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Cambridge IGCSE0417

Audience appreciation

Information Communication Technology 0417 Chapter Notes

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In this chapter

  1. 1A clear sense of audience and purpose
  2. 2Planning for age: young and adult audiences
  3. 3Analysing needs and giving the reason
  4. 4Customers and a sales team
  5. 5Corporate house style
  6. 6Why copyright law is needed
  7. 7Software piracy
  8. 8Stopping software being copied

1. A clear sense of audience and purpose

Every ICT solution is made for an audience and for a purpose. Show a clear sense of both in your answer.

Begin with a characteristic of the audience, such as its age. Then relate the rest of your answer to that characteristic and to the scenario in the question.

Examiner insight

“Many candidates correctly identified age as a characteristic, with only a few achieving the second mark.” “Some candidates did not relate their answers to the scenario set in the question.”

Worked example 12 marks

A company is making a presentation for young children. Name one characteristic of the audience and describe how it changes the presentation.

  1. 1

    Characteristic: the age of the audience [1]

  2. 2

    Young children: bright colours, large fonts, more images than text and simpler language [1]

2. Planning for age: young and adult audiences

Plan the solution so that it responds to the needs of the audience. A young audience needs bright colours, large fonts, more images than text and simpler language.

An adult audience needs the opposite balance: more smaller text and fewer images. Features that would suit any general presentation do not show an understanding of the audience.

Examiner insight

“Some answers suggested the use a large font even though the opposite is true as presentations of this type have more smaller text and fewer images.” “Those candidates that gained marks related their answers to the age of the audience.”

Worked example 12 marks

A council makes a presentation about recycling for an audience of adults. Describe two features of the presentation that suit the audience.

  1. 1

    More text, in a smaller font size, than in a presentation for children [1]

  2. 2

    Fewer images than in a presentation for children [1]

3. Analysing needs and giving the reason

Analyse what the audience needs before you choose a feature. For visually impaired people, examiners looked for larger fonts, highly contrasting colours or text to speech.

Give enough detail to gain the mark. Write 'bright colours so they attract the audience', not 'good colours'.

Examiner insight

“The answers we were looking for included larger fonts, highly contrasting colours or even text to speech.” “Quite a few candidates were able to identify a correct design feature but then produced answers that lacked the detail about how it could be used in the poster.”

Worked example 13 marks

A website is being built for visually impaired people. State three features that meet the needs of this audience.

  1. 1

    Larger fonts [1]

  2. 2

    Highly contrasting colours [1]

  3. 3

    Text to speech [1]

4. Customers and a sales team

One organisation can have two audiences with different needs. A presentation for customers is dominated by features and shows the cost of each product. Its language is more friendly.

A presentation for a sales team needs more technical facts. It is dominated by profitability, with professional language and a more formal layout.

Examiner insight

“Better responses identified two age groups and described how the presentation would be adjusted for these audiences.”

Worked example 16 marks

Tawara Technology has produced a new tablet computer. Tawara Technology is planning presentations to show its customers and to brief its sales team. State the differences in the presentation for each audience.

  1. 1

    Customers: content dominated by features [1]

  2. 2

    Customers: shows the cost of each product [1]

  3. 3

    Customers: language needs to be more friendly [1]

  4. 4

    Sales team: needs more technical facts [1]

  5. 5

    Sales team: content dominated by profitability [1]

  6. 6

    Sales team: language needs to be professional [1]

5. Corporate house style

A company uses a corporate house style in all of its correspondence. It gives a standard method of presentation.

It supports and strengthens the company's brand. Documents have a consistent look and feel, and the customer quickly recognises the brand. It is also easier to edit parts of a document.

Examiner insight

“Marks were not achieved for just giving an example of corporate house style as this did not answer the question.” “Those candidates that identified a company uses a corporate house style would then go on to achieve at least some, if not full marks for this question, by stating it is used in branding and that it maintains a consistency of all documents in the company.”

Worked example 14 marks

Tawara Technology uses its corporate house style in all of its correspondence. Explain why a corporate house style is important.

  1. 1

    To ensure a standard method of presentation [1]

  2. 2

    To ensure the correspondence has a consistent look and feel for clients / customers [1]

  3. 3

    To support and strengthen Tawara's brand [1]

  4. 4

    To help the customer quickly recognise the brand [1]

Recap

  • Show a clear sense of audience and purpose.
  • Name a characteristic of the audience, such as age, and relate your answer to it.
  • Young audience: bright colours, large fonts, more images than text, simpler language.
  • Adult audience: more smaller text and fewer images.
  • Customers: features, cost, friendly language. Sales team: technical facts, profitability, professional language. Write about both: at most four marks come from one audience.
  • A corporate house style gives a standard method of presentation, a consistent look and feel and a stronger brand.
  • Relate every answer to the audience in the scenario, with detail.

7. Software piracy

The principles of copyright apply to computer software. Software piracy is breaking software copyright legislation: making an unauthorised copy of software and then using it illegally.

The illegal use may be lending the copy, selling it, or any other distribution of it. An answer needs both parts: the copy, and what is then done with it.

Examiner insight

“Stronger candidates provided an answer that related to making a copy of the software and then illegally using it by distribution, selling, etc.” “The key word in response to copyright questions of this type is ‘unauthorised’.”

Worked example 13 marks

Describe what is meant by software piracy.

  1. 1

    Making a copy of software without the permission of the copyright holder [1]

  2. 2

    Using the unauthorised copy illegally [1]

  3. 3

    For example by distribution or selling it to other people [1]

8. Stopping software being copied

Software producers use methods to prevent software copyright legislation being broken. An answer needs the method and a description of it. Expanding the name of the method is not a description.

A unique product key (also called a serial number or licence key) has to be typed in before the software can be used. A licence agreement can also be set up.

A dongle and holographic stickers are physical methods. The stickers are put on the product and cannot be copied.

Examiner insight

“The necessity to use a serial number or product key seemed to be missed in most candidates’ answers.” “Those that did well on the question described the use of dongles, holograms and product keys.”

Worked example 14 marks

A company sells its software on discs in boxes. Describe two methods the company can use to prevent its software copyright being broken.

  1. 1

    Method one: a unique product key is supplied with the software [1]

  2. 2

    The key has to be typed in before the software can be used [1]

  3. 3

    Method two: holographic stickers are put on the product [1]

  4. 4

    The stickers cannot be copied [1]

Recap

  • Copyright legislation protects the creator of a work, such as software.
  • Copyright does not stop copying. It makes unauthorised copying illegal.
  • The key words are unauthorised and without permission.
  • Software piracy = making an unauthorised copy of software and using it illegally, for example by distribution or selling.
  • Methods to prevent it: unique product key or serial number that has to be typed in, licence agreement, dongle, holographic stickers that cannot be copied.
  • Name the method and describe it. Cyber security answers do not earn marks.

End-of-chapter exercise

Test yourself on the whole chapter. Work through these before moving on.

  1. State one characteristic of an audience that affects the design of a presentation.1 mark
  2. A company is making a presentation to show to customers. State one feature that makes the presentation eye catching.1 mark
  3. A company is briefing its sales team. State two differences from a presentation for customers.2 marks
  4. Compare the language used in a presentation to customers with the language used in a presentation to a sales team.2 marks
  5. A school is making a presentation for children aged five. State three features that suit the audience.3 marks
  6. A club makes a presentation for an audience of adults. Describe how the text and images differ from a presentation for children.2 marks
  7. A company uses a corporate house style. Explain why it is used.2 marks
  8. An online booking form will be used by visually impaired people. State three features that meet the needs of this audience.3 marks
  9. A museum has one presentation. It uses bright colours, large fonts, more images than text and simple language. The museum will show it to a class of young children and then to a group of adults. A student says: 'A large font suits every audience, so nothing needs to change.' State which audience the presentation suits, with a reason, and describe the changes needed for the other audience.4 marks
  10. Kestrel Cycles has designed a new electric bicycle. A trainee makes one set of slides to show to customers and to brief the sales team. The slides have a formal layout, in depth text, and charts of the profit on each bicycle. The trainee has not used the corporate house style and says: 'A house style only makes slides look professional.' Explain why the slides do not suit the customers, state three changes for the customers, and explain why the trainee is wrong about house style.6 marks
  11. State what copyright legislation protects.1 mark
  12. A teacher says, "Copyright stops students copying the software." Explain why this is wrong.2 marks
  13. Give the word that describes copying software without the permission of the copyright holder.1 mark
  14. A student copies a game from a friend's disc and installs it on her own computer. Describe why this is software piracy.2 marks
  15. A man buys one copy of a program and sells ten copies to his friends. State two actions in this story that break copyright.2 marks
  16. A student writes, "Copyright legislation is needed so that people who copy software can be fined." State what the student should have written about instead, and give the point that earns the mark.2 marks
  17. Describe how a unique product key helps to prevent software piracy.2 marks
  18. A question asks for physical methods of preventing software copyright being broken. A candidate answers "terms and conditions". State why this answer does not fit the question, and give two methods that do.3 marks
  19. A college has permission to use a drawing program on one computer. A technician copies it onto 30 computers. He also lends the disc to a teacher, who copies it at home. Nothing is sold. A student says, "This is not software piracy, because the college bought the program and no money changed hands." Explain why the student is wrong.4 marks
  20. A company sells a video-editing program on boxed discs. A trainee writes this plan: "Copyright already prevents anyone copying our program. To be safe, we will also add virus protection." Explain what is wrong with each of the two sentences in the plan. Then describe two methods the company should use to prevent its software copyright being broken.6 marks

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