ICT Unit 2: L.O.2

Question 1

What are the different types of ‘Information Formats’?

Answer 1

1) Webpages–> Connect within one website and to other websites through hyperlinks

-Static–> Shown to the user as it was held on the server
–>Often coded using 2 programming languages (HTML and CSS) (easier to code +cheaper to pay a developer)

-Dynamic–> Can change every time it’s loaded (these are coded in separate sections, making changes easier once it’s set up)
–>These can be tailored towards individual users
–>Need a programming language like JavaScript or PHP too.

2) Blogs–> A written article about a particular topic (Often the author will use it to share regular updates, news, and stories.

(+)–> You can build a loyal audience over time
(-)–> Time-consuming

3) Streaming–> streaming platforms send audio and/or video to your computer without storing it.
–>Podcast- a spoken word audio file (which can be downloaded or streamed)
(Other streaming services include: Internet radio/music streaming/catch-up TV)

(+)
–>Often Personal, with a relaxed style
(-)
–>May not suit formal announcements
–>May take up mobile data
–>May have adverts (unless you pay for premium)

4) Social Media–>Websites and applications that allow people to communicate and share information.
–>Accounts can be used to share information and interact with customers

(+)
-Large numbers of people can be reached
-Non customers may see the messaging
(-)
-May need to hire a social media team
-Trolls and offensive messages may impede the core message

5) Document Stores–> Upload and download files held on a file server
e.g. using a cloud storage provider like Onedrive
(+)
–>Files can be accessed from anywhere
–>You have more capacity
(-)
–>requires an internet connection
–>Have to pay for more storage

6) RSS Feeds–> A user subscribes to a RSS feed to get updates from it
(+)
–>Quickly keeps users up to date
–>Pages do not need to be refreshed to see updates
(-)
–>Need a connection and someone to maintain the feed (costs time and money)

Question 2

What are the Individual Advantages and disadvantages of sharing information globally?

Answer 2

(+)
–>Communication can be done long distance (quickly + easily)
–>Large amounts of free online information (e.g. research)
–>Services available 24/7

(-)
–>Paying ongoing costs for internet access
–>Feeling pressured to use certain services (e.g. social media)
–>Being ‘always on’/finding it hard to switch off
–>Potential for data loss (Including data theft)

Question 3

What are the ‘organisational’ advantages and disadvantages of sharing information globally?

Answer 3

(+)
–>Information can be shared widely, across the world
–>Global audience (may increase revenue and allow purchasing from other countries)
–>Services can be provided 24/7- so not confined to ‘working hours’

(-)
–>Vulnerable to cyber-attacks (these could lead to damage and data loss)
–>Ongoing cost of maintaining services e.g:

-Paying for service costs (renting/electricity costs)
-Paying for security
-Paying for Domain names
-Paying for IT staff

Question 4

What are ‘Information styles’?

Answer 4

Different ways of conveying information

Question 5

What are all the different types of information types? (1)

Answer 5

1) Text:
–>Different character sets (e.g. arabic/russian)

2) Graphic:
–>Static pictures (both real and computer generated)

3) Animated Graphics:
–>Moving pictures (animations)

4) Video:
–>Usually a recording of real life

5) Audio:
–>Often accompanies video (but could also be audio only)

6) Numerical:
–>Quantitative data (often statistics)

7) Boolean:
–>Only one of 2 possible values
(True or False) (Yes or No)

(Accessibility Information Styles)
(–>One of the reasons these are used is to help those with disabilities)

8) Braille text:
–>Raised dots to represent characters

9) Tactile Images:
–>Raised ‘feelable’ surfaces to represent images

10) Subtitles:
–>Text overlayed on videos which transcribes the audio (this may also be translated)

Question 6

What are all the different types of information types? (2)

Answer 6

1) Databases:
–>Consist of one or more tables
–>Tables can show groups of related information with columns and rows
–>Results can be seen more quickly than if it was just text
(Not all data is suitable for tables e.g. if it isn’t easily categorised)

2) Spreadsheets:
–>Can have tables too - but forced more on processing data (e.g. using autocomplete with built-in functions and formulae (can do calculations very quickly)

–>Other features include validation and protecting areas of workbooks (these aid security and prevent mistakes)

–>Graphs and charts can be easily generated (this can help identify trends and allow comparisons)

Question 7

What is ‘Information Classification’?

Answer 7

It is about the visibility and content of information

Question 8

What are the different types of ‘Information Classification’?

Answer 8

1) Personal–> Can be used to identify a person

2) Business–> Information about an organisation

3) Sensitive–> Information that should be protected e.g. medical data

4) Non-sensitive–> Information that wouldn’t be negative if it was public

5) Private–> Only a select few people can see this information

6) Public–> Anyone can see this information

7) Classified–> Highly sensitive information (leaks can often be sentenced by law)

8) Confidential–> Sensitive information with limited access

Question 9

What would someone’s first name be classified as?

Answer 9

-Public
-Personal
-Non-sensitive

Question 10

What would a unique recipe of a restaurant be classified as?

Answer 10

-Business
-Private
-Sensitive
-Confidential

Question 11

What would details on a military weapon be classified as?

Answer 11

-Business
-Private
-Sensitive
-Confidential

Question 12

What would a person’s voting history be classified as?

Answer 12

-Private
-Personal
-Sensitive

Question 13

What is ‘Anonymisation’?

Answer 13

The removal of detail from personal information so the person can no longer be identified

–>This needs to comply with legislation (Data Protection Act)

Question 14

What is ‘Partial Anonymisation’?

Answer 14

Where the information has parts of it replaced with symbols to retain some usefulness of the information

Question 15

What characteristics affect the quality of information?

Answer 15

1) Validity–> How appropriate the information is (e.g. a conspiracy theory on a personal blog would likely not be considered valid)

2) Reliability–> If information can be verified and/or the source has a reputation for accurate information

3) Bias–> Information is ‘biased’ when the source is only giving one perspective or are letting their agenda influence the information

4) Comparable–> Whether it is in the same format as other information and so can be looked at side-by-side

5) Relevance–> Whether it can be used for the current problem

6) Completeness–> Whether all the information required is present

Question 16

What effect does the quality of information have on stakeholders?

Answer 16

(+) Good Quality Information–> can lead to stakeholders being informed and enable them to make strong, informed decisions

(-) Poor Quality Information–> can lead to misinformation, reputational damage and poor decision making

Question 17

What are the steps involved in ‘Information Management’?

Answer 17

1) Collecting, Storing and Retrieving Information:
–>getting the data in the first place (e.g. through market research or surveys)
–>then, holding it somewhere where it can be easily accessed

(Sensitive information should be encrypted at rest and devices should have other security measures)

2) Manipulating and Processing:
–>making changes to the data, leading it to become information
(for simple data sets, spreadsheets may be used)

–>Getting the information in a format ready to be analysed

3) Analysing:
–>looking for patterns and trends in the data
(e.g. a spreadsheet may generate charts and graphs)

4) Transmitting:
–>moving information from one place to another
(e.g. sending a client you’re findings)

(Sensitive information should be encrypted in transit)