New Bub

On Monday 2nd June 2008, at one minute past midnight, Amelie Ruth Gourley came into this world, delivered by the good people at the Royal Womens Hospital in Melbourne. Amelie was 8lbs, 3oz.

Both mother and baby are doing just great after a long labour, a long induction, and then finally a rather quick caesarian.

Module 4 / Evaluating the Web

Annotation of a website for:
Concept 13. Communication is not complete upon receipt.

Car, J., & Sheikh, A. (2004) Email consultations in health care: 1—scope and effectiveness. (Electronic version). British Medical Journal, 329 (7463), 435-438.

Short Abstract.
This is a fully referenced research article which discusses email consultations between doctors and patients, and examines the benefits and risks of email communication. It has been published by the world renowned British Medical Journal, and follows strict publishing criteria set down by by the World Association of Medical Editors (www.wame.org/wamestmt.htm#independence) and the code on good publication practice produced by the Committee on Publication Ethics.

In terms of your own future use, which ‘body ‘ of information (ie. the original ’snapshot’ of the site, or your own, annotated, analytical version) would be most useful to refer back to?

This is such a subjective question ~ for day to day general interest sites of which I would like to refer back to, I would use a ’snapshot’ or informal method to document sites. If I was formally researching a topic, the fully annotated version would be a better reference.

In term of external users (i.e. if you included this site as a hyperlink or resource on a website) which body of information would best help them judge if the site was useful or of interest to them?

Again, this is a subjective question. I would suggest a viewer of any site would need to have enough media savvy to make a rational decision as to whether any information presented to them is in fact credible or useful.
For example; I would suggest that if the user is after research information to back a thesis they are writing, a trust-worthy fully annotated web based article would be the way to go.
If the information required does not need to be justified, then a less formal site would probably suffice.

Module 4 / Organising Search Information

First, choose three sources found in the previous task. Using whatever software or tool you think appropriate, record the following information about those sites:

In the previous task I used the words ‘Octopus Farming’ ~ as I have no interest in Octopus (Octopi?) or Farming, and even the combination of the two, I will use the Concept piece:
13. Communication is not complete upon receipt.

I used Google Notebook to record search information:

Advantages:

• I could use Google notes on any computer.
• It was a flexible enough format to be able to organise it the way I wanted.
• I can tag information so I can search for information.

Disadvantages:

• I haven’t studied for years, so organising myself online is a foreign concept (It may take me a while to get away from jotting things down in a real notebook.
• I am still not convinced that the layout of Google Notebook makes it easier to organise my thoughts (especially if I needed to organise hundreds of online links about many topics.)

Conclusion:
If I decide to study full time, I would definitley take time to look at different solutions for storing, sorting and organising my search information.

Module 4 / Boolean Searching Task

Taking the key words ‘Octopus Farming’, how would you best search for the following:

The biggest number of hits relating to these key words?

• Use the word ‘OR’ (or symbol ‘|’ within google)
• octopus OR farming
• octopus | farming
• Results in Google: 61,800,000

Information most relevant to what you actually wanted to look for?

• Use the AND symbol ‘+’
• octopus AND farming
• +octupus +farming
• Results in Google: 131,000

Information coming only from university sources?
I tried a couple of methods and then posted this question on the forum:

When looking for university sites I tried this search on Google:
parapsychology AND .edu.au
This gave me 1,960 results.

I then went to the advanced search tab on Google and tried this:
All these Words: parapsychology
then
Search within a site or domain: .edu.au
and this gave me 576 results.

Why is there a difference in the number of results returned?
Update: I had a reply from Carrie on the forum ~ all explained and all good.

Module 4 / Searching the Web

Choose you most commonly used internet search engine and do a search with words of your choosing.

Choosen Words: Octopus Farming
Search Engine: Google
Number of Hits: 214,000
First Result:
<

Use three other search engines for the same words.

Choosen Words: Octopus Farming
Search Engine: Copernicus
Number of Hits: 20
First Five Results:

Choosen Words: Octopus Farming
Search Engine: Australasian Legal Infomation Institute
Number of Hits: 9
First Five Results:

Choosen Words: Octopus Farming
Search Engine: Scirus
Number of Hits: 4,663
First Five Results:

What are the differences between the searches?

The first noticeable difference is the number of ‘hits’ returned.

• Google_________214,000
• Copernicus__________20
• Aus Legal Info________9
• Scirus___________4,633

Why the difference?

This shows that each of these search engines are looking at very different areas of the net.
For example,

• Google is a general search.
• Aus Legal info searches Legal documents within Austalia / NZ.
• Scirus searches science based databases.

I believe that knowing where to look (or which search portal to use) is just as important as asking the question in the first place.
There is little point looking for documents on how to cook beef burgers if the deep web search portal you are using is dedicated to vegan recipes !

Module 5 / Concepts

12. Communication and Information are related

Advanced Internet users actively create new contexts for the information they receive as part of asynchronous communication (and other forms), and then give those contexts form and utility through mechanisms such as email folder filing systems; automated processes; etc.
To effectively manage and use email communication, it is essential to create a context for the information received

Email is simple to store and retrieve. This storage forms an archive or record of material which is considered important enough to be saved, and possibly recalled at a later date.
Because of this, it is essential to use mechanisms to store this information in a logical manner.

This will:

• Enable the reader to search and find the information quickly and easily.
• Enable the reader to understand the context in which it was first written, and therefore not interpret the email incorrectly at a later date.

There are several challenges with storing email ‘in context’, which can be bought about by the very nature of this form of asynchronous communication.

Email is usually a written ‘discussion’ incorporating sending and replying to an initial email, which is focused around a central point, the context of the email. This can create many documents (sometimes from many different people) which are all interrelated. This group of documents could be stored in one area enabling all of the documents to be kept within context. However, these emails could also be separated and stored separately, thus taking them out of context of the original ‘discussion’.

There are some simple solutions to this issue:

• Quote the previous email, to group all replies together, thus allowing for the storage of the final email which will contain the entire ‘discussion’.
• Keep the original subject line. This will enable a search of this group of emails by the text contained in the subject line.
• Use a meaningful subject line. A well written subject line will help put the content of the email into context.

The most common way of keeping emails within context is by using a filing system.

Folders and sub folders can be used to sort emails into context. The main folder should be named in such a way as to describe the context of the files contained within.
Sub folders can be used to further break this main topic into smaller sub categories, thus making for easier navigation.

There are endless ways of categorizing and sub categorizing the context of emails, so the key is to use a consistent standard throughout the filing process.

Some techniques are:

• Group emails into subcategories or folders by:

    Reference material.
        Questions asked or answered.
        Tasks requested or performed.

• Some email applications allow for tags / labels or categories. This introduces a virtual filing system, as emails can be searched on or grouped together by key words.
• Use automated filtering of emails as they arrive in an inbox. These communications will be sorted into a pre determined folder, thus automatically placing the email into a pre defined context.

It is essential for email to be stored within context. These documents can be accessed at a later date; therefore it is important that the original intention of the email is apparent.
Of course it can be argued that ‘out of context’ text can also be used to begin a new and valid communication.

References.

Digital Inspiration, (2008). Add tags to your outlook email messages, just like gmail labels.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/07/add-tags- to-your-outlook-email-messages.html

Microsoft Office Outlook (2003). Create an effective reference system.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/ HA011450561033 .aspx? mode=print

Ross, S. (2008). When words collide: Organizing your email inbox.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://research.microsoft.com/displayarticle.aspx?id=603

Site 1

Ross, S. (2008). When words collide: Organizing your email inbox.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://research.microsoft.com/displayarticle.aspx?id=603

Suzanne Ross discusses the issue of communicating via email, and offers a unique solution in the form of ‘Conversation Clues’ designed by Gina Venolia.

The article shows that people have difficulty putting email ‘conversations’ into context or perspective, because the conversation is viewed one message at a time.
Email ‘conversations’ can be especially complex when there are many participants, and where the initial discussion can go ‘off topic’.

This method could be the answer to viewing the entire context of a conversation, because it links together all of the correspondence in a visual timeline, and represents who participated and how.

Site 2

Microsoft Office Outlook (2003). Create an effective reference system.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/ HA011450561033 .aspx? mode=print

This article by Microsoft relates directly to Outlook, but has general points which could be related to most email applications.

The article offers practical suggestions for logically organising emails into a filing or reference system. This effectively means grouping together email by the context of that correspondence.

The article also questions the reader about the necessity of keeping all email correspondence. With the volumes of email any one person can receive, keeping only relevant emails would also help when searching for past correspondence.

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13. Communication is not complete upon receipt

The key to effective email management is to consistently and conscientiously respond to and act upon the email you receive, while recognising that others may not be as efficient as yourself.
Being aware of the limitations of email, and recognizing that a recipient of email may have a lesser understanding of these limitations, will help in ensuring that effective communication is achieved.

For example, Car and Sheikh (2004) discuss the merits and failings of email communication between patients and practitioners in the British health care system.
They argue that “Successful communication by email depends on a clear and shared understanding by patient and healthcare professionals of its role, advantages, and limitations.” (para. 28 )
This can be said of any email communication. It is therefore important to assume the reader of your email does not have the same effective communication skills, and ensure that consistent email response techniques are adhered to.
These techniques should be used to impress upon the sender that their email was acted upon in the manner that was originally intended. This will also ensure that you fully understand what was being communicated in the first place.

Responding to an email is the key to effective communication. A response should be made if a question has been asked, a specific task requested, or the communication is vague in its intention.

Responding to a question.

• Paraphrase or quote the original question and respond directly to that.

Example
o ‘In response to your question asking if the product is available in red, I regret to inform you that it is only available in blue.’

Responding to a task.

• Paraphrase or quote the original task and respond directly to that.

Example
o Original: Can you pick up the dog?
o Response: I will pick up the dog at 2pm today.

Respond to a confusing question / task request, or ask for more clear and concise instruction.

• Prompt the sender for a response, by paraphrasing or quoting the original question / task.

Example
o In your last email you wrote ‘pick up the dog’. Could you please reply and let me know if you meant pick up the dog to see how much it weighs, or pick up the dog by collecting it from the vet?

Effective email communication requires both parties to fully understand the context of an email. By prompting the sender with a clear and concise response, each party can be certain that an email will be acted upon as intended, even if the sender of the original email has poor communication skills.

Even though emails are a form of asynchronous communication, the other key factor in email management is the response time.
Be aware that each individual’s expectation of an acceptable response time, in which they should receive a reply will vary enormously. It is good practice to be consistent with response times and not leave communications unattended to for an extended period.
If a question cannot be immediately answered, or a task immediately performed, it is good practice to respond as such to the sender. This response should also communicate an expected timeline for the question to be answered or task to be performed. Even though a solution may not have been reached, the sender will be happy that their email has indeed been read, and will be acted upon in the near future.

References.

Car, J., & Sheikh, A. (2004) Email consultations in health care: 1—scope and effectiveness. (Electronic version). British Medical Journal, 329 (7463), 435-438.

Tough, M. (2005, 21 November) Business communication: less is more.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p184245705_Business-commun ication-less-is-more.html

Wozniak, P. (2004) Email, incremental reading, creativity, and time management.
Retrieved May10, 2008, from
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm

Site 1.

Wozniak, P. (2004) Email, incremental reading, creativity, and time management.
Retrieved May10, 2008, from
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/e-mail.htm

The author Piotr Wozniak provides an overview and interpretation of the pros and cons of asynchronous email communication, as it relates to business dealings.

Piotr Wozniak argues out that asynchronous communication provides the recipient of an email, time to contemplate a response. This of course can give the respondent time to author a measured response. At times it is necessary to use carefully chosen words, as email communication can be archived, and referred to at a later date.

Site 2.

Tough, M. (2005, 21 November) Business communication: less is more.
Retrieved May 10, 2008, from
http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p184245705_Business-commun ication-less-is-more.html

The author Megan Tough discusses the implications of asynchronous communication, which gives the respondent the luxury of being able to respond when they so desire. Megan further expounds that caution is required when email response time is too quick, this may set high expectations. The best solution is to communicate your response time to the sender in advance.

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19. Public and Private

Critical users of the Internet are capable of understanding when the tone or content of list discussions is such that they are better off being carried on further in private.

It is important to give a definition of what a critical user of the internet is; this will help explain the understanding a critical user should be capable of.

The College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Colorado (2004) define critical thinking as:
“A cognitive process based on reflective thought and a tolerance for ambiguity which has the following attributes:
a. Disciplined and self directed.
b. Oriented toward inquiry, analysis and critique.
c. Multidimensional and multilogical problem-solving rather than unidimensional, monological, or linear requisite knowledge and ability to generate options and make discriminating judgments.” (“The nurse and the client”, 2004, para 15)

A critical user should therefore be capable of understanding and following the collective guidelines of internet etiquette within the public forum.

Mailing lists are subscription based emails, which are automatically distributed to discussion group members. Users join a list to discuss specific interests or topics.

There are many mailing lists which have specific rules which users are urged to follow. Some mailing lists have a moderator. A moderator is an individual or small group of people who determine which email messages can be seen by the whole group.

There are many sites which provide ‘netiquette’ (web etiquette) guidelines for users to contemplate. These ‘netiquette’ guidelines are readily available for anyone to use and distribute or incorporate into their own websites. An example of which is the RFC 1855 Netiquette memo from 1995 (Hambridge 1995a).

A well run mailing list operates on the proviso that participants adhere to the specific topic of that mailing list, and follow unsaid netiquette guidelines. A critical user would have an excellent understanding of the general netiquette guidelines, and follow these guidelines when contributing to any mailing list.

Users of a mailing list would also understand that this is a ‘one to many’ type of communication. Off topic, or personal ‘one to one’ discussions will quickly estrange other users. A critical user would also understand that a mailing list lies in the public domain and that for the discussion group to work well, the netiquette guidelines must be adhered to. These guidelines (whether written or un-written) will determine how well a mailing list will function.

Some common guidelines for when conversations should be held in private, and not through the mailing list:

• When welcoming or congratulating an individual.
• The conversation with an individual is ‘off topic’ of the mailing list.
• The information you wish to share is of a private nature.
• Sharing a phone number or postal address.
• There is a persistent disagreement with an individual.
• Sharing attachments with an individual.

In conclusion, there are usually no definitive rules to determine what is acceptable behaviour. A critical user would analyse the overall tone of a mailing list first to determine what level of personal interaction is acceptable within the public domain, and what conversations should be held in private.

References.

Hambridge, S. (1995a, October 24). RFC 1855.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://www.dtcc. edu/cs/rfc1855.html

Hambridge, S. (1995, October). Netiquette guidelines.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855

No author. (2008, March 10). Mailing list.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://www.reference.com /search?q=mailing%20list

No author and no date. Mailing list rules.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://help.dal.net/dnh/mail-rules.php

No author (2004, May 5). The nurse and client within the human health experience.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://web.uccs.edu/bethelstudenthandbook/definition_of_curriculum_terms.htm

Paris, P.G., (2002). Critical thinking and the use of the internet as a resource.
(Electronic version). International Education Journal. 4. 30-41.

Site 1.

Hambridge, S. (1995, October). Netiquette guidelines.
Retrieved March 11, 2008, from
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1855

This site is a comprehensive guide to web etiquette which was published in 1995. The document is still mostly relevant today. The document is readily available to be fully or partly used by organizations or individuals to base their own etiquette guidelines on. As new technology evolves, this sort of document will still remain relevant to most forms of communication.

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23. Human-computer interfaces

The Internet lessens the recognition of difference between humans and computers because, at a distance, it is often feels similar to communicate and act on the Internet regardless of whether one is speaking with a human or a machine.
The Internet lessens the recognition of difference between humans and computers because, at a distance, it often feels similar to communicate and act on the Internet regardless of whether one is speaking with a human or a machine.

The popularity of the internet increased dramatically in the mid nineties with millions of new home users taking to this technology. The net crosses borders and vastly different demographics, and currently has over 1.4 billion user’s world wide today. (Internet usage statistics, 2008).
Now, with so many users in the world, (over 20% of the world’s population) the web has changed from its first inception of being the domain of the scientist, computer engineer or university academic, and is now firmly in reach of the average person. (Online service rush to the web).
There are two main reasons for the internet to now present with a feeling similar, to that, of human interaction.

With a huge potential market in developing nations, there has been a shift in the way web sites are now being presented. Millions of new users bring a huge range of computer skills, or lack thereof, to the net. New user interfaces seek to address the problem of users with a low skill base.

One of the easiest ways to encourage new users to stay with a site is to make the browsing experience more of an intuitive human experience, modeled along the lines of how people interact with each other. Web designers and programmers know that to encourage this deskilled potential audience, the user interface must be friendly and intuitive to use, not full of jargon, or requiring the user to have specialist knowledge.

The net is evolving, developing and changing at an alarming rate. This evolution brings with it problems for the end user who may not have the skills, or time to keep up with new developments. In order to keep this potential audience engaged, programmers are spending time, making the interaction of new concepts easily accessible. This is achieved through modeling and imitating these interactions on human behaviour. An average user will generally not spend half a day learning how to use a new on line application no matter how impressive it may be. The new goal is to target a wider audience and make web access readily available. Web 2.0 is about the people more so than the machines.

Effective web design can trick users into forgetting they are interacting with a machine. The logic behind a programmed response can give the impression of intelligent interaction. It is important to mention, that true artificial intelligence is still beyond the realms of man (and some argue beyond the scope of man). The Turing Test (1950) is still applicable today and proves that machines cannot think. (Oppy & Dowe, 2005).

Good internet web design incorporates a user friendly approach, and encourages the interaction between humans and computers. The internet will increasingly be programmed to seem as though the human has control of the computer, and not the other way around.

References.

No author (2008, May 1) Internet usage statistics.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

No author and no date. Online service rush to the web.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wi_online.htm

Oppy, G., & Dowe, D. (2005, July 28 ) The turing test.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/turing-test/

Site 1.

Oppy, G., & Dowe, D. (2005, July 28 ) The turing test.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/turing-test/

This site looks at the artificial intelligence of machines in regards to the Turing Test of 1950. This lengthy document presents a critical analysis of Turing’s test and debates the pros and cons of his arguments.
The authors argue that certain philosophies and debates about the intelligence of machines have been around for decades, and debated even before the advent of what we now call ‘modern’ technology.
The Turin test predicts that machines will become more and more powerful and the ability to imitate humans will become more plausible.

Site 2.

No author and no date. Online service rush to the web.
Retrieved May 11, 2008 from
http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wi_online.htm

This site is an excellent resource and provides a comprehensive background on almost all aspects of the net. It has covers 700 pages and 2000 plus links. The document is a work in progress and has been gathering information about the net since 1996. This site is written in a very basic text format which is uncommon in the highly visual style of today, but this allows for it to be viewed on almost any browser.

Module 4 / Tools for using the Web

Adobe PDF.

I have used Adobe PDF for a very long time, and tried PDF995 as well.
I use PDF’s at work all the time for a few main reasons:

The file sizes are small, but the quality is still good.

I can send documents to people which they can read, but not edit.

The majority of people have a PDF reader.

Flash / Shockwave Players.

Flash is fantastic. It brings life to the web. It is great for so many things ~ games / applications / web buttons and menu’s…. the list is endless.

Media Players.

I have used Quicktime / Windows Media Player / Real Player / Real Player / DivX and a few others.
I use Windows Media player regularly, as I have my entire music collection on an old computer connected to my stereo. It is a great way to quickly browse for music.

Search Manager/Combiners

I use Windows Desktop Search at work all the time.
This is great because our company has a shared drive with literally thousands of files.

It helps when I know the part name of a file, but don’t know where it is.

It’s great to quickly go to a file without browsing through folders to get to it.

It’s great to preview files to try and find what I am after.

I tried Copernic, and it does much the same as the windows version, but I think the layout looks much better.
If you don’t have this already, get it now ~ A brilliant tool !

Bookmark Manager

I tried Bookmark Buddy. It’s a good little tool. My wife and I share a computer and there are sooo many in the ‘favorites’ folder of the browser. This will be a huge help.

Offline Browser/Copier

I had a look at PageSucker, but decided not to download it. I understand what it is capable of, but don’t really have any use for offline web pages at the moment. I am trying to think of what it may be useful for…. any suggestions?

Module 3 / Web 2.0

What is the difference between a bookmark website like Blinklist and an html written website/list with the same information?

Web 2.0 Website

• A webdesigner sets up the frame work, format and theme for the site.
• Web 2.0 sites can be more akin to online software applications, which are accessible from any computer.
• On some sites, the user may determine the bulk of the content on that site.
• The content can be added to at any time of the day and night by any user.
• The concept for somes sites is based around the interaction between many users.

HTML written website of lists of other sites.

• The content is decided by the individual webdesigner.
• The content is maintained by only one person.
• The content is only updated at the webdesigner’s discretion.
• There is little interaction between each user.
• There is little interaction between the user and the site.

Which format do you prefer?

It really depends on what I am after ~ I believe both methods serve quite different purposes, and it depends on the reason that brought me to the site in the first place. Do I want an opinion from an individual, or a wide range of views from many people?

HTML list.
A website may need to present static, pre-determined links because the aim is to keep a user on a well defined path (like the Net 11 hyperlinks within curriculum documents).

Web 2.0 site
Another website may want to present a more dynamic and fluid content which has been defined by the opinion of many different users.

Module 3 / Blogs

Consider various uses for blogs such as citizen journalism and personal blogging

I consider the main use for blogs as communicating opinion, in an informal non structured manner, by means of electronic publishing, which is readily available and accessible to a vast global community.

I think it would be more poignant to ask…

‘What is the underlying reason behind a person publishing a blog?’

• Is the blog communicating Opinion or Reviews?
• Is the blog written purely for entertainment?
• Is the blog purposely written as propaganda, to influence and incite through mis-information?
• Is the blog even Corporate Advertising hidden as personal opinion?

I think blogs are written for every reason imaginable. It is important that the reader realises that a blog is not a formal piece of writing. It is fundamental to understand what is being read and in what context it is being made.
The following extract I found on Europa explains this well….

‘Ordinary people are increasingly accessing and posting on-line content, which is visible across the world. Yet today, not everybody always fully understands the context within which such material is written, seen or read, or the possible consequences of publishing something themselves. Everybody therefore needs to develop new skills, as active communicators and creators of content. In a global and multi-cultural environment, new media-related challenges arise and create concerns regarding safety, inclusion and access for all.’

Have you seen in your net travels any interesting uses for blogs?

To be honest, I don’t regularly frequent or subscribe to any one blog.
I read blogs quite often to try and find specific information or opinions about products, places, or answers to technical computer related questions.
For example I have an aversion to gadgets and can quite happily spend a few hours reading other bloggers opinions about the product I desire.

I did find this visual representation of a blog / forum timeline which is pretty cool.
Twitter ~ 3D representation.

Module 3 / FTP upload of Webpage

http://www.users.on.net/~ajg/

• Uploaded using Filezilla