Social and Ethical issues, Week 12, 22nd October 2007

LECTURE why are there problems? characteristics of the Internet

• open protocols
• no enforceable standards

characteristics of Internet information

• anyone can publish
• no control on bias or unethical information

Characteristics of Internet users

• a lot of smart people
• a lot of dumb/naive people

Intellectual property

inventions,ideas,music, movies. intellectual property does not require registration.

Copyright

literally means the right to copy! we live in a digital age, therefore the issues will always increase

plagiarism

using other peoples' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. copyright is ignored or abused.

Privacy

digital trails left behind, freedom vs protection of personal information, rights of individuals and or organisations.

Security

Internet uses multiple computers to transmit data, interception can occur anytime.

Workshop

task

1

Access to copyright material: Australia v the US G087

Computer software G050

Artworks: Getting permission G086

Copyright in Australia: information sources G004

Broadband content & copyright G071

Databases, compilations, tables and forms G066

2

US vs Sankas

sankas was a leader of the online software piracy group known as DrinkOrDie. they acquired new software and released it over the Internet, he was caught along with his team.

In addition to JOHN SANKUS, Jr., the following individuals have either been sentenced or have pled guilty and are awaiting sentence in the Eastern District of Virginia: BARRY ERICKSON, age 35, of Eugene, Oregon, pled guilty on May 2, 2002, before U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton, to one felony count charging conspiracy to violate the criminal copyright laws, and was sentenced to a term of 33 months’ imprisonment, with a special term of three years supervised release. Erickson, who used the screen nickname radsl, was a systems engineer at Symantec Corporation who provided Symantec software to the warez groups DrinkOrDie and RiSCISO before that software was commercially available. Erickson was also a founding member of Parents On Puterz (POPZ), a warez group that specialized in the release of children’s learning software and games. he was sentenced for 46th months in federal prison.

3

how to protect against attacks on privacy

• set up a firewall
• don't give out information to anyone on the Internet
• do not use Internet cafes to buy tickets, you can be tracked

Building Knowledge, Week 11, 16th October 2007

Lecture Data, Information and knowledge Datum: a fact or proposition. Information: a collection of facts or data that relate to each other. Knowledge: The sum or range of what has been percieved, discovered, or learned. data is

• factual
• non-judgemental
• non-inferential
• transient
• has no intrnsic meaning
• has no intrinsic value

Information is

• summative
• relational
• dimensional
• permanent
• has meaning
• uncertain value

Knowlege is

• inferential
• experimental
• judgemental
• subjective
• very valuable

understanding the relationship between data, information and knowledge

data---> information(understanding relations)---->knowledge(understanding patterns)---------->wisdom (understanding principles)

Workshop task 1 Definitions Data: 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 Information: knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance; news Knowledge: acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition. The state or fact of knowing. Familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study. The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned. Learning; erudition: teachers of great knowledge. 2 3 the relationship between data, information and knowledge data-->information(understanding relations)-->knowledge(understanding patterns)--> wisdom(understanding principles) 4 5 organisations that collect information from their clients

• credit card companies- address and phone number, in case credit card is stolen.
• doctor- medical history donor information.
• government- statistics.
• taxi service- collect your information when you call from a land line and you are permanently logged into the system.
• accountants

all these organisations collect data and information so they can better perform for their clients health and interests.

Online Libraries and Databases, Week 10, 9th October 2007

Lecture why use online libraries? they are convenient, Internet connection allows access any time anywhere. they have access to many resources of a variety of types. they are usually current, kept up to date, easy for making notes and usually free access. types of online libraries

• online text repositories
• online journals
• electronic books
• musical
• artworks

some of the negatives of online libraries are:

• in many cases only the catalogue is online.
• many libraries require subscription
• for music, art etc, you are seeing copies resolution may be reduced.

referencing online libraries

• accurate referencing is vital
• use APA format
• details found in the ECU library publications
• EndNote libraries
• in many courses, marks are deducted from assignments with incorrect referencing.

copyright issues

• correct referencing of sources
• copyright permission not required for notes
• use of art,music
• statement of copyright
• responsibility of the copyright permission rests with you

Online Databases

they are similar to online libraries, they focus on data collection. they have search and browse facilities. they provide data collection and distribution.

types of online databases

• people searches
• e-mail directories
• genealogy
• maps & atlases
• government information & statistics
• news & media
• portals

Positives

Databases provide a comprehensive search, they are current, recently updated, brows able, 24/7 access, electronic format.

Negatives

Many Databases are accessible only by subscription, they have lots of advertising, sometimes difficult to navigate and can be overwhelming with the amount of information.

Workshop

task

1

2

top ten useful functions of the ECU library site

1. ability to search online databases by subject or title

2. the different types of catalogues are divided

3. search by keyword, subject, author,title,ISBN,call number, journal titles.

4. access to other libraries such as, ECU joondalup UWA and Curtin

5.reserve readings

6. academic journals

7. websites

8. quick links

9. search by faculty

10. advanced searches with keywords, phrases, quotes, authors, etc.

3

4

Prednisone

Why is this medication prescribed? Return to top Prednisone is used alone or with other medications to treat the symptoms of low corticosteroid levels (lack of certain substances that are usually produced by the body and are needed for normal body functioning). Prednisone is also used to treat other conditions in patients with normal corticosteroid levels. These conditions include certain types of arthritis; severe allergic reactions; multiple sclerosis (a disease in which the nerves do not function properly); lupus (a disease in which the body attacks many of its own organs); and certain conditions that affect the lungs, skin, eyes, kidneys blood, thyroid, stomach, and intestines. Prednisone is also sometimes used to treat the symptoms of certain types of cancer. Prednisone is in a class of medications called corticosteroids. It works to treat patients with low levels of corticosteroids by replacing steroids that are normally produced naturally by the body. It works to treat other conditions by reducing swelling and redness and by changing the way the immune system works.

5 tutorial

6 this website is very useful for people who are prescribed drugs and want to find out more about the side effects. it is also useful to research yourself a drug or symptoms before you see your doctor so as you have a better understanding.

Using Search Engines, Week 9, 2nd October 2007

LECTURE

what are search engines?

search engines are a web based application that searches the Internet , creating indices of websites, usually from the textural information contained on them. sites are usually indexed according to keywords.

problems:

• return too many results
• limited quality filtering
• limited relevance filtering
• irrelevant sources
• misues of ranking system
• broken links
• depth of information can be time consuming

tips for using search engines

• keywords
• specific phrase
• boolean
• advanced engine
• use several search tools
• use several words for key word seacrhes
• location of information
• think about what you want to gain
• use the back up button to find wher you are.

Workshop

task

1

steps for a good search

1 use several keywords

2 read question thouroghly

3 use boolean

4 correct spelling

2

3

the strategies i used to complete the test was firstly read through the question thouroughly, then to pick out the key words, then the use of boolean(+"=) helped to keep the search specific.

Evaluating & Authentication, week 8, 18th September 2007

LECTURE Information quality

• definition multi-dimensional concept (Klein 2007)

quality information is commonly described as information 'fit for use' this implies that the information has:

• relevance depending on its context of use
• accuracy
• authority
• objectivity
• currency
• coverage

there are negatives of the WWW information,

• no enforceable quality control
• non-enforced classification and meta tagging system
• anyone can publish information on the WWW

positives of information on the WWW

• easily exchange information
• usually free
• quality information can be found
• current

WORKSHOP

task

1 BIAS There is a clear motive Website has advertising Website has sponsors Website point of view

CREDIBILITY Author has credentials There are no spelling or grammar errors The website includes references Sponsors (if any) reputable CURRENCY Website has been updated recently All links provided are still active The page is dated AUTHORITY The website has an author The website is signed Contact details are listed COVERAGE Subject is covered in depth Offers information specific to the topic

2

http://www.hippy.com/php/sitetopics.php?topic=1

accuracy: information is recently updated

authorship: written by lots of different poeple

purpose: history

detail and design basic

overall worth basic information but seems to be correct.

http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Scholar.html accuracy: scholars, contact information is listed. authorship: scholars and journal information. purpose: to discuss a number of sources specifically for scholars. detail and design: basic but to the point. overall worth the website provides quite valuable information about the sixties history. journals are provided which shows that the information should be peer reviewed and therefore accurate.