhere on the Ebook by simply clicking on the side navigation bar.

What can be improved?
The main problem I see with my Ebook is that it is not very eye catching, I didn't have time to fully design the style of the page and so I had to focus of functionality of the website over the look and style of it. Another improvement that could be made would be the ability to access posts in a category from the home page instead of having to click on the category and then cycle through the posts in order to find the one you are looking for, once again this was a problem with my time management and I wasn't able to include this feature in time.

Amazon: Setting up account.

I will go through the steps you need to take in order to set up an account on Amazon. The first step to doing this is to click on the "Sign in to your account" button in the top right hand corner of the screen.

Once on the page you will be prompted whether you have an Amazon account or not, if you don't then it gives you the option to create one. You will need to enter your email adress and then click the "okay" button.

After you will get a conformation email to confirm that the linked email adress is really yours, once you click on that then your account will be functional. You will be sent to your account page where you can access all your orders and depending on what type of account you've made, you can also sell items as well.

The diagram above shows the process which the website goes through when an account is made, and how an account works and functions, orders being processed are also shown.

Website Analysis: Amazon.

Amazon has a fairly simple lay out, there's a menu bar at the top of the screen which gives you quick access to your account, which stores your information and your purchase history, with that information they are able to recommend you items from the site, you can see recommended items at the bottom of the page, these items have been chosen based on my search history, making it more likely for me to purchase from the site. There's also the option to view your basket, the basket contains all the items you wish to purchase and makes it easier for you to buy multiple items at once. On the left hand side of the screen is the "shop by department" drop down menu, this allows you to specifically filter items to your need, some of the departments are "Books" "Electronics" and "Computers". This option makes searching for your items much easier and saves you time as you no longer need to look through items that don't have relevance. In the centre of the screen is an advertisement, these change over time to show the user what deals or new products they have in stock.

Amazon Account Page

The account page shows you a lot of information about your purchases and also gives you the option to view and change your payment details. Your details have been stored in the "account details" page and were stored when you first entered them, this is so you can easily pay for an item without the need to keep entering your details. You're also able to check your orders and even track them to see where they currently are, although this option doesn't always work, there's a "prime membership" which allows you free delivery for everything as long as you pay a certain amount of money a month, this could potentially save you a lot of money, so it's a good option to have. Gift cards are available for purchase from this page too. The settings menu contains all of your account details and your delivery address, you can change these whenever you want as long as you can provide proof that it's you on the account, they normally check this by making you enter your password or send a conformation email to your linked Email address.

Searching for specific items.

Amazon filters the items on the site based on keywords from your search, as you can see here, when I type in iPad, the closest results show up first, being iPads, and when I go further down they will soon become less and less relevant to my search. On the items shown are customer ratings, which are very useful when you haven't had and experience with one before and want to know what others think of it. At the top of the screen are related searches, these are fairly useful as it creates more specific searches based on your own, which will be useful if you don't know what specific item you want.

Item page.

The item page is fairly standard, a description of the item is given further down the page which specifies the features that it comes with. To the left of the page it offers third party warranty for the product, ranging in 2-3 years, with prices that match. Delivery options are also given with the prices that go with them. Customer reviews can be found at the bottom of the page. In order to purchase the product you must simply click the add to basket button to the right, then select your payment option from the basket window.

And so that concludes my analysis on Amazon, the websites ease of use and simple design make it a favourite for many people, they also have a very reliable service with flexible payment options and delivery options. All this added with cheap prices from multiple suppliers and security measures that mean that you can feel safe ordering make it a excellent website to shop from.

Ebook

What is an Ebook?
An eBook is an electronic book, one you read digitally on your computer, laptop screen or on devices called ebook readers. You will find them in various formats and until the industry has a standard accessible in all devices these various formats will exist. The PDF format is a popular format for ebooks, it is used as it creates an easy way to read on a pc or mobile divice. All platforms are able to gain access and read PDF formatting. . There are still many who prefer printing out the pages of an ebook to read and PDF files have always been good for this purpose. And recently the Amazon Kindle has became very popular, allowing people to read books specially designed for this device.

So, why would you want an ebook? As you discover this new industry with your surfing over the Internet, you will discover ePublishers and eBookstores gradually growing in numbers. Take a look at what they offer and what they have to say about their authors and titles. Thousands upon thousands of authors write books yearly. Of those, a small percentage have the good fortune of being accepted by a publisher. This is not because they don't make the grade, but because of the vast numbers.

The Internet is a wide open medium. Excellent, talented authors can take their books to the Net, market/promote and sell those books themselves. Others are coming to the growing epublishing houses and taking that route. It is guaranteed as you journey through the epublishing world, you are going to find outstanding, spell-binding, and top-class works, which are well worth the read. So Ebooks are really giving authors more of a chance then they had previously.

Ebooks are prefered by many people over normal psysical books, there are many reasons why people prefer them, such as:

1. Ebooks are delivered almost instantaneously. You can purchase, download and start reading them within minutes, without leaving your chair. You don't have to go to a bookstore to buy them, neither wait for them for days, weeks and sometimes more to arrive in the mail.
2. No trees are required to manufacture paper for the pages of ebooks.
3. When you need certain information, you can get it immediately, by downloading an ebook.
4. Many ebooks are sold nowadays with bonuses, which you usually do not get with a printed book. This adds value to your purchase.
5. Ebooks take up less space. You practically don't need any space to store them. You don't need a library or a room for them. You can store hundreds and thousands of ebooks on your computer or reading device.
6. Ebooks are portable. You can carry a whole library of hundreds of books with you, on CD, in a laptop, notebook or any ebook reader, without worrying about their weight.
7. With today's technology you can read ebooks everywhere, on the bus, train, airplane, and while standing in line.
8. Ebooks are more safely stored and carried from one place to another, than ordinary books. They also withstand time more than books.
9. Ebooks can show links, for easy access to more information and related websites.
10. Ebooks are searchable. You can easily search for any information in an ebook, instead of turning page after page.

For my Ebook I used Adobe Dreamweaver to design it and make it functional, I used HTML in order to get it to work on all browsers.

E-Government and the Digital Divide.

The concept of the digital divide has been evolving over the years, being generally defined as a social issue linked to the different amount of information between those who have access to the information society and technology such as computers, and those who do not. It also refers to countries, regions, cities, and businesses that are at a differentiated economically and culturally with regard to ICT accessibility.
The UK Labour Government under Tony Blair has set targets for the development of E-Government in the UK.  These are aimed at reducing the digital divide in the UK . This divide also effects the way other services are provided, like Police and the National Health Sevice. There are a few ways in how the government has tried to decrease the gap and develop on E-government, these are:

The introduction of online services, and example would be the Government's website, it allows users to find informaion on the current government and allow's users to find out when the next meetings or hearings are taking place. A website such as https://www.gov.uk/ are used for this. This is a good way doing things as in gives people an easy way of accessing government information without the need to even leave their home.

Another way of expanding E-Government is to introduce online payments, payments such as paying taxes and monthly bills can all be done over the internet now and no longer will you need to go to the bank and fill in paperwork. Once again making it easier for the general public to go about their everyday lives.

Online reporting and advice has also been made accessible to the public, this means that people can now go onto the internet and find out the local news and get information on current governmental matters, although such information was available from the television or radio which could be accessed from home just as easily, but being online means that you are able to look back at news incase you miss it first time around on the TV.

Online booking is another useful feature that has been introduced, it allows people to book for appointments or work interviews over the internet, this is very helpful as it saves time and money as you no longer need to actually visit the place you want to book an appointment for beforehand, and means you can avoid driving there and wasting fuel. This service also allows the user to sort out bookings and rearrange meetings without the need to use the phone, it can all be done over email, which is free.

The UK government hopes to have saved £1.3 billion, and the public £1 billion by migrating its sercices to online. This is because they are useing less staff in places like banks and shops, and the public would be saving money as they wouldn't be using as much fuel as before.

With all the advances in E-government, the government has to account for those in low income families who aren't able to access the internet.
The government is to spend £30m over the next three years to bring broadband access to schoolchildren and low-income families. A further £600,000 has also been earmarked to subsidise home computers for entire year groups at 50 education institutions across the country, schools minister Jim Knight told an education conference last week. The plan is the government’s latest attempt to bridge the digital divide between those with access to technology and those without.
The government has already invested £5bn in IT for schools since 1997 and another £837m was budgeted over the next 3 years.
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Activity 2: The Digital Divide

1. Dr Odedra cites a number of infrastructural reasons for a lack of effective ICT. What are these?

 The first reason is that many IT projects fail is because of a lack of secondary equipment, suitable electric power and training etc.
In many African countries pressure is put on them as many growing countries are now using Internet and other technologies such as computers . There are also no plans in Africa to supply the people with technology like computers, the government is simply to poor to even allow computers open to public use, and so many citizens will never use a computer. Some regulatory policies covering procedures for the acquisition of hardware and software do exist in a few places. These regulations typically mandate centralised acquisition for the public sector and tax private companies and non-government organisations in order to discourage imports or to raise convertible currency for the state. Such taxes range from 0 per cent in Mauritius to 60 per cent in Kenya. However, a number of countries such as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Mauritius have recently taken initiatives to formulate more comprehensive IT policies.
This means that some of these countries will start to become more developed. But this will only happen effectively if people play tax. But due to the majority of poor people in African countries, it isn't likely that they will be able to pay tax. And so this system will not always work.
A reliable power supply to operate the computers, a well-functioning telephone network to transmit data, foreign currency to import the technology, and computer-literate personnel are all prerequisites for the successful use of IT. Such infrastructural elements remain inadequate in many African countries. For instance, the number of telephones per 1,000 people ranges between 12 and 50, depending on the country, and many of the lines that do exist are out of order much of the time. This all means that a lot of Africans can’t get Internet connection because of the service isn’t working.
A problem that faces less developed countries is that they aren't able to set up stable Internet connections as many companies aren't willing to operate withing their country, this means that even with technology, people won't be able to connect to the Internet and miss out on a huge resource that defines modern technology. 

2.What is said do be the most pressing need for Africa (in terms of ICT)?

The most important reason for Africa having barely any access to Internet is the cost of IT falling dramatically. With systems becoming much easier to use and maintain, some of the prohibitive cost and infrastructural problems are being lessened. Many Africans are beginning to take advantage of this. But lack of skills in the area still remains a major problem. Overall, people are learning from their mistakes and are trying to address some of the issues. The longer this process takes the less advanced Africa will be.

 

3. How successful have computer aid projects been?

Computer aid projects have been of relative success, the only problem being that they need to cover such a wide area as almost all of Africa are without proper IT skills, although what has been done has been successful. Computers have been supplied to many countries and training groups have been set up in order to teach people how to properly use IT, these have been very popular and have been effective in dealing with the lack of IT skills.

 

4. Why have they failed?

Skills, funding and knowledge are all of the reasons why Africa are so lower in the technology scale then others. ICT isn't free it costs money which countries in Africa can't afford to use. There is widespread famine in these countries and they aren't able to use the same systems as we do. Secondly, knowledge is very scarce about IT because because people living in Africa haven't had the opportunity to use IT, this will lead to confusion surrounding IT for them. There are few people who have access to IT, but these tend to be people high up in the social hierarchy.



 

5. What computer skill's identified as lacking?

"Africa lacks computer skills in all areas, including systems analysis, programming, maintenance and consulting, and at all operational levels from basic use to management. Most countries lack the education and training facilities needed to help people acquire the proper skills. The few training centres that do exist have not been able to keep up with demand. Only a handful of countries such as Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Zimbabwe have universities that offer computer science degrees. The programmes available in the other countries are mainly diplomas and certificates. As a result of unskilled and untrained personnel, user organisations are forced to hire expatriate staff, who in turn lack the knowledge about local organisational cultures and thus design poor systems. Many African governments and organisations are waking up to this situation, but few serious measures have been taken. Moreover, it will not be enough to merely institute courses; books, teachers and equipment are also required but unfortunately have been overlooked." Therefore the African public aren't the ones to be blamed here, the governments should be the one to put money aside and invest in ICT teachers to teach the next generation of people. This will greatly develop their country and will help them to be able to advance faster.




6. What area of business fields have been seen as lacking?
"Although African companies have had little success in producing their own hardware, software houses catering to the local market are emerging, particularly in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. Off-the-shelf software packages have largely been used in African countries because of the lack of programmers to develop in-house applications. However, there is a growing demand for applications appropriate for local needs. While the present quality and sophistication of local software may not be on a par with current world standards, it should improve with increasing demand." If African business had better quality technology it would mean that more business can run effectively and more efficiently, therefore increasing overall national income, economically this is good for the country.

 

Unit 1: Activity on the digital divide.

After reading through pages 38-41 I can go over some of the reasons why the digital divide exists, firstly the economic factor plays a large part in this, most countries affected by the digital divide are poor, they simply aren't able to afford modern day technology such as computers and phones, and because of this, businesses aren't willing to supply the countries with Internet as they will not make a profit from doing so, which means even the most fortunate are still not able to access the Internet, even if they own a computer. This is mainly a problem because Internet prices rarely go down, unlike dated technology, so the most significant factor in modern technology is inaccessible to these countries.

Another reason is the fact that people in some countries are extremely inexperienced and are unable to work with new technology and refuse to have it become part of their life, once again this will take place mainly in third world countries and less developed countries, as people have lived without technology for there whole lives. Technology proves confusing and frustrating for a lot of these people, and therefore they are less likely to accept it in their country. This is also relevant for countries that don't allow certain technologies, countries such as North Korea only allow technology as long as people aren't able to connect to the Internet with it, this is because freedom of information doesn't exist in North Korea and because the Internet is a place where people are allowed to post pretty much anything with little consequence, as this is against North Korea's government, Internet is not allowed in this country.

 Another issue to take into account is that some countries have a high natural disaster rate or are trying to recover from a recent disaster that has occurred, the reason this is a problem is because the country will be more focused on resolving these problems and spending money on fixing their country rather than spending money on new technology, sometimes in these countries Internet is unavailable to many people as Internet providers are reluctant to set up stations in the country in fear that they will be damaged by other disasters that are likely to happen is such countries.

So after reviewing some of these reasons I believe that the biggest reason that the digital divide exists is due to the reason that technology is very expensive and is getting even more expensive depending on how advanced it is, many countries aren't rich enough to afford such things, another reason would be that some people living in third world countries aren't willing to accept such technology as it proves as confusing and complected as they have had no past experience, although this isn't as big of a problem but still results in some countries not implementing technology or Internet due to the lack of demand from the people, this could be easily resolved however by teaching people in these countries who could then teach others, this will mean that people are more accepting of new technology and so if the country is financially capable then they are more likely to introduce new technology, helping to bridge the digital divide.

Unit 2: How an online purchase takes place.

I will go over how an online purchase takes place on Amazon.com

When you first open up Amazon you will be taken to their homepage, their homepage will show you about various deals they currently have on as well as their best selling products. In order to make a purchase you will need to click on the "sign in" button in the top right in order to make and account. I will now go through this process.

When you click on the sign in button you will be taken to this page, on it you have the option to enter your account credentials, or in my case, create an account if you do not already have one. To create an account you will need to fill the "No, I am a new customer" option. You will then be taken to this screen.

On the registration screen you will be prompted to give your Email, the reason they require your email is because it's the easiest way to send you information about their latest deals and items in store, an easy method of marketing for them. You will also need to give your name for reference when sending the Email, and of course a password to keep your account secure, you are asked to repeat your password to make sure you typed it correctly the first time, if you didn't then you won't be able to access your account.

 

After creating your account you will be taken to your account page, from here you will be able to manage your account and change some settings such as your Email and your password, as well as personalise your account. And you are also able to see your order history. I will now go through the ordering process and the information it takes from you.

The first step to ordering something on Amazon is searching it in the search bar at the top of the page, once you search it will bring up all the results related to that search using a keyword system. Once you've found the item you want you just click it and it will take you to the details screen.

You will then be taken to this page, on it will be the item description as well as the prices, used and new, and if it's a book like my example, you are able to view the first ten pages to see if you like the look of it, customers can leave reviews to inform potential buyers if their purchase is worth it or not. To order the item you will have to click on the "add to basket" button in the top right corner.

Once you click the "add to basket" button a pop up will be shown, it takes in account your purchase and will offer many items that are similar to your purchase, it does this because you are then likely to purchase the items shown and you don't need to make two seperate purchases if you add them to your cart. There are also other products advertised such as gift cards, Which is shown below the purchased item. You then need to click the "Proceed to checkout" button to make the purchase.

Once again you are taken to a log in page requesting your log in details, these include your email and your password. Or you have the option to click the "I am a new customer." button to create a new account. But I will be using the returning customer button and sign into my account.

Upon entering your password you are asked to enter your delivery adress, this includes your full name, home number and street name as well as the town or city you live in. Your county, post code, and phone number are also required, these are required mostly because they need an actual adress to ship the item to, and if there's a problem they are able to contact you through your phone. They are also most likely going to use this as another marketing strategy by sending you mail based on your purchase hsitory. You also have the option to click the "Is this address also your invoice address?" button which will let them know whether to send invoices to that house.

Upon entering your billing adress you will be sent to this page that asks what kind of delivery you want, there are three options: FREE Super Saver Delivery, First Class (up to 4 business days), and Expedited (3 business day(s)), each on costing more or less based on the time it will take to get to you. You also have the option to have it gift wraped for extra cost.

The final page I will be covering is the payment option page, this asks how you would like to pay, you have the choise of either credit of debit cards or gift cards and promotional codes. If you were to click add credit card you will be given a box to type your card number in and if you were to select gift cards it would give you the option to type the gift voucher, once you pay by either one of these methods it will take you back to the home screen and prompt you that the transaction was successful, and so the transaction is made.

Activity 4: Uses of IT in a public sector website.

The British Army 

The British Army is pretty self explanatory, I public defence organization, their website gives a lot of useful information about the army and even allows you to sign up directly. Their website is quite well laid out, with colours that represent the army very well, a simple design so you never get lost, and easy to navigate home page.

Capturing and processing data:

This is done on the "right job for you" page.

The way it captures data is by asking you certain questions based on what kind of job you want to do, based  on the answers you give, it will process this data and give you a selection of jobs that they think will best suit you, an easy way to find a job you're looking for in the military.

Presenting and exchanging information:

This is shown in the news page.

The news page tells you about the situation in Afghanistan and what you could be dealing with if you were to join the military, basically everything you need to know about the military is covered on this page, you are also able to sign up to their newsletter, this shows how you are able to exchange information. 

Conducting transactions and Marketing of goods and services:

This is shown on the Events, Entertainment and Leisure page.

There's not as much on show here as there was on the last website I went over, the reason for this is because it's a public service and therefore is funded by the government, not needing any kind of financial support from the public. But they still have a few thinks to offer in the marketing of goods and services, or at least services, they often hold events and shows, many of these are ceremonial and do not require payment, but some of the public shows do, these can be booked on their website.

From this website it is clear that they use IT as a way to engage people into the career that they are interested in, it makes it very easy to find what job is right and is now easier than ever to sign up, it will take less than a few minutes to do so.

Metropolitan police

The Metropolitan police is once again a public service organized in order to prevent crime in the UK. The website gives you information about the service, phone numbers you can call to give or recieve any information. And also job openings are available for viewing. The website generally isn't very well laid out, the main home screen seems convoluted and it's can be hard to find what you're looking for sometimes, also the colours don't look particularly attractive or eye catching.

Presenting and exchanging information:

This is shown on the "about us" page.

Very similar to The British Army in the way it gives detailed information about the service, although this website also gives statistics on crime in the UK as well as information on how they recorded those statistics, truly in depth on the detail they give here. A detailed history of the service is also available for reading.

Capturing and processing data:

This is shown on the career page.

Much like The British Army, this website allows you to sign up to jobs as well as giving detailed information on each job, although it doesn't make it as easy as The British Army's website did, they seem to be not as focused on their job openings as they quite clearly are.

This website is very strong on giving very detailed information about the service, being able to sign up to their digital newsletter shows how they are using IT to their advantage by making people more informed, whereas The British Army were more focused on their job openings, which is understandable for the military, they use IT to make it easier for people to understand the jobs they are getting into. Overall I think that The British Army's website made better use of IT as it made it simpler to understand and find jobs, which wouldn't be as easy if not for the use of IT. Whereas The Metropolitan Police gave only information and simple job applications, which were easy to use but were generally achievable without the use of IT.  

Activity 3: Uses of IT in charity websites.

The British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation is a charity devoted to helping people with types of heart disease, it is completely funded from membership fees and donations and is a non profit organization. I will be looking at the different uses of IT in the website.

Capturing and processing data:
This is done when you make a donation to the website.

When you donate to the website, the website needs some certain information from you. These include your email address for when you register your account, and your bank details from when you make the donation, this data is then taken and processed in order to make the transaction successful. Much of this data is then stored in their databases so they are able to contact you via email.

Presenting and exchanging information:

This is shown on the "about us" page.

This page is intended to give the user information about the charity, it shows how they were set up and how they are structured, along with a general idea for what they do and why they do it.This presents information to the user.

Conducting transactions and Marketing of goods and services:

Transactions are conducted on the shop page of the website.

Users can also purchase merchandise from their website so that it gives people more of an incentive to donate. Transactions are conducted through a few ways, you are able to pay through PayPal or use your credit card directly, transactions are made quickly and easily on this website.

As you can see there is a great presentation of their products. With a very user friendly layout, with pricing that is clearly visible and very easy to navigate store. This shows how they market their goods and services. 

Distributing goods:

This is shows on the "where your money goes page"

This list is intended to show the user where their money goes to and how it will help if they choose to donate. It is intended so that people have a clear view of where their money is going so they have complete confidence in spending it. They use short heading with bold colours so that the user can easily read it in a few seconds. Short and sweet headings mean that they are precise and to the point. This therefore is a website that shows the distribution of goods, or in this case, money. 

Activity 8: Comparing Supermarkets

These are the top supermarkets in the UK:

Aldi

Asda

Co-op

Iceland

Morrison's 

Sainsburry's 

Tesco 

Waitrose 

All of the above offer different services and quality of food, at different price levels, I will be comparing a few of these and giving my opinion on the best quality and best price.

Quality of service:

Tesco: From past experience I can confirm that Tesco's quality of service isn't as good as it could be, the staff didn't seem so helpful in helping me find what I was looking for, this and the extremely slow and unreliable self-service machines I can say that quality of service isn't Tesco's strong point.

Co-op: Co-op go through special measures when selecting staff, they make sure they are able to work with people and help them in any way they can, this shows as the quality of service is extremely good here, I had no problems with finding items and it was a generally good shopping environment.

Asda: They seem to have the same problems as Tesco face, they don't try and create a friendly environment for shoppers as their primary focus is on cheap prices, not such a good shopping environment as staff there aren't particularly helpful.

Waitrose: By far the best in my opinion, the staff here are friendly and know the shop well so are extremely helpful when you need to find something, they are always willing to help and I've never had to wait more than a minute for them to find an item for me.

Quality of food:

Tesco: There has been a lot of controversy in the past few weeks regarding their quality of food, more accurately the quality of their beef, it has been found that in some cases over 90% of the meat is in fact horse meat. many have speculated that it is not necessarily Tesco's fault, but I shall discus the general quality of the food in general. In short the food quality isn't very good, but what do you expect on such a low price range? The animals weren't free range and the meat just doesn't taste as good as in other stores. I'd be much happier spending a little bit more for better quality food.

Co-op: Quality of food here is very good, they make sure all the animals were free range and treated well. They also make sure that most of the food they sell is organic and take special measures for their fair trade goods.

Asda: Same as Tesco in that the quality of food here just isn't up to a good standard, the animals aren't free range and in all probability they weren't treated fairly when they were alive, so I wouldn't recommend shopping here for meat in particular, although this is only for their own brand, they do sell very high quality meat, just at a higher price.

Waitrose: Once again I would say that Waitrose have the upper hand when it comes to quality of food, All the meat they sell is free range and their product range has been praised for the quality. I would recommend shopping here if you don't mind spending a little more, which brings us onto the next comparison.

Pricing:

Tesco: In my opinion Tesco are by far the best with pricing, not only their own products, but branded products are also extremely cheap, far cheaper than most other supermarkets.

Co-op: The co-op offer fair prices for branded products and their own, their prices are still good, although around 10% higher than Tesco's, although some would say that a 10% increase in price is worth it considering they work using fair trade.

Asda: Similar prices to Tesco, although many of the branded products do not match the cheap prices of Tesco, Although in most cases the price difference is only a few pennies.

Waitrose: This is definitely Waitrose's weak point, their own products are of quite high prices, given the quality this makes sense, but many of the branded products are significantly higher value than in other stores. I'd only recommend Waitrose for their own products.

Comparison of websites.

Every major supermarket has their own website, I will compare a few of these.

Tesco:

 Tesco's online store is very easy to use and is simple and attractive, it gives all the information you will need and tells the user what sales they have on, the website allows users to order their products online as well as giving them information about the store, you are able to send them complaints over email and comments about their service are accepted.Overall the website was good to use and felt very well made. Once complaint I could make would be that the page doesn't fit the width of the browser window, which is why there are two white bars on the side of the screen, but this is a minor complaint.

Co-op:

 The co-op website is very good at giving information, but you aren't able to order online, their website is solely there to show you what they do and inform you of their quality and ethics to the people to supply their goods, the website tells you about many of their other services that they offer.

Waitrose:

 Waitrose's website is in my opinion the nicest looking out of them all, as well as that it also offers you the ability to shop online and will give you free delivery if you spend more than £50, it also gives you information about the history of the store, and also recipes are offered on the site for free. The site is extremely easy to navigate and is also very fast to load. Offers are shown on the front page so people don't miss out.

Asda:

The website certainly does it's job which is to allow people to shop online, although in my opinion the website lacks visual appeal. The colours and the advertisements just make the website not look as good as it's competition. Although it does give the user all the latest information about in store sales and the online purchase system is very easy to use. It also gives a lot of detail about the store and the services they offer.

Pros and cons of online grocery shoping

Pros:

• Comparison shopping is much easier online.

It's so much easier to comparison shop online, not just comparing different brands of items, but comparing different online sites for prices. You might not have the pleasure of holding the items in your hands, but you have the ease.

• Finding something online is much easier than in a shop.

In shops it can be hard to find the specific item that you want, it becomes much easier online with Google's new shopping tool that will find shops that sell a specific item that you're looking for.

 

• Forgetting something is less of a hassle when shopping online.

Forgetting to put something on your shopping list and only realising once you've been to the shop can be incredibly annoying. Forgetting to purchase something online isn't, it's as simple as going to the website and placing it in your basket. It can be done in a matter of seconds

• Shop in comfort

What could be more easy than shopping in the comfort of your own home? You don't have to lift a finger except to type and use your mouse. All the work is done for you including the bagging and delivery of your food. Making it a much easier experience.

• You can shop online 24/7

You're never restricted to store hours when you shop online. You can do it whenever it's convenient for you and you never have to worry about getting in before the crowds, like on the weekends.

• No waiting in lines

Waiting in lines can be a long and tedious process, online you need not worry about this. processing your order is as easy as clicking a button.

 

Cons:

• You can't use cash online

Online you're very limited to how you pay, sites will only exept credit cards, so if you want to use cash or cheque then you will be better of going to the shop.

• You can't hand pick your groceries.

Unfortunately you don't get to pick your own food when shopping online. The person who compiles your order does all that for you. So you're likely to get items that aren't ideal in quality.

• Waiting for dilivery

Obviously when you buy online you can't get your order immediately -- usually it takes up to 1 day to get your order and of course you have to pay for delivery costs. Luckily many online grocers have deals for first-time customers, but after that the delivery cost can range in price depending on time of delivery or your location.

 
 

The digital divide: bridging the gap

The digital divide seems to be growing in the modern world,with many countries falling behind on technology, but there has been many ideas introduced in order to try and bridge the gap between these countries and countries like the uk, some of these ideas include:

 1)   Focus on Digital Literacy: training on how to use the Internet is critical to closing the digital gap. The digital literary courses held at local public libraries were the most effective elements in encouraging broadband adoption. In fact, after graduating from the courses, a majority of the participants chose to purchase Internet access immediately on the open market, instead of waiting for the free network. Through the training, many came to realize how integral the Internet had become to everyday tasks like paying bills, and applying for jobs.

2)   Provide computers: While digital literacy was key, free or low-cost computers removed another significant barrier in Detroit. In this case, the computers offered a good incentive for taking a digital literacy course, and maintaining skills. In many areas people aren't able to afford computers, so in order for the gap to be bridged, computers must be supplied.

3)   Remove other financial barriers:  As Warner writes, Internet providers often require security deposits and a credit check before handing out equipment like routers and modems – making it harder for low-income homes to get service. Non-profit organizations should focus on finding a way to pay for those upfront costs.

4) Lower network charges: Many Internet service providers charge up to or over $40 a month for their internet, this might not seem like a lot to us, but in some low income areas this is a struggle to afford, decreasing the price of the service would allow for low income families to afford the service.


There are many organizations that specialise in bridging the gap of the digital divide, some of these include:

1) Learn Direct: Learn Direct aims to teach adults how to use IT using an online course.


2) Close the Gap: Close the Gap is an international not-for-profit organisation that is helping to bridge this digital divide by offering high-quality cost-efficient used IT equipment to projects in developing countries.

3) Getting Started: Get Started was a six-week campaign up to the end of June 2003, it was aimed to teach IT skills to the elderly, disabled and the disadvantaged, and to show them the benefits they could gain from using IT. 

4)Computers4africa: Computers4africa.org is an organization that aims to lift the continent of Africa out of the poverty trap by equipping the next generation to work in a global environment.

Computers4africa has supplied free computers to third world countries in Africa, helping to bridge the digital divide.

Different types of organisations.

The different types of organisations include:
Commercial Organisations, what we would normally refer to as businesses, they trade and provide services in a competitive market with the aim of making a profit and growing the business.
Public Organisations, these are primarily funded through taxation and are controlled directly or indirectly by the government. With the aim to to provide services to the public.
Non-profit Organisations, they raise their finance from donors or grant funding and use the funds raised to finance a particular cause or issue, they also provide employment and incomes for the administrators of the organisation.
Here is a list of organisations that fall into these catigories.

Open University

The Open University was established in Milton Keynes In 1969The company was created in order to help those wishing to pursue higher education on a part-time and/or distance learning basis, including people with health disabilities, who are officially a priority group for the university, nearly 13,000 OU students have health disabilities. The British Government has also tasked the Open University to continue the work of the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) when it was dissolved. The CNAA formerly awarded degrees at the polytechnics which have since become universities.Starting in 1969 students enrolled for January 1971 based in Walton hall, Milton keynes.there are currently around 253,000 student, 14,000 being postgraduates and 195,00 being undergraduates.How is it distinguishable from other universities; The Open University opened up education to everyone regardless of their circumstance or where they live. having students of all ages and backgrounds, other universities such as Cambridge and Oxford wouldn't allow this to happen, making the Open University a lot more accessible to the public, which would account for it's huge popularity.

Civil rights and personal information.

With the increasing use of IT in businesses and government, databases have been used as an easy means to storing your name and information about you, it's almost certain that you're on a database of some sort, most likely more than one, probably many. These databases could include:

1. Criminal databases - You normally get put onto a criminal database for committing even petty crimes, for example stealing will get you on this database. They hold information such as fingerprints, DNA and your location, these are kept on the database throughout your whole life as if you were to commit another crime, it would make the investigation a lot easier.
2. National Insurance - Once you are given a national insurance number, you will automatically be put onto a database, this will have information about your current work, as well as work history.
3. Driver's Licence - Your Driver's Licence holds key details of your whole life. Your age, name, house number and a picture of you as it's a legitimate form of identification.
4. Passport - This doesn't hold as much information about you as much as others, it states your age and has a picture of you to prove identification.
5.Social Networking sites - When you sign up to a social networking site, such as Facebook, all the information you enter is stored on their database, so the information they hold is decided by what you tell them. There has been a lot of controversy over this is many sites hold information about you even if you delete your account.
6. Hospital - The hospital will have a database which would include your birth date, and also your medical history, this way they know how to act if there's an emergency.

The reason we are now on so many databases is due to the fact that we now rely massively on computers to organise information for them, this has led to people feeling that their civil rights have been violated as so much of their information can be easily found on the internet.

SMS - Has its time past?

Origins of SMS.
SMS became so popular because it allowed people to message each other over the phone, this made it possible for long range conversations and for business reminders. On December 3 1992, engineer Neil Papworth sent the first SMS message to Richard Jarvis of Vodafone. It simply read "Merry Christmas," and Jarvis had no way of replying, this was the first ever SMS message sent, since then SMS has changed the way people talk to each other and use mobile phones in general. By January 2001, texts sent in a month hit a billion in the UK. The Telegraph reported that "Text messages sent on mobile phones have spawned their own truncated language, using allusion and codes to squeeze whole sentences into a maximum of 160 characters." This had a surprising effect on the way people would now type and write out sentences, people would often find themselves shortening sentences like they would for a text. In 2004, then Prime Minister Tony Blair took part in a live text chat, but struggled with the technology. "My texting talents are poor, let's say underdeveloped," he told Capital FM. At the Leveson Inquiry, Rebekah Brooks, the former News International chief executive, told how she had to inform the Prime Minister that LOL means 'Laugh Out Loud' not 'Lots Of Love'. In the 8 years since, texting has become a part of many peoples lives, it's a new means to stay in touch with people and have long distance conversations, and texts have also saved lives, caused heartbreak and speeded up daily life for millions. Nine in ten 16-24 year olds now say they communicate with friends and family on a daily basis via text messages, compared to 15 per cent of over-65s, according to Ofcom.

Although it's extreme popularity in the past, SMS has become less convenient for people, especially those with smart phones as they are able to get such applications as whatsapp and kik that allow for messages to be sent via the internet and therefore don't cost you money, and video call over 3g and 4g networks have also become popular, although texting is still used by many, but it's popularity seems to be falling as new messaging services are appearing. According to Forbes, the use of SMS during the holiday season has declined. People of course like to wish each other ‘Happy new year!’ or ‘Merry Christmas’ but instead of sending a SMS like they used to, they are turning to social media like Facebook/RenRen or Twitter/Weibo. This has become especially apparent in Finland, Netherlands, Philippines, Hong Kong and China.