9 Audiences

In this chapter you will learn about:

★ audience appreciation
★ software copyright.

9.1 Audience appreciation

When planning and creating ICT solutions, it is important to consider the
audience who will either use or take part in the solution. We are going to use
two different examples to show what could be meant by audience appreciation:
1 In the first example, we are going to consider using presentation software to
make a presentation for an audience.
2 In the second example, we are going to consider the general audience
requirements when developing a new website.
Both examples will follow very similar steps because the end results are very similar.

9.1.1 Giving a presentation to an audience

In this example, the ICT solution is a presentation aimed at a specific audience,
using presentation software. When writing a presentation, you need to consider
all of the following factors:
» The age of the target group (young children will have a different appreciation
and response compared to a more mature group of adults, for example).
» The experiences of the audience (a board of company directors would expect a
different approach compared to an audience composed of teenage school children).
» The expectation of the audience (for example, if you are advertising or giving
a presentation on a new restaurant, an older audience might expect to see
fine wines and good waiter service; whereas a group of students might be
more interested in pizzas and fast counter service).
» Knowledge of the audience (for example, graduates in maths would be more
comfortable seeing equations in a presentation than a group of history students).

How can you find out about the characteristics of your audience? The following
are just some of the market research techniques you might employ to identify the
characteristics of your target audience:
» interviewing a cross section of the target group to find out how to engage the
audience (if this involves a major ICT solution, then this may have to involve
many of the techniques that were described in Chapter 7)
» giving out questionnaires or online surveys to people in the target group to
find out their background, interests, and so on, so that your solution can be
tailored to meet the full expectation of the audience.

Once you have data from your audience, you can then carry out some analysis of
it, to spot trends and draw some conclusions about them. The sophistication of
data analysis would depend on how large the audience is likely to be.

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 9 Audiences

Giving a sample presentation to an audience

Now consider a phone company who market a number of different mobile phones. The
company has decided to produce two presentations, using an ICT solution, regarding
the sales and features of the four different mobile phones they market and sell:
» one presentation is to be given to the mobile phone sales team who will
receive different bonus payments depending on the phone sold
» a second presentation is to be given to a potential group of mobile phone
customers.
How would these two presentations differ? The first group (the sales team), will
have technical knowledge and will be interested in the profitability of each sale.
The second group (end-users) will only be interested in the price and the features
found on each phone.
Key factors when writing the presentations include:
» the language used
» the need for multimedia
» the length of the presentation
» the need for audience participation (an interactive approach)
» the examples used to illustrate certain points.

• No vulgarity or use of inappropriate language since

this can easily offend people
• The use of technical terms should be reserved for an
experienced or technical audience

• Use of sound, video and animation will always

catch the attention of the audience …
• … But it is important not to overdo it in case the
message gets hidden because of too many
Language used
distractions in the presentation
• A young audience is more likely to respond to loud
music and embedded video clips
• Complicated descriptions are often better explained
using graphs and/or animations Multimedia used

Length of presentation
• Long presentations will only work if they are
interesting and engage the audience
• A very young audience would quickly get bored
and start to become restless Interactive presentation

• Asking questions or getting the audience to ‘try’ Examples used

things is always a good strategy …
• … But always be aware that not everyone wants
to take part

• When using examples to illustrate ideas,

remember to be understanding (e.g. don’t refer to
meat products if the audience is vegetarian)

▲ Figure 9.1 Key factors when making a presentation

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 9.1 Audience appreciation

Exercise 9a
Using the mobile phone example described above, produce two different
presentations to cover the two types of potential audience:
l the mobile phone sales team
l the potential mobile phone customers.
Explain why you have included certain features into each of your presentations.

9.1.2 Audience characteristics (when developing a

new ICT solution)
In this example we are setting out to develop a new website. As with the example
in Section 9.1.1, you need to consider certain factors regarding the audience:
» audience characteristics
» the needs of the audience
» why you need to consider the needs of your audience.

Audience characteristics
Who will be using the new website? First, consider the characteristics of your
target audience when using the new website:
» age range
» income levels
» interests
» disabilities or impairments.

Very young children need to have animations,

bright colours, large font size and sound
Older users will be more interested in actual
Age range
content; therefore a simple attractive colour
scheme which is easy to navigate is very
important

Suppose our website is selling cars.

It is essential to carefully consider the target
Income audience income levels; this will clearly dictate
which model ranges are advertised on the
website.

Suppose we are developing a music website.

We need to know the interests of our target
audience; do they like classical, EDM, K-pop,
Interests rock, metal, hip-hop, folk, pop, jazz or country
and western music? The website will need to
include articles and offers which reflect their
music preferences.

If the website is to be used by people who are

visually impaired, then we need to use large font
Disabilities size, use contrasting colours, keep the language
concise (so there isn’t too much text to read)
and include sound.

▲ Figure 9.2 Audience characteristics

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 9 Audiences

As in the previous example, you could determine the characteristics of the

audience who are likely to use the new website by:
» interviewing a cross section of the target group
» giving out questionnaires or surveys to people in the target group to find out
their background, interests, age range, and so on
» analysing this data and drawing conclusions about the audience.

Needs of the audience

Once you have established the characteristics of the audience that the website is
aimed at, it is necessary to understand their specific needs in a bit more depth,
to ensure the final product is fit for purpose. Figure 9.3 considers the needs of
three different age groups who would use the new website.

• Bright, cheerful colours

• Animation and sound
• More pictures than text (less writing)
Young children • Large font and simple short words
• Include games where possible
• Must be an easy-to-use interface (for example, touching
characters or voice interface)

• Attractive display
• The content must be interesting
Adults and
• Require a good mixture of text and images
older children
• Careful to use appropriate language level
• Use bullet points to make the content easier to read

• Contrasting colours (makes it easier to distinguish

words)
• Larger font size (in case of reading difficulty)
Older people
• Easy-to-use interface (touchscreen)
• Make the display consistent from page to page
• Do not use too much technical language as they may be
less familiar with this

▲ Figure 9.3 Audience needs

Why we need to consider the needs of our audience

Why is it important to respectfully consider these needs?
» If the audience is made up of older people, or people with disabilities, who
have sight problems, then it is important to make sure the website has clear-
to-read fonts.
» Complex language can be a real turn off to children or for people who have
English as their second language; the text needs to be clear and easy to read
for these reasons.
» It is necessary to hold the attention of the users, otherwise they will give up
using the website.
» Good, attractive screen designs will attract users to the website.
» Keeping interfaces clear and easy to use keeps people engaged.
» Lots of typing can be very frustrating, as can badly designed websites where
the user seems to go ‘round in a big circle’.
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 9.2 Copyright

If you know your audience and understand their needs before starting to develop
the new ICT solution, then it is far more likely to be successful.
The ideas outlined in both examples above apply whenever you are developing a
new ICT solution or product. As well as a presentation or website this could be a
new computer game, a database or a new virtual reality system.

9.2 Copyright
9.2.1 Software copyright and piracy
Software is protected by copyright laws in much the same way as music CDs,
movies, and articles from magazines and books are protected.
When software is supplied on CD, DVD or online there are certain rules that must
be obeyed. It is illegal to:
» make a software copy and then sell it or give it away to a friend or colleague
» use software on a network or on multiple computers unless a licence has been
acquired to allow this to happen
» use coding from the copyright software in your own software and then pass
this software on or sell it as your own without the permission of the copyright
holders
» rent out a software package without permission to do so from the publishers
» use the name of copyrighted software on other software without agreement to
do so.

Software piracy is the illegal copying of software. It is a big issue among

software companies. They take many steps to stop the illegal copying and to stop
any illegal copies being used once they have been sold.
There are a number of ways software is protected – either by making the installer
agree to certain conditions or by methods which require the original software to
be present for it to work:
» When software is being installed, the user may be asked to key in a unique
reference number or product key (a string of letters and numbers) which was
supplied with the original copy of the software (for example: 4a3c 0efa 65ab
a81e).
» The user will be asked to click ‘OK’/ ’I AGREE’ or put a cross in a box to agree to
the licence agreement before the software continues to install.
» If supplied as a hard copy, the original software packaging often comes
with a sticker informing the purchaser that it is illegal to make copies of the
software; the label is often in the form of a hologram indicating that this is a
genuine copy.
» Some software will only run if the CD, DVD or memory stick is actually in the
drive; this stops illegal multiple use and network use of the software.
» Some software will only run if a dongle is plugged into one of the USB ports.

A dongle is a small device, usually plugged into one of the computer’s USB ports.
It is used to allow wireless communications with devices, such as a keyboard. It
can also be used to protect software (for example, it may contain important files
that mean the software will only run if the dongle is plugged into the computer).

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 9 Audiences

The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) was set up in the UK many
years ago to protect the software industry against piracy. FAST prosecutes
organisations and individuals who are involved in any copyright infringements.
This is done by legal penalties for anyone found guilty of such infringement.
Similar organisations exist in many countries to globally protect software, and
other intellectual property, from piracy. Examples include the International
Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) in the USA and the Japan Intellectual
Property Association (JIPA) in Japan.
The extract in Figure 9.4 is a typical example of how strict the anti-piracy laws
are in many countries.

TRADERS FINED $100,000

Two eBay traders (from the US)
agreed this week to pay a total of
$100,000 in damages after they were
caught selling illegal copies of Norton
security software.
The SIIA settled the case against the
two traders who also agreed to stop
selling illegal software and provided
SIIA with records identifying their
customers and suppliers.

▲ Figure 9.4 Example of copyright infringement

Exercise 9b
The example given assumes that software is distributed on CD or DVD.
However, software is often purchased using store apps, where it is downloaded to
a device immediately after is paid for.
How do you think software copyright infringements and software piracy are
controlled when software is bought online in this way?

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 Exam-style questions

Exam-style questions
1 When giving a presentation to a large audience, the person giving the
presentation has to consider a number of key factors:
» the language that is used
» what multimedia could be used
» how long should the presentation last
» if the presentation should be interactive
» what would be suitable examples to use in the presentation.
Describe two aspects of each key factor that need to be considered by the
presenter.[10]
2 A company has decided to develop a new online game which helps students
revise their A Level Chemistry.
Describe what factors the company needs to consider when deciding who the audience
will be for their new online game. Give examples to illustrate your answer. [8]
3 Tick (✓) which of the following are used to help maintain copyright and
reduce piracy of software. [3]
(✓)
Use of a product key
Use of ethics in software
Click on a check box agreeing to licence agreement
Use of holographic images
Make the software cheaper to develop
Supply software on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

4 Explain each of the following terms:  [6]

a software piracy
b product key
c copyright infringement
5 An airport in southern Cyprus is designing a new information system. A
number of automated information kiosks will be distributed throughout the
airport. Customers can be any age from 18 upwards. It is also expected that
Greek and English language will be used by all customers. The kiosks must also
be user-friendly to people with a range of disabilities.
a Describe the various audience characteristics that need to be considered
when developing the new kiosk. [4]
b Describe the needs of each age group and explain why it is important to
consider these audience needs. [4]
c Describe how the managers at the airport could determine the different
characteristics of all the customers using the information kiosks. [4]
6 A programmer is developing a presentation of a new ICT solution for a
conference and needs to consider the audience.
a Using examples, explain why presentations and ICT solutions have to take
into account the type of audience. [4]
b The programmer is concerned that the software used for the presentation
will be copied by the participants during the conference.
Describe how the software could be protected from illegal copying. [4]
Cambridge IGCSE Information and Communication Technology (0417) Paper 12 Q16,
February/March 2019

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