Data Sources

There are many forms of data sources, we see and interact with everyday.

These can consist of paper or digital forms, from books, to news papers, to sensors and the internet, all consist of data that we are all exposed to.

These data sources can, however, be a 'wrong' source of information, with the internet being vastly unmoderated, anyone, anywhere can post a web page or a blog about a theory they have on something, which may not be strictly true. On the other hand, paper based information, is moderated, to an extend, but is mainly, opinion and the validity of this form of information can also be called into question, when basing any form or written report, or such, on this.

What did the world summit acheive?

The main aim of the summit was to address and show that there is a digital divide in the world today, and that it is very prominent, in thrid world coutries. It was used as a catalyst to start some debates and to fuel the making of decisions on some of the major aspects of the divide, and how the summit can aid and help combat it.

Three positive points to come out of the summit was that they intend to increase the worlds internet access, so that atleast half the worlds population has a form of connection to the net by 2015. They also passed a bill that tries to help poorer countries to grow in the amount of ICT they use, and how effective it is, and they challenged how to implement this by saying that they would have access to some sort of media to the internet.

Three negative points to come out of the summit would be that only 40 nations actually turned up at the summit, with the US putting in minimum effort on making any big decisions. Also, the summit agreed that a decision to put 90% of the worlds population online was too difficult to achieve, as its seen that getting 170 nations to agree on something as complex as the internet is virtually impossible anyway. Decisions on who would pay for all these promises and who would be in charge, were put off for 2 years.

Case Study ~ Laos

The digital divide in Laos is quite large due to the area and the large amount of natural disasters that would cost lots to repair if IT technology was set up.

The digital divide is most prominent in Laos because of the amount they have to spend on repairing damage done by natural disasters, meaning that if they were to implement the systems needed for effective ICT, there would be high amounts of costs to pay if they were heavily damaged.

The main problems that have caused the divide are the vast mountainous regions that make it hard to supply effective ICT to all the regions in Laos, the lack of ISP make it hard for effective ICT to be started, the high costs also make it harder for a country like Laos to increase its amount of ICT, also, weather and the annual monsoons damage systems that would cost a lot to repair or replace if needs be

The impact of the divide in Laos has caused them to become far behind in the technical revolution in IT.

The solutions in Laos are; Cantennaes which are devices that can be made from cans to boost wireless reception, pedal powered wireless computers which have been made by the poorest country in the world called, Phon Kham.

The success of wireless technology

Wireless technology helps reduce the digital divide because it enable the internet to be supplied to towns and houses, without having to install major infrastructure, becuase of this it overcomes the major problem that lead to the digital divide in the first place, that the counrties just dont have the money to spend on improving and maintaining these telecoms services.

The growth of wireless technology does have clear social, economic and educational benefits, the advantages of wireless technology is that it will allow business prospects and job oppirtunities to grow with the new ability to use and work with the internet and to send and receive information, it allows people to stay in touch with society and friends. It will also have positive implications for education, in that they can extend their learning with the use of the internet and other applications.