13/10/07 WK 12 Social and Ethical Issues

Week 12 Lecture

Social and Ethical Issues

Due to the open protocols of the World Wide Web, where anyone can publish any type of content comes a certain amount of security risks. Security relates to the protection of your personal information and your computer can be sabotaged or stolen if certain security measures are not taken. Simply put, there are a lot of ignorant people who use the web and a lot of very intelligent people who use the web as well, who may try to take advantage of the weaknesses of others.

Issues to considered include, Intellectual Property (the right to have your own ideas protected), copyright, not all content is free as some is subject to copyright. Plagiarism, there are people who will ignore copyright and plagiarism laws and look to steal your ideas. Privacy when searching the web, every time the Internet is used a 'digital trail' is left. Some companies then use this information to target you for their products and may publish your details. This poses a real challenge to privacy protection. Freedom of speech, the right to publish what you want without retribution. Security, when a network of computers is connected and passwords and information are able to be seen from other terminals, without the users knowledge in places such as Internet cafes.

Problems with security include probe attacks concerning content and password theft, virus contamination where malicious content may be inadvertently downloaded with software or emails and also spam, junk email and spyware, which is potentially benign but accesses your usage and exploits your privacy.

Measures can be taken in protecting yourself and your computer from harm. The installation of a firewall which protects against probes and unsolicited monitoring. Some of these include ZoneAlarm and Sygate Personal Firewall. Another type of protection for your computer is Antivirus software, which unfortunately is only as good as the last know virus. Common sense should be used when opening foreign email which should be avoided. Some antivirus software include avast and AntiVir PE. Also being familiar with at risk file attachment types such as .exe and .com and to know which file types can be trusted such as .jpg and pdf.

Some tips when protecting yourself include knowing what content is spyware how to make use of protective tools, allowing protection software to be updated when prompted and to turn off the preview window in outlook.

Workshop Summary

Make a list of the relevant copyright information that will be valuable to you as an undergraduate student.

As I intend to study Contemporary Fashion in 2008, these are some the copyright sheets that are relevant to fashion.

• Fashion design and costumes G076
• Artworks G033
• Artworks: Getting permission G086
• Copyright in Australia: information sources G004
• Craftworkers (professional) G073
• Craftworkers (hobby) G021
• Creative Commons licences G094
• Designs for functional articles G027
• Graphic designers G075
• Logos G028

Write a summary of the case US vs.Sankas.

John Sankus, Jr was charged and sentenced to jail time for conspiring to violate the criminal copyright laws. Sankus was the head of a software piracy group known as DrinkOrDie, which acquired new software and made it available over the Web, such as the latest movies, games, software and applications. He plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. As DrinkOrDie operated over the Internet it's workers believed they would never be caught and subject to prosecution. Law enforcement has had to adapt to digital ways of law breaking and is beginning to find ways to arrest and prosecute for crimes committed on the net.

Write a plan to protect yourself from attacks on your privacy and security.

• Purchase a original copy of windows and allow for automatic updates.
• Purchase, install and regularly update an antivirus program.
• Acquire antispyware software and keep up to date.
• Run manual virus scans once a week.
• Re-install Windows quarterly.
• Visit the Microsoft website and read the information on viruses and spam. Research pages that inform of the latest viruses and Trojans to become more aware of symptoms, preventions and cures.
• Turn on the 'always ask' feature in Windows before downloading.
• Set browser settings to a medium to high security setting.
• Avoid opening email from unknown senders.
• Avoid downloading programs by unknown authors.
• Stop downloading pirate music.

Week 12 Reading

EFF's Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy

McCandlish has compiled a list of tips which are aimed to ensure the protection of privacy. The areas covered include, being sensible and not giving out personal information over the net. The use of cookies management software in a Web browser, limiting the amount of people that your main email address is shared with, don't reveal details to people you have never met face to face. Don't access unsolicited material on work computers, be weary of sites that ask for personal details, do not reply to spammers, be conscious of web and home security and use email encryption software.

Ethics in Computing Social Justice Issues: Electronic Monitoring.

This site discusses the monitoring of computer usage of employees. It shows the different ways employers can monitor their staff and the issues that may arise with such monitoring. It's purpose is to assist employees who think they are being monitored and what they can do about it.

Computer Viruses and the Internet

This article covers the history of computer viruses and the connection to the World Wide Web. It explains what viruses are and the ways in which they appeared and were created. It explains that because of the open protocols of the web virus creators can produce these electronic 'diseases'.

Brown and Micheal's - Overview of Intellectual Property

This article instructs on ways to protect your ideas from others passing them off a their own. First, it explains that ideas can't necessarily be protected but the expression of an idea in the form of a product can be copyrighted. The type of protection needed will depend on whether it's the way of doing something, a logo or an artwork. Respectfully either a patent, trademark or copyright might be needed. This is a great source of information for people who might have an idea for an invention who would be considering these sorts of issues.

Music, Copyright and The Internet

This site covers the who, what, when, why and how of copyright laws surrounding music. It is a good source of information as it covers many areas the average person might not consider when they are downloading pirated music. It covers what can happen if caught for breaching copyright and ways on how to protect yourself from unwillingly downloading protected content.

Email Attachments and Viruses

This article discusses the dangers of opening email attachments. It lists the file types that should be avoided and the ones which are safe. This is good article as it is straight to the point and easily to read and understand.

16/10/07 WK 11 Building Knowledge

Week 11 Lecture

Data, Information, Knowledge

Data is facts, figures and words that alone don't have meaning until placed together to form information. Data that is collected together than enables patterns to be seen and conclusions to be drawn. Eg. Weather temperatures listed in an Excel spreadsheet allow for trends to be seen. Data is a factual, non-judgemental and is transient (where figures can be used for different meanings). Data can be in the form of statements, statistics, writing or charts. It is summative, dimensional and valuable.

Information is a cluster of collected data which then contains meaning and is available for use. Information is the process between knowing for the short term and learning for the long term, when information becomes knowledge. Information can be historical such as tables of data or in the form of records such as budgets and minutes of meetings.

Knowledge is when information is no longer rehearsed and repeated but learnt so that it can be expressed without having to revisit the source it originated from. Knowledge is acquired when an understanding of information has occurred and the user can then explain and express the knowledge in their own words. Knowledge then continues to be carried in the mind and can be remembered at a later date. Examples of knowledge include white papers, press releases and marketing strategies.

Wisdom is the accumulation of information through learning and experience. Wisdom is unique to information, data and knowledge as it cannot be bought, may have different meaning for different people and will only be acquired through time and experience. It is the sum of knowledge and experience.

Using these terms in relation to assignment work can assist the student in forming study strategies. Some of these include, the break down of the assignment question to understand the instruction words and individual terms. When it has been established what is to be researched, finding information in the form of facts, statistics, tables and diagrams will assist to create information by the gathering of information. Once data has been collected for an assignment it can then be used to give credibility to ideas presented. Knowledge presented in assignments is when the author can draw conclusions based on the information and data that was collected and constructed.

Workshop Summary

Create a graphical representation of the terms Data, Information and Knowledge.



Research definitions for data, information and knowledge .

Data is:

- Individual facts, statistics, or items of information: These data represent the results of our
analyses. Data are entered by terminal for immediate processing by the computer.

- Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions.

- Numerical or other information represented in a form suitable for processing by computer.

- A collection of facts, observations, or other information elated to a particular question or problem.


Information is:

- Knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction, etc.; factual data: His wealth of general information is amazing.

- Is the meaning of the representation of a fact.

- Any fact or set of facts, knowledge, news, or advice, whether communicate by others or obtained by personal study and investigation.

Knowledge is:

- The fact or state of knowing.

- The state or fact of knowing.

- Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study.

- The act or state of knowing; clear perception of fact, truth, or duty.

Outline how and understanding between data, information and knowledge can assist in University study.

Understanding the relationship between data, information and knowledge will assist students in structuring their study habits by creating a focus of turning information into knowledge. They will be able to determine when information has been learnt as recalling it and the ability to explain it in their own words will show understanding. Knowing this relationship can assist in realising what still needs to be learnt and help in reducing stress levels as understanding the process required in obtaining knowledge will help to gain control over what information is absorbed.

Make a list of at least five organisations that collect information from their clients and provide reasons why they would need to collect information.

Telstra would collect information from their customers regarding preferences to call, usage, service and payment types and to provide a service which suits the customer and ultimately creates more revenue.

The government collects a census at designated yearly intervals. Information collected relates mainly to individuals, births, deaths, marriages, living arrangements and occupation. Data trends are able to be established in these are areas such as how many people are employed, what was the size population for that year and how much had it grown? Also how many people are studying, looking for work, what are the current trends in relation to previous years, and for numerous other reasons.

Fast food restaurants provide customer feed back forms for the purpose of maximising income by the way of a satisfied customer.

Universities and colleges ask for feedback about courses, campus facilities and teaching staff. This is in the interest for successful management of the organisation and also improved financial income.

Any organisation which provides a service can conducts surveys to gain information. The organisation usually informs the participant that it is collected to benefit the customer but ultimately it is to improve sales. Services who would gather information from customers and the public include Foxtel, Internet Service Providers such as Optus and Telstra, Mobile phone companies such as Vodafone and Hutchison and Three,The RAC and insurance companies. Insurance companies would quire information to ensure a minimisation of loss and maximisation of profit. Video stores such as Video Ezy and Civic, banks such as Bank West and Commonwealth and the list goes on.

Week 11 Readings

Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom

A great deconstruction and explanation of data, information and knowledge. It explains in detail with the use of examples and activities so that the user will be able to distinguish differences and be able to organise their information better. It explains that alone data doesn't contain meaning and is collected on the facts of who, what, where when and how. The 'how' of information and data when applied and the user is able to evaluate i, it then becomes knowledge,

Information Literacy

This site provides information on the development, the organisation and the application of knowledge. It demonstrates how to develop data and information into knowledge it must be classified and organised before it can be fully understood. This site is an excellent resource that gives the necessary amount of depth on this topic to fully understand and be able to apply what has been taught.

Data, Information and Knowledge - Dr Jim Mullaney

Mullaney defines and presents the meaning of data, information and knowledge. He gives examples which outline the meaning of these terms, better than a reference source would. It explains how collected and analyse data produces knowledge that then can be used to form conclusions. Although brief this document gives a clear outline of explaining these terms and encourages the reader to apply this information by asking questions about the reasons for collecting data.

9/10/07 WK 10 Using Search Engines

Week 10 Lecture

Online Libraries and Databases.

Programs found online today incorporate search options which create opportunities for locating information quicker and more efficiently than methods available in the past. Libraries and databases are online reference catalogues produced by organisations such as libraries and museums. These types of information resources hold large amounts of information including articles, dictionaries and digital data such as pictures.

Online Libraries
Using online libraries has many advantages. Some of these include convenience, as travel to a location to search a collection is not longer necessary and information is provided directly to the user who has access to a computer. Available online, these services can be accessed 24/7. They are easy to update so contain recent information and the benefits of electronic data for note taking when copy and pasting are available.

The types of libraries and databases can be classified as text repositories, which are large lists of sources sometimes containing whole texts. Online journals, which may need to be subscribed to but can provided by the organisation for the use of its patrons. Electronic books are available to be read online or downloaded, music is also available for access but adhering to copyright laws must to be honoured. Also, artworks can be viewed in these catalogues but the image of the quality may be of a lesser standard.

There are limitations to the use of online catalogues which can include a subscription, requiring the user to pay. On occasion only the reference may be supplied and access to the source may not be available. With music and art catalogues copyright and plagiarism polices need to be considered. Online libraries need to be referenced correctly the same as with acknowledging any other source. Becoming familiar with the copyright laws in your subject will be useful although most sites will list their copyright legislation's for the reader to access.

Databases
Databases focus mainly on data collection, also contain a search and browse facility and are similar in many ways to online libraries. Some of the types of online databases can include news and media, government information and statistics and/or genealogy resources. Advantages of online databases can be that they contain current information such as magazines, are comprehensive (easy to use) and as with online libraries are browsable, allow 24/7 access and benefit from electronic note taking facilities. Some of the disadvantages include subscription only, some are not indexed (not able to be found by search engines), can contain a lot advertisements making navigation difficult and may contain too much information

Workshop Summary

List 10 useful functions of the ECU library site

1. Search by resource type eg. books, journals, websites. This is useful when looking for a specific resource and making sure the titles that are found are relevant.

2. Liberty: Learning to find information. This information is to assist in making a search more efficient. It is useful situated on the library home page as not knowing how to search for information limits the user in finding instructions on how to search.

3. Getting started at the library. This is good for students new to the library who want to find our where to start. It gives a brief overview of some of the electronic support systems as well a finding help from a librarian.

4. The quick catalogue search feature is valuable to the user who knows exactly what they are after and wants to go directly to a sources information in the catalogue. This was good when knowing a book is nearby but the dewy number is needed to find it.

5. 'Extend display' button in the library catalogue allows for the campus location, author and dewy number to appear when searching by title. This is use as it allows for ease of use when looking for a source immediately. Locating a book on a subject available in the library is faster.

6. The 'Save marked items' buttons enables sources to be collected whilst continuing searching. This option is particularly useful as when viewing 'saved marked item', a opportunity to email the list to another location enable quick retrieval of already located items.

7. The 'search other catalogues' option in the catalogue window allows for quick linking to other libraries if items on a subject can not be found in the ECU website.

8. Clicking on the ECU Library Catalogue banner at the top of the page is useful to start a search over quickly.

9. The option to search past exam paper makes this available when it might necessarily not been thought of.

10. The news update heading on the library home page allows for students to be easily notified when library hours change.

Who might use the MEDline plus interactive tutorials what may they get from it?

The simplicity of information presented in the tutorials on MEDline plus is aimed at being understood by the general population. This site would be most useful for people looking for a broad over view on medical issues and would be most beneficial to children of primary school age. As medical information can sometimes be hard to find and then too difficult to understand, these tutorials would be a good starting point. Children in primary school would benefit most from the tutorials as they are the youngest demographic to which the information is aimed at. School children would benefit as they would only have limited knowledge on medical ailments. When faced with illness and disease, knowledge is power. Knowing factual information about a illnesses can help in facing and in dealing with the problem. Children who are experiencing or who know some one with an illness could use the site to help them understand.

This site would be less useful to third year medical students and medical practitioners as their knowledge would exceed the level presented in the tutorials. Although, assumedly a doctor or nurse would know more about health issues than those on this site, they may not, or find it useful for areas they are not knowledgeable in or find it useful in other areas such as helping in educating children.

02/10/07 WK 9 Using Search Engines

Week 9 Lecture

Using Search Engines

As the World Wide Web contains limitless amounts of information, searching manually through all the information that exists is impossible. There are two types of web based programs which search the Internet and return a list of results. One of these is search engines and the other is a directory. Both of these contain a search function which allow the user to type in key words and be returned with a list of results.

Information on the Web is available in three categories; either by the 'free visible web', which are the results returned when using search engines and are free to the user. The 'free invisible web', which are sites free to the user but are not accessible by the use of a search engine eg. Legal or financial sites. Or, 'paid databases.' These are commercial sites which need a subscription and the customer has paid to access this program. Such as Ebsco or the West Australian.

There are many search engines, some with similarities but many with differences. Some examples include Google, AltaVista and Yahoo. Search engines can return either global, reference, targeted, or regional based searches. Global search engines search all over the world in many different languages. Regional search engines are limited geographically so for example may only search and return pages from one country, ie. Australia. Targeted search engines a limited to a specific subject, eg. medical information. As reference engines will search a list of reference resources such a encyclopedias.

Directories are cataloged lists or indexes created by people and have less resources than the web and can be more reliable as the information listed in a cataloged will have been viewed and specifically chosen by a reputable source. Some examples include Yahoo, Looksmart and Snap.

Some problems when using search engines include too much results being returned, some returned sites can be repeated more than twice in the same results list. Other problems can include broken links, out dated results and a doctored ranking system.

There are four main query types when conducting a search.The most commonly used is the key word search. The key word search option is a good place to start for broad searches before narrowing to a more condensed search for more relevant results. Another type is the phrase search where the words to be searched are in exact order and are placed in quotation marks. Thirdly, a Boolean search includes the use of mathematical symbols to include or specifically exclude certain words. For example if searching to buy a road worthy vehicle a search may be 'cars - toys' which would exclude any results including toy cars. The fourth way to conduct a search would be to conduct a search using the advanced features of a search engine. Under the key word search box there generally is a 'advanced search' option. This will allow certain features to left out or included in the search such as limiting to a geographic region.

Things to keep in mind include not limiting yourself to using just one search engine. Always try a few and find the ones best for you. Read 'search tips' offered in the search engine page, use as many words as needed for key word searches and try to guess the URL

Workshop Summary

List four strategies that will help structure a good search.

1. Avoid the use of stop words. These are words that are short and very common. If using words in a phrase that are common use quotation marks.

2. If searching for information that fits into a obvious topic, try a search directory such as yahoo or The Open Directory before searching with Google.

3. Make use of the word 'near' for Boolean searches. The plus and minus sign are used more often because they are more obvious but when words that are searched for appear in a document apart when they need to be together, the results from the search are often useless.

4. Use capitalisationproper nouns for and read the help files in your frequently used search engines to discover their methods of searching and how you can take advantage of this.

Complete the online quiz found at Siteseen.co.uk and list the answers to the questions.

1. Inca
2. Violet
3. Birchard
4. Alfred Lord Tennyson
5. Sea shells
6. Maps
7. Giacomo Puccini
8. Volcano
9. Basenji
10. Hieronymus Bosch
11. Waterloo
12. Ant
13. Leo
14. Siam
15. Mushroom
16. Orangutan
17. Pluto
18. Benito
19. Lizard
20. Napolean Bonaparte

Discuss the strategies you used to locate answers to the quiz.

I was lucky enough to locate the answers fairly quickly from a key word search in Google. I then browsed the results list seeking the most frequent answer. For questions where the answer was slightly more difficult to locate I browsed one or two of the sites as I didn't understand the particular word I was searching for. This related particularly to question 15 and the response of mushroom. Realising the most returns were about food I then scanned for the most reoccurring ingredient in each dish. Question 5 also posed a slight challenge as 'sea shell' was a more common answer than I had expected.

The most covered area of module four has been the quality of information found on the web. The process is then to determine if information is 'fit for use.' What I was not aware of before doing this module was how to distinguish legitimate factual information from false information. I have now learnt to look for important details like the name of the author, facts, information on their expertise on the subject and the reasons why they may have created the site. I now know how easily distinguish the type of site from the URL and to be weary of bias. Using search engines has taught me the difference between Google and Yahoo, the reasons they are different and the different purposes they serve. I now know to use more than just Google for searching and how I can structure search words in order narrow a search.

Week 9 Reading

The Spiders Apprentice

This site assists with some of the difficulties faced when using online search engines. It explains the basics and would prove useful for the novice user. It covers enough information to give a good understanding of where to start when searching the Web. It suggests first considering carefully what sort of information is to be searched for in order to asses where to start before diving in. Such as, if the topic will fit into broad categories, Spiders Apprentice suggests using search directories over search engines. It also covers areas such as refining a search, explains the use of metadata and ranking, and discusses different types of search engines, which are useful and why.

Search Engine Watch Tutorial

A valuable resource, Search Engine Watch Tutorial covers types of word searches such as Boolean searches, refined word searches, extending the range of returned results and the use of related terms when searching. This site has provided a long list of annotated links to other sites relating to search engines. This site has ensured that by viewing this site all questions relating to search engines can be answered. As has been suggested this site is worth bookmaking.

Web Search Strategies

This article is an excellent resource for search engine information and tips. This site explains the Free Visible Web, Free Invisible Web and paid databases for the purpose of deciding which location to seek information from before conducting a search. It explains when to use a search database and when to use a search engines and gives clear examples of each making the information provided clear and easy to understand. It also covers expanding search words with the use of the asterisks, using related words such as the plural of a word to extend searches and explains how specific a generally terms will differ in the amount of search results. It also list useful tips such as trying to guess the name of a site, using several search tools and to read the search tip information given in the search engine help.

The History of the Internet: (Chap 4 – Search Engines)

This article demonstrates how the first search engine originated with Archie, which employed the use of spider searching, to the development of gopher in 1981 which differed but only fractionally from Archie, to Wais developed in 1991. Hosted website grew considerably each year from 1000 in 1988 to 10 000 in 1987. With the rise in sites to be used the need for faster and more updated search engines developed. Today there are many much more choices and better quality search engines and directories. Suggested