Chapter 10 Pro and Cons of Information technology

Our world today has changed a great deal with the aid of information technology. Things that were once done manually or by hand have now become computerized operating systems, which simply require a single click of a mouse to get a task completed. With the aid of IT we are not only able to stream line our business processes but we are also able to get constant information in 'real time' that is up to the minute and up to date.

The significance of IT can be seen from the fact that it has penetrated almost every aspect of our daily lives from business to leisure and even society. Today personal PCs, cell phones, fax machines, pagers, email and internet have all not only become an integral part of our very culture but also play an essential role in our day to day activities. With such a wide scope for the purpose of this article we shall focus on the impact of the internet in information technology.

Some of the advantages of information technology include

1. Globalization - IT has not only brought the world closer together, but it has allowed the world's economy to become a single interdependent system. This means that we can not only share information quickly and efficiently, but we can also bring down barriers of linguistic and geographic boundaries.

The world has developed into a global village due to the help of information technology allowing countries like Chile and Japan who are not only separated by distance but also by language to shares ideas and information with each other.

2. Communication - With the help of information technology, communication has also become cheaper, quicker, and more efficient. We can now communicate with anyone around the globe by simply text messaging them or sending them an email for an almost instantaneous response. The internet has also opened up face to face direct communication from different parts of the world thanks to the helps of video conferencing.

3. Cost effectiveness - Information technology has helped to computerize the business process thus streamlining businesses to make them extremely cost effective money making machines. This in turn increases productivity which ultimately gives rise to profits that means better pay and less strenuous working conditions.

4. Bridging the cultural gap - Information technology has helped to bridge the cultural gap by helping people from different cultures to communicate with one another, and allow for the exchange of views and ideas, thus increasing awareness and reducing prejudice.

5. More time - IT has made it possible for businesses to be open 24 x7 all over the globe. This means that a business can be open anytime anywhere, making purchases from different countries easier and more convenient. It also means that you can have your goods delivered right to your doorstep with having to move a single muscle.

6. Creation of new jobs - Probably the best advantage of information technology is the creation of new and interesting jobs. Computer programmers, Systems analyzers, Hardware and Software developers and Web designers are just some of the many new employment opportunities created with the help of IT.

Some disadvantages of information technology include:

1. Unemployment - While information technology may have streamlined the business process it has also crated job redundancies, downsizing and outsourcing. This means that a lot of lower and middle level jobs have been done away with causing more people to become unemployed.

2. Privacy - Though information technology may have made communication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has also bought along privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private information becoming public knowledge.

3. Lack of job security - Industry experts believe that the internet has made job security a big issue as since technology keeps on changing with each day. This means that one has to be in a constant learning mode, if he or she wishes for their job to be secure.

4. Dominant culture - While information technology may have made the world a global village, it has also contributed to one culture dominating another weaker one. For example it is now argued that US influences how most young teenagers all over the world now act, dress and behave. Languages too have become overshadowed, with English becoming the primary mode of communication for business and everything else.

Chapter 9 Evaluation

 A good website is simply a site that provides it’s target market with what they desire.

Characteristics of good websites

1. Easy to Read -Don’t make it hard for your visitors to read the information they’re looking for. Use a font that is large and easy to read. Also don’t make the background of your writing dark and your actual writing light. For example white text on a black background is terrible for reading, so are bright reds, pinks, greens, etc. Don’t mess with this or you’ll lose readers. Keep your text black on a white background for the easiest readability.

2. Easy to Find – Don’t hide the good stuff. Make sure your website navigation makes sense and makes it easy for your visitors to find what they need. It’s best not to have a huge selection on the main  page of your website. When faced with too many decisions people usually choose none. Make main categories and then drill down to deeper pages if you need to.

3. Lead Them Through – Don’t expect your visitors to find their way through your site. Take every opportunity you can to lead them through and show them the way.

4. Provide Basics – The basic pages most websites will need are a ‘Home’, ‘About’, ‘Contact’ and ‘FAQ’ page. Most people expect these pages on a website. Provide them.

5. Have a Clear Purpose – Do people know what your website is about when they hit the main page? Is the purpose clear? Make sure your visitors know what your website is about and how it can help them. Don’t make them search for this information or they might end up going somewhere else.

6. Offer Solutions – Are people coming to your website with a problem? Don’t just offer information, make sure to offer solutions. If you are providing information be sure to lead them towards the next step. This will help connect your visitors to what you want and allow you to make more money.

7. Test, Track and Tweak – No website is perfect in the first go. Think of your website as a brand new baby and stay by it’s side as it learns to talk, to walk, to ride it’s bike.  Make sure you pay attention to your website and watch as it grows and you’ll be amazed at how intuitively you will be able to make decisions as time goes by.


Examples of good websites

http://www.peapod.com/

http://www.iconocast.com/

Bias Information

  Information bias is a bias deriving from imperfect definitions of study variables or from flawed data collection. We have 2 types of information bias. Exposure identification bias and outcome identification bias. We will go into detail. Starting with exposure identification bias. Let’s make the example about the association between nephrotic syndrome and hydrocarbon exposure. Now it’s quite possible that if we try to understand the exposure status by asking patients, asking cases, cases are very concerned by their health status and they maybe more likely to recall exposure.

 

1.Diffrential misclassification

2.Non-diffrential misclassification

3.Subject despondence bias

Examples



        

 

Chapter 8 Search engines

 

What is Search engine?

 Basically, a search engine is a software program that searches for sites based on the words that you designate as search terms. Search engines look through their own databases of information in order to find what it is that you are looking for.

Are Search Engines and Directories The Same Thing?

Search engines and Web directories are not the same thing; although the term "search engine" often is used interchangeably. Search engines automatically create web site listings by using spiders that "crawl" web pages, index their information, and optimally follows that site's links to other pages. Spiders return to already-crawled sites on a pretty regular basis in order to check for updates or changes, and everything that these spiders find goes into the search engine database. On the other hand, Web directories are databases of human-compiled results. Web directories are also known as human-powered search engines.

How Do Search Engines Work?

         search engines are not simple. They include incredibly detailed processes and methodologies, and are updated all the time. This is a bare bones look at how search engines work to retrieve your search results. All search engines go by this basic process when conducting search processes, but because there are differences in search engines, there are bound to be different results depending on which engine you use.

1. The searcher types a query into a search engine.
2. Search engine software quickly sorts through literally millions of pages in its database to find matches to this query.
3. The search engine's results are ranked in order of relevancy. 

Examples of search engines

1. Amazon Amazon.com is one of the best places on the Web to begin your book search. You can find out of print books here, rare books, used textbooks, and much, much more. You can also use Amazon to find upcoming book titles or take advantage of coupons specifically for Amazon.

2. ReadPrint ReadPrint is a free online library where you can find literally thousands of free books to read for free online, from classics to science fiction to Shakespeare. Download these books to your computer, your mobile device, or simply read them within your Web browser.

3. BookFinder.com BookFinder holds over 100 million new, used, rare, and out of print books within its substantial index. This is a good place to find books from independent publishers, as well as books that had limited printings.

4. Google Book Search Google Book Search allows you to search actual book text to find what interests you, and then gives you various places on the Web you can buy these books. Only text that is NOT copyrighted is searchable. Many free books are available here to read online as well as magazines, journals, and e-books.

5. Indie Store Finder Simply enter in your zip code to Indie Store Finder, and you'll be taken to a list of more than 1200 independent bookstores across the USA who are plugged into this unique book search engine. It's an easy way to find a local book store near you that might carry interesting books you won't be able to find anywhere else.

Sources; Search engines

 



Chapter 7 Ideas to help and support the flooding crisis in Thailand

           The flood is the result of the heavy monsoon rains that drenched Southeast Asia four months ago, leaving Thailand and neighboring countries submerged and claiming more than 1,000 lives across the region. The waters that inundated Ayutthaya to the north of Bangkok have largely receded, but suburbs to the south and west remain under threat, with evacuation notices still being issued. Central Bangkok appears to have been spared the worst of the flooding, due in part to a protective wall of sandbags some 6 km (3.7 mi) long. Throughout the surrounding area, many thousands remain in evacuation centers, or with friends and family, waiting for the worst flooding in decades to recede.

     According the above we can help and support this crisis  get better such as

It seems to be a little way doesn't help much but it's good way you could do.

My vacation on flooding situation !!!!

Great ideas to reduce flooding

Made In Thailand Flood !!

Here are my suggestions of actions that I believe will make a positive difference and the i don’t require any engineering. To Flood of idea is make Healthy waterways. The basic fact is that the water need to be cleaned up. I believe that will be much cheaper and faster than having an independent company do the project. Keep all the water as much as we can thinking the water is our supply that the God giving to our country. Its going to be a Mega Project to Export the Healthy water.


The flooding will be better but it will still happen.  None of us have the money or real-estate to make it go away.  With a river flowing unimpeded we will have an environmentally friendly and cleaner river with less flooding.  The coordinated storm water run off project is also helping with the river being cleaner. 

Chapter 6 Report writing and Citation

  Example a Good Report 

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/library/skills/Advice/Example%20report.pdf

Example of an article citation:

Yeh, M.  (1996).  The "cult of poetry" in contemporary China.  Journal of 
          Asian Studies, 55 (2), 51-80.