ICS 101- INFORMATION COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY (2 CREDIT COURSE- COMPULSORY)

WEEK 1

OVERVIEW

This course will be examining data, types of data, information, uses of information, value of
information, information systems, different types of information systems, channels of
communicating information, highlighting new communication technologies and its impact on
the interaction of individuals and groups in a particular information related environment.

BACKGOUND TO THE COURSE

What is information science?

Information Science is interdisciplinary in nature. It is primarily concerned with the collection,

analysis, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.

Information Science is often (mistakenly) considered as branch of Computer Science. However,

it is a broad interdisciplinary field incorporating diverse field such as archival science, Cognitive
science, Commerce, Law, Management, Philosophy, Mathematics, Public policy and the social
sciences.

Therefore, practitioners within this field study the application and use of information in
organizations along with the interaction between people in a particular information related
environment with the aim of creating, replacing, improving or understanding information
systems.

In a nutshell, Information Science consists of having the knowledge and understanding on how
to collect, classify, manipulate, store, retrieve and disseminate any type of information.

Information professionals are concerned with different ways of handling data/ information
from the stage of collection, packaging/ processing (arranging, summarizing, translating and
finally dissemination.

What is Data

Data is a collection of facts, figures and symbols such as values or measurement. It can be in
numbers, words, measurement, observations or even just description of things. Data can be
collected through interviews, direct observation or surveys. A set of data may or may not be
meaningful depending on the usefulness to the user.

Data are what an individual can perceive with any of the five senses, and from which
information can be generated. Data can be communicated by other people, documents,
computer or telecommunication systems (internet). Example of data is the list containing the
jamb scores of students.

Data and information are two closely interrelated concepts that people unconsciously use
interchangeably; but in the actual sense they are different from each other.

Tamiyu (2003) defined data as communication symbols that are used to describe an entity.
Communication symbols become data when they are used to express an idea or describe a
particular entity. This means that data can be written, spoken or implied by non-verbal actions.
For instance the symbols “large” and “small” can be used to describe the size of ICS 101 class. In
this instance, the symbols are the data being used to describe the size of the class.

WHAT IS INFORMATION

Information is meaningful data in the sense that it has to be processed, translated, summarized,
and arranged by the user of the information.

DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF INFORMATION

Tiamiyu (2003) defined information from three main perspectives:

 Sender’s definition of information

 Receiver’s definition of information
 Average definition of information

The sender definition of information is the understanding or meaning intended by the sender of
the data.

The receiver’s definition of information is the understanding or meaning derived or inferred by

the recipient of the data.

In the process of communicating information, for instance, MR. (X) might wants to
communicate an expression “short man” to Mr. (Y) with a symbol. This type of information
might be perceived accurately or differently depending on some factors:

 The ability of the sender to accurately perceive the entity/data/ symbol.

 Appropriateness of the data to describe the particular entity.
 Ability of the recipient to infer accurately from the data intended.

The difference between information intended and information inferred is referred to as

“Noise”. Noise tends to distort the information conveyed or inferred thereby reducing the
effectiveness of communication.

The average definition of information

This is the average of the different meaning that senders and recipients in a particular
community infer from a given set of data. For instance three individuals in a community might
interpret the data “short man” differently depending on their level of perception. However,
the average interpretation of the data “short man” would be taken as the information
conveyed by the data in that community.

Michael Buklland (2001) also defined information in three different ways: These three
definitions are quite overlapping.

Information –as-thing: This is used to denote objects that are attributive, informative and
instructive in nature such as data, documents, text etc. They have the quality of imparting
knowledge or communicating information.

Information- as- process: It is the act of informing, communicating of knowledge, news, facts
or occurrence. It is the action of telling or fact of being told something.

Information as knowledge: This is used to denote that which is perceived in information- as-
process i.e the knowledge communicated concerning some particular facts, news, subject, and
events. Information as knowledge has the capability of reducing uncertainty. Another key
characteristic of “Information as knowledge” is that it is intangible. One cannot touch or
measure it in any direct way. Knowledge, belief and opinion are personal, subjective and
conceptual; therefore, to communicate knowledge, it has to be expressed, described or
represented in some physical way as a signal or text. Any such expression, description or
representation n would be information- as thing.

MISINFORMATION: According to Wikipedia, misinformation is false or inaccurate information

that is spread unintentionally, which can be misleading. Misinformation arises when there is
not enough evidence, facts or figures concerning a particular situation, therefore, leading to
generalization.

E.g. ICS 101 lecturer will not be coming for classes till next week.

DISINFORMATION: This is deliberately giving false information that is meant to mislead either
as a rumors or propaganda.

E.g. ICS 101 test has been postponed till further notice.

WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge can be defined in the following ways according to Oxford Dictionary

a. Expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education- theoretical

and practical understanding of a subject for a specific purpose.
b. What is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information.
c. Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation

Knowledge is a subset of information. It is a subset that has been extracted, filtered, formatted
in a special way. More specifically, the information we call knowledge is information that had
been subjected to, and passed test of validation. For instance scientific knowledge (hypotheses
and theories) validated by the rules and test applied by the scientific community

Knowledge acquisition therefore, involves complex cognitive processes: perception, learning,

communication, association and reasoning.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INFORMATION

 Accuracy

 Timeliness

 Currency

 Completeness

 Relevance
Week 2:

USES OF INFORMATION IN AN ORGANIZATION

There are 6 main uses of information in organizations.

Communication
Monitoring and control
Decision-making
Measuring performance
Identifying new business opportunities
Creating awareness

Communication
Effective communication in an organization is enhanced through the use of information.
Information can be transferred through various channels such as memos, reports,
correspondences intranet, databases, etc from the boss to his subordinates, from one manager
to the other, from one employee to the other. Information is needed to communicate the day
to day events and happenings in the organization on order to take appropriate decisions.

Monitoring and control

Information can be used to monitor and control performance. This can be done by comparing
actual performance against its predicted (budgeted) performance. Then they will act upon it.
For instance it can be used in monitoring the sales level and being able to replace stock as at
when due. Also the performance of an organization can be monitored through the financial
report.

Decision-making
When managers are ready to make tough choices (decisions) they need good, accurate and up-
to-date information. If they act without relevant information it could lead to disaster, and
failure. It helps to reduce uncertainty.

Measuring performance
Organizations can compare their sales figures with their competitors or indeed against their
own previous years. This type of information can be used to improve performance of the
organization; thereby, contributing meaningfully to the organization’s bottom line.

Identifying new business opportunities

Organizations are always on the lookout for gaps in the market. They fill these gaps with
suitable products or services to satisfy customer needs. These gaps can be identified through
observations, market surveys, and interviews for relevant information that would improve the
business and give it a competitive hedge over others.

Create Awareness: Information can be used to enlighten people on your products and services.
This awareness can be created via posters, fliers, placard, signboards or bill boards, pamphlets
etc.

Gain knowledge: Relevant Information can enhance the knowledge base on a particular
subject/field, product or services. In an organization, information can increase your knowledge
of a particular product thereby adding value to you and the profitability of the organization.
VALUE OF INFORMATION

There is actually no unit of measurement of information. The value of information depends on

its usefulness to the user. Therefore, it is a function of its uses.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VALUE OF INFORMATION

Subjectivity: The value given to any kind of information will differ depending on the usefulness
to the user and the level of perception. The value attributed to a piece of information by Mr. A
will differ from the interpretation of that same information by Mr. B. This means the value of
information is subjective in nature.

Situation dependent: The relevance of a piece of information is situation dependant. i.e what
may be information today may not be information tomorrow. This means that the value of
information could diminish with time. E.g. the information about the availability of fuel in a
particular place OR information from the news (print media).

Positive: The information (good or bad) that will enable you take necessary decision has a
positive value. This means that the information is beneficial to the user. E.g. Bursary
department is giving out loans to students OR the death of a known person.

Negative: Negative information are detrimental in nature. This information are false and can
mislead. Therefore the value of such information is negative E.g. All the students of ICS 101
class are involved in the protest against the Vice Chancellor.

Zero: Zero information means that the information at any point in time is of no use to the
person. The person can afford to disregard the piece of information. This means that the value
of the information is zero.

QUANTITATIVE WAYS OF MEASURING THE VALUE OF INFORMATION

 Cost Benefit Analysis- A cost benefit analysis enables one to weigh the cost of acquiring
a piece of information to the benefit derived from the use of that information. Assuming
you obtained a piece of information from the front page of Guardian Newspaper, the
cost is N40 paid for the purchase of the newspaper. On the other hand, if the
information is free, the cost of acquiring the information is the transport fare used to
obtain information from the source; and if the person is mobile, the cost will be the
amount you used to fuel your car. Aside the cost, you weigh the benefit derived from
the use of the information.

 Cost of not having the information: This is the cost incurred for not having a piece of
information at the right time. For instance, assuming you have a conference to attend at
Abuja, on getting there you were told that the conference had been postponed; and a
letter was sent to you to that effect but had not been received. The cost of that piece of
information that was sent to you, but was not received is what it cost you to travel to
and fro to Abuja. The value of that piece of information is the cost incurred for not
having the information at the right time.

 Willingness to Pay (Users Approach): The value you place on a piece of information is
determined by your willingness to pay for that piece of information. For instance, there
is scarcity of fuel, and somebody has information of where you can purchase fuel and
 has asked you to pay for the information. The amount you pay to that person is
determined by the value you place on that piece of information.

 Producer’s determination (Demand Approach): If there is high demand for a piece of

information, it means that the value of that information is high, therefore the producer
determining the cost of acquiring that information. E.g. rendering an information service
that is of high demand to the public.

TYPES OF DATA

Data can be classified based on its usage to the user. These are divided into two types:

 Primary data- This is data observed or collected directly by firsthand experience by the
researcher using methods such as interviews and questionnaire. The key point here is
that the data you collect is unique to you and your research and until you publish no
one has access to it.
 Secondary data- This is data that had been collected and collated by somebody other
than the researcher for some reasons not related to the current study. It can be used to
get different perspectives on the current study, to supplement or compare the work
with others. It is data that is neither collected directly by the user nor specifically for the
user. It may be available from internal sources or collected and published by another
organization. Examples of secondary data include: published reports, Government
Statistics, Scientific and technical reports, financial statements, Bank’s reports, Books,
Magazine, Websites, Television, Radio, Newspaper, Films, Journals and Publications.
These sources are in exhaustible.

Advantages

1. It is cheap and inexpensive.

2. It is easily accessible.
3. It is readily available.
4. It saves time and effort.
5. It provides a basis for comparison.

Disadvantages
1. Credibility of the source of publication or report.
2. The data might be outdated i.e it may not be relevant to your scope of study.
3. The researcher has no control over the quality of the data collected.
4. Authenticity of the data collection measures is questionable.

Data can further be divided into three main types

 Textual data e.g The boy has small stature
 Numerical data e.g 45.2 %
 Pictorial data e.g bar chart, histograms, tables etc

QUALITATIVE DATA
Qualitative data includes virtually any information that can be captured that is not
numerical in nature. It is descriptive information. It describes something. Qualitative
data can be collected via:
- In-depth interviews
- Direct observation
 - Written documents
The below data describes a little girl.
 She is beautiful
 She is fair complexioned
 She has a long hair

QUANTITATIVE DATA

Quantitative data is used to describe a type of data that can be counted or expressed
numerically. This type of data is often collected in experiments, manipulated and statistically
analyzed. It can be represented virtually in graphs, histograms, tables and charts. Examples:

 The total number of students attending ICS 101 is 150

 The footballers’ heights are expected to be 6ft 5inches each to participate in the match.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA

QUALITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE DATA

Deals with description Deals with numbers
Data can be observed but not measured Data can be measured
Data can be expressed in colours, textures, Data can be expressed in length, height, area,
appearance etc. volume, weight, speed, time, temperature,
humidity, sound levels, cost ages etc.
Qualitative- Quality Quantitative- Quantity

TYPES OF INFORMATION

 Mode of transmission of information

Oral –verbal (One to one relationship) e.g. lecturing
Written- textbooks, magazine, newspaper

Gestures-signals, spoken or non-verbal cues

 Organizational information

-Strategic level information (Top management)

-Tactical level information (Middle level managers)

-Operational level information (Bottom level managers)

 Form of Storage

-Numeric (conveying information using numbers) e.g. weather forecast, exchange rate,
census exercise etc)

-Textual (conveying information using natural language) e.g. It will rain tomorrow.

-Image (Inferring information from an image) e.g. sign language, signatures, tribal marks
etc.

Sound/Audio e.g. ntional anthem, whistle, siren, alarm (fire or clock).

 Hard versus soft information- There is a thin line of difference between soft and hard
information. What is hard today may be soft tomorrow. It is situation dependent
 Hard information- This type of information is technical in nature. It cannot be easily
comprehended by a layman that is not in a particular field. E.g. research reports, journals,
feasibility studies etc.

Soft information: This type of information can easily be comprehended by the users. It is
not technical in nature. E.g. newspaper, magazines, textbooks etc.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

What is a source?

A source is the origin of something. It can be defined as a place, person or thing from which
something can be obtained. In other words, an information source can be anything that
conveys information or knowledge to somebody. Examples of information sources include:
people, documents, pictures, organizations, computer systems, information systems,
information centers, online databases, internet etc.

The sources of information can be grouped into three:

-Primary sources

-Secondary sources

-Tertiary sources

Primary sources of information

Primary sources provide first hand information or direct evidence concerning a topic under
investigation. They are created by the witness or recorder who experienced the event or
conditions being documented.

Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based. These sources may
appear in physical print or electronic format. They report a discovery, present original thinking
or share new information. Examples include

-Artifacts (e.g. coins, plants specimen, furniture, tools, clothings)

-Audio recordings (radio programs)

-Dairies, websites survey research, market survey, public opinion polls

-Internet communication

-Newspaper articles

-Patents

-proceedings of meeting

-Records of organization, government agencies, annual report, treaty, constitution etc

Secondary sources of information

Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources. They are interpretation and
evaluation of primary sources. Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on
discussion of evidence. The definition of a secondary source may vary depending on the
discipline or area of interest. Examples include:

-Bibliographies

-Commentaries

-Dictionaries, Encyclopedias

-Histories

-Journal articles

-Magazines and newspaper

-Textbooks

Website

Tertiary Sources of information

Tertiary sources consist of information which is a distillation and collection of primary and
secondary sources. Examples include:

-Almanacs

-Bibliographies (considered secondary)

-Chronologies

-Dictionaries and Encyclopedia (considered secondary)

-Directories

-Indexes, abstracts (They are used to locate primary and secondary sources)

-manual

-Textbooks (considered secondary)

Week 3:

Methods of Data Storage

Data storage is the holding of data in an electromagnetic form for access by a computer
processor. There are two main kinds of storage:

Primary storage is data that is held in random access memory (RAM) and other memory devices
that are built into computers.

Secondary storage is data that is stored on external storage devices such as hard disks, tapes,
CD's.

The table below summarizes the main methods of data storage

Method Description
Hard disks Often called a disk drive, hard drive or hard disk drive, this method of data
storage stores and provides relatively quick access to large amounts of data.
The information is stored on electromagnetically charged surfaces called
'platters'.
Floppy disks A floppy disk is a type of magnetic disk memory which consists of a flexible
disk with a magnetic coating. Almost all floppy disks for personal computers
now have a capacity of 1.44 megabytes. Floppy disks are readily portable,
and are very popular for transferring software from one PC to another. They
are, however, very slow compared to hard disks and lack storage capacity.
Increasingly, therefore, computer manufacturers are not including floppy
disk drives in the products as a built-in storage option.
Tape storage Tape is used as an external storage medium. It consists of a loop of flexible
celluloid-like material that can store data in the form of electromagnetic
charges. A tape drive is the device that positions, writes from, and reads to
the tape. A tape cartridge is a protectively-encased tape that is portable.

Optical disks An optical disc is a storage medium that can be written to and read using a
low-powered laser beam. A laser reads these dots, and the data is
converted to an electrical signal, finally converted into the original data.

CD-R Compact Disc-Recordable ("CD-R") discs have become a universal data

storage medium worldwide. CD-Rs are becoming increasingly popular for
music recording and for file storage or transfer between personal
computers. CDR discs are write-once media. This means that - once used -
they cannot be erased or re-recorded upon. CD-R discs can be played back
in any audio CD player or CD-ROM drive, as well as many DVD
players and drives.
CD-RW Compact Disc-Rewritable (CD-RW) disks are rewritable and can be erased
and re-recorded upon over and over again. CD-RW discs can only be used
on CD players, CD-ROM drives, and DVD players and drives that are CD-RW
playback-compatible.

DVD A DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a high density optical
disc with large capacity for storage of data, pictures and sound. The capacity
 capacity is 4.7 GB for single sided, single layer DVD disc - which is
approximately 7 times larger than that of a compact disc.

INFORMATION NEEDS AND INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR

What is an information need?

According to Wikipedia, information need is an individual or group’s desire to locate and obtain
information to satisfy a conscious or unconscious need. The “information” and “need” in
“information need” are inseparable. Needs and interest call forth information.

The concept of information needs was coined by an American information scientist, Robert S.
Taylor in his article “ The process of asking questions” published in American Documentation
now Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology.

In his paper, Taylor attempted to describe how an inquirer obtains an answer from an
information system, by performing the process consciously or unconsciously. Also he studied
the reciprocal influence between the inquirer and a given system.

According to Taylor, Information needs have four levels:

1. Conscious and unconscious need for information not existing in the remembered
experience of the investigator. It is the actual but unexpressed need for information.
2. The conscious mental description of an ill-defined area of indecision. In this level, the
inquirer might discuss with somebody in a particular field to get an answer.
3. At the researcher’s level, he forms a rational statement of his question. This statement
is a rational and unambiguous description of the inquirer’s doubt.
4. The question as presented to the information system.

The need for information in these modern times cannot be overemphasized. To thrive in this
modern era, one needs a variety of information, no matter how one is versed in a field or
profession. Information plays a significant role in our professional and personal lives. People
need information to work properly in their fields. For instance information needs and
information seeking behavior of academics have been a popular area of research for the
information scientist (Majid and Kassim, 2000). Zhang (1998) stresses that a thorough
understanding of users’ information needs and information seeking behavior is fundamental to
the provision of successful information service.

INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR

Information seeking behavior result from the recognition of a need (s) perceived by the user. It
is a conscious attempt on the part of the user in satisfying a particular type of need. The
behavior elicited by the user is tailored towards the satisfaction of that particular need. The
behavior may take several forms: For example the user may make demands on formal systems
that are customarily defined as information systems; such as libraries, On-line services,
information centers or upon systems which perform information and non-information
functions. On the other hand, the user may seek information from other people rather from
systems.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

An information system is defined as a means of providing information in such a way that it will
be most useful to the persons for whom it is intended (Tiamiyu, 2003). In other words, an
information system comprises of complementary activities that are performed towards a
common objectives of facilitating information flow within a community, department or unit
within an organization.

Information systems are usually established to facilitate such activities as the creation,
organization, storage, retrieval, transfer, computation and use of data. Such activities require
material and human resources with a technology to create and process data into more valuable
data and information.

Information systems vary greatly in their objectives, scope and complexity. For instance in an
organization, an information system comprises of smaller interconnecting sub-systems that
serve the needs of particular departments, units, workgroups or personnel in the organization.
An organization provides the forum where human, paper-based (manual), computerized and
other information systems overlap and interface with one another across departments and
units.

The various departments and units that can make up an organizational information system
include the following:

1. Central administration department including strategic planning, finance, personnel and

public relations.

2. Production department

3. Sales /marketing, purchasing and inventory department.

4. Research and development department.

Each of these units has overlapping functions whereby the output of one serves as an input to
another i.e they interface with one another.

COMPONENTS OF AN INFORMATION SYSTEM

An information system is composed of all the components that collect, manipulate and
disseminate data or information. It includes hardware, software, people, communication
systems, procedures and data itself. The activities of an information system centre on inputting
data, processing of data into information, storage of data and information and the production
of output for the end users such as Management report.

The components of an information system are outlined below:

 Human Resources: This constitutes the organizational personnel who act as decision
makers, operational level staff, data collectors, computer system operators and
managers.

 Socio-organizational framework: It comprises policies, procedures and social networks

governing the relationships among personnel; between personnel and the organization;
between personnel and their work; between personnel and information; and between
personnel and data processing equipment.
  Computer and telecommunication hardware: Computer hardware and
telecommunication facilities are needed to facilitate the inputting, processing and
storage of data. It could also aid the transfer of data from one source to another.

 Computer software: These are sets of instructions that are used to determine the type
of processing to be performed on data and information. For instance there are various
applications software which can be utilized for processing data and information.

 Data and information: These are potentially informative symbols recorded as words,
numbers or graphs in memos, forms, data sheets, tables, computer files, reports etc.

TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The three major types of information systems are:

 Transaction processing systems

 Management information systems
 Decision support systems

Others are:

 Executive information systems

 Expert system
 Office information system
 Document or record management system

I. Transaction Processing Systems

TPS processes business transaction of the organization. Transaction can be any activity of the
organization. Transactions differ from organization to organization. For example, take a railway
reservation system. Booking, canceling, etc are all transactions. Any query made to it is a
transaction. However, there are some transactions, which are common to almost all
organizations. Like employee new employee, maintaining their leave status, maintaining
employees accounts, etc.

Transaction processing systems provide speed and accuracy, and can be programmed to follow
routines functions of the organization.

The transaction processing system attends to the daily or short term information needs of the
organization such as attendance records of the employees. This kind of information is required
at the operational level for carrying out the day-to-day operational activities. Due to its
capabilities to provide information for processing transaction of the organization, the
information system is known as Transaction Processing System or Data Processing System.
Some examples of information provided by such systems are processing of orders, posting of
entries in bank, evaluating overdue purchaser orders etc.

II. Management Information Systems

Management information system collates, captures data from low level management and
summarizes it as a report for management. It produces the output as a report.
These systems assist lower management in problem solving and making decisions. They use the
results of transaction processing and some other information also. It is a set of information
processing functions. It handles queries as quickly as they arrive. An important element of MIS
is database.

A database is a non-redundant collection of interrelated data items that can be processed

through application programs and available to many users.

The type of information required by the middle management is known as managerial

information. The information required at this level is used for making short term decisions and
plans for the organization. Information like sales analysis for the past quarter or yearly
production details etc. fall under this category. Management information system (MIS) caters
for the information needs of the organization. Due to its capabilities to fulfill the managerial
information needs of the organization, Management Information Systems have become a
necessity for all big organizations. And due to its vastness, most of the big organizations have
separate MIS departments to look into the related issues and proper functioning of the system.

III. Decision Support Systems

These systems assist higher management to make long term decisions. These type of systems
handle unstructured or semi structured decisions. A decision is considered unstructured if there
are no clear procedures for making the decision and if not all the factors to be considered in the
decision can be readily identified in advance.

A computerized decision support system deals with calculations, forcasts, prediction,

optimization and simulation in order to support Top Management decisions. It goes beyond
providing information to support decision making. A special software is needed to do the
analysis.

The information provided by DSS is of strategic value; hence it is used by Management for
decision making. For example the trends in revenues earned by the organization are required
by the top management for setting the policies of the organization. This information is not
required by the lower levels in the organization.

IV. EXECUTIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM

This is an information system designed for executives in an organization. They help in strategic
decision making. EIS depends on both the MIS and the environment for information. The
information can be tit bits not necessarily voluminous. Information of this nature can be about
competitors, profitability and other alerting sources.

EIS selectively disseminates information to the top Management of an organization. The

information obtained either from within or outside the organization are of strategic
importance, and are passed to them real time with no complex analysis. The EIS evaluates the
information coming from outside or within the organization to prevent information overload.

V. EXPERT SYSTEM : Evaluating and taking decisions on the part of the executives has led
to the development of the expert system. Expert system is designed to make
 recommendations based on the data that had been fed into it. It simulates a human
expert in a particular field in evaluating data and recommending actions to be taken.

VI. OFFICE INFORMATION SYSTEM: This comprises of seamless integration of computing

and telecommunication office technologies in the office environment within an
organization. The OIS is designed to reduce the need for paperwork in an organization,
reducing the need for multiple capture of data and making the office environment more
pleasurable for office workers. These technologies facilitate speedy and efficient
storage, retrieval, delivery and processing of data, documents and messages in the
office.

VII. DOCUMENT OR RECORDS INFORMATION SYSTEM: This type of system is designed to

manage the corporate records of an organization. The computer can be used to manage
the records. There are various ways of managing organizational records. These include:

 Extracting information from a document and keyed it into a computer data file for
storage.

 Scan the document and later stored on a data file.

 The document or record can be stored on a CD-ROM due to its durability and longevity.

Figure

1.2 - Relation of information systems to levels of organization

INFORMATION SYSTEMS METHODOLOGIES

According to Avison and Fitzgerald (1995) an information system development methodology is

defined as a system of procedures, techniques, tools and documentation which help system
developers to implement a new system.

There is no standard methodology to be adopted for every problem situation in system

development. The main problem for most system analyst is which methodology or which
combination of methodologies to adopt in solving a particular problem.

The structured approach to systems development or the traditional approach is an orderly step-
by step approach to performing a sequence of activities in the process of developing any type
of information. Another name for it is the System Design Life Cycle (SDLC).

The sequence of system development as identified by Jeffery and Lawrence, 1984) are
mentioned below: This can be applied from manual to computerized system.

a. PROBLEM DEFINITION AND REQUIREMENT SPECIFICATION: This is the stage during

which problems or deficiencies associated with an existing information system are
articulated. The problem of the old system will determine the requirement to be met by
the proposed system.

b. SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND FEASIBILITY STUDY: The focus is on Analyzing the existing
system in detailed and proposing alternative system that could meet the requirement of
the new system. The alternatives systems are analyzed to such a depth as to
determining which of the alternatives are feasible and cost effective.

c. SYSTEM DESIGN: The detailed physical and logical design of the proposed new system is
performed at this stage. The logical design focuses on what the new system will be
doing with data, complete description of data and data flows in terms of input,
processing and output data. The physical design provides a complete description of all
input and output format, data files, databases, forms, data processing equipment,
personnel, software specification, system security, control and operational requirement.

d. PROGRAMMING: The software specifications are coded by programmers into a

computer program using a particular programming language. The program is
comprehensively tested to remove errors. Complete documentation of the computer
program and user manual are produced. In the alternative, a ready made software can
be purchased that would meet the data processing requirement of the proposed
system.

e. IMPLEMENTATION: The objective of this stage is to provide a working system for the
organization by developing an organizational environment in which the system will
operate. The task performed at this stage involves installing and testing the complete
system within the environment of the organization, site preparation, purchase and
installation of equipment and software, training of operators and users of the system,
conversion of the existing data into formats that can be used by the system. The old
system is run concurrently with the new system before final change over to the new
system.

f. POST IMPLEMENTATION EVALUATION This is done prior to and after complete change
over from the old to the new system. The purpose of this review is to ascertain whether
the new system is meeting the requirement as originally set. This evaluation will provide
 a feedback to the system designer as to the correctness of their analysis and design, and
might instigate a new system development.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS CAREERS

Information systems have various career prospects. The careers allows for multi- specialty. A
detailed description of each of the careers is listed below:

I. SYSTEM ANALYST: A system Analyst is a person who selects and configures computer
information systems for an Organization or business. The system Analyst job begins with
determining and understanding the general objectives of the Organization, the system
and user requirements. Once the system Analyst has determined the general and
specific needs of the system, he can choose an appropriate system that will accomplish
the goals of the business.
II. SYSTEM DESIGNER: A system designer is a person who designs, develops and
implements the clearly defined information requirement of the new system. This entails
planning, designing information systems that integrate hardware, software and
communication technologies. Systems designer are usually central to the development
and installation of new IT system, which are run in parallel with the old system until all
the bugs in the new system are found and resolved.

III. SYSTEM PROGRAMMER: In an IT Organi zation, a system programmer plays a central

role. He installs, customizes and maintains the operating system. He installs or upgrades
products that run on the system. Other tasks performed by the system programmer
include the following: Planning hardware and software system upgrades and changes in
configuration, Training system operators, Performing installation specific customization
task, Debugging problems with system software and System wide performance tuning
to meet required levels of service.

IV. DATABASE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR (DBA) The DBA maintains the system software
environment for business purposes. He does the day-to-day maintenance of the system
to keep them running smoothly. The DBA also ensures the integrity of, and efficient
access to data that is stored in the database. Other tasks performed by the DBA include:
installing software, adding and deleting users and maintaining user profiles, managing
storage devices and printers, managing networks, connectivity and system performance.

V. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIST: Information technologists operate, maintain and

control information systems and equipment. In some organizations they are referred to
as information support personnel or communication support specialist.

VI. INFORMATION MANAGERS: Information Managers plan, develop coordinate and

control information systems, human and material resources needed for the systems and
processing. The main role of an information Manager is to coordinate activities, sub
systems and services under him. They are also called Director of information services.
Information Communications Technologies (ICT) - are technologies that enable society to
create, collect, consolidate, communicate, manage and process information in multimedia
and various digital formats for different purposes i.e. computing and telecommunications
technologies like the personal computer, CD-ROM, cable TV, cellular phones and the
Internet.

Developments in ICT have brought about the merger of the computing, information,
communications, entertainment, and mass media industries thereby providing a means of
exchanging information anytime, anywhere in the digital format used by computers.

This technological convergence has brought about an enormous impact on the way we live,
work, think and play. These changes are quite prevalent in our everyday lives such as the use
of e-mail and cellular phones at home and in the workplace and also linked to all facets of
society: business, education, military, recreation, transportation, communication, scientific
exploration, knowledge management, etc

Computing and telecommunications industries have (of course) responded enthusiastically to

these changes and have been continuously working and introducing products into the market
that are more powerful than the previous one. More innovative and useful applications of
technology have found their way both into the corporate world and as consumer products.

The shift from print to digital information has a high impact on libraries, information centers
and other institutions directly involved in processing information. This shift is generally
attributed to the merging of computing, telecommunications technologies and other
industries. Computers have permeated society because of their ability to perform high
volume error-free repetitive tasks at speeds much faster than human beings, while recent and
emerging developments in the area of computing; telecommunications, networking and
resource sharing made access to information anytime, anywhere possible.

Realizing the importance and the role that ICT play in society, each country has developed or
is in the process of creating a policy, or is already implementing its own national information
infrastructure initiatives that aim to use ICT as a vehicle for economic growth and stability.

ICT IN EDUCATION
If designed and implemented properly, ICT-supported education can promote the acquisition of
the knowledge and skills that will empower students for lifelong learning.
The following are the benefits derived from the use of ICT in education:
enhanced motivation and creativity when confronted by the new learning environments,
a greater disposition to research and problem-solving focused on real social situations,
more comprehensive assimilation of knowledge in the interdisciplinary ICT environment,
systematic encouragement of collaborative work between individuals and groups,
ability to generate knowledge,
capacity to cope with rapidly changing, complex, and uncertain environments,
new skills and abilities fostered through technological literacy.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

According to White (2002) the history of computing can practically start from the invention of
the first electronic computer ENIAC (electronic numerical integrator and calculator) in
collaboration of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Penn State University in 1946.
It weighted 30 tons, was 2,7 meters high, size of a gym, and consisted of 17 480 vacuum tubes
and was capable for 100 000 calculations per second. It reminded Philadelphians of its
dependency on electricity, because the lights of Philadelphia were flashing when it was turned
on. (White 2002.)

The next steps in computer technology were taken in 1947 when the transistor was invented in
Bell’s laboratory, New Jersey, which made it possible to reduce the size, consumption of
electricity and increase the capacity of calculations of computer dramatically. In 1971 the first
microprocessor was integrated on a silicon ship at Intel lab, Silicon Valley which made it
possible to build the first micro sized computers and finally, the PC – Personal Computer by IBM
in 1981, which was the first commercial breakthrough in computer industry. (White 2002.)

Parallel to the development of computer technology, communications technologies were

developed for computers. In 1969 the architecture of a self-rerouting network was defined in
the ARPANET project (US Defense Department’s Advanced Research Project Agency electronic
communication NETwork), which provided better architecture for computer communication in
the case of war or some other disaster destroying the infrastructure partially. After that, in
1974 the invention of TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) Interconnection
Network Protocol gateway technology made it possible to connect different networks together.
This made it possible – technically – to create the network of networks, the Internet. (White
2002.)

The next breakthrough was in 1993, when the graphical interface for Internet services and
resources was invented. The text-based and menu based systems like Gopher remained only for
academic use. The graphical Web (World Wide Web, WWW) was adopted for commercial use
very rapidly. The user explosion and the increased traffic due the graphical information made
the academic version of the Internet very vulnerable. In 1998 the Internet II was launched for
creating a broad bandwidth Internet that makes it possible to integrate real-time interactive
multimedia on a network. The idea was to integrate digital telephony, broadcasting and
information technology, but in practice it has been possible since 2000. (White 2002.)

According to Becker (2002), the history of digital telephony also leads to a convergence with
other technologies. In the beginning in the 1960s, the telephone system gradually began
converting its internal connections to a packet-based, digital switching system. The original
recommendations of ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) described some initial
guidelines for implementing digital telephony. In the early 1990s, an industry-wide effort began
to establish a specific implementation for ISDN in the United States. Members of industry
agreed to create the National ISDN 1 (NI-1) standard so that end users would not have to know
the brand of switch they are connected to in order to buy equipment and software compatible
with it. Most recently, ISDN service has largely been displaced by broadband internet services,
such as xDSL (different variations of Digital Subscriber Line) and Cable Modem service. One of
the most important branches in digital telephony is w

ireless communication (Mobile phones); its technology is now being integrated to hand held
computers and other devices. Mobility and ubiquitous technologies are now under vigorous
research and development globally. (IST 2003.)
If we look at the development of technologies from the broadcasting point of view, the same
convergence and digitalization can be seen as a result of that development ([Link]
2002). In the year 1983, network radio distribution started by satellite (companies like ABC,
CBS, NBC and RKO) using a digital format. The digital TV receiver was introduced by ITT-
Intermetall in Germany. In the year 1986, scrambling of satellite-fed cable TV programming
started and the sale of decoders and program subscriptions to home dish owners began.
Europe’s Eureka 95 HDTV (High Definition TV) system demonstrated at the IBC Company in
Brighton, England in 1988. The first television program (Computer Chronicles) was delivered via
the Internet in 1995 and the first television station (KOLD 13, Arizona USA) uses a networked
digital video server in its daily on-air operations. At the same year, interactive cable modem
trials with consumers started. In the year 1996, HDTV was broadcast and received live at the
WHD-TV commercial station in Washington, D.C. At the same time set-top boxes were plugged
into the TV and telephone and that allowed viewers to surf the Internet’s World Wide Web via
their remote control. Agreements between broadcasters, TV manufacturers, and PC makers
sets inter-industry standards for digital HDTV and makes digital broadcasting an integral part of
ICT. ([Link] 2002).

If we look back at the history of digital technology, it easily seems that the technical innovations
just matched together by accident. However, from a commercial and political point of view, the
development is no longer an accident. According to Castells (1996), the technical innovation is
always also a techno-economic and social innovation. Only those technologies that are
commercially viable and accessible will be developed. If we look at the technical development
from a social and political point of view, the major economies (Europe, USA) have had massive
political programs promoting the so called information society (COM 2002).

CONVERGENCE AND INTEGRATION

Digital technologies are replacing analogue technologies in many spheres of ICTs. The
convergence of technology refers to the meeting place between advances in
telecommunications and advances in computing that are made possible by storing and
communicating data in a binary digital format that is increasingly becoming more interoperable.
The convergence of technology also means that audio, static images, dynamic images, video
and text can be combined on a single delivery and carrier technology such as the Internet.
The convergence of technology also facilitates the communication of digital information over a
wide variety of storage, carrier and delivery technologies. For example,the same video clip
stored in binary digital format can be transported over a variety of different carrier
technologies, for instance, copper wire, radio waves, fiber optic cable and microwaves, or by
conventional surface mail when stored on CD-ROM or DVD.
ICT integration is broadly defined as a process of using any ICT (including information resources
on the web, multimedia programs in CD-ROMs, learning objects, or other tools) to
enhance student learning (Williams, 2003). It is more of a process rather than a product The
primary factor that influences the effectiveness of learning is not the availability of technology,
but the pedagogical design for effective use of ICT (Mandell, Sorge & Russell, 2002). Therefore,
effective ICT integration should focus on pedagogy design by justifying how the technology is
used in such a way and why.
What is a computer?
A computer is a machine with electronic and electromechanical parts. It is programmable and
is capable of performing the following basic computing functions:
 Accept data (input)
 Process data
 Generate output (information)
 Store data/information
 Retrieve/send data/information

Development of computers
The beginning of the commercial computer age began on June 14, 1951 with the delivery of
UNIVAC--Universal Automatic Computer to the U.S. Bureau of Census. Prior to this,
however, Charles Babbage invented the Difference Engine and conceived of another machine
called the Analytical Engine. The latter had all the components of the computer: input,
output, processing and storage. Babbage is called the father of computers.

Five generations of computers

First generation, 1951-1958: Vacuum tubes were used as the internal computer components,
punched cards and magnetic tapes for storing data, and machine language for programming.
Second generation, 1959-1964: Transistors replaces vacuum tubes, assembly language and
high level languages replaced machine language, and the removable disk pack replaced
punched cards. Transistors enabled manufacturers to produce smaller computers.
Third generation, 1965-1970: Integrated circuits --complete electronic circuits on a silicon
chip were developed. ICs led to the production of even smaller computers called mini
computers. Software became more sophisticated and interactive processing possible
Fourth generation, 1971-present. The microprocessor or computer on a chip was developed.
This made PCs, and other applications possible (calculators, banking, etc)
Fifth generation - present and beyond. Still difficult to define since most of the technology is
in its infancy - artificial intelligence, neural systems, voice recognition - while others are still
at the experimental stage, such as quantum computers.

Elements of a computer system

1. People - the most important part and beneficiary of a computer system, generally
categorized as either end-users or developers
2. Procedures - are descriptions of how things are done, i.e. manuals, documentations, …
3. Data/Information - raw facts (data) and processed data (information) that are used to
produce the desired result
4. Hardware - the physical element of a computer system categorized according to the basic
operations performed: input, processing, output, storage and communications.
5. Software - provides the step-by-step instructions that tell the computer what to do.
Generally software is divided into system software and application software.
6. Communications - refers to the electronic transfer of data from one place to another

Types of computer systems

In general, computers are sorted according to physical size and processing capabilities. Right
now the size of a computer is no longer a good indicator of its processing power, but
generally computers that occupy more physical space are more powerful since their bigger
sizes allow them to accommodate more processors and other essential devices.
 Supercomputer - are the fastest and highest capacity computers
  Mainframe computer - less powerful, the most common in the late 1960's
 Minicomputer - also known as workstations mostly for scientific calculations
 Microcomputer - or personal computer, most widely used: Desktop, Laptop, Palm
 Microcontroller - embedded computers installed in smart appliances, toys, etc

How is data represented in the computer?

Computers represent data as two-state systems. This means that the computer recognizes
only two numbers, 0 and 1. Larger numbers, letters and special characters are formed using
combinations of 0 and 1. Each of these two numbers is called a bit from the words binary
digit. The combination of bits to form meaningful characters or numbers is called a byte.

Role of computer systems in the information cycle

 Accept data through input devices
 Process data using microprocessors
 Store data for interactive use in the RAM and for longer periods of storage in the ROM
and hard disks
 Output data through output devices.

In a computer system, data is captured and transformed into electronic signals that computers
understand --into bytes as we have discussed earlier. Then data is processed through the
central processing unit and main memory that manipulates data and transformed into
information. The processed data produces an output that is displayed through the monitor
and/or in printed form. That output could also be saved in storage devices. Of course, this is
an oversimplified explanation of the very complex process happening within a computer but
the general concept is basically the same.

Advantages of using computers for data processing

 Faster data input, processing and retrieval
 Tireless--can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
 Less prone to error
 Produce output requirements easily
 Can send and retrieve data from other computers if in a network

Disadvantages of using computers

 Require skilled manpower for design and programming and data encoding
 Require electricity
 Require air conditioning for non-stop work
 Expensive to acquire and maintain
 Require frequent upgrade due to fast developments in hardware and software
 Require regular staff training

Computers are reliable and efficient tools for data processing and information retrieval.
There are advantages and disadvantages in using them. The efficiency of these tools is
dependent on the specifications of the computer hardware, the software, database design and
the user.

What Is Hardware?
Hardware is the physical component of a computer system. It refers to the electromechanical
parts and devices that make up a computer. Generally, hardware is categorized according to
which of the five basic computer operations it performs:
 Input - data is captured electronically into a form that can be processed by a computer
 Processing and memory - microprocessor, primary memory and other processing
devices used for manipulating data into information
 Output - production of processed information into a usable form
 Secondary storage - data, information and programs are stored in computer-
processable form
 Communications - enables the transfer of data from one place to another and facilitates
resource sharing

Input Devices
Input hardware are used to enter data into a computer by encoding via keyboard, direct
reading through scanners and pointing devices like the mouse. Input hardware convert data,
such as text, images and drawings into a form that a computer can understand and use. For
example, in libraries, the most commonly used input hardware in encoding bibliographic
information of books and other materials are keyboards, barcode scanners for reading
barcodes and patron IDs, and flatbed scanners for images and other documents.

Processing hardware
The processor and the main memory devices are the brains of the computer. Housed by the
system unit, the processor, also known as the CPU (central processing unit), interprets and
executes instructions while the main memory serves as the computer's "work space". The
processing power of a computer largely depends on the speed of the processor and size of its
main memory. Faster processors result in faster execution of instructions, and the bigger the
memory, the more "work space" is available.

Processor
The processor is the device that interprets and executes instructions. It is the brain of the
computer. The faster the speed of the processor, the faster the execution of instructions. In a
computer- based information system the CPU controls and manipulates data into information.
In a PC (personal computer), the CPU is a very small single "chip" called a microprocessor,
with electrical circuits printed on it. It is mounted to the system board, called the
motherboard, together with the other necessary components. Types of processors vary
according to their manufacturer, clock rate (execution of instruction per second) and
processor generation.

Examples of Processors
 Intel CPU's = Celeron, Pentium III, Pentium 4; from 500 MHz - 1.5 GHz
 Apple/Motorola CPU's = Power PC G3, G4; from 500 MHz - 700 MHz
 AMD CPU's = K6, K7, Duron, Athlon; 500 MHz - 1.5 GHz
 Cyrix CPU's = Cyrix MII, VIA Cyrix III; 333MHz - 600 MHz

Memory
The computer’s workspace where application instructions and data are held during operation
is called memory, also known as main memory, primary storage or RAM (Random Access
Memory). The capacity of a memory is important because this is where data and programs
are stored while they are active, thus bigger memory means bigger workspace.
Random Access Memory (RAM)
The amount of memory available determines the kind of software that can be run and how
much data can be manipulated. The available RAM at present ranges from 32 MB, 64 MB or
128 MB up to 1GB or more. Whatever data is held in the RAM is erased when the computer
is reset or the power is turned off.

Read Only Memory – (ROM)

Aside from the RAM, the computer also has a ROM (Read only memory), which is used to
store the boot program, and other low-level information that enables the computer to start up
and to recognize its hardware parts.

Output Devices
Output devices comprise hardware used to display / produce the output from the computer
system after data has been processed.
The output of computer processing is the usable information that the user requires. This
information can be presented to the user in a variety of forms, depending on the output
device.
Main output devices are monitors for displaying the output and printers for producing a
permanent copy.

Communications hardware
Communications hardware, also called networking devices, are used to extend the processing
capabilities of a computer system by providing means of transferring data and applications
from one computer system to another. Communications hardware are used to link to existing
communication networks like the Internet that allows electronic transfer of information
anytime, anywhere.
What are the types of software?
There are two sets of instructions that a computer must follow:
 General instructions: Systems software or operating system such as DOS, Windows and
Unix
 Specific instructions: Application software such as that used for word processing,
spreadsheets, or library management

Operating system
The operating system is an organized collection of system programs, which serve as the
interface between the user or application and the computer. It manages the hardware
resources:
 The CPU - to facilitate sharing execution time of processes
 The memory - to allocate memory resources dynamically
 The I/O - to handle reading and writing devices

Disk operating systems (DOS)

Disk Operating System (DOS) is a generic term describing any operating system that is
loaded from disk devices when the system is started or rebooted. It is not a user-friendly
operating system (OS) since users need to memorize commands and issue them by entering
them line-by-line. This is known as a command- line interface. Very few end users use DOS
nowadays.

Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a graphical user interface (GUI) originally running on DOS (Windows
3.x) that allows multitasking or the ability to run several programs at the same time. About
75% of the world’s PCs use the Windows operating system.

Other operating systems

 IBM OS/2
 Macintosh OS
 SCO Unix
 Linux
 Proprietary OS

Applications software
Applications software comprise a set of instructions designed to perform a specific task such
as word processing, accounting, cataloguing, library management, animation, etc.

Types of applications software

 The nature of the software depends on the application
 General purpose office software
 Business management software
 Special discipline software
 Other applications
What is a software suite?
A set of software with word processing, spreadsheet, database management and presentation
software like MS Office is called a software suite.

How are programs written?

Programming languages are used to write programs. Some of these are:
 Low level languages--Assembler
 High level languages
a. Cobol
b. Fortran
c. C++
Programming languages for the Internet
 Perl
 Java

What are the components of a network?

The convergence of communication systems with computing and other technologies have
brought about the digitization of the telephone and other telecommunications networks.
Through these networks, computers are now linked with one another, making it possible to
communicate and share resources with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

A network is a collection of computers, communications hardware and software linked

together to allow sharing of resources and to provide a facility for communication.

What are the components of a Network?

The components of a network are:
 Computer systems with network cards
 Communications software
 Networking and Internetworking devices
 Data / Information
  Networked / shared resources
 Users

What are the different kinds of networks?

 Local Area Network (LAN) – a network that serves users within a confined area such as a
building or a campus
 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) – covers a geographic area the size of a city
 Wide Area Network (WAN) – covers a wide geographical area such as a country or the
entire globe. The Internet is the best example of a WAN.

Types of LAN
 Peer to peer - all computers on the network communicate and share resources directly
with one another
 Client Server - consist of clients, computers requesting files or applications, and server(s)
that provide applications and services to other computers

Topologies of LAN
Networks can be laid out in a different logical layout or shape called a topology. The basic
LAN topologies are:
 Star – all computers are connected to a server or a hub
 Ring – all computers are connected in a continuous loop
 Bus – all computers are connected to a common channel

A WAN is a computer network that has more than one file server and which covers a bigger
geographical area than a room or a building. Local area networks grouped together form a
WAN. They are connected in several ways through gateways, routers, and other networking
and internetworking devices.

What are the components of a WAN?

 LANs
 Modems
 Cables
 Bridges
 Gateways
 Microwave relays
 Satellite transmission
 Communications software
 Protocols

Applications
 Electronic Banking
 Electronic Bulletin Boards
 Electronic Mail
 Voice Mail
 Teleconferencing
 Online information services
 Telecommuting
 Internet
What is an Intranet?
Intranets use Internet standards, protocols and technologies to provide a closed network
within an organization. An Intranet is an internal corporate network that provides access to
information and allows communication limited only to within an organization.

How is Internet different from intranet?

The Internet has many networks connected to it. It is open for access by many organizations.
Its mission is not limited to one organization alone but caters to the entire world. Both types
of networks use the same protocols, standards, technologies and procedures but in an intranet
permissions are granted only to members of the organization for which it was created.

What is the Internet?

The Internet is a global network of computers communicating under one set of guidelines,
formally called the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
The Internet is more than a physical network of wires linking individual computers to one
another. It is also a network of people and information resources. The Internet is not a specific
place, company, or service, although places, companies and services are accessible via the
Internet.

How do you connect to the Internet?

Basically you will need:
 a personal computer
 a modem and a telephone line
 an Internet Service Provider (provides the software, the IP address, and the link to the
 Internet)
 a network card, if connecting to home or to an office network
What can you do on the Internet?
 World Wide Web
 Electronic Mail
 FTP
 Talk / Chat
 Online information resources

The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is the collective name for all the computer files in the world that are:
accessible through the Internet and located on a large number of Web servers; electronically
linked together through the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and HyperText Markup
Language (HTML); viewed, experienced or retrieved through a “browser” program running
on your computer.

The Web components

 Web browsers and servers - Web browsers are application software used to access files
or applications, which are located and run by Web servers.
 Web contents - files in several formats - text, multimedia, video, audio, etc - that are
available through the World Wide Web
 HTTP and HTML - HTTP is the protocol used on the World Wide Web to transfer files
from one computer to another, while HTML is used to format and display Web pages

Web Browsers and Servers

1. User sends request.
2. Browser interprets user’s selection and makes request from appropriate server.
3. Server accepts and processes request from browser.
4. Server sends requested files to browser to be interpreted.
5. User receives file
Examples of browsers
 Netscape Navigator
 Microsoft Internet Explorer
 Opera
 Neoplanet
 Lynx

HTTP and HTML

 Web servers and browsers use HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), an Internet-
standard protocol, to handle the transfer of text and other files between different
computers.
 HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web
servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.
 HTML defines how Web pages are formatted and displayed by web browsers
Hyperlinks between Web resources
 Hyperlinks are special HTML codes included in Web pages that connect Web
resources,instruct the browser to fetch a resource, run an application or jump to
another site.
Hyperlinks consist of the following:
 HTML tags - instruct Web browser and Web servers what file to get or what program to
run, including URL’s and/or pointers to applications and files to run
 Anchor text or images - used to place a hyperlink, the clickable object that activates the
hyperlink
 Uniform Resource Locators (URL) – act as addresses for Web resources

Electronic Mail (e-mail)

Uses:
 exchange correspondence
 transfer documents
 subscribe to news services
 get computer software
Format: username@[Link]
example: me@[Link]

MASS MEDIA
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies, including the Internet, television,
newspapers, and radio, which are used for mass communications, and to the organizations
which control these technologies.
Mass media play a significant role in shaping public perceptions on a variety of important
issues, both through the information that is dispensed through them, and through the
interpretations they place upon this information. The also play a large role in shaping modern
culture, by selecting and portraying a particular set of beliefs, values, and traditions (an entire
way of life), as reality. That is, by portraying a certain interpretation of reality, they shape
reality to be more in line with that interpretation. Contemporary research demonstrates an
increasing level of concentration of media ownership, with many media industries already
highly concentrated and dominated by a very small number of firms.

Electronic Media refers to the type of media that makes use of electronics and
electromechanical energy for the end user to access the content. There are a number of
sources that come under electronic media such as video and audio recordings, multimedia
presentations, slide presentations, Online content, television, radio, telephone, computers,
games etc.

Meaning and definition

Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange
(encode-decode) information, news, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning.
Communication is the act of conveying information from one person to another or within a
person (intrapersonal) for the purpose of creating a shared understanding. It is something that
humans do every day. The word “communication” comes from the Latin “communis,” meaning
“to share,” and includes verbal, non-verbal and electronic means of human interaction.
Our major concern is about the development of communication skills and how communication
can be made more effective.
Humans convey information through a variety of methods: speaking, telephones, email, blogs,
TV, art, hand gestures, facial expressions, body language and even social contexts.
Communication can occur instantaneously in closed, intimate settings or over great periods of
time in large public forums, like the Internet. However, all forms of communication require the
same basic elements: a speaker or sender of information, a message, and an audience or
recipient. The sender and recipient must also share a common language or means of
understanding each other for communication to be successful. As such, a study of
communication often examines the development and structure of language, including the
mathematical languages used in computer programming.
Communication has always been known as a process which is continuous in nature. Pre-
requisite of communication is a message. This message must be conveyed through some
medium to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be understood by the recipient
in same terms as intended by the sender. He must respond within a time frame. Thus,
communication is a two way process and is incomplete without a feedback from the recipient
to the sender on how well the message is understood by him.
The act of communicating draws on several interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. These include
speaking, listening, observing, questioning, processing, analyzing and evaluating. Recipients of a
message must be able to identify the sender’s intent, take into account the message’s context,
resolve any misunderstandings, accurately decode the information and decide how to act on it.
Such skills are essential to learning, forming healthy relationships, creating a sense of
community and achieving success in the workplace.
A message or communication is sent by the sender through a communication channel to a
receiver, or to multiple receivers. The sender must encode the message (the information being
conveyed) into a form that is appropriate to the communication channel, and the receiver(s)
then decodes the message to understand its meaning and significance.
Misunderstanding can occur at any stage of the communication process. Effective
communication involves minimising potential misunderstanding and overcoming any barriers to
communication at each stage in the communication process.
An effective communicator understands their audience, chooses an appropriate
communication channel, hones their message to this channel and encodes the message to
reduce misunderstanding by the receiver(s). They will also seek out feedback from the
receiver(s) as to how the message is understood and attempt to correct any misunderstanding
or confusion as soon as possible. Receivers can use Clarification and Reflection as effective ways
to ensure that the message sent has been understood correctly.
Important Characteristics of Communication:
-way process.
(Sender and
Receiver)

Communicating the Right Way

Have you ever talked to someone they felt insulted without you actually wanting to insult
them? Or maybe a friend told you later that you came over as being arrogant? And next you
would say:”I didn’t mean to…what I meant was…”. Well, when that happens, our normal
reaction is to mark this down as “miscommunication”, yet we don’t really learn from this,
because we don’t think there is anything to learn. Well, there is, and something quite
substantial as well!
One of the paradigms of communication is that the meaning of your communication is the
outcome you get. It does not matter what you intended, but how the other person understood
it! So when you piss someone off without wanting to, it is in fact your fault and what you now
know is how to piss that person off. The great thing is that you can now experiment how to talk
to that same person differently.
No one but you is responsible for your communication, and for the states you elicit in the
people you talk to. Once you realize that, once you acknowledge the full impact of this, talking
to anyone becomes a whole different ball game. Maybe you are a team leader, a manager, a
parent, or anyone else having to talk to people and get something from them, and every time
you talk to them, you can learn something from their responses to you. You can learn what this
person reacts to and how you can use that reaction to gauge the way you speak.
Of course, this is just an idea, and as such you might accept it or not. Yet, if you do decide to
take responsibility for your communication, suddenly opportunities for change will open up
right in front of you, and the sentence:”But I didn’t mean to…” is banished from your life!
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
The communication process consists of a message being sent and received. The message may
be verbal or non-verbal. The same basic principles apply whether humans, animals, other forms
of life, or combinations of these are involved. My challenge, as a teacher (lecturer), is to not
merely communicate with you students--but to communicate effectively. Effective
communication involves a message being sent and received. Added to this however, is the
element of feedback to ensure that the message sent was received exactly as intended. This
concept may be illustrated using the three-step communications model

Sending the Message

There are four elements involved in sending a message. First, as the teacher (sender), I
formulate the message I intend to communicate. Next, I consider possible barriers that may
affect the message. This includes my experience, the terms I will use, and even my feeling
towards the subject or the students. External barriers such as noise must also be considered.
Third, I will encode the message; that is, putting the message into the words you want to use.
Last, you clearly communicate (send) the message. In receiving the message, there are also four
elements involved. The students (receivers) will first hear and/or see the message sent.
Secondly, the message is affected by external barriers, if any, and the students’ own internal
barriers. Possible internal barriers may include the students experience level, their
understanding of the terms used, their attitude toward the material, or the way they feel about
me. Third, the students decode the message through the use of mental images. For instance,
when you say the word “dance”, the receiver does not “see” the letters that form the word.
Instead, a mental image of some sort appears.
The Communication Model
The goal of communication is to convey information—and the understanding of that
information—from one person or group to another person or group. This communication
process is divided into three basic components: A sender transmits a message through a
channel to the receiver. (Figure below shows a more elaborate model.) The sender first
develops an idea, which is composed into a message and then transmitted to the other party,
who interprets the message and receives meaning. Information theorists have added
somewhat more complicated language. Developing a message is known as encoding.
Interpreting the message is referred to as decoding
The other important feature is the feedback cycle. When two people interact, communication is
rarely one-way only. When a person receives a message, she responds to it by giving a reply.
Otherwise, the sender can't know whether the other parties properly interpreted the message
or how they reacted to it.
The critical factor in measuring the effectiveness of communication is common understanding.
Understanding exists when all parties involved have a mutual agreement as to not only the
information, but also the meaning of the information. Effective communication, therefore,
occurs when the intended message of the sender and the interpreted message of the receiver
are one and the same. Although this should be the goal in any communication, it is not always
achieved.
The most efficient communication occurs at a minimum cost in terms of resources expended.
Time, in particular, is an important resource in the communication process. For example, it
would be virtually impossible for an instructor to take the time to communicate individually
with each student in a class about every specific topic covered. Even if it were possible, it would
be costly. This is why managers often leave voice mail messages and interact by e-mail rather
than visit their subordinates personally.
The main components of communication process are as follows:
1. Context - Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This context may
be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication proceeds with context. The
sender chooses the message to communicate within a context.
2. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender makes use
of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required
response. For instance - a training manager conducting training for new batch of employees.
Sender may be an individual or a group or an organization. The views, background, approach,
skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender have a great impact on the message. The
verbal and non verbal symbols chosen are essential in ascertaining interpretation of the
message by the recipient in the same terms as intended by the sender.
3. Message - Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that
elicits the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding about the
message to be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is clear.
4. Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender must
choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message might not be
conveyed to the desired recipients. The choice of appropriate medium of communication is
essential for making the message effective and correctly interpreted by the recipient. This
choice of communication medium varies depending upon the features of communication. For
instance - Written medium is chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a small group of
people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous feedback is required from the
recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then and there.
5. Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is intended /
aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message is dependent
upon various factors such as knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message, and
the reliance of encoder on decoder.
6. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the
sender to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the correct
interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through words) or non-
verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in form of memos, reports,
etc.

Communication Channels
Communication Channels is the term given to the way in which we communicate. There are
multiple communication channels available to us today, for example face-to-face conversations,
telephone calls, text messages, email, the Internet (including social media such as Facebook and
Twitter), radio and TV, written letters, brochures and reports to name just a few.
Choosing an appropriate communication channel is vital for effective communication as each
communication channel has different strengths and weaknesses. For example, broadcasting
news of an upcoming event via a written letter might convey the message clearly to one or two
individuals but will not be a time or cost effective way to broadcast the message to a large
number of people. On the other hand, conveying complex, technical information is better done
via a printed document than via a spoken message since the receiver is able to assimilate the
information at their own pace and revisit items that they do not fully understand. Written
communication is also useful as a way of recording what has been said, for example taking
minutes in a meeting.
Encoding Messages
All messages must be encoded into a form that can be conveyed by the communication channel
chosen for the message. We all do this every day when transferring abstract thoughts into
spoken words or a written form. However, other communication channels require different
forms of encoding, e.g. text written for a report will not work well if broadcast via a radio
programme, and the short, abbreviated text used in text messages would be inappropriate if
sent via a letter. Complex data may be best communicated using a graph or chart or other
visualisation.
Effective communicators encode their messages with their intended audience in mind as well
as the communication channel. This involves an appropriate use of language, conveying the
information simply and clearly, anticipating and eliminating likely causes of confusion and
misunderstanding, and knowing the receivers’ experience in decoding other similar
communications. Successful encoding of messages is a vital skill in effective communication.
Decoding Messages
Once received, the receivers need to decode the message, and successful decoding is also a
vital skill. Individuals will decode and understand messages in different ways based upon any
barriers to communication which might be present, their experience and understanding of the
context of the message, their psychological state, and the time and place of receipt as well as
many other potential factors. Understanding how the message will be decoded, and
anticipating as many of the potential sources of misunderstanding as possible, is the art of a
successful communicator.
Feedback
Receivers of messages are likely to provide feedback on how they have understood the
messages through both verbal and non-verbal reactions. Effective communicators should pay
close attention to this feedback as it the only way to assess whether the message has been
understood as intended, and it allows any confusion to be corrected. Bear in mind that the
extent and form of feedback will vary according to the communication channel used: for
example feedback during a face-to-face or telephone conversation will be immediate and
direct, whilst feedback to messages conveyed via TV or radio will be indirect and may be
delayed, or even conveyed through other media such as the Internet.

Different Types of Communication

Based on Channels (verbal/non-verbal),
Verbal communication
Verbal communication is a type of communication where the information flows through verbal
medium like words, speeches, presentations etc. Written communication is also a form of
verbal communication. In verbal communication the sender shares his/her thoughts in the form
of words. In organizations, individuals communicate verbally among each other in the form of
dialogues, speech, presentations, and discussions to name a few. The tone of the speaker, the
pitch and the quality of words play a crucial role in verbal communication. The speaker has to
be loud and clear and the content has to be properly defined. Haphazard and unorganized
thoughts only lead to confusions and misunderstandings among individuals. In verbal
communication, an individual must understand the importance of words and how to put them
across.
While speaking the pitch ought to be high and clear for everyone to understand and the
content must be designed keeping the target audience in mind. In verbal communication it is
the responsibility of the sender to cross check with the receiver whether he has downloaded
the correct information or not and the sender must give the required response.
Sign Language (SL) is verbal; it is just not spoken-word verbal. It is a *language* that has its own
grammar and vocabulary. A nonverbal gesture is singular, stands alone, such as a thumbs up
gesture. SL is therefore a complete visual based language.
Non verbal communication
Imagine yourself in a situation, where you can’t speak but have to communicate an urgent
information to the other person or for that matter, you are sitting in an important meeting and
you want to express your displeasure or pleasure to your colleague without uttering even a
word. Here non verbal mode of communication comes into picture. Facial expressions,
gestures, hand and hair movements, body postures all constitute non verbal communication.
Any communication made between two people without words and simply through facial
movements, gestures or hand movements is called as non verbal communication. In other
words, it is a speechless communication where content is not put into words but simply
expressed through expressions. If one has a headache, one would put his hand on his forehead
to communicate his discomfort - a form of non verbal communication. Non verbal
communications are vital in offices, meetings and even in romantic chats. Visual
communication as a subset of non-verbal communication involves sending or receiving
information for example from signboards, displays, banners, maps, road signs etc. Vision plays a
very important role in visual communication and it depends on the recipient how to interpret
the message.
Types of nonverbal communication - body language
'Accidental' body language - all the different types of movements, postures and facial
expressions
Intentional body language - empathic movements and touch, postures and facial expressions
Intentional body language - violent/abusive movements and touch, postures and facial
expressions
Observance and use/abuse of personal space
Dance (see further down)
Vocal sounds without words: laughter, crying, expression of pain, sounds like: "Mmmmm",
"Aha", "Ugh!",etc. These all express wordlessly a variety of feelings, such as surprise, disgust,
happiness, anger, sadness.
*Emoticons in emails and text messages are the newest addition to this list
*Deliberately posting photos on Facebook and other social media to provoke a reaction is also a
way of non verbal communication
The components of Non Verbal Communication are:
Kinesics: It is the study of facial expressions, postures & gestures. Did you know that while in
Argentina to raise a fist in the air with knuckles pointing outwards expresses victory, in
Lebanon, raising a closed fist is considered rude?
Oculesics: It is the study of the role of eye contact in non verbal communication. Did you
know that in the first 90 sec - 4 min you decide that you are interested in someone or not.
Studies reveal that 50% of this first impression comes from non-verbal communication which
includes oculesics. Only 7% of comes from words - that we actually say.
Haptics: It is the study of touching. Did you know that acceptable level of touching vary from
one culture to another? In Thailand, touching someone's head may be considered as rude.
Proxemics: It is the study of measurable distance between people as they interact. Did you
know that the amount of personal space when having an informal conversation should vary
between 18 inches - 4 feet while, the personal distance needed when speaking to a crowd of
people should be around 10-12 feet?
Chronemics: It is the study of use of time in non verbal communication. Have you ever
observed that while AN employee will not worry about running a few minutes late to meet a
colleague, a manager who has a meeting with the CEO, a late arrival will be considered as a
nonverbal cue that he / she does not give adequate respect to his superior?
Paralinguistics: It is the study of variations in pitch, speed, volume, and pauses to convey
meaning. Interestingly, when the speaker is making a presentation and is looking for a
response, he will pause. However, when no response is desired, he will talk faster with minimal
pause.
Physical Appearance: Your physical appearance always contributes towards how people
perceive you. Neatly combed hair, ironed clothes and a lively smile will always carry more
weight than words.

Remember, “what we say” is less important than “how we say it” as words are only 7% of our
communication. Understand and enjoy non verbal communication as it helps forming better
first impressions. Good luck!
Based on Style and Purpose (Formal/Informal)
Based on the style of communication, there can be two broad categories: formal and informal
communication, that have their own set of characteristic features.
Formal It includes all the instances where communication has to occur in a set formal format.
Typically this can include all sorts of business or corporate communication. The style of
communication in this form is very formal and official. Official conferences, meetings and
written memos and corporate letters are used for this form of communication. It can also occur
between two strangers when they meet for the first time. Hence, formal communication is
straightforward, official and always precise and has a stringent and rigid tone to it.
Informal Informal communication includes instances of free and unrestrained conversation
between people who share a casual rapport with each other. It requires two people to have a
similar wavelength and hence occurs between friends and family. It does not have any rigid
rules and guidelines. The conversations need not necessarily have boundaries of time, place or
even subjects for that matter since we all know that friendly chats with our loved ones can
simply go on and on. Informal communications are those that are not based upon any set of
organizational structure. This does not mean that such relations are only outside the networks
of a formal organization. They allow people to take the initiative into their own hands. This
enables them to come up with ideas and plans.
Even though the whole process of communication may seem so simple, the effectiveness of
each type depends to a great extent on certain internal and external environmental factors and
also the communicator's ability to send, receive, decode and send a response. This is why the
field of communication has been and continues to be widely studied and is given a place of
importance in any walk of life.
Based on Level (Intrapersonal/Interpersonal/Public/Mass).
Although successful communication is generally defined as being between two or more
individuals, issues concerning the useful nature of intrapersonal communication made some
argue that this definition is too narrow.
Intrapersonal communication can encompass:
-dreaming

talking to oneself), reading aloud, repeating what one hears; the additional
activities of speaking and hearing (in the third case of hearing again) what one thinks, reads or
hears may increase concentration and retention. This is considered normal, and the extent to
which it occurs varies from person to person. The time when there should be concern is when
talking to oneself occurs outside of socially acceptable situations.
-constant internal monologue one has with oneself at a
conscious or semi-conscious level.

additional activities, on top of thinking, of writing and reading back may again increase self-
understanding ("How do I know what I mean until I see what I say?") and concentration. It aids
ordering one's thoughts; in addition it produces a record that can be used later again. Copying
text to aid memorizing also falls in this category.

may again increase concentration, assist in problem solving, and assist memory.

Interpersonal Communication
This includes message sending and message reception between two or more individuals. This
can include all aspects of communication such as listening, persuading, asserting, nonverbal
communication, and more. A primary concept of interpersonal communication looks at
communicative acts when there are few individuals involved unlike areas of communication
such as group interaction, where there may be a large number of individuals involved in a
communicative act.
Interpersonal communication describes participants who are dependent upon one another. It
can involve one on one conversations or individuals interacting with many people within a
society. Interpersonal communication occurs within other contexts like groups and
organizations. Interpersonal communication is the process that we use to communicate our
ideas, thoughts, and feelings to another person. Our interpersonal communication skills are
learned behaviuors that can be improved through knowledge, practice, feedback, and
reflection.
Mass Communication
Mass Communication is a means of disseminating information or message to large, anonymous,
and scattered heterogeneous masses of receivers who may be far removed from the message
sources through the use of sophisticated equipment. In other words, communication is the
sending of message through a mass medium to a large number of people. Mass Communication
represents the creation and sending of a homogeneous message to a large heterogeneous
audience through the media.
(To discuss model of mass communication and how it is been eroded by IT(Internet)
Electronic Media in Communication
Discuss Telecommunication, Phones (Text message, Voice, and MMS), Email, Teleconferencing
(Video, Voice), Telecommuting, Radio, Television
Differentiate between print communication and electronic communication
To hold a conference via a telephone or network connection. Computers have given new
meaning to the term because they allow groups to do much more than just talk. Once a
teleconference is established, the group can share applications and mark up a common
whiteboard. There are many teleconferencing applications that work over private networks.
When visuals are involved then it turns out to be called videoconferencing
Categorisation of Barriers to Communication
Language Barriers
Clearly, language and linguistic ability may act as a barrier to communication. However, even
when communicating in the same language, the terminology used in a message may act as a
barrier if it is not fully understood by the receiver(s). For example, a message that includes a lot
of specialist jargon and abbreviations will not be understood by a receiver who is not familiar
with the terminology used. Regional colloquialisms and expressions may be misinterpreted or
even considered offensive.
A conflagration is consuming my entrepreneurial domain.
What a show of pococurantism.
Salacious
Psychological Barriers (Emotions)
The psychological state of the receiver will influence how the message is received. For example,
if someone has personal worries and is stressed, they may be preoccupied by personal concerns
and not as receptive to the message as if they were not stressed. Stress is an important factor
in Interpersonal relationships. Your emotions could be a barrier if you are engrossed in them for
some reason. In such cases, you tend to have trouble listening to others or understanding the
message conveyed to you. A few of the emotional interferences include hostility, anger,
resentfulness and fear. People who suffer from ailments such as anxiety and depression, tend
to misconstrue what is being said about them. Also, as they are battling something in their
head, they may or may not be able to pay full attention to the speaker, which may make them
appear disinterested and spaced-out.
Physiological Barriers
Physiological barriers may result from the receiver’s physical state: for example, a receiver with
reduced hearing may not grasp to entirety of a spoken conversation especially if there is
significant background noise.
Physical Barriers
An example of a physical barrier to communication is geographic distance between the sender
and receiver(s). Communication is generally easier over shorter distances as more
communication channels are available and less technology is required. Although modern
technology often serves to reduce the impact of physical barriers, the advantages and
disadvantages of each communication channel should be understood so that an appropriate
channel can be used to overcome the physical barriers.
Systematic Barriers
Systematic barriers to communication may exist in structures and organisations where there
are inefficient or inappropriate information systems and communication channels, or where
there is a lack of understanding of the roles and responsibilities for communication. In such
organisations, individuals may be unclear of their role in the communication process and
therefore not know what is expected of them.
Attitudinal Barriers
Attitudinal barriers are behaviours or perceptions that prevent people from communicating
effectively. Attitudinal barriers to communication may result from personality conflicts, poor
management, resistance to change or a lack of motivation. Effective receivers of messages
should attempt to overcome their own attitudinal barriers to facilitate effective
communication.
Lack of Subject Knowledge
If a person who sends a message lacks subject knowledge then he may not be able to convey
his message clearly. The receiver could misunderstand his message and this could lead to a
barrier. This is visible in cases where people may try to cover-up their ignorance with some
unverified facts
Overdose of Information (Information Overload)
When too much of information is conveyed in a short span of time, there is every likelihood
that the receiver would not be able to comprehend the information fully.
Developing Effective Communication Skills
Communication is a two way process so improving communication involves both how we send
and receive messages.
Understanding the Audience
You need to be able to understand your audience, as they are the ones for whom you are
speaking. Do not send out your message before you are absolutely sure that they will grasp
what you are saying. For example; suppose the quality of work of a junior employee is really
hampering the overall performance of the team, and you are really concerned about his work,
do not issue an official warning straight away. Try to understand the perception of the
employee and then think of taking any action.
Feedback Without taking proper feedback, you wouldn't know the perspective of the person in
front of you. Only through feedback you will know why he or she did or did not do what they
were asked to do.
Empathise
Empathy is trying to see things from the point-of-view of others. When communicating with
others, try not to be judgemental or biased by preconceived ideas or beliefs - instead view
situations and responses from the other person’s perspective. Stay in tune with your own
emotions to help enable you to understand the emotions of others. If appropriate, offer your
personal viewpoint clearly and honestly to avoid confusion. Bear in mind that some subjects
might be taboo or too emotionally stressful for others to discuss.
Learn to Listen
Listening is not the same as hearing; learn to listen not only to the words being spoken but how
they are being spoken and the non-verbal messages sent with them. Use the techniques of
clarification and reflection to confirm what the other person has said and avoid any confusion.
Try not to think about what to say next whist listening; instead clear your mind and focus on
the message being received. Your friends, colleagues and other acquaintances will appreciate
good listening skills.
Avoid Arguments
Most often than not, whenever you are trying to have a healthy conversation, it turns into an
argument. Arguing does nothing but wastes your time. Try to avoid getting into such situations.
And even if you get into such a situation, instead of trying to win the argument, find an
amicable solution in a constructive way.
Be Aware of Others' Emotions
Be sympathetic to other people's misfortunes and congratulate their positive landmarks. To do
this you need to be aware of what is going on in other people’s lives. Make and maintain eye
contact, it does help. Do not be afraid to ask others for their opinions as this will help to make
them feel valued. Consider the emotional effect of what you are saying and communicate
within the norms of behaviour acceptable to the other person. Take steps to become more
charismatic.
Encourage
Offer words and actions of encouragement, as well as praise, to others. Make other people feel
welcome, wanted, valued and appreciated in your communications. If you let others know that
they are valued, they are much more likely to give you their best. Try to ensure that everyone
involved in an interaction or communication is included through effective body language and
the use of open questions.
Expression Honesty is very important here. Whenever you are expressing yourself, talking
truthfully and honestly will send out a signal that you trust your audience. Speak clearly and
properly. Also try to be precise about the subject that you are speaking on. Do not beat around
the bush. This will only confuse your audience. Besides, if your audience is getting confused, the
entire purpose of your self-expression is getting defeated.
Taking Criticism Positively
If someone comes to you with criticism, it's just a natural human response to defend your
stance. Try to take criticism positively and constructively. If the criticism is very hard to take and
emotional, then the chances are that the person you are communicating with is in distress. Try
to empathize with the person and resonate your words in a very mild language.

Internet search engines are special sites on the Web that are designed to help people find
information stored on other sites. They accept queries supplied by web users and return a list
of resources that best fit the query of the user. There are differences in the ways various search
engines work, but they all perform three basic tasks:

 They search the Internet -- or select pieces of the Internet -- based on important words.
 They keep an index of the words they find, and where they find them.
 They allow users to look for words or combinations of words found in that index.

Early search engines held an index of a few hundred thousand pages and documents, and
received maybe one or two thousand inquiries each day. Today, a top search engine will index
hundreds of millions of pages, and respond to tens of millions of queries per day

A search engine is a coordinated set of programs that includes:

 A spider (also called a "crawler" or a "bot") that goes to every page or representative
pages on every Web site that wants to be searchable and reads it, using hypertext links
on each page to discover and read a site's other pages
 A program that creates a huge index (sometimes called a "catalog") from the pages that
have been read
 A program that receives your search request, compares it to the entries in the index,
and returns results to you

Major components of crawler-based search engines

Crawler-based search engines have three major components.

1) The crawler: Also called the spider. The spider visits a web page, reads it, and then follows
links to other pages within the site. The spider will return to the site on a regular basis, such as
every month or every fifteen days, to look for changes.
2) The index: Everything the spider finds goes into the second part of the search engine, the
index. The index will contain a copy of every web page that the spider finds. If a web page
changes, then the index is updated with new information.

3) The search engine software: This is the software program that accepts the user-entered
query, interprets it, and sifts through the millions of pages recorded in the index to find
matches and ranks them in order of what it believes is most relevant and presents them in a
customizable manner to the user.

All crawler-based search engines have the basic parts described above, but there are
differences in how these parts are tuned. That is why the same search on different search
engines often produces different results. Our comparisons will then be based on these
differences in all three parts.

All search engines contain the following main components:

Spider A browser-like programme that downloads web pages

Crawler A program that automatically follows all of the links on each web page
Indexer A program that analyzes web pages downloaded by the spider and the crawler
Database Storage for downloaded and processed pages
Results
Extracts search results from the database
engine
A server that is responsible for interaction between the user and other search
Web server
engine components

Different types of search engines

When people mention the term "search engine", it is often used generically to describe both
crawler-based search engines and human-powered directories however these two types of
search engines gather their listings in radically different ways and therefore are inherently
different.

Crawler-based search engines, create their listings automatically by using a piece of software
to “crawl” or “spider” the web and then index what it finds to build the search base. Web page
changes can be dynamically caught by crawler-based search engines and will affect how these
web pages get listed in the search results. Crawler-based search engines are those that use
automated software agents (called crawlers) that visit a Web site, read the information on the
actual site, read the site's meta tags and also follow the links that the site connects to
performing indexing on all linked Web sites as well. The crawler returns all that information
back to a central depository, where the data is indexed. The crawler will periodically return to
the sites to check for any information that has changed. The frequency with which this happens
is determined by the administrators of the search engine.

Google, AllTheWeb and AltaVista,

Crawler-based search engines are good when you have a specific search topic in mind and can
be very efficient in finding relevant information in this situation. However, when the search
topic is general, crawler-base search engines may return hundreds of thousands of irrelevant
responses to simple search requests, including lengthy documents in which your keyword
appears only once.

Human-powered directories, such as the Yahoo directory, Open Directory and LookSmart,
depend on human editors to create their listings. Typically, webmasters submit a short
description to the directory for their websites, or editors write one for the sites they review,
and these manually edited descriptions will form the search base. Therefore, changes made to
individual web pages will have no effect on how these pages get listed in the search results.
Human-powered search engines rely on humans to submit information that is subsequently
indexed and catalogued. Only information that is submitted is put into the index.

Human-powered directories are good when you are interested in a general topic of search. In
this situation, a directory can guide and help you narrow your search and get refined results.
Therefore, search results found in a human-powered directory are usually more relevant to the
search topic and more accurate. However, this is not an efficient way to find information when
a specific search topic is in mind.

Meta-search engines, such as Dogpile, Mamma, and Metacrawler, transmit user-supplied

keywords simultaneously to several individual search engines to actually carry out the search.
Search results returned from all the search engines can be integrated, duplicates can be
eliminated and additional features such as clustering by subjects within the search results can
be implemented by meta-search engines.

Meta-search engines are good for saving time by searching only in one place and sparing the
need to use and learn several separate search engines. "But since meta-search engines do not
allow for input of many search variables, their best use is to find hits on obscure items or to see
if something can be found using the Internet.

Building a Search

Searching through an index involves a user building a query and submitting it through the
search engine. The query can be quite simple, a single word at minimum. Building a more
complex query requires the use of Boolean operators that allow you to refine and extend the
terms of the search.

The Boolean operators most often seen are:

 AND - All the terms joined by "AND" must appear in the pages or documents. Some
search engines substitute the operator "+" for the word AND.
 OR - At least one of the terms joined by "OR" must appear in the pages or documents.
 NOT - The term or terms following "NOT" must not appear in the pages or documents.
Some search engines substitute the operator "-" for the word NOT.
 FOLLOWED BY - One of the terms must be directly followed by the other.
 NEAR - One of the terms must be within a specified number of words of the other.
 Quotation Marks - The words between the quotation marks are treated as a phrase,
and that phrase must be found within the document or file.

Human-powered search engines rely on humans to submit information that is subsequently

indexed and catalogued. Only information that is submitted is put into the index