Week Five

Lecture

Google, the answer to any question. Never said it will give you the right answer but it’s an answer none the less. But now I’m finally getting to the point where I’m now adding to what I already know in regards to my knowledge of all things Technological. And this week’s lecture dealt with the more advanced ways to sift through the various searching engines of the Internet, and techniques that you can use to refine and eliminate unwanted information through the use of things such as modifying the phrasing, using a Boolean search or simply going to the advanced options of the search engine in question.
Tutorial summary


Tutorial

Four tips and tricks for using search engines

1. Using Boolean terms such as AND, OR, NOT.
2. Make sure you are looking in the correct place; if you need an article on Nuclear power try looking in a Science Journal Website.
3. Use the advanced search options in the engine to narrow down the topic further.
4. You can exclude sites from your search by entering this along with the search topic -site: Site address here. E.g. {Nuclear Power -site: en.wikipedia.org} will remove any pages from wikipedia from the search results.


In finding the answers for the quiz I simply used a Google search as the simplicity of a general knowledge quiz allows the use of simple search terms such as “Dynamite + inventor” to find the inventor of dynamite. The nature of a general knowledge quiz such as this allows for such skim searching as depth is not needed for the

The lessons learned today is more of a refinement of my current searching processes, normally I would have normally just Googled it with the occasional + or set of “ ” to narrow down the field.
Now I have the ability to refine and sift out unwanted sties of information such as wikipedia as well as a more broad searching tendency, where as previously I tended to use the Internet exclusively I find that I am turning to hard copy works for A more credible sources.


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

As I have most probably said before it is nice to have the history of a tool you make use of, it allows you to appreciate its evolution and how far is has ascended its roots. This was very much the case again for Chapter Four: Search Engines. Having the majority of my Internet searching life dominated by a Google I had not really questioned the origins of a search engine. Though its berth for the sharing of academic data was some what less surprising than the severe jump that Google took in its size from the end of 1/12/00 to the 1/6/01. Also nice to see what came directly before Google in Search engines. Though for all the site is it has an almost antique feel to it, it only gives information up to the year 2000 which makes it good for historical information but considering it is at least 8 years old there is most probably much better sources of information to be found regarding the History of Search engines.

Robert Harris: "Web Search Strategies"

A nice and straight to the point page on search engines, there types and some handy tips to keep in mind when using them. Though perhaps it is to straight forward in its approach as it seams to be very difficult to maintain your focus on the site which would probably be caused by the solid text appearance that it has, and it could quite easily be seen as a text document. Has some good information in it though if you can get pass its un engaging appearance.


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Week Four

Lecture

Ahh the World Wide Web. It contains the sum wealth of human knowledge and existence, the good and the completely disturbing. This week’s lecture felt more like a history lesson than anything and while I already knew the majority of the various net commands and terminology (.org .au Ctrl + T, Ect...) the actual history behind the world wide web was quite enjoyable to find out about. Though it wasn't a surprise to find out that it was originally intended for intelligent information to be shared between universities instead of the diverse tasks that it performs and the horde of information it contains.


Tutorial

www.haggishunt.scotsman.com
The site www.haggishunt.scotsman.com uses techniques such as using a .com address which makes it seem like a serious site, having an extensive background and haggislopedia with zoology on the haggis complete with Latin names. It also offers a grand prize of a stay at the Gleneagles Hotel, and has a comprehensive set of rules as well as history of hunting haggis.
However it is a spoof site and baring the stupid Photoshopping of the body of a hedgehog with the head and feet of a platypus the first thing that gave it away is the bogus Latin translations. Its Latin name Marag Fabulosus translates into Marl (Lime rich mud) and Fabulosus appears to be a Latin looking version of the word fabulous. So it’s a mud that fabulous. That’s not suss or anything. As well as the translation of Haggii into haired ones, one is correctly translated into unus and though I cannot claim to be an expert on Latin grammar I’m very suss about the credibility of the translation. Also the Gleneagles Hotel doesn’t actually exist and to further add insult to injury the name of the first prize winner is suspiciously absent.


www.molossia.org

www.molossia.org at first looks likes a bogus site and the more you look at it the more it seems to be, but it’s not, technically. Though is shows it currency to be made out of poker chips and its rocket launch is just a module rocket they still exist and though they are jazzed up claims there is still truth in them. It’s just a place out in Nevada in the US and all of the photos and claims are real, unlike the haggis of the previous site. The bit about their navy being made out of inflatable boats is funny though.


www.martinlutherking.org

www.martinlutherking.org would most probably be a site containing information involving martin Luther king, though the .org makes me a bit suss of what I will find there.
Dam, racist much? Not only against black Americans but it takes a jab at the Jews as well. Whoever created this site is either a member of the KKK or has some serious mental issues, either way they need some help. And though I personally know only an average amount of information of Martin Luther king I do know that he held peaceful protests and condemned the violence that was being acted out on either sides of the racial issue. The rap lyrics are also offensive and the pamphlet that can be downloadable is both insulting as well as saddening.


Readings

A brief history of the internet
&
History of the World-wide Web
Now that was a large set of reading, but it’s nice to be learning about the finer points of the history of the internet. It has also made me realize how much of a short time the Internet has existed for, it has only been around for a couple of decades so it makes you wonder what it will evolve into given a few more. From the first appearance of the ARPANET in 1971 to the global connection of the www that we enjoy today knowing the past of something that you have makes it all that more enjoyable. Like eating a meal that was cooked with your own two hands with food grown in your own back garden, you don’t have to go to all the effort to do it but once you have it makes it taste all the more better.

Week Three

Tutorial


MEDline

The MEDline plus website would most probably be use by those who have a limited knowledge of something medical related, be it illness, medication, Est. As well as people studying at a university who wish to use creditable references for their work. The Information posted there is informative and useful, hell I even managed to work out I have either case 2 Insomnia or Hypochondria so its information has its uses.


10 Hints, tips and functions involving the ECU Library

1.Having the journals split down into facilities or subjects allows for quick access to what you want.

2.Only include the core points in a search so instead of searching the economic impact of global warming on business using global warming + economic impact on business would be more effective.

3.ALWAYS cheek if the book your after is at the campus you are going to, nothing worse than catching a bus to Mt Lawely only to find that the book you wanted is out at the Joondalup campus

4.You can also be linked to the other UNI sites where you can search there databases for information as well. You can also use their Libras as well apparently.

5.Meta Quest helps find data bases easily and effectively by using it search abilities to scan a max of 10 sources at once.

6.Indoor can be used as an alternative to Meta Quest, and searches a wide spectrum of sources.

7.You can access the Library from home but to have access you will have to gain the right authentication information because it will to be operating in the ECU network.

8.And, or, Not. These three words can be used to either include or exclude topics and help narrow down your search results to a more refined level.

9.Searching for journals that are either peer-reviewed or scholarly will give you high quality information. An article for a peer- reviewed journal is submitted to a body of experts and reviewed before it is allowed to be included and most scholarly journals are peer- reviewed

10.Quotation marks can be used to define exactly what you are searching for and can siphon out UN wanted information from the list.


Lecture

Now where getting somewhere, today’s lecture was divided between Online Libraries and online data bases and was quite informative, and considering the main source for online information back in high school was Wikipedia It will be good to actually get some solid credible evidence for a change.
The first half was just running through the variety of different forms of libraries such as ones that compile electronic journal articles, act as storage for sheet music, or even browse through the Louvre gallery. The flip side though is that most of the high quality sites require a subscription to access.
The same applies to Data bases, which are similar to Libras but have more focused objectives and are geared towards providing access to a wealth of up to date relevant information on a specific topic and will more often than not have advanced searching features to allow for practice data retrievals from the database. Though too much of a good thing can have the reverse effect and it can be quite easy to become overwhelmed with the amount of information you can gather and not all of the online database sites are known for their user friendless.

Readings


Finding what you want on the web

Finding what you want on the web is a good article for giving you a few more ideas for searching apart from just goggling it, and the idea of having creditable news sites bookmarked for quick use is looking more and more like a good idea every week. The concept of relieving ourselves from the “Dumb Web” is also an interesting idea but the sheer effort and time that would be required would be ungodly high but if the flaws in search engines turning up information that has been tooled up to come out top of the list while not containing any good relevance (I.e. Google) is a problem that needs to be countered.


Bare Bones Lesson 7: Basic Search Tips

Quite a handy list of tips and hints for refining and aiding your searching on the web such as the use of + and – signs, as well as a few quick tips for a Boolean search. Well worth a bookmark. And Boolean has to be the coolest word ever conceived.


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Week Two

Readings


Graphic File Formats

I use Photoshop extensively in my every day use of my computer so most of this information I already had knowledge of.
.gif is best for web based graphics such as online Avatars.
.jpeg compression is inefficient and will not be as good quality as the original. Handy for image posting though, if someone “RIPs” or copy’s your image and claims it as their own you (should
) have the original .psd file which will be of a superior quality and allow you to prove your ownership. Something I have had to do on one occasion.
.psd is the Photoshop format document and allows the saving of layers and is the best format to save images in for further editing down the track, also you have the option of saving it as either a RGB image or a CMYK image. RGB being best for web uploading and screen viewing and CMYK being best for printing of images.
.tiff images have the best compression to quality ratio and there for is the most common format for having images printed professionally.


Using MS Word for APA Tasks

Again just a refreshing of information that I have already learnt, though unlike the previous readings I have not used these functions in word for a few years so it was helpful in refreshing my memory for the tutorial task. Though the fact that it was for XP word programs and we are using Vista it comes off as being only half relevant to the tutorial.

Tutorial
Today’s tutorial was once again relatively easy for me in terms of content, though I am still having a hard time accepting that Vista is indeed a better OS than XP, some of the aspect seem counter intuitive and it tends to use and abuse the RAM more than XP but it’s what I’m stuck with at UNI so I guess I’m going to have to make do. The reading where again relatively easy and covered things that I already know. The same applies to the tasks, Word and Excel where covered in my year 8 computer classes so it mainly involved becoming more familiar with the Vista format of the programs than any inability to operate and understand the programs.

Lecture
This week’s lecture was similar to last weeks, just revising concepts and information that I already have knowledge of. It was mostly on what applications are commonly run on a PC and dealt with ones such as Power point, word, e-mails, excel, and I’m sure that Helen mentioned the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) rule somewhere. Though as with last week’s tutorial readings a few trivial things popped up that I did not know about, such as the statistics for how many people use what internet browser.

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