DEFINITION

According to the European Commission, the importance of

ICTs lies less in the technology itself than in its ability to
create greater access to information and communication in
underserved populations. Many countries around the world
have established organizations for the promotion of ICTs,
because it is feared that unless less technologically
advanced areas have a chance to catch up, the increasing
technological advances in developed nations will only serve
to exacerbate the already-existing economic gap between
technological "have" and "have not" areas. Internationally,
the United Nations actively promotes ICTs for Development
(ICT4D) as a means of bridging the digital divide.

HOW THE USE OF ICT’s CHANGED OUR LIFE

The invention of all the information communication

technologies has changed our lives immensely. The world
has indeed become a global village today with the
invention of computers. Computers being one of the most
important ICT that is been used today in every walks of life-
in schools, colleges, libraries, labs, medicine, governance,
business, homes and by the community at large. You name
it and they have it. There was a time when people had to
ride on horseback to give information. How long ago was
that! Today with the flick of a button you get to talk to
anyone who can be anywhere on earth. We have come a
long way. But we also have a long way to go. And there is a
very important aspect that’s become more and more
obvious today i.e., people have become more and lazier
with the use of ICTs. The use of ICT has made our lives so
much smoother and easier but also lazier. We have even
reached an age when we don’t even want to go out and
eat! We call them up and get door-delivery. Such is the
plight of us men today. The thought of new ICTs to save
time and make life easier is welcoming but the idea of a
very lazy and inactive human race is frightening.

Accessibility and the purposes of ICTs:

Q. What is meant by “accessibility”?

Accessibility is a measure of the extent to which a product or

service can be used by a person with a disability as
effectively as it can be used by a person without that
disability.
For example, if a blind person can use all the functions of a
railway ticket machine just as easily as a sighted person,
then that machine can be said to be fully accessible to blind
people. However, a person in a wheelchair might find the
same machine difficult or impossible to use. It would then be
described as “inaccessible to a person in a wheelchair”. In
some cases, it may be possible but very difficult for some
people to use the machine, or it may be possible to use some
of its functions but not all of them. The machine could then
be described as “partially accessible” or even “relatively
inaccessible” to those people. The exact description would
depend on the extent of the problems experienced by the
different types of users.

So the concept of accessibility relates to the diverse needs

and abilities of a diverse section of the user population –
people with disabilities – and is expressed in degrees, from
“fully accessible”, to “partially accessible”, to “completely
inaccessible” for a specified user group.

Where legislation, public policy or organisational policies

require ICT products and services to be accessible, a
recognized accessibility standard is usually referenced.
Being ‘accessible’ then means complying with that standard.
Accessibility standards for specific product types often
attempt to quantify accessibility in measurable ways by
listing required attributes, objective tests and pass/fail
criteria. A good example is the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) which specifies testable “success
criteria” for three compliance levels (A, AA or AAA), so it is
possible to state objectively whether a given web page is
accessible to a recognized level. The question of whether a
website is “accessible” can then be answered by stating
whether it complies to an agreed level (A, AA or AAA) of the
WCAG 2.0 guidelines. But for many types of ICT products,
there are no internationally agreed, objective and complete
accessibility standards. So compliance with standards often
cannot be relied on as a measureofaccessibility.

In practice, accessibility is about the experiences of people

with disabilities in trying to carry out the tasks for which the
product is designed. The more people who can use the
product, the more tasks they can carry out with it and the
easier it is for them to carry out those tasks, the more
accessible the product is. In essence, a product or service is
accessible to the extent that its design caters for the needs
of people with disabilities.

Q. What is not meant by “accessibility”?

 The word “accessible” has some other meanings which are
not relevant here:
• “available”, as in “patients’ medical records are made
accessible to them”.
• “easy to get to”, as in “the village is accessible by bus”.
• “approachable”, as in “local government officials are
often very accessible”.
There are also other meanings of “accessible” which are part
of what is meant here:
• “easy to reach”, as in “the light switch is in an accessible
position”.
• “easy to understand”, as in "this report is readily
accessible to the layperson".

The qualities of being “easy to reach” and “easy to

understand” are very important for users with physical,
cognitive or intellectual disabilities, but they are only one of
the many qualities required for a product to be fully
accessible, even to those users.

Examples of how ICTs can be inaccessible:

It is often easier to understand a concept like accessibility by

considering some real world examples, in this case examples
of inaccessibility. All of the problems described below result
in some people being unable to use the product for its
intended purpose. All of them could be alleviated by
appropriate design.

A bank ATM
An automated Teller Machine (ATM) provided by a bank for
public use may be inaccessible in the following ways:
• The machine is positioned too high, so a person in a
wheelchair cannot reach some of the controls.
• The quality of the visual display is poor, with low
contrast between text and background, making it difficult to
read for people with vision impairments, particularly in
bright sunlight.
• Prompts and responses are presented only as text on a
visual display and cannot be read by blind people or people
with reading impairments.
• Prompts and responses are written in complex language
or jargon, making them difficult to understand for people
with some cognitive or learning disabilities.

ICT USED IN HOME

Home Learning

• CAL - Computer Aided Learning

Using the computer to help learn about a subject.
• Internet to help research.

Leisure

• Computer games
• CDs and DVDs Play music or watch films
• Keyboards and MIDI devices to play or compose music.
• Interactive television
• Websites-social networking sites
• Telephones and mobiles

Control

• Alarm systems
• Device control eg heating systems
• Microprocessors controlling eg washing machines,
freezers...

Internet...

• Home banking
• Shopping on the Internet

Finance
Every time you use a debit or credit card the shop till uses a
terminal connected to other computers via a network. Your
identification details are automatically transferred from your
card to your bank or credit card Company for verification, and
your balance adjusted accordingly. This also applies if you are
shopping online, or over the phone (when booking a cinema
ticket, for example). ATMs (also known as cashpoints) allow
you to check your bank balance or withdraw cash from
wherever you are in the world. The machines are networked
to a central computer, which has records of your account in a
filing system known as a database. Many banks also provide
banking services via the internet, minimising the need for
customers to visit a branch.
Financial services have undergone huge changes in recent
years as a result of the development of ICT systems. This has
led to the need for increased security procedures to combat
new types of fraud. It has also led to changes in many areas of
commerce; for example, the role of travel agents has changed
as more people book their own holidays directly online.
Some types of business have disappeared completely as
online and computer-based information have taken their
place. For example, you rarely see door-to-door insurance
salesmen these days! Similarly, new types of business have
been created, such as online auctions like eBay. Existing
business types have been transformed through the use
of ICT systems, for example the development of online
booksellers such as Amazon.

The internet
As well as impacting on the commercial world, the internet
has had an enormous impact on all areas of life. While there
are still people in many parts of the world who do not have
access to an internet connection, the majority of people in the
developed world now have access either at home or at work,
and have the opportunity to use online information resources,
or communicate with others using email, instant messaging or
discussion groups. New online communities have developed
and existing communities have created new ways of
communicating. However, issues of identity and security have
become a concern. New technologies have engendered new
types of crime, including identity theft and financial frauds.
These problems have fostered the development of new
security technologies.
The internet has become a major factor in enabling
information sharing and has had a huge impact on the
availability of information of all kinds. Material on the internet
reflects widely differing viewpoints and sources: from official
news bulletins to unofficial rumours, and from commercial
megastores to community portals. The internet has
revolutionised the way information can be published, raising
questions about the authority and regulation of content.
Because of the way the internet has been designed, no
individual government, company or person has control over it.

Entertainment
The world of entertainment is constantly evolving with the
advent of new technologies. Digital broadcasting has changed
the way we experience television, with more interactive
programming and participation. Digital cameras, printers and
scanners have enabled more people to experiment with image
production. Computer gaming has been an important
influence in the development of graphical interfaces.
Technology has been at the forefront of changes in the
production and distribution of music, as well as in the ways in
which people can access and listen to music.

Public services
In the UK, in many NHS trusts, patient records are easily
shared between departments within a hospital. These
electronic patient records may soon be transferable across
the whole health service, so that medical staff can access
them from any part of the NHS. In some places, especially
remote rural areas, doctors may be able to make use of
computer networks to make a diagnosis if they are unable to
see the patient in person.
Passenger information is increasingly available via networked
computers: for example train timetables, information in
stations and airports, real-time information over the internet.
Networked communication systems are also crucial in the
control of transport systems, from traffic lights and
pedestrian crossings to air traffic control and train signals.
Many government services in the UK are now available online.
For example, you can renew or apply for a passport, book a
driving test, claim benefits, fill in your tax return – you can
even report suspect activity to MI5! Local authorities provide
information services online, and there are numerous
opportunities to learn online such as the many courses
available with The Open University.

Sometimes it's useful to stop and think a bit about your own
experiences and focus on your own views. This can help you
understand issues in more depth. For example, when studying
the impact of ICTs on everyday life, your own experiences are
a useful resource.
So far in this section we have been looking at the ICTsystems
that are part of your everyday life, including those in your
own home. One of the difficulties that can emerge with the
development of so many new technologies is the issue of
coordinating and controlling all these systems. One solution
to this is a concept called the ‘smart home’.
Most homes in the UK contain a variety of systems for
entertainment, lighting, security, heating and so on. The idea
of a smart home is to integrate the control of these systems.
So, for example, if you are away from home and want to make
sure the house is warm for when you get back, you could call
the house and switch the central heating on.
We aren't going to go into any more detail about how the
smart home works, but the following activity uses some of the
data from a survey about smart homes for you to develop your
skills in interpreting data. We will look at how a survey like
this can be interpreted.

Ict in Business

 Computers
 Telephones
 Cctv
 Photocopiers
 Fax machine
 Mobile phones
 Software and application
 Organizers

Advantages in using ICT in businesses. here are a few:

 It is very easy to store data, and Save things can be

saved in many places other than just your computer,
for example; external hard drives.
 Organization is much more easier and better when
using a PC.
 If done efficiently, your work can be very accurate,
depending on the user iput.
using ICT also means there is unlimited amount of
space available to you

Disadvantages of ICT and Business World

A number of people will tell you exactly what they think about
online business and to people that have been successful in it,
the majority of what they say is positive. Therefore, there are
disadvantages to online business and some of them are
discussed below:-
DISTRACTION FACTOR
-Online business usually entails working from home and
therefore you can find any distraction at home in order to take
you away from working on your online business. the examples
of distraction are television, stovetop, microwave, bed and
backyard that can lose your concentration.

OFFLINE DISTRACTIONS
-It is because a lot of online business work is boring. Have you
ever heard people playing online games in the workplace
because their job is boring at times? Well, consider how that
could easily be you if you are working at an online business.
You'd be sunk before you even started and that is not going to
be good for anyone; least of all you.

COMPETITIVE NATURE
-If you want to get involved in a particular niche, chances are
there are already going to be people there ahead of you. And
with the internet, larger people can crush smaller people a lot
easier than big businesses can crush small ones. Competitors
think nothing of discrediting each other and ultimately
everyone is only interested in selling their products and
making money. It is a cut-throat world on the internet and
people that aren't aware of this could get crushed so fast it
would make their head spin.

Case study1

CONSUMPTION STYLE OF MOBLIE PHONES

With many young people, mobile connection is described as

a“lifeline” (Oksman & Rautiainen, 2001). A mobile phone is
also a symbol of belongingness to a group and as a part of
one’s identity. The identity is expressed both by
“personalizing” the appliance itself (through design, size,
the colour of covers, ring tones, logos, screensavers, and
other accessories) and by the actual use (such as timing and
placing the phone calls and messages)
A great majority (91%) of the young people in this survey had
a mobile phone at their disposal. However, not everybody
owned the phone they used. About two thirds of the
respondents had already had two or more mobile phones; ten
per cent more than three different phones. The length of the
period the respondents had used a mobile phone was
approximately two years and six months. The average phone
bill was reported to be about27, probably an under-estimate.
The size of the phone bills varied a lot between respondents,
though.
As mentioned above, parents usually supported their children’s
use of a mobile phone. A mobile phone was the expenditure
category that parents funded the most (apart from necessities
such as food, housing, and transport). For the majority of the
respondents, the parents paid all (54%) or most (11%) of their
mobile phone bills. However, according to Coogan and Kangas,
parents are usually not just humble settlers of their youngsters’
bills. In many families there are strict and clear rules for
limiting mobile phone bills. Often thereare also specific “debt
arrangement programmes,” should the limits get exceeded
(Coogan & Kangas, 2001).

Approximately 16 per cent of the respondents used the account

control service provided by the operators. This control means
that after the phone bill reaches a certain pre-determined level,
one can’t make calls or send text messages any more. In this
survey, the use of account control correlated significantly with
some of the self-perceived Mobile Phone Use of Young People
Consumption styles.

An average young phone user made or received from six to

eight phone calls per day and exchanged the number of text
messages. Additional functions used most were the alarm, the
calendar, and the calculator (93%) and new logos and ringing
tones (79%). Payable text message services were popular
(45%). In general, young people’s use of the different functions
of the mobile phone has become more versatile, compared to
some previous studies. However, new mobile phones include a
vast numberof different function, and nowadays companies rely
heavily on those new functions in their marketing. The
importance of young peopleas a target group is usually
acknowledged. Nokia, for instance, first tested new innovations
such as the digital
Case study 2

Using cameras, drawings and discussion to improve the

home corner

Introduction
The teachers of both the morning and the afternoon nursery
attended the initial training day on using ICT as a listening
tool. When asked to assess their own ICT competence, both
teachers scored themselves quite low, saying that it was
their nursery nurse who was good with computers. On my
visit, I saw good use of ICT for classroom labelling, including
signs in a range of different languages.

There was also a display of print-outs of the children's work

using 'Goldilocks' on My World 3. They decided that they
wanted to focus their enquiry on the home corner and would
use the camera, drawings, discussion, etc. to find out what
the children liked/disliked and would like to change.

Process
During my visit to the nursery I saw that the practitioners
had begun by introducing the idea of changing the home
corner to the children as a 'carpet session'. The teacher
commented that the children 'had lots to say' about what
they wanted. They had come up with a range of ideas for
additions to the provision, including some everyday
technology – 'washing machine, one that looks like a washing
machine.' The children didn't like the washing machine they
already had because 'there is no glass.' One child asked for
'things that make noises, like the kettle'. Some children were
also keen to update the decoration, as well as getting
comfortable chairs and a bedroom/bathroom.

The next step was to introduce the camera to the children.

They showed the children how to use it on a one-to-one
basis, giving each child a turn at taking 'before' photos in
the area. The children have so far only used the cameras
with supervision form an adult. Children also drew pictures
of the home corner as it was and talked about what they
would like to change.

The two teachers had been given staff meeting time to

discuss the project and had used this time also to download
the photos together, supporting each other in the process.
They have also been using the cameras to take photos for
their assessment of the children.

Practices
There was good evidence that the staff have started to
adopt the 'listening to young children' approach, as shown
by their recorded discussions with the children, the pictures
and the photos. They had begun to let the children use the
cameras by themselves, and had ideas for how they could
extend the project further, within the parameters of schemes
of work.

The 'listening approach' in the role-play area has provided

opportunities to hear about the ICT children are familiar with
in their homes and how this can be used in the nursery
context through real life experiences. The children are
showing an awareness of real and role-play technology.

The use of the camera has given them a 'voice' to share their
preferences.

Possibilities
The teachers have identified the following next steps.

 Try to implement changes the children have talked

about, such as a TV made out of a cardboard box.
 Involve parents in the project, hoping they can
provide some items such as soft cushions, etc.
 Possibly develop outdoor play area along the slines.

USES OF ICTs BY A PERSON OF SPECIAL NEEDS:

The differently abled people have different needs

based on their abilities and disabilities. Therefore the
ICTs that serve some of them don’t work out for others
with different disabilities. So the ICTs are also divided
as:

ICTs FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED OR BLIND:

For them the ICTs designed are usually concentrated relating
to audio. As they won’t be able to see or cannot see
properly, the technologies are generally in the form of sound
enhancers and other hearing aids.
 Eg: Robobraille: A free, e-mail-based service that translates
text into Braille and audio recordings is helping to bridge the
information gap for blind and visually impaired people,
giving them quick and easy access to books, news articles
and web pages.

Developed by European researchers, the RoboBraille service

offers a unique solution to the problem of converting text
into Braille and audio without the need for users to operate
complicated software.

Users simply attach a text they want to translate in one of

several recognised formats, from plain text and Word
documents to HTML and XML. They then e-mail the text to
the service’s server. Software agents then automatically
begin the process of translating the text into Braille or
converting it into an audio recording through a text-to-
speech engine.

“The type of output and the language depends on the e-mail

address the user sends the text to,” Christensen says. “A
document sent to britspeech@robobraille.org would be
converted into spoken British English while a text sent to
textoparabraille@robobraille.org would be translated from
Portuguese into six-dot Braille.”

The user then receives the translation back by e-mail, which

can be read on a Braille printer or on a tactile display, a
device connected to the computer with a series of pins that
are raised or lowered to represent Braille characters.

CASE STUDY 1: Rasheed Rahman works as a telephone

switchboard operator at the headquarters of the HSBC bank
in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The job pays 10,000 taka ($148) a
month, which is a good wage in Bangladesh.

Rasheed is also blind. He owes his good fortune to his own

persistence and to the Blind Education and Rehabilitation
Organization (BERDO). Rasheed realized as a young man that
education offered the best chance of getting ahead, and he
learned English from listening to the BBC World Service. He
majored in history and earned his masters degree in 2000.

But the economy in Bangladesh offered few opportunities,

particularly for the visually impaired. Rasheed spent five
years looking for work, until BERDO recommended him for an
internship at HSBC’s call center. BERDO also gave Rasheed
six months of IT training, using software that is tailored for
the visually impaired (JAWS - Job Access With Speech).
At the end of his internship, Rasheed was offered a full-time
position at HSBC. He loves the work because he has to
handle many calls from overseas in English. “I am very much
indebted to BERDO,” he says.

In an interview with The Advocacy Project, Rasheed said that

he does not feel disabled. This is echoed by his colleagues,
who quickly became accustomed to his limited mobility.
Areef, who sits beside him at the HSBC switchboard,
described Rasheed as reliable and friendly, before helping
him to the interview.

Rasheed continues to push himself to learn and advance. He

recently placed an advert in the Dhaka paper seeking
English-speakers who could meet and talk with him on a
regular basis. He is also looking for pen-pals in the United
States. Anything to improve his English.

Meanwhile, BERDO’s IT program has also received a welcome

boost. Staff members at Plural Investments LLC, a New York
investment firm, have given a generous donation to BERDO,
in response to an appeal from Danita Topcagic, who served
as an AP Peace Fellow with BERDO last summer. Part of the
donation ($900) will cover the cost of six months of IT
training for five blind people, like Rasheed. The remainder
($270) will pay for braille books at BERDO’s school for blind
children.

Saidul Huq, the founder and director of BERDO, expressed

deep gratitude for the donation.

ICTs FOR PEOPLE WITH SPEAKING IMPAIRMENT

The people with speaking impairment cannot speak and

therefore they use a lot of visuals to communicate.
Therefore technologies for them are made visually more
appealing.

Case study 2:
For most kids at Elmfield School in Bristol, English is their
second language even though most of them were born in the
UK. Their first language is British Sign Language, and this is
the language that they are taught in.
Now, ICT is opening up new avenues of communication for
many deaf children. Cath Scott, the ICT coordinator at
Elmfield community special school for the deaf in Bristol,
says: "Using email and computer-generated text gives
children another choice in how they communicate. It is non-
confrontational, non-judgemental and easy to edit."
Cath says that the biggest barrier in using ICT effectively
with deaf children is the assumption that English is their first
language. "Deaf children can learn skills as quickly as
hearing children but their capabilities are measured against
understanding the written word," she says.
It is widely agreed that the most effective forms of ICT to
use with deaf children are highly visual rather than reliant
on the written word or sound. Pupils at Elmfield enjoy using
interactive smart boards to explain, demonstrate and share
their work.
Many of the children are fluent in using Powerpoint, and
digital cameras and video cameras are also invaluable visual
tools. The children use them to capture work for self-
assessment and as subjects for discussion as well as to learn
ICT skills.
As in mainstream schools, most children at Elmfield own a
mobile phone: the freedom and spontaneity of text
messaging has an obvious appeal for deaf children. Many of
them also have video phones at home, which enable them to
communicate using sign language.
Kate Slattery, a junior-school teacher at Elmfield, has been
teaching deaf children for five years. She shares her weekly
three hours in the ICT suite across several subject areas. In
literacy teaching the children write stories using Microsoft
Word, fill in computer worksheets and learn to touch-type.
Kate often downloads maths quizzes and puzzles from the
internet. In her history and geography classes the children
use the internet and CD-Roms for research and present their
results using Word and Powerpoint.
Kate says that she has learned a lot about uses of ICT
through colleagues at her school and on the internet: "You
have to get out there and find out about it, or someone will
tell you that a website is good and you check it out," she
says.
This informal collaboration between teachers will be taken to
a new level by the Blue Skies project, which is creating a CD-
Rom and website of good ICT practice by teachers of the
deaf. Paul Bonsor, a peripatetic teacher of the deaf and the
project organiser, says: "Teachers of the deaf have got
plenty to do without taking on extra workload. Our project
will hopefully show how ICT can actually make their work
more effective." The CD-Rom is designed to be a source of
inspiration, offering practical suggestions of how software
can support the development of language and
communication skills. It will also demonstrate how electronic
communication such as faxing, texting and email can be used
in the classroom.
Blue Skies is part of DCCAP (Deaf Children's Communication
Aids Provision) - a joint project run by the British Association
of Teachers for the Deaf and Deafax, an influential charitable
company with nearly 20 years experience in supporting the
use of ICT with deaf children, youths and adults. Graham
Hocking works for Deafax as part of a deaf and hearing
team, running ICT training workshops for young deaf people.
He cites Clicker4, Wordbar, TextHELP!, and Co:Writer 4000
as among the most helpful software programmes. They are
all designed to support literacy teaching for children with
special needs. The new Cricksoft software ClozePro is also
getting good reviews from teachers of the deaf.
Being partially deaf, Graham has first-hand experience of the
benefits of new ways of communicating and is convinced of
their positive impact on deaf children: "ICT gives them
independence, self-esteem and increases their motivation to
read, write and initiate communication. It also enables deaf
children to develop and maintain long distance relationships,
even international ones which can be forged through our
website project, Deafchild International," he says .
But there is still a long way to go. "The potential for a
'revolution' is there but for the impact to be meaningful and
long lasting, there needs to be an investment made in
ongoing training for the teachers using it," says Graham. To
date much of the training and support in the use of ICT has
been provided by organisations such as Deafax and the
DCCAP initiative. Video-conferencing is, he believes, "an
untapped tool that could achieve so much for deaf pupils
across schools."
What future developments in ICT would the teachers at
Elmfield School like to see? Cath Scott would like to see
more visually explanatory software available, linked to the
national curriculum, and also more funding for interactive
whiteboards. Kate Slattery's 'dream' piece of kit would be
software that could translate English into BSL. However, as
BSL is a spatial language, which doesn't translate word for
word into English, she believes this is probably impossible -
a challenge for a software developer out there somewhere.

ICT FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED:

There are so many hearing assistive technologies that help
them to communicate. Sometimes they work on their own or
are used in co-ordination with visuals.

What are Assistive Listening Devices?

An assistive listening device (ALD) is any type of device that
can help you function better in your day-to-day
communication situations. An ALD can be used with or
without hearing aids to overcome the negative effects of
distance, background noise, or poor room acoustics. So even
though you have a hearing aid, ALDs can offer greater ease
of hearing (and therefore reduced stress and fatigue) in
many day-to-day communication situations. Hearing aids +
ALDs = Better listening and better communication!

What are examples of ALDs?

Personal frequency modulation (FM) systems are like
miniature radio stations operating on special frequencies
assigned by the Federal Communications Commission. The
personal FM system consists of a transmitter microphone
used by the speaker and a receiver used by you, the listener.
The receiver transmits the sound to your hearing aid either
through direct audio input or through a looped cord worn
around your neck.

Personal FM systems are useful in a variety of situations

such as listening to a travel guide or book review, in a
classroom lecture, in a restaurant, in a sales meeting, or in a
nursing homes or senior center.

FM systems are also used in theaters, places of worship,

museums, public meeting places, corporate conference
rooms, convention centers, and other large areas for
gathering. In this situation, the microphone/transmitter is
built into the overall sound system. You are provided with an
FM receiver that can connect to your hearing aid (or to a
headset if you don't wear a hearing aid).

Infrared systems are often used in the home with TV sets,

but, like the FM system, they can also be used in large
settings like theaters.

Sound is transmitted using infrared light waves. The TV is

set at a volume comfortable for family members. The
infrared system transmitter transmits the TV signal to your
receiver, which you can adjust to your desired volume. Thus,
TV watching as a family becomes pleasurable for all. While it
is not too loud for family members with normal hearing, the
volume is just right for you because it is adjusted by you
through your individual receiver.
Induction Loop Systems are most common in large group
areas. They can also be purchased for individual use.

An induction loop wire is permanently installed (perhaps

under a carpet) and connects to a microphone used by a
speaker. (In the case of individual systems, a wire loop is
laid on the floor around you and the speaker.) The person
talking into the microphone creates a current in the wire
which makes an electromagnetic field in the room. When you
switch your hearing aid to the "T" (telecoil/telephone)
setting, your hearing aid telecoil picks up the
electromagnetic signal, and you can adjust its volume
through your hearing aid.

One-to-one communicators. Sometimes in a restaurant,

nursing home situation, or riding in a car, you want to be
able to easily hear one person. Or perhaps you are delivering
a lecture or running a meeting and a person in the audience
has a question. You can give the person a microphone to
speak into. The sound is amplified and delivered directly into
your hearing aid (or headset if you don't have a hearing aid),
and you can adjust the volume to your comfort level. When
using the one-to-one communicator, the speaker does not
have to shout, private conversations can remain private,
and, when in a car, your eyes can remain on the road!

There are many other ALDs such as telephone amplifying

devices for cordless, cell, digital, and wired phones;
amplified answering machines; amplified telephones with
different frequency responses; paging systems; computers;
wake-up alarms.

Your audiologist can provide you with additional information

on ALDs.

Are there communication devices besides those that assist

listening?
Yes, there are visual systems that can be used alone or in
combination with listening devices and hearing aids. Persons
who are hard of hearing or deaf, or even persons who have
no hearing loss, can benefit. There are also alerting
devices that signal you when a sound occurs. For example,
there are doorbell, knock-at-the-door, or phone alerting
devices; fire alarm/smoke alarm devices; baby-crying devices
or room-to-room sound alerting systems; vibrating clock
alarms; vibrating paging systems; and vibrating watch
alarms. Many use strobe light or conventional light to alert
you; others use vibrating systems to alert you.

Examples of visual systems include the following:

  Text telephones, which allow phone conversations to be
typed and read rather than spoken and heard
 Computerized speech recognition which allows a
computer to change a spoken message into a word
processed document
 Closed-captioning TV, which allows text display of
spoken dialogue (All TVs with screens of at least 13 inches
diagonal measurement must have built-in captioning.)
 Note taking, which allows a hard of hearing person to
concentrate on listening and watching a speaker while a
trained person takes notes (This has been used in schools
not only for students who are deaf or hard of hearing but
also for students who are unable to write.)

USE OF ICT BY THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE

A) THE INTERNET

The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a

worldwide system of computer networks - a network of
networks in which users at any one computer can, if they
have permission, get information from any other computer
(and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers).
The internet is computer based global information system. It
is composed of many interconnected computer networks.
Each network may link thousands of computers
enabling them to share information. The internet has
brought a transformation in many aspects of life. It is one of
the biggest contributors in making the world into a global
village. Use of internet has grown tremendously since it was
introduced. It is mostly because of its flexibility. Nowadays
one can access the internet easily. Most people have
computers in their homes but even the ones who don?t they
can always go to cyber cafes where this service is provided.

The internet developed from software called the ARPANET

which the U.S military had developed. It was only restrict to
military personnel and the people who developed it. Only
after it was privatized was it allowed to be used
commercially.

The internet has developed to give many benefits to

mankind. The access to information being one of the most
important. Student can now have access to libraries around
the world. Some charge a fee but most provide free services.
Before students had to spend hours and hours in the
libraries but now at the touch of a button students have a
huge database in front of them
Advantages

Communication:
The foremost target of internet has always been the
communication. And internet has excelled beyond the
expectations .Still; innovations are going on to make it
faster, more reliable. By the advent of computer’s
Internet, our earth has reduced and has attained the
form of a global village.

Now we can communicate in a fraction of second with a

person who is sitting in the other part of the world.
Today for better communication, we can avail the
facilities of e-mail; we can chat for hours with our loved
ones. There are plenty messenger services in offering.
With help of such services, it has become very easy to
establish a kind of global friendship where you can
share your thoughts, can explore other cultures of
different ethnicity.

Information
Information is probably the biggest advantage internet is
offering. The Internet is a virtual treasure trove of
information. Any kind of information on any topic under the
sun is available on the Internet. The search engines like
Google, yahoo is at your service on the Internet. You can
almost find any type of data on almost any kind of subject
that you are looking for. There is a huge amount of
information available on the internet for just about every
subject known to man, ranging from government law and
services, trade fairs and conferences, market information,
new ideas and technical support, the list is end less.

Students and children are among the top users who surf the
Internet for research. Today, it is almost required that
students should use the Internet for research for the
purpose of gathering resources. Teachers have started
giving assignments that require research on the Internet.
Almost every coming day, researches on medical issues
become much easier to locate. Numerous web sites available
on the net are offering loads of information for people to
research diseases and talk to doctors online at sites such as,
America’s Doctor. During 1998 over 20 million people
reported going online to retrieve health information.
Entertainment
Entertainment is another popular raison d'être why many
people prefer to surf the Internet. In fact, media of internet
has become quite successful in trapping multifaceted
entertainment factor. Downloading games, visiting chat
rooms or just surfing the Web are some of the uses people
have discovered. There are numerous games that may be
downloaded from the Internet for free. The industry of online
gaming has tasted dramatic and phenomenal attention by
game lovers. Chat rooms are popular because users can
meet new and interesting people. In fact, the Internet has
been successfully used by people to find life long partners.
When people surf the Web, there are numerous things that
can be found. Music, hobbies, news and more can be found
and shared on the Internet.

Services
Many services are now provided on the internet such as
online banking, job seeking, purchasing tickets for your
favorite movies, guidance services on array of topics
engulfing the every aspect of life, and hotel reservations.
Often these services are not available off-line and can cost
you more.

E-Commerce
Ecommerce is the concept used for any type of commercial
maneuvering, or business deals that involves the transfer of
information across the globe via Internet. It has become a
phenomenon associated with any kind of shopping, almost
anything. You name it and Ecommerce with its giant
tentacles engulfing every single product and service will
make you available at your door steps. It has got a real
amazing and wide range of products from household needs,
technology to entertainment.

Disadvantages

Theft of Personal information

If you use the Internet, you may be facing grave danger as
your personal information such as name, address, credit card
number etc. can be accessed by other culprits to make your
problems worse.

Spamming:
Spamming refers to sending unwanted e-mails in bulk, which
provide no purpose and needlessly obstruct the entire
system. Such illegal activities can be very frustrating for
you, and so instead of just ignoring it, you should make an
effort to try and stop these activities so that using the
Internet can become that much safer.

Virus threat
Virus is nothing but a program which disrupts the normal
functioning of your computer systems. Computers attached
to internet are more prone to virus attacks and they can end
up into crashing your whole hard disk, causing you
considerable headache.

Pornography:
This is perhaps the biggest threat related to your children’s
healthy mental life. A very serious issue concerning the
Internet. There are thousands of pornographic sites on the
Internet that can be easily found and can be a detrimental
factor to letting children use the Internet.

Though, internet can also create havoc, destruction and its

misuse can be very fatal, the advantages of it outweigh its
disadvantages.

B. CHAT ROOMS:

The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass

media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing,
occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can
thus mean any technology ranging from real-time online
chat over instant messaging and online forums to fully
immersive graphical social environments. A chat room is a
Web site, part of a Web site, or part of an online service such
as America Online, that provides a venue for communities of
users with a common interest to communicate in real time.
Forums and discussion groups, in comparison, allow users to
post messages but don't have the capacity for interactive
messaging. Most chat rooms don't require users to have any
special software; those that do, such as Internet Relay Chat
(IRC) allow users to download it from the Internet. Chat room
users register for the chat room of their choice, choose a
user name and password, and log into a particular room
(most sites have multiple chat rooms). Inside the chat room,
generally there is a list of the people currently online, who
also are alerted that another person has entered the chat
room. To chat, users type a message into a text box. The
message is almost immediately visible in the larger
communal message area and other users respond. Users can
enter chat rooms and read messages without sending any, a
practice known as lurking.
Because chat room messages are spontaneous and instantly
visible, there is a potential for abuse, which may or may not
be intentional. Site hosts typically post a frequently asked
questions (FAQ) list to guide users to appropriate chat room
behavior, such as introducing yourself when you enter a
room, making it clear when you are directing a question or
response to a specific user, and reporting disruptive users,
for example. Disruptive users may verbally abuse other
chatters, monopolize the conversation, or even just disable it
by repeatedly typing the same word or phrase into the
conversation, a practice (much frowned upon) known as
scrolling.

Chat rooms can be found that focus on virtually any aspect

of human endeavor or interest: there are current
communities based on classic movies, Irish ancestry, baton
twirling, and psychic readings, for example. Various sites,
such as Yahoo, provide a directory of chat sites. Others, such
as MSN Web Communities, guide users through the steps
required to create their own chat room.

C. TRAVELLING

The impacts of ICT on travel behaviour and freight

distribution patterns

The new information and communications technologies (ICT)

are changing the way we undertake many activities -
working, shopping, learning, having fun and many kinds of
social interaction. Historically, we have associated transport
activities with carrying out these functions. Either we need
to travel to do them, or we have needed to have physical
objects sent and received.

This has been changing for well over a century, with the
arrival of telecommunications and broadcast technologies.
So, for example, travel is not always necessary to
communicate with distant friends and business partners
(due to the telegraph, telephone and fax); nor is it necessary
to go to the theatre or cinema to see a play or a film (due to
TV).

So "virtual mobility" or "virtual accessibility" is not entirely a

new phenomenon.
However, the "convergence" of IT, telecommunications and
broadcast technologies in the latter years of the 20th
century - accelerated by both increased processing power
and affordability - have led to many new possibilities for
carrying out activities virtually, and therefore in principle
without the need to travel.

It is important for transport analysts and planners to

understand the transport effects of these new technologies.

The central questions

The core of the study is the impact of the use of ICT on travel
behaviour and freight distribution, in terms of new ICT-based
applications changing the way people travel and changing
the way goods and services are delivered. The central
questions are:

• How is travel replaced, generated or modified by

applications such as teleworking, ecommerce and other
electronically mediated activities?

• How is the movement of goods replaced, generated or

modified by applications such as ecommerce and
electronic service delivery?

The project tackled these questions through a review of

existing studies. The following key related themes were also
addressed.

Spatial effects

Amongst the effects predicted with widespread increases in

online activities is that people will live further away from
where they have traditionally needed to live to work, shop
and play. The result will be that people will perhaps make
fewer journeys, but those they make will usually be longer.

At an individual level this could mean a heightened

likelihood to relocate away from urban centres. At the
aggregate level, this may mean an increased tendency to
urban sprawl, and increased pressure on rural areas for both
housing and business development.

The study examines the literature on these issues,

separating the empirical evidence from the conjecture.

Effects on other modes

There is considerable speculation both in the academic and
popular literature about the potential impacts of virtual
mobility on other modes of travel, particularly public
transport. Will the use of telework and home shopping, for
example, have a disproportionate impact on public transport
- perhaps even making it so that some marginal services are
no longer viable?

And how does the use of ICT to enable remote activities

compare to other modes when it comes to pursuing the goal
of "sustainable mobility"?

Transport modelling

The current forms of transport modelling do not take

account of virtual mobility - referred to by some as the "no
travel" option.

What do transport modellers and transport planners need to

take account of when forecasting transport requirements
and analysing different policy options?

There are data collection issues here, as well as the need for
new theoretical approaches.

NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF ICT

The information and communication technologies (ICTs)

have a profound impact on economy and environment. The
performance improvement in ICT leads to increased
consumption of ICT products and services, which has
numerous environmental implications on different levels.
It points to the analogy between the rebound effects in the
energy sector and the growth effects in ICT. A multilevel
taxonomy of rebound effects is taken from the energy
economics literature in order to structure the discussion on
the environmental implications of increasing use of ICT
products and applications. The author distinguishes two
levels of environmental impacts from ICT: first, related to
the life cycle of ICT hardware and second, related to the
way the ICT applications are being used. By presenting
examples from different literature, the paper illustrates the
complexity of the environmental impacts and stresses the
decisive role of human behaviour in determining their
significance.
The issues presented in the paper are highly relevant to
any decision-makers, who are placing large expectations on
ICT and who needs to be aware about its potential
environmental implications in the complex socioeconomic
 system of today. Huge investments are being made into the
sector with large expectations for economic growth and
environmental improvements, but neglecting the issue of
rebound effect causes a risk of misallocation of funds.
Having more information on effects and causes will allow
decision-makers to optimise future development with a
balance between economic growth and environmental
quality.

GADGETS
DIGITAL BBQ TONGS
Sick of burning your hand when grilling some foods for
your guests. Why not use a Digital BBQ Tongs ? This
kitchen device can hale you to flip and grab your meat but
the best thing about this barbeque tongs is that it has
backlit LCD display that will allow you to read the
meat’s internal temperature you are cooking. This Digital
Meat thermometer has Sensors in its tips that monitor the
temperature. And when the meat is done it will alarm
sound to make sure that the food is cooked to perfection.
It has meat-type presets for 7 different kinds of meat and
1 custom setting.

Another good feature with this Digital BBQ tongs is its

built-in LED flashlight powered by 2 x AAA type batteries
that you can use just in case you are grilling outside
of your house in the dark.
You can have these ultimate Digital Barbeque Tongs
household device for the price of about $40.
ROBOSCOOPER
This cute little toy is the Roboscooper, the new robot from
WowWee, makers of all sorts of cool toy robots. The new
robotic buddy resembles a hunched-over babyRoboSapien.
Also looks like the Pixar movie Wall-E but unlike Wall-
E Roboscoopers has six wheels to roll on.
WowWee Roboscooper is designed to help you clean and pick
up small things not heavier that one ounce. Small stuffs like
like paper clip, nails, and nuts. It can also talk funny
phrases like “Lets get to work”, and “1 step closer to
cleaner world”

The robot is powered by 6 AAA batteries. It can be

controlled by remote or you can just also leave him in
“autonomous mode” and he will clean and grab things he
sees.
You can get the WowWee’s Roboscoopers for the price of
$70. Availabe at Hammacher Schlemmer for pre-order now
for a late August delivery.