Announcement: Spring course of interest for LIS 201 students

Computer Science 202
Introduction to Computation
Meets 1:20 – 2:10 Mon, Wed, Fri (3 Cr)
Instructor: Professor Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau

Would you like to understand how computers work? Do you want to know
how to use computation to solve problems?

Designed for a diverse audience, CS 202 focuses on understanding
algorithms, step-by-step methods for accomplishing a complex task.
Algorithms are useful in more places than you might imagine.
Algorithms specify the work that must be done for large, complex tasks
like sequencing the human genome. But, algorithms also describe how
people approach everyday problems like finding a path out of a maze or
solving a rubik's cube. Understanding how to solve problems in a
step-by-step fashion is useful for more than just computer scientists.
In this course, you'll investigate the types of problems we currently
know how to solve with computation and you'll compare different
algorithms that solve the same problem to determine which are the most
efficient.

In this course, you’ll also learn how modern computers perform
computation. For example, you’ll understand how hardware and software
store data, run applications, and display and find web pages. You’ll
learn about a wide range of areas in computer science, such as
robotics, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence.

To obtain hands-on experience with algorithms, we will be using a new
programming environment called Scratch. Scratch enables beginners to
create sophisticated programs by simply dragging and dropping
predefined instruction blocks. Thus, you will acquire experience
decomposing problems into well-defined steps without the fear of
frustrating ``syntax'' errors. You will use Scratch to create
animated stories, art, and educational games!

All majors are welcome!

For more information, please see:
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~dusseau/Classes/CS202/

Extra credit opportunity #2

This one will also net you another 1/2 point if you complete it.

You're invited to participate in a study evaluating issue content. The study's purpose is to test the effects of different ways of presenting information about current events.

To participate in the study, you’ll need to complete an online survey that should take about 15-20 minutes of your time.

You can access the survey by clicking on this link:

http://research.journalism.wisc.edu/edgerly/hme2/introz.html

The study will be available online until 5:00 PM on Monday, November 23, 2009.

You can complete the survey at your convenience and may use either your personal computer or a computer on the UW-Madison campus. You simply need an Internet browser like Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer to complete the survey. Please make sure to enter your name and class number at the end of the survey to receive credit for your participation.

Your participation is completely voluntary, but you can earn extra credit for participating. Also, if you choose not to complete the study, you may attend a presentation on the research in the Nafziger Conference Room on the 5th Floor of Vilas Hall at 1:30pm on Monday, November 23, 2009 as an alternative way of earning extra credit.

If you experience difficulties, please contact me and I will try to provide technical assistance. Thank you for your participation.

Stephanie Edgerly, Graduate Student, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

edgerly@wisc.edu

Stephanie Edgerly
Graduate Student/Teaching Assistant
5132 Vilas Hall
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
University of Wisconsin-Madison
821 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706

Extra credit opportunity

Calling all LIS 201 students!

A group of LIS grad students needs your help in gathering data for a study on the use of video chat tools like Skype at UW Madison.

Please fill out this short online survey about your use of video chat. (It should take 10 minutes or less) :

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=dnXR05zwSg9OXC1JQOVOHQ_3d_3d

What’s in it for you?

1) 0.5 extra credit points in LIS 201 (which can make up for a botched midterm or quiz question)
2) The satisfaction of helping out fellow TAs and classmates
3) A chance to participate in the global network society using “Web 2.0” tools

Thanks for your help!

Darcy Gervasio

Essay questions for the midterm

LIS 201 - Fall 2009

Midterm Study Guide

Essay Questions to Study

First, read this excerpt from a New York Times article on “tablet
computers” published on 04 October 2009:

The high-tech industry has been working itself into paroxysms of
excitement lately over an idea that is not exactly new: tablet
computers.

Quietly, several high-tech companies are lining up to deliver versions
of these keyboard-free, touch-screen portable machines in the next few
months. Industry watchers have their eye on Apple in particular to
sell such a device by early next year.

Tablets have been around in various forms for two decades, thus far
delivering little other than memorable failure. Nonetheless, the new
batch of devices has gripped the imagination of tech executives,
bloggers and gadget hounds, who are projecting their wildest dreams
onto these literal blank slates.

In these visions, tablets will save the newspaper and book publishing
industries, present another way to watch television and movies, play
video games, and offer a visually rich way to enjoy the Web and the
expanding world of mobile applications.

[...]

Another former Apple executive who was there at the time said the
tablets kept getting shelved at Apple because Mr. Jobs, whose incisive
critiques are often memorable, asked, in essence, what they were good
for besides surfing the Web in the bathroom.

The success of the iPhone may have partially helped to answer that
question. As of last month, developers had created 85,000 applications
for the iPhone and iPod Touch — video games, social networking
software, restaurant finders and more. Analysts believe that all those
programs will immediately work on the new tablet while developers
begin to tailor new software for the larger screen.

Despite the preponderance of apps, there is still the persistent
question of whether regular people will really find a use for tablet
computers. Smaller cellphones are increasingly multipurpose and fit
nicely in a jacket pocket. And low-end laptops are inexpensive, run a
full-fledged operating system and offer the luxury of a keyboard.

[...]

Now, pick one of these questions and answer it in your 8-page exam
blue book.

(Please note that in each case, the audience for your answer is
probably not familiar with specific terms from our LIS 201 class, so
will need you to briefly explain any such terms that you use as part
of your essay.)

(1) You have graduated from UW-Madison, and you work as a researcher
for a large transnational corporation. Using specific concepts and
examples from the LIS 201 class you took years ago, write a memo to
your CEO that makes an argument about whether tablet computers will
revolutionize your business.

(2) You have graduated from UW-Madison, and you work as a researcher
for a non-profit advocacy organization. Using specific concepts and
examples from the LIS 201 class you took years ago, write a letter to
your donors that makes an argument about whether tablet computers will
exacerbate social inequality.

(3) You have graduated from UW-Madison, and you work as a researcher
for a large midwestern state. Using specific concepts and examples
from the LIS 201 class you took years ago, write a position paper for
your governor that makes an argument about whether tablet computers
will transform your state’s economy.

Short answer terms for the midterm

LIS 201 - Fall 2009

Midterm Study Guide

Short Answer Terms to Study


Five of the following terms will appear on the exam. In a couple of sentences, identify and give the significance of each.

technological determinism

soft determinism

path dependence
SAGE

ARPANET
literacy
internal communication
crisis of control

rationalization

digitalization
RCA

ENIAC
pre-industrial society

industrial society

post-industrial society
second industrial revolution

information technology
telematics

POTS

TNCs
network society

space of flows
technological fix

spatial fix
the problem of leisure

services sector

digital divide
Fordism

Scientific Management

manufacture of consent
comparative advantage

deindustrialization

multiplier effects
megalopolis

edge city

creative class

A new kind of anti-information-society space

Troubled that legally you're not allowed to jam wi-fi internet and cell phone transmissions using electronic means? Looking to insulate yourself from the rest of the information society? Paint may be the answer, according to this article in the BBC news:

Researchers say they have created a special kind of paint which can block out wireless signals.

It means security-conscious wireless users could block their neighbours from being able to access their home network - without having to set up encryption.

The paint contains an aluminium-iron oxide which resonates at the same frequency as wi-fi - or other radio waves - meaning the airborne data is absorbed and blocked.

By coating an entire room, signals can't get in and, crucially, can't get out.

Prediction of the day: Ten years after all UW buildings and classrooms are made Internet-accessible by wireless technology, we will see the first designated "non-Internet" classrooms (where wi-fi and cellphone signals can't get in or out) rolled out.

Is this a pattern that we've seen before? Did the eventual penetration of telephones to every home and business motivate the need for technology to keep the telephone from intruding on our lives? (Answering machines?) Did the rapid adoption of television produce an opposite desire for special, designated, video-free spaces? When did campaigns to remove billboards from neighborhoods and highways begin? How do we decide when "instant information accessibility" becomes "information overload"?

SAGE history link

http://www.computermuseum.li/Testpage/IBM-SAGE-computer.htm

also has a link to ARPANET history for those interested...