Chapter 5 : The example of book database or journal database

MINI SHOPAHOLIC  by KINSELLA, SOPHIE

Chapter4 : Reference collection

The Reference Collection
- encyclopedias
- dictionaries  
- almanacs 
- bibliographies  
- directories 
- atlases
- statistical sources 




Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_collection

Chapter3 : Source of Knowlege : Libraries

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION AND DEWEY

DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION: A COMPARISON

Eleanor S. Y. Lo

Library of Congress Classification (LCC) and Dewey Decimal Classification

(DDC) are the king and queen that have been reigning over the kingdom

of classification for several decades in America. Both of them originated

in the U. S. A.; but they are different in nature and structure. Since LCC

and DDC have been widely adopted by libraries outside their mother country,

a comparison between them may be of interest to library patrons.

It was for a unique library that LCC was formulated. The special nature

of the Library of Congress influenced the whole structure of the scheme. The

Congress library consists of several collections, each housed separately; the

resulting scheme is a series of individual classifications designed separately

by subject specialists.

On the contrary, DDC is intended for use in all sorts of libraries of

various sizes with abridged editions specially constructed for relatively small

libraries of any type: public, school, and junior college libraries. It is the

invention of one man, Melvil Dewey.

The most important feature in the classification is the notation, which is

defined as "a series of symbols which stand for the names of a class or any

division or subdivision of a class, and forms a convenient means of reference

to the arrangement of a classification."* LCC notation is a mixed one, consisting

of capital letters and arabic numerals. Single capital letters are used

for main classes (e.g. M for Music), and double letters ase used for main

divisions (e.g.

ML for Literature of Music). These capital letters are combined

with numerals, used integrally in conventional sequence, e.g.

T Technology

TJ Mechanical engineering

248 Mechanical models

249 Erecting work

250 Prime movers in general

On the other hand, DDC notation is a pure one, consisting of arabic

numerals with decimals. A 'three-figure minimum' is used consistently, e.g.

Social Sciences is always numbered 300 not: 3 or 30. The first three figures

act as a numerical guide to the arrangement order before further decimal

arrangement is consulted, e.g.

source : http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/6/600146.pdf



The Library of congress : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress

British Library : www.bl.uk

Thai National Library : www.nlt.go.th

Sripatum University Library : library.spu.ac.th

ASEAN Community : www.asean.org

Chapter2 : Objective and Subjective

Objective Facts :

EX.

Taj Mahal , Mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal

         Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the eight wonders of the world, and some Western historians have noted that its architectural beauty has never been surpassed. The Taj is the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India. Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of the full moon. On a foggy morning, the visitors experience the Taj as if suspended when viewed from across the Jamuna river.

          Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim, Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the memory of his dear wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal at Agra, India. It is an "elegy in marble" or some say an expression of a "dream." Taj Mahal (meaning Crown Palace) is a Mausoleum that houses the grave of queen Mumtaz Mahal at the lower chamber. The grave of Shah Jahan was added to it later. The queen’s real name was Arjumand Banu. In the tradition of the Mughals, important ladies of the royal family were given another name at their marriage or at some other significant event in their lives, and that new name was commonly used by the public. Shah Jahan's real name was Shahab-ud-din, and he was known as Prince Khurram before ascending to the throne in 1628.

Taj Mahal was constructed over a period of twenty-two years, employing twenty thousand workers. It was completed in 1648 C.E. at a cost of 32 Million Rupees. The construction documents show that its master architect was Ustad ‘Isa, the renowned Islamic architect of his time. The documents contain names of those employed and the inventory of construction materials and their origin. Expert craftsmen from Delhi, Qannauj, Lahore, and Multan were employed. In addition, many renowned Muslim craftsmen from Baghdad, Shiraz and Bukhara worked on many specialized tasks.

The Taj stands on a raised, square platform (186 x 186 feet) with its four corners truncated, forming an unequal octagon. The architectural design uses the interlocking arabesque concept, in which each element stands on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and a symmetry of architectural elements.

          Its central dome is fifty-eight feet in diameter and rises to a height of 213 feet. It is flanked by four subsidiary domed chambers. The four graceful, slender minarets are 162.5 feet each. The entire mausoleum (inside as well as outside) is decorated with inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems such as agate and jasper. The main archways, chiseled with passages from the Holy Qur’an and the bold scroll work of flowery pattern, give a captivating charm to its beauty. The central domed chamber and four adjoining chambers include many walls and panels of Islamic decoration.

The mausoleum is a part of a vast complex comprising of a main gateway, an elaborate garden, a mosque (to the left), a guest house (to the right), and several other palatial buildings. The Taj is at the farthest end of this complex, with the river Jamuna behind it. The large garden contains four reflecting pools dividing it at the center. Each of these four sections is further subdivided into four sections and then each into yet another four sections. Like the Taj, the garden elements serve like Arabesque, standing on their own and also constituting the whole.

 SOURCE :

 http://www.islamicity.com/culture/taj/default.htm

Subjective Opinions :

Ex.

Opinion on the war in Iraq

Rose at Broad Creek Middle School in Newport, North Carolina "I think that we should get out of Iraq because we've been over there for four years and that is definitely long enough. People get killed over there every day, not just Iraqi citizens but American troops! There's roadside, car and suicide bombings on every block it seems. Plus when Mr. Koczot gives us current events to do, there's barely anything truly interesting, it's ALL about Iraq. When President Bush decided to deploy about 20,000 more troops overseas I thought that was totaly uncalled for. We already have enough U.S. troops over there. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think being over there for four whole years is such a good idea. I just want them to come home, because my dad is in Baghdad, and when I watch the news and hear about all these bombs that are going off in Baghdad I really worry about him.So I wish that they would all come home and let Iraq sort out their problems on their own with their goverment, their president (leader) and their people."

Jessica from Draper, Utah "I think the war in Iraq was totally pointless to begin with. I wish President Bush would be smarter and let the soldiers come home. I feel that we won't win the war. Everything in the world is getting way out of control, and I don't feel safe in the U.S. anymore."

SOURCE :

http://articles.cnn.com/2007-03-20/politics/your.opinion.iraq.war_1_car-and-suicide-bombings-baghdad-war?_s=PM:EDUCATION

Chapter1 : Data,Information,Knowledge,Wisdom

 What is information?

Data

1. information, often in the form of facts or figures obtained from experiments or surveys, used as a basis for making calculations or drawing conclusions
2. information, for example, numbers, text, images, and sounds, in a form that is suitable for storage in or processing by a computer

Information

1. definite knowledge acquired or supplied about something or somebody
2. the collected facts and data about a particular subject
3. a telephone service that supplies telephone numbers to the public on request.
4. the communication of facts and knowledge
5. computer data that has been organized and presented in a systematic fashion to clarify the underlying meaning
6. a formal accusation of a crime brought by a prosecutor, as opposed to an indictment brought by a grand jury

Knowledge

1. general awareness or possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles
2. clear awareness or explicit information, for example, of a situation or fact
3. all the information, facts, truths, and principles learned throughout time
4. familiarity or understanding gained through experience or study

Wisdom

1. the knowledge and experience needed to make sensible decisions and judgments, or the good sense shown by the decisions and judgments made
2. accumulated knowledge of life or in a particular sphere of activity that has been gained through experience
3. an opinion that almost everyone seems to share or express
4. ancient teachings or sayings

 Good and poor information

      Good information is that which is used and which creates value. Experience and research shows that good information has numerous qualities.

Good information is relevant for its purpose, sufficiently accurate for its purpose, complete enough for the problem, reliable and targeted to the right person.  It is also communicated in time for its purpose, contains the right level of detail and is communicated by an appropriate channel, i.e. one that is understandable to the user. 

         Poor information is irrelevant, swamping, unclear, not all threw. Because if you are have all of this in your information you may not make audience understand your information.

Source of information

"Source" means the origin of something. An information source is a source of information for somebody, i.e. anything that might inform a person about something or provide knowledge to somebody. Information sources may be observations, people, speeches, documents, pictures, organizations etc. They may be primary sources, secondary sources, tertiary sources and so on. Empiricism regards sense data as the ultimate information sources, while other epistemologies have different views

	Primary sources Primary sources allow researchers to get as close as possible to original ideas, events and empirical studies as possible. Such sources may include expositions of creative ideas, first hand or contemporary accounts of events, publication of the results of empirical observations or studies, and other items that may form the basis of further research. Examples include: Novels, plays, poems, works of art, popular culture diaries, narratives, autobiographies, memoirs, speeches Government documents, patents Data sets, technical reports, experimental research results
	Secondary sources Secondary sources analyze, review or restate information in primary resources or other secondary resources. Even sources presenting facts or descriptions about events are secondary unless they are based on direct participation or observation. Moreover, secondary sources often rely on other secondary sources and standard disciplinary methods to reach results, and they provide the principle sources of analysis about primary sources. Examples include: Biographies Review articles and literature reviews Scholarly articles that don't present new experimental research results Historical studies
	Tertiary sources Tertiary resources provide overviews of topics by synthesizing information gathered from other resources. Tertiary resources often provide data in a convenient form or provide information with context by which to interpret it. Examples include: Encyclopedias Chronologies Almanacs Textbooks

Information Literacy
      The term information literacy, sometimes referred to as information competency, is generally defined as the ability to access, evaluate, organize, and use information from a variety of sources. Being information literate requires knowing how to clearly define a subject or area of investigation; select the appropriate terminology that expresses the concept or subject under investigation; formulate a search strategy that takes into consideration different sources of information and the variable ways that information is organized; analyze the data collected for value, relevancy, quality, and suitability; and subsequently turn information into knowledge (ALA 1989). This involves a deeper understanding of how and where to find information, the ability to judge whether that information is meaningful, and ultimately, how best that information can be incorporated to address the problem or issue at hand.
        Information literacy requires an awareness of the way in which information systems work, of the dynamic link between a particular information need and the sources and channels required to satisfy that need (Darch et al. 1997).  


 Information overload
        Information overload is a description given to the phenomenon where so much information is taken in by the human brain that it becomes nearly impossible to process it. Alvin Toffler, an academic from Russia, is credited with coining the term. Since the term was first used, it has become very popular, especially in the computer age, though some say information overload is more a time and presentation issue, than an actual data issue.
The reason that concerns about information overload have become so prevalent in today's world is explained by the complexities of the communications systems available to human beings. Instant communication is available by e-mail, cell phones, text messaging, instant messaging. Added to that, are the thousands of academic journals on the Internet, and even more information freely distributed through blogs and amateur Web sites. When all that is considered, information is being exchanged at rates never before experienced.
Further, when considering these sources, much of the information being presented may not be original. As a result, many times the reader or viewer will spend time going over information already received from other sources. If there are discrepancies, or even small differences in the way the information is presented, this could create confusion, leading an individual to feel overwhelmed. This is a common symptom blamed on information overload.

Value of information

     The relative importance of information for decision-making can increase or decrease its value to an organisation. For example, an organisation requires information on a competitor’s performance that is critical to their own decision on whether to invest in new machinery for their factory. The value of this information would be high. Always keep in mind that information should be available on time, within cost constraints and be legally obtained. 

Users of information

       There are many kinds of information users in the modern word, not just personal users. They include users in...

            - Business and industry

            - Education

            - Research and development

            - Entertainment

What is mind map?
      A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid to studying and organizing information, solving problems, making decisions, and writing.
The elements of a given mind map are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts, and are classified into groupings, branches, or areas, with the goal of representing semantic or other connections between portions of information. Mind maps may also aid recall of existing memories.
By presenting ideas in a radial, graphical, non-linear manner, mind maps encourage a brainstorming approach to planning and organizational tasks. Though the branches of a mindmap represent hierarchical tree structures, their radial arrangement disrupts the prioritizing of concepts typically associated with hierarchies presented with more linear visual cues.This orientation towards brainstorming encourages users to enumerate and connect concepts without a tendency to begin within a particular conceptual framework.
The mind map can be contrasted with the similar idea of concept mapping. The former is based on radial hierarchies and tree structures denoting relationships with a central governing concept, whereas concept maps are based on connections between concepts in more diverse patterns.

 Source :

http://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw.htm      

http://www.jhigh.co.uk/Intermediate2/Using%20Information/12_charact_of_info.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_source

http://www.libraryinstruction.com/infolit.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-information-overload.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map