Week 12- Social and Ethical Issues

Week 12- Blog 12 Friday 23rd May 2008

Lecture Summary:

This weeks lecture was all about protecting yourself and your computer from the internet. For example viruses an hackers that can gain your personal information.

Helen covered some of the basic problems such as:
•Intellectual Property
•Copyright
•Plagiarism
•Security
•Privacy
•Freedom of Speech
And how you protect yourslef from falling victim to either one of these.

She then finished off with a quiz about the lecture.

Tutorial:

Task 1:

The first task we had to do was visit the Australian copyright council http://www.copyright.org.au/ and choose five information sheets that will help me as an undergraduate student:

The first sheet that i picked was An Introduction to Copyright in Australia . This sheet was very relevant as it Explained the laws and rules about copyrighting in Australia and how important it is as well as warning you that there is consequences. Here are some key points the sheet shows: Copyright protection is free and applies automatically when material is created. There is NO registration system for copyright in Australia. Copyright does not protect ideas, information, styles or techniques. Copyright does not protect names, titles or slogans. There are no general exemptions from copyright law for non-profit organizations.

The second sheet that i picked was the Databases, compilations, tables & forms sheet. The main points that I found from the sheets were: facts and information cannot be protected by copyright, but the tables, dictionaries, databases and catalogues can be protected by copyright. This may mean that you can use the information that is provided but you cannot use the table or form that it is produced in.

The third sheet that i picked was the Quotes and Extract: Copyright Obligations sheet. This one was very relelvant as it covered certain topics and key pointys such as: Whether or not you need permission to use quotes and extracts will generally depend on whether or not what you want to use is a “substantial part” of the work from which it comes.
The concept of a “substantial part” is judged by whether or not what you want to use is important, essential or distinctive. There are some situations in which you can use a “substantial part” without permission.

The fourth sheet that i picked was the Internet: Copying and Downloading material. The key points from the article are: material on the internet may be protected by copyright, as may e-mails. If the material on the website is not copyrighted, permission to use the information will usually be provided on the website it’s self. The most important point from the document was that you may receive the information from someone else, but they may not have permission to use the information, so my them sending it and you using it, may interfere with the copyright laws.

The fifth sheet that i picked was the Research or Study sheet. This article contained information about using copyright material for research or study as well as underlining what is considered fair when using other peoples information. The main key points are
You will not infringe copyright if you use material for the purposes of research or study, provided that your use is fair. You do not need to be enrolled in a course – you could be researching or studying something for yourself. In some cases, specific provisions in the Copyright Act allow people working in libraries to copy material for you if you need it for research or study.

Task 2:

Task 2 was all about visiting the APRA site http://www.apra.com.au/music-users/online_mobile/online_mobile.asp and explain in our learning log what we need to know about music and the web:

The site mainly explains how we breach many conditions when using or downloading music from the internet. The rights that may be exploited are the reproduction of muscial work and the communication to the public of muscial work.This can include anything from using songs as your background music, downloading ringtones for your phone or downloading music to your i-pod/mp3.

Task 3:

This task was all about writing a plan to protect ourselves from attacks on our privacy and security from the web. It had to cover the threats of viruses, Trojans and how you can protect your own personal information. We used these three sites for help: http://netsecurity.about.com/ - http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus6.htm - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2100282,00.asp

Here is a very sufficient and reliable plan to follow in order to keep as safe as possible on the net from viruses etc.

• You should never double-click on an e-mail attachment that contains an executable. This means documents that may come in the form of .JPG graphic file attachments or a file with an extension like EXE, COM or VBS.Files from microsoft word and other microsoft programs usually come virus free such things as Word files .DOC, spreadsheets .XLS, and images .GIF.


• Never give any personal information such as credit card detail, full name, bank or date of birth out on the internet. Even if you know the person you are directly sending it to, you may not know who is recieving all or parts of it on the way.


• To protect youir self from virus’s and trojan’s you can do numeraus things, using one or more of these things may increase your computers ‘immune system’ and therefore lead to less virus’s and takes you and your computer out of any possible danger.


• Enabeling macros in microsoft documents is recommened, and avoid anything with macros.

Summary of on-line resources
1) The first reading was tips and recommendations on how to protect yourself and the types of soft ware that may help you protect your computer and your files on the internet. It was written by Stanton McCandlish, EFF Technology Director

-posted on http://www.eff.org/wp/effs-top-12-ways-protect-your-online-privacy

It provides some tips and some of the more descent ones are like: -Don't reveal personal details to strangers or just met "friends". Keep a "clean" e-mail address. And don't reply to spammers, for any reason what so ever.

2) The second reading was : http://ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/social/workplace/monitoring/

this site has links to other sites that have documented facts about monitoring internet usage in the workplace. The documents were form a wide range of sources and were for and against boss’s monitoring workers internet usage.

3) The final reading was about protecting your private property such a photos, names and products and the site we had was written by Brown and Michael's.

The site was: http://www.bpmlegal.com/overview.html

The webpage outlined procedures and the types of protection that you would need to cover certain documents or files. The three main types of protecting something are:

COPYRIGHT: protects work of composition, authorship or artwork. This may be in the form of photos, pictures, movies or records.

TRADEMARKS: they protect the name and logo of something. This could come in the way of, the packaging of a product, the logo designed especially for the product, or even the sound for a product, such as a theme song, or a signature sound.

PATENTS: this is for methods of doing something, or can be described as ‘useful’ things. Under patents there a three sub patents which cover a range of things such as plant material or discover new plants (Plant Patents.) Design Patents can be described as covering not the usefulness of something but the shape or model of something. For example a car manufacturer may put this on the body shape of a car. The last of the subheadings is Utility patents, which covers the invention its self, or method of doing something.

Week 11 - Building Knowledge

Week 11- Blog 11 Friday 16th May 2008


Morning Lecture:

The week 11 lecture was all about data, information and knowledge. It revolved around conceptualising the gap between cognitive-space & cyber-space. Dr. Cripps asked us a few random questions such as what is a Boolean search? What strategies can you use to give a great presentation? What criteria can be used for evaluation of websites? etc. Then the rest of the lecture she explained definitions of datum, information and knowledge. As well as the relationship between them and looking at them from different perspectives. She then finished up with strategies for assignment work, for example finding data and information as well as using your knowledge to create a very good assignment.


Tutorial/Workshop


Task 1

We had to search web dictionaries and find definitions for the terms data, information, knowledge and wisdom. Then from these definitions we had to make our own and here they are:

• Data = Information which is usually factual and can come in the forms of measurements and statistics which can be used as a basis for calculation, reasoning or discussion.


• Information= Facts or knowledge provided or learned, it can come in different forms and provided for different topics.


• Knowledge= The amount of skills and information acquired and remembered either through education or experience
  
• Wisdom= The body of knowledge and experience that develops within a specified society or period.

Task 2

This task was all about creating a different way of presenting these terms in the form of a graphical presentation. Below:

Task 3

We had to outline briefly how understanding the relationship between data, information and knowledge could help our university studies:

The relationship between data, information and knowledge I would say as collecting large amounts of data, which can be written down or slightly remembered, which can lead to receiving more information, after collecting and receiving information and using it repeatedly it becomes knowledge to you. This way at university if you have to note down plenty of data and information you the more you use it, then it becomes stored in your brain and can be classified as knowledge.

Task 5

Making a list of five organisations that collect information from their clients or public and why they might collect this information:

1. Well firstly the schools own "Blackboard" is trying to collect data and information in order to better the site. By sending out surveys to students an teachers alike they fill these surveys in and when received they go over them and see how they can improve blackboard in order to benefit its users.
2. Optus, collects information from its users mainly through phone surveys and they mainly get asked what they think about the company and how they compare to other telephone companies, they also ask them how they could stand out and what would appeal and attract more customers.
3. World vision, this organisation collects data and information in order to show other countries around the world the statistics and downside of living in a third world country, this way they can get more people to donate and support these less fortunate countries.
4. ECU is also sending out surveys in order to see how effective and efficient the University Preparation Course is. They sent the surveys out through e-mail and we fill them in online and send them back. This way the students can express their thoughts and let the school know how effective the course is.
5. McDonald's sometimes has surveys for the public on what they thought about customer service and how they were treated as customers. These surveys help the managers decide on how well staff works and how their restaurant rates compared to others.

Readings Summary:

The first reading was from the site : http://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw.htm

This site had a very straight forward outline towards data, information, knowledge and wisdom. It summarised each topic and i found it very efficient as it helped me understand the definitions of each. The site was very managable and basic, making it easy to use and understand with graphs as well as references at the end.

What i found very relevant and interesting on this site was Russell Ackoff's , a systems theorist and professor of organizational change, and how the content of the human mind can be classified into five categories:

1. Data: symbols
2. Information: data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to "who", "what", "where", and "when" questions
3. Knowledge: application of data and information; answers "how" questions
4. Understanding: appreciation of "why"
5. Wisdom: evaluated understanding.

The second reading was from the site: http://camellia.shc.edu/literacy/index.html

This website mainly focused on knowledge. It contained lessons on knowledge and quiz's accordingly to the topic. Some topics covered the organization of knowledge as well as the production of knowledge even how to cite the sources. The site also has assignments that it suggests you should attempt, but only after completing the lessons and quiz's, this way it will make it easier for you to complete the assignment.

Week 10- Information Management

Week 10- Blog 10 Friday 9th May 2008

Morning Lecture:
The morning lecture was all about Information Management and using technology for accessing and organising information. We reviewed an from article from the BBC named Warnings of Internet Overload and Dr. Cripps asked us a few questions such as listing three main points about it and what we think information overload is.


Tutorial:
The first task we were asked to complete was to visit the site http://www.inette.com/aibtinette/favoritesI.html and complete the tutorial on saving favourites and bookmarks. Then we had to use the information in the tutorial to set up a favourites list that has three folders in it, each with at least two websites marked as favourites.



The next task we were asked to do was to read Negroponte's famous "Being Digital" archive online, and create a short review about it and see if some of his information is relevant today:

I believe Negroponte's ideas are still relevant, as he has outlined the pro’s and con’s of both arguments and they are still issues that are relevant in today’s society. The comment about the "digital media and how its self may not be worth $200 but the files and documents contained within it are priceless". I think that he has touched up on some very relevant and interesting information that can be linked to things even to this day, even though he has written it about 13 years ago the pro's and con's of atoms compared to bits are still true today.

ATOMS
Pro’s.
-they are easy to protect.
-difficult to chage, meaning that the information still remains factual.
-difficult to replicate.

Con’s
-they are bulky, such as books and big reports.
-they are costly to reproduce.*they are difficult to change, meaning that the informaiton can not be eaisly updated.
-they are difficult to distribute.

BITS
Pro's
-they are flexible
-cheap to run and exicute.
-easy to edit, and update factual information.
-easy to mass produce, meaning that they can be reproduced to convey to a wide array of media.

Con’s.
-there may be privacy issues
-authenticy issues may arise due to the fact they are easily changed and edited.

Readings Summary:
The online readings provided outlines on the fact that young people are not entirley thinking for them selves these days, and the internet is a big contribution to this as it supplies them with irrelevant ideas and information.
http://www.fno.org/text/grazing.html

We also had the BBC video on knowledge management and the web.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7200000/newsid_7209800?redirect=7209805.stm&news=1&nbwm=1&nbram=1&bbwm=1&bbram=1&asb=1

Week 9 - Communications

Week 9- Blog 9 Friday 9th May 2008

Lecture:

Week nine lecture was combined with the week eight one because of ANZAC day, the lecture was all about communications and how Information and Communication Technology has changed the way people can communicate not only within offices but around the world.
-Their is all sorts of different people that need to communicate:
-For example it can be between individuals
-between individuals and organisations
- within a business
- between a business and an external organisation


We also had some examples of ICT - things such as Mobile telephone (3G network), Video and tele-conferencing, ipods, mp3, lap-tops, Electronic Mail (e-mail), Multi-media communications.
We also skimmed on ICT programs such as msn messenger, discussion boards and forums as well as Internet relay chat and podcasts.


Even the blogs we are creating are forms of ICT and another major one is the e-mail. With people receiving more then 60 emails a day, its by far one of the largest forms of communication in companies an business’ today.
We also looked at the benefits and drawbacks of ICT and how they effect certain people and companies.


To sum it all up there is a large range of communications available to university students today. They have the potential to provide: Great sources of information, communication tools to suit many purposes and a variety of contexts.

Tutorial:

Visiting Google and finding a topic that interests me, i had to investigate the messages posted on the bulletins and record what i found in my blog:

I entered "soccer" in the search term under groups and the groups that i found were

• rec.sport.soccer


• alt.obituaries


• alt.games.video.sony-playstation2


• ne.general


• Society's Child

After viewing some of the messages and bulletin boards i found out that most of these topics revolve around the sports popularity and its effect on society. They also point out how soccer is the most popular sport in the world and how you need to use your brain and not just your body. One of the sites actually compares soccer to footy and explains how much better it is.

Benefits for University students in relation to podcasts:

Podcasts could be real life savers for uni students as it can save them a very long drive or even missing a lecture. For example if a student lives very far away and the only thing they have at uni that day is a lecture, it saves them time and petrol because they can just watch it online. Also if a student can't make it to uni that day because of some other reason then they can again just watch it on the podcast.

Reading Summary:

This weeks reading was all about spam mail. It pretty much explained how useless spam mail is and what it is. SPAM is other wise known as electronic junk. The website provided information about spamming uses and functions, also giving us detailed descriptions about the types and uses.
http://www.caube.org.au/problem.htm

The other two reading were

1) Article: 14 Email Do's and Don'ts - Ways to make your messages more efficient and effective: http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page6175.cfm

2) Article: Essential Email Etiquette - Avoid common pitfalls when composing your messages: http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page4815.cfm

Week 8- Presentation Startegies

week 8- blog 8 Friday 2nd May 2008



Lecture


During week eight we had a public holiday because of ANZAC day there for Dr. Cripps went through both week eight and nine lectures in week nine’s one.
The week 8 lecture was about power point presentation strategies and how to present oral assessments. We viewed the different types of presentations as well as how to structure one. Things like the introduction, body and conclusion, also using audio and visual aids. Preparing the presentation and yourself was also discussed; Dr. Cripps gave us strategies on self preparation and audience involvement.

Workshop/Tutorial


Part 1- For the week 8 tutorial we were asked to go to the site http://www.personal.psu.edu/uxg3/blogs/undergraduateresearch/2008/02/online-resources-for-how-to-pr.html and use this, as well as information from week eights lecture, to make a "Top Five" list of strategies to help us deliver a top-notch presentation.


TOP FIVE LIST:


1) Obtain relevant and important information for your topic
2) Structure your presentation correctly
3) Prepare for the presentation
4) Use audio/visual tools to enhance your presentation
5) Include strategies for audience involvement


Part2- We were asked to produce a 6 slide power point presentation on our ideas of how to give a low impact power point presentation and post it on our blog:

slide one:

slide two:



slide three:



slide four:



slide five:



slide six:



Reading Summary:

The online resources for week 8 were some online tutorials designed to improve your power point skills.There were 3 websites on how to give a bad presentation. The first was David A. Patterson Computer Science Division, University of California-Berkeley Circa 1983.His webpage was designed as the 10 commandments, the site was really helpful and i didn't bother looking at the other sites because everything i needed to know was on Pattersons site.

http://www.presentationhelper.co.uk/badpresentation.htm

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10881_11-6107629.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=tr

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7276/1570

Week 7- End Note Libraries

Week 7- Blog 7 Friday 11Th April 2008



Morning Lecture:

In the morning lecture Dr. Cripps again helped us with the assignment and explained a bit more about it. Then she started the slides and they were all about end notes. What is an end note? How is it used? How does it help? When do you use it? etc.

For example an end note is a database that can be used as a reference manager and a bibliography maker. It can be used in two ways- as a standalone program or integrated into MS word.


Tutorial:


Task 1

Referencing five different types of electronic formats

1)

CEI Launches National Ad Campaign on the Impact of Al Gore’s Global Warming Policies [Global warming. Org]. Retrieved April 11th, 2008, from CEI:
http://globalwarming.org/


2)

Farson, R. 9n.d.). Management by design. Retrieved July 4, 2006, from
http://www.wbsi.org/farson/com_mgtbydesignr.htm


3)

Chen, G., Liu, C., &Tjosvold. (2005, March). Conflict management for effective top management teams and innovation in China. Journal of Management Studies, 42(2).


4)

Finkelstein, S., & Jackson, E.M. (2005, Sep/Oct). Immunity from implosion: Building smart leadership. Ivey Business Journal Online. 1.


5)

Goldsmith, M. (2006, June). Where the work of executive coaching lies.

Consulting to Management, 17(2), 15.


Task 2

-complete the “Endnotev11 Exercises for Vista" which i have done!

Task 3

-Using the End Note library you have created complete the tasks in italics in the document.

Here is a screen capture below-

These are the End Text references-

Today's Tutorial didn't have much theory, it was mainly practical so therefor our blogs didn't have as much written product. But the whole point was to explain end notes as well as in text citations and how to use them in assignments etc.

No Extra Readings to Summarize.

Week 6- Evaluation and Authetication

Week 6- Blog 6 Friday 4th April 2008


Morning Lecture:

In today's lecture Helen went through the lecture slides, as wel as through the new assesment (2), the group assignment , and explained what is expected as wel as briefly outlining the three parts. We went through the lecture slides, indicators of quality, stratigies for evaluating and principals to concider.

Tutorial:

Task 1: In the tutorial we were asked to visit the "ithaca" site and review the strategies for evaluating information found on websites.

• make sure that you are where you want to be.



• if in doubt, doubt it!



• consider the source, dose it appear to be credible?



• look at the details, such as the author, date, publication details.
  

After these first initial steps, to further critique you need to think about:

Authority: the authors or publishers and what gives them the right or expertise to write the information.

Objective: what is their point of view and is it bias?

Coverage: dose the site cover aspects of your research that you are looking for? Is the language of higher levels and is the information of good standard?

Value: was it worth visiting, would you go back their for information?

Text analysis: is the text free from spelling and grammar mistakes and careless errors?

All the above information is from ICYouSee Critical Thinking page, this compared to the information that I found at the INCO 48 which I didnt find as well put together and useful, the website at INCO 48 is neater and pleasant to look at.

Helen also told us to look at and gain tips of the http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html website:


I scanned the site for information and it was pretty basic and very similar to the previous two webpages. So there is really no point of repeating the information above.


Task2: In the second task we were asked to complete the "Reliving the Sixties: a Web Site Evaluation Assignment" on the ICYouSee website.

The first site i picked was D- "The Psychedelic '60s"



Accuracy: The information on the site appears to be very factual, well structured and researched. The webpage was copyrighted for 1998, but updated in January 2008 which leads me to believe that it is well maintained and new information is updated regularly.

Authorship: it gives details of the publishers and where they are from, which is a very good credibility point. And the fact that it was produced by a university also goes along way to help its credibility.

Purpose: the purpose of the site is to inform and update people’s knowledge of the sixties, it is in no way bias or pushing any point of view about the era.

Detail and design: the design of the web page is very well thought about with clear links to the specific topics about the sixties, the color scheme is very “sixties” with rainbow colored links. The layout of the webpage is very easy to use and to maneuver through, with the homepage having the links on either side of the main heading.

Overall worth: Descent page, all of the information was researched well and as it was recently updated which means it is well maintained and looked after, I would recommend this site to anyone doing a project on the sixties or if they need information about the sixties.

The second site i picked was E- "The sixties project"



Accuracy: The information on the site appears to be well researched, but completely useless. Another thing is that the site isn’t well maintained, it is completely safe to say this because the site was last updated in January 1999 over 9 years ago.

Authorship: the publication details for the webpage seem to be very clear and concise with contact details such as an e-mail and a postal address, a long with information about the company that designed the website.

Purpose: the purpose of the webpage is to simply inform people of today about some of the things that happened in the 60’s and also they have stories that you can read from other people that have visited the site.

Detail & Design: the detail and design is very well thought about, with certain things that remain the same throughout the whole site like where the links section is placed, and the color scheme, font and text size but is dated and a bit on the tacky side!

Overall worth: the web page for what it’s worth is out of date, it was published in 99 , and for example it is using the old school tacky black background with hyper colored text.I don’t know that it was worth visiting, for the simple fact that it is useless information.


Summary of Readings:
We were told not to summarise the readings for this week, but instead pre-read them because they will help us prepare for our group assignments.

Week 5- Using Search Engines

Week 5- Blog 5 Friday 28th March 2008


Accessing knowledge week 5 was basically all about learning to use search engines an how they work.

In the lecture it explains different engines an three basic categories of information on the web:

• The free, visible web
• The free, invisible web
• Paid databases over the web

Some examples of search engines are Google, Yahoo and Altavista.
In the lecture problems about search engines were discussed such as:

• Return of too many results
• Limited relevance or quality filtering of results to a search query
• Misuse of the page scoring/ranking system
• Building enormous indices that include erroneous, irrelevant and out-dated results to the user

Also briefly discussed in the lecture were topics such as: Directories, the search engine interface, Engine rankings (Google being most common), search engine interaction and search tips such as:
1. Use several search tools.
2. Read the search tips or help information at each search engine
3. For keyword searches use several words
4. Guess a location
5. Select the wheat from the chaff by thinking about what you want
6. Back up to find out where you are
7. Use advanced search functions to narrow down the search

Tutorial:
The workshop for week 5 basically revolved around locating, accessing and evaluating data and information from a variety of sources. We used a range of search engines to do simple and advanced searches such as Google, yahoo, Alltheweb and Lycos.

Task one: involved reading through the site “The spider’s apprentice” and listing four strategies that will help me structure a good search.

They are:
1. Knowing where to look first (There are various databases containing specific information that might be more useful to you than a general search engine)

2. Fine-tune your key words (Enter the smallest possible subset that describes what you want. Be specific. Try to meet the search engine halfway by refining your search before you begin)

3. Be refined (Read the help files and take advantage of the available search refining options. Use phrases, if possible)

4. Query by example (Take advantage of the option that many search engine sites are now offering: you can find similar sites to the ones that come up on your initial hit list)
Task two: required us to complete a quiz on the “history trivia online quiz” an show proof below:
-


Task three: The strategies I used to answer the questions on the quiz were simple ones. I used the search engine Google to answer all the questions and made sure i used only main key words that were relevant to my topic. Thankfully Google had all the relevant information to successfully complete my task.

I didn’t actually learn anything new in this tutorial as i already knew how to use most of the search engines, but instead it refreshed my memory about particular search engines and how to use them .


Readings Summary:

1) Robert Harris "web search strategies" http://www.virtualsalt.com/howlook.htm -
The Internet has an enormous quantity of information, with thousands of newsgroups and billions of web pages. The two questions that face any information seeker are, (1) How can I find what I want? and (2) How can I know that what I find is any good? This article treats the first question. A companion article, "Evaluating Internet Research Sources," treats the second. Through the use of a little creativity, some patience, and a few search engines, you will be able to find just about anything you want. Many of the search tools and tool types mentioned in the article are available at "World Wide Web Research Tools."

2) Search Engines http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/ivh/chap4.htm -
This site is basically a overview on search engines and their history. They have subheadings such as "in the beginning", "How do we find information on the net?", "directories", "search engines", "databases" and "Library catalouges".

3) Search engine optimisation for companies-
This site is a link wich helps people search for businesses etc.
The site optimises businesses and helps you find the websites that relate to or for it.
Keyword Analysis- They use several sources for keyword data to provide you with an insight into the popularity of any keywords, including misspellings, that relate to your website's theme or text content.

Week 4- Using the WWW

Week 4-Blog 4 Friday 18th March 2008

Lecture:

Internet vs. Web

• Basically on the net you find computers
• on the web you find documents, sounds, videos... information
• On the net connections are cables between computers
• On the web connections are hypertext links

First it was the internet:

In 1965 a computer in Mass. was connected to one in California using a low speed dial-up telephone line. This was the first wide-area computer network ever built. Then in 1969, four University host computers were connected together into ARPANET.

The Web:

Was developed by Tim Berners-Lee (a researcher at CERN) in 1989, to facilitate sharing research information. The Web is a universe of accessible information stored on computers throughout the world. The information is available through a gigantic network called the Internet.

Protocols of the World Wide Web:

TCP/IP – Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol; allows computers to communicate to one and other. TCP allows the conversion of data signals into telephone like signals. IP allows data to be routed from one network to another over the internet.

HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol; method of communication that allows the interpretation of data to determine how to display and/or exchange data between computers

DNS – Domain Name Server; www, .com, .org, .net, .au, .uk

URL – Uniform Resource Locator

Types of Web Browsers-Internet Explorer, Neoplanet, Firefox

Functions of the browser interface ‘Back’ and ‘Forward’ buttons, ‘home’, ‘history’ newer more advanced IE’s have Tabs, and Bookmark settings, Tabs allows user to have multiple web pages open within the one browser window.



Workshop:

In the workshop the whole topic revolved around differentiating a websites authenticity.

Haggishunt:

• Entering the website an automatically picking out the advertisements is a sign of it being a bit fake
• The site ended up being a competition on finding a “haggis” to go into a draw to win prizes, which seemed a bit ridiculous, also if you spot the ”golden haggis” you win instantly
• The site appears to be that of a promotions company that has a competition currently running, this is an attempt to attract visitors
• The “haggis facts” at the top of the page, and the “haggisclopedia” page, are obviously made as a joke.




Molossia:

• When I entered the site it looked interesting but a bit dodgy
• There was a scrolling banner at the bottom of the page that seemed out of place and when you think about it, if it was a legitimate site and involved the government simple mistakes wouldn’t be allowed or accepted
• As I browsed the site I entered the teachers only link and it obviously explained how the site was fake which confirmed that I was correct



Martin Luther King site:

The site at first looked legitimate and I thought it would have relevant information about King and his work as well as life time achievements. But in fact upon examining the site you can tell that its run by a group of white supremacists, which thus contains large amounts of racist information towards Martin Luther King, and the African Americans. Basically aimed at shaming Martin Luther King and the good he did, their main purpose is to try and discredit any information published about or by Martin Luther King.





Readings summary:

1) A brief history of the internet-
Chapter 1: The Origins and Growth of The Internet and the World Wide Web
Began in the early 1830’s and progressed at a slow pace, world war 2 occurred an advances in technology sped up greatly with the development of many new navigational tables and tracking and aiming devices for anti aircraft guns. In June 1948 Manchester University developed Manchester Mark 1, 3 years later saw the integration of RAM, 1958-59 saw the development of the silicon chip, and it entered into commercial production in 1961.

Chapter 2: From ARPANET to World Wide Web
ARPA was created initially with its focus set on space, ballistic missiles, and nuclear test monitoring; in 1962 ARPA opened a computer research program. ARPANET was created from teams at MIT, National Physics Library, and the RAND Corporation, the final requirement was the design of a protocol to allow computers to send and receive messages and data. In 1971 ARPANET consisted of 23 host computers linked together.
1974 saw the development of the TCP/IP protocol to enable different networks to communicate with each other. Expansion of the internet gradually grew, the amount of people hosting servers and WebPages. In 1991 WWW was released to the public and no longer a military or higher education system.

Chapter 3: History of E-mail
ARPANET developers had considered such a process of electronic mail, at the time when computers where of ridiculous sizes and the everyday person could not afford one, this idea was not overly important. In 1971 Ray Tomlinson of ARPANET sent the World’s first email, he sent it to himself as a test then sent further emails to ARPANET users explaining how to address emails to other users.
1990 saw the democratisation of the internet, 1995 saw internet providers as CompuServe, AOL, and Prodigy start business and deliver a connection to the world.

Chapter 4: Search Engines
The late 1980’s saw so much data on the internet that it was too difficult to rely on tips from other users. In 1992 there were 1,000,000 hosts. This saw the creation of search engines, servers that would catalogue available web pages an allow them to be easily accessed or found search engines included (Archie, The Gopher System, WAIS).
More recent search engines, Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista


2) History of the World Wibe Web- ARPANET was the original internet that transformed into the World Wide Web as we know it today.
Robert Kahn was behind the development of a new protocol which would support open architecture environments, thus the creation of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
Kahn was successful with his creation of the TCP/IP protocol which worked well on large time sharing systems, people doubted that a PC could handle the complexity of TCP/IP, David Clark and research team from MIT proved it is possible to run TCP/IP on PC’s they reconfigured Khans version and made it suitable for a smaller less complex machine. 1980’s saw the widespread development and implementation of LANS, PC’s and WAN connections.

Because of commercialisation in the 80's private network services were being made available. The net controls alot of activities as most things are now accessible online.

http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml#Origins

http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/ivh/frame_theorie.html

Week 3- Online Libraries and Databases

Week 3 - blog 3 Friday 14th March 2008

Morning lecture: Using online libraries and databases!
Firstly we found out what they are!

Online Libraries:
Online libraries and databases are places where you store books, photos, diaries etc. On the Internet. They are sources for which you can research information about topics with 24/7 with easy access.

Some types of online libraries are:
• Online Text Repositories
• Online Journals
• Electronic Books
• Musical
• Artworks

Some advantages of online libraries are- convenience (Internet access at all times), currency (journals are up to date), electronic format makes it easy for making notes (copy and pasting), any time anywhere 24/7 access.

But there is also some disadvantages to using online libraries: Most of the content may be hidden and you may need to be subscribed to gain access. Also most world wide search engines don't access database and library indexes. Hence most people need specific knowledge on how to access such sites.

Referencing online libraries- Accurate referencing is vital, using the APA format, details found in the Ecu library publications, creating end-not libraries, in many courses marks are deducted for incorrect referencing as well as the quantity may contribute to extra marks.

Copyright Issues: Correct referencing of sources is vital- besides that permission is not required for notes. The responsibility of copyright permission rests with us.

Databases:

(An organised collection of information (data), characterised by the use of data fields, that provide procedural methods for retrieving information. ) Definition from the lecture.

Types of online databases:

• People Searches
• E-mail Directories
• Genealogy Resources
• Maps & Atlases
• Government Information & Statistics
• News & Media
• Portals

Advantages: plain and simply the advantages of databases are their comprehensive, current, browsable, searchable, 24/7 access and electronic format.

Disadvantages : Many databases need subscription, lots of advertising, difficult to navigate and information overload.

Tutorial:
We were asked to find a journal article on a online journal on the economic impact of global warming on business. I used Pro quest as a search engine and found the journal below:



We were also asked to record ten useful functions or search tips on the ecu library site:
1- Searching the catalogues for books, cd’s etc.
2- Searching the data bases for journal articles
3- Searching for specific journal titles
4- Information on referencing
5- Links to other search engines
6- Academic tip sheets
7- Library podcasts and video clips etc.
8- Library workshops and tours
9- Access to SIMO and IT services
10- Learning to find information easy


We were also asked to visit the MEDline plus website and go through some health topics and drug information. I picked prostate cancer to do a more comprehensive search on an clicked on the national library of medicine link and obtained the information below:



I think that males with concerns of prostate cancer are ones which will visit the site to gain more information about the signs, symptoms and cures because their is such a broad range of information which can be narrowed down to main points.

Reading summary:

1) Finding what you want on the web- The whole point of this article is that it explains their is more efficient ways of finding relevant information than just google. Its written by Bill Thompson, he is a regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Go Digital, and he expresses his thoughts on "wide-ranging web indices" and "searching well". He even commented that "Good online research has to involve more than just typing a couple of words into a search form and clicking a button".

2) Basic search tips- This article pretty much just gives you basic tips on using search engines, tips such as:

• Use the plus (+) and minus (-) signs in front of words to force their inclusion and/or exclusion in searches.EXAMPLE: +meat -potatoes(NO space between the sign and the keyword)
  
• Use double quotation marks (" ") around phrases to ensure they are searched exactly as is, with the words side by side in the same order.EXAMPLE: "bye bye miss american pie"(Do NOT put quotation marks around a single word.)
  
• Put your most important keywords first in the string.EXAMPLE: dog breed family pet choose
  
• Type keywords and phrases in lower case to find both lower and upper case versions. Typing capital letters will usually return only an exact match.EXAMPLE: president retrieves both president and President
  
• Use truncation (or stemming) and wildcards (e.g., *) to look for variations in spelling and word form.

and plenty more.

Sites used: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3362913.stm

http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/lesson7.shtml

Week 2- Office Applications

Week 2-Blog 2 Friday 7th March 2008

Morning lecture: Applications skills

In the morning lecture we were asked to list the microsoft applications we know, wich are Word, Excel, Power Point, Access, outlook and Publisher. Aswell as some internet browsers we know, Google, Yahoo, Nine msn, Firefox etc.

The lecture focused on what i know about my PC and how to use the programs available. We reviewed some common tasks and the applications used for them for example:

File handling=Windows explorer

Word Processing= Word

Spreadsheets= Excel

Presentations= Power Point

Emails= Outlook/express

View PDF’s= Adobe acrobat reader

More detailed:

• File handling: In explorer includes Understanding of files and folder structure, ZIP technologies and file compression, naming conventions and windows commands (send to, rename, move copy delete etc.)
  
• Word processing: In word includes formatting and styles, document mapping, working with templates, inserting images, Insertaing and formatting tables and other objects, its not just typing it also includes:

- document management

- assignment presentation

- working with templates

-understanding shortcuts

- GUI (toolbar) manipulation use of Macro technology

• Creating and editing spreadsheets: In excel includes formatting and styles, column/row record keeping, data types, formulae and functions, multiple records keeping and graphs and charts (representations of records).
• 
  Presentations: Using power point to create presentations includes formatting and styling, wise use of animations and powerpoint features, using graphics to support presentation and the rules of presentation- message first and keep it simple.
• 
  Internet browsing: Is a simple task that can be done with a number of browsers ranging from google to nine msn or even firefix.
• 
  Sending and recieveing e-mails: through outlook or express, its a simple task but also requires some security as spam, attachments and viruses could be hidden within.
• Viewing PDF’s: Through Adobe Acrobat Reader involves downloading and updating adobe reader, browsing integration, viewing PDF files online (choosing zoom level, using viewing & note- taking tools, bookmarks, thumbnails) saving PDF’s to local PC for off-line viewing.
• 
  Then there is the common PC tasks such as Listening/ watching audio and video, with programs like windows media player, winap and real player. Also viewing and editing graphic files with MS photo editor, paint and Adobe photoshop.

What skills do we need?
· Word processing and Presentation skills to develop well presented assignments
· e-mail skills to communicate effectively with your lecturer, tutorial leader and other students
· Internet/browser skills that will allow you to use blackboard and search the web etc.

The Workshop
In the workshop we were asked to do two exercises one involving word and one involving excel. They were designed to extend our understanding of both programs within the university context.

The Word Exercise: In the word exercise we were asked to copy and paste a text and then use our knowledge and skills to:

· Adjust the TYPEFACE
· Adjust the MARGINS AND ALIGNMENT
· Adjust LINE SPACING
· Create HEADINGS
· KEEP HEADINGS WITH TEXT
· Include a HEADER/FOOTER

We were also asked to copy a few refernces and then alphabatize them in word. Then we also had to cope and paste a table of contents and create dot leaders for them. Finally we inserted an image.
The final product:

The Excel Exercise: In excel we were asked to create a table with a range of data of our weekly activities and how much time we spent on each. We had to:
· Adjust columns and rows
· Place borders
· Fill in the cells with colours
· Enter the data
· Create formulas for certain columns

Then finally create a pie chart and a column graph for certain activites.

The final product:

Reading summary:

1) MS word- The first reading contained information about microsoft word on vista. The whole point of it was to help us get through the first task in the tutorial and at the same time teach us how to use word on vista. As wel as using MS word for doing APA tasks.

It helped us with simple tasks such as changing fonts, margin allignment, indents, spacing, hyperlinks and plenty more.

2) Graphic file formats- Reading two was all about learning the difference between the most common types of graphic file formats, and when to choose which format to use.

It explains how each format works and how to use it. The different formats are:

• Bitmap (.bmp)
• CompuServe (.gif)
• Joint Photographic Experts Group - or Jpeg (.jpg)
• The Tagged-Image File Format (.tiff)
• PhotoShop Document (.psd ~ .psp ~ .spp)

Sites Used:
http://www.knight-web.net/tutorials/photoshop/

Week 1- Introduction to University Computing

Week 1-Blog 1 Friday 29th Feb 2008

Morning Lecture:

In the morning lecture we were informed about certain information and the course outline. We were told this unit provides a project-based approach to accessing knowledge through library and information & communications technologies.

Our main focus will be on using resources from a variety of sources to search for information on a topic and on synthesising this information to prepare a project report on a given topic.
Accessing our student email and blackboard should become our second nature so we were informed thoroughly about them too.

In the lecture we were also informed that UPC0004 revolves around 6 main modules: 1) Using computers, 2) Online Research Strategies, 3) Communications, 4) Information Management, 5) Building Knowledge, 6) Social and Ethical Issues

Also in the lecture we were informed about our responsibilities as students. We have to attend lectures, attend tutorials/workshops, complete all workshops, know the ecu plagiarism policy, check the ecu email regularly as well as checking blackboard regularly.

In the workshop with Helen Cripps we accessed our email accounts and visited our blackboard site. Here we checked our tasks and started making our blogs.

As well as making an account with the blog, i also signed up with photobucket and learned how to print screen an upload images to put on my blog (like above and below)
-

Now that i have started my blog and emailed my URL to Helen i can continue adding information to the site on a weekly basis.

Week one reading summary:

1) PC lube and tune http://www.yale.edu/pclt/default.htm- is a website that supplies usable introductions, tutorials, and education on technical subjects to the large audience of computer users. The method is to supply system independent hypertext files through the Internet and World Wide Web.

With headings such as introduction to PC hardware, exceptions handling in java, the graphics user interface, technical perspective and character encoding etc..

the whole site basically introduces you to computers and how to use them efficiently.

2) How stuff works http://www.howstuffworks.com/pc.htm- this website is more specific and contains articles wich explain

1. Introduction to How PCs Work

2. PC Connections

3. Powering Up

4. Operating System

5.The Future of PCs

6. Portable Personal Computing

and much more.

Their both similar sites containing basic information about computers and how they work, handy for people who arn't familiar with computers and are just getting started.