Researching and Evaluating Data: Global Internet Access Out of nearly 700 million global Internet users, the United States is the country with the most online visitors in the world, followed by China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, according to ComScore, a global Internet information provider.25 However, the United States does not even rank among the top 15 countries in average monthly hours spent online. Here much smaller countries rule, namely Israel, Finland, South Korea, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and Sweden. Other data analyzing which nations have the most connected populations suggest that Scandinavians rank high; the tiny country of Iceland is often cited as the top Internet presence per resident. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Internet access is very low in Africa, where less than 1 percent of the population is online. Chip maker AMD and scientists at MIT have independently announced plans to build and distribute low-cost computers to poor children in developing countries.

Your Task:
As an entry-level employee at chip maker AMD, you are part of a young team entrusted with the task of researching global Internet use and market saturation with computers. In other words, you are to examine access to computers and the Internet in a given population. Find ComScore’s World Metrix data and examine how they were collected. Are they credible? Do other reputable sources reference this survey? Retrieve other statistical information from the Internet or electronic databases that discuss online access and Internet use in relation to population size. How does the focus on absolute numbers as opposed to percentages of the population skew the outcome? What conclusions can be drawn from such information?
Write a memo to the head of the task force at AMD, Corinne Ardeau, about the challenges of interpreting such numeric data. In addition, Ms. Ardeau is looking for volunteers to research attempts by competitors and independent organizations (e.g., he United Nations, other corporations, and universities), to provide basic computing devices to developing countries. Write an informative memo to Ms. Ardeau listing your findings without comments or recommendations. Your instructor may ask you to complete this activity as an analytical report after you study Chapters 12 and 13.