SILS 75th wrap up

I felt under-dressed for the occasion but I was glad to be attending.

Complaining aside the event did make me feel like I am a part of something that matters and is going places. The president of UNC was there, Governor Hunt was there, and some one else who I'll look up later. The un-named guy had some very interesting points and really made me feel even more interested in what I am studying so much so that I feel like a chump for not making more notes while I do my readings.

Dinner and I'll come back to this

One of the things remarked on during one of the speeches was a notion of 'the information' becoming fragmented. So consider all the contents of recored history or every printed document for sake of comparison lets say 1000 units represents everything ever printed. Now we move into the technology age where 1000 books can fit on a cd and there are new books and other formats of recorder history now the history is represented by 1,000,000,000 units.
At this point with the quantity and variety of information on any particular topic available the ability to retrieve all relevent information becomes difficult. If you say give me everything on 1950's gas pumps you might get listings for holdings of patent applications, books of photo collections or some newspaper article detailing some accident, etc. Knowing how to catalog pictures, written documents, scale models, and 3D models of gas pumps is hard to do. Worse is the problem of knowing when to show what pieces of information to the user since no one is going to go beyond the first 3 or 4 pages of results. This is where the fragmentation comes into play.

SHUT UP IN CLASS!!!!!!

You may find this class to be boring or a waste of time but I paid good money for it so SHUT THE @#$% UP!!!

Well I spent my time finding journals, web sites and books. I saved all the pages and article (when allowed) to a flash drive. I spent 25% of my time being distracted by those of my fellow students who are under the impression that being the most popular person will ensure you employment after college. I did find some good leads I need to answer the questions about the polar bear's food supply and the connection between the ice movements and the bears movements.

The affects of global climate change on polar bears.

Has the changes associated with global climate change reduced the number of polar bears living today in contrast to the historical population numbers.

If there are fewer polar bears than there are normally in a region is there a link between the reduction and the shifts in climate?

Are polar bears more affected by temperature change or by a reduction in there food supply? Is a reduction in their food supply connected to the shifts in temperature.

prospec reviz

What are the effects of global climate change on polar bears living in the wild?

Is global climate change impacting the migration patterns of polar bears living in the wild? Are increases in temperature causing a decline in habitable land for polar bears? Is global climate change impacting the availability of food sources for polar bears? In more extreme cases climate change has physically reduced the area of polar bear’s habitat forcing them to encroach on land inhabited by man. The questions this research will answer are what are the effects of global climate change on polar bears living in the wild? Is the loss of food supplies linked to global shifts in climates? Are declines in natural habitat connected to climate change? Is the decline in population numbers linked to changes in their environment as a result of climate change?

Researchers disagree that climate change is responsible for the changes in wild animal populations. Scientists argue over the cause of declining habitats experienced by some species of wild animals. Supporters of the global climate change side of the argument cite increased temperatures as the cause for a reduction in food and habitat while critics blame toxic waste and other causes for the decline.

Kulthau’s theory, esp the initial stages, do they fit with the processes that you are experiencing right now?

YES

How?

I am living this line: "At this stage an inability to express precisely what information is needed makes communication between the user and the system awkward."-Kulthau


What is my current information need (be specific)?

Polar Bear (PB) population statistics
number of PBs
weights
breeding stats

PB Migration patterns
temperature stats on PB environments
PB encroachment reports
Ice coverage data

What am I going to do now to fill this information need?

Google, Jstor books etc

Think in context of the stage you’re at.

I like to believe I am in the exploration stage based on the description (confusion, frustration and doubt). I have made up my mind so I am past the Initiation and selection stages.