INLS 180-02: Human Information Interaction
Spring 2003
Syllabus
Room 307 Manning Hall Office 203 Manning Hall
Phone (919)
966-3611
This course is concerned with
the behavioral, cognitive and affective activities of people as they interact
with information, with emphasis on the roles of the information professionals
who may mediate that interaction. It will provide an overview of the literature
on peoples' recognition of their information needs, the actions they may take
in resolving those needs, the roles of information professionals in supporting
those actions, the use of information, the further dissemination of
information, and the context of information interaction.
No textbook is required.
Activities include a set of
readings, an online discussion, and a set of media analyses culminating in a
mid-term project. The media assignments
will be graded and in combination worth 30% of the final grade. A final term project will determine 40% of
the grade. The term project will be an
original design of an information product or service (infoware),
or a critical assessment of a product, service, or idea. All projects must be approved by the
instructor. Small group (two or three
collaborators) projects are encouraged.
A brief summary of the project will be presented in the final week of
class. In addition, every student will
be expected to make postings to the class electronic list and lead a discussion
on one or more of the readings. The
remaining 30% of the grade will be based on class participation, reading
discussion leadership, and special activities which contribute to the learning
experience of other students (e.g., forums, MOOs,
out-of-class meetings, etc).
The UNC Honor Code prohibits
giving or receiving unauthorized aid in the completion of assignments. Students are strongly encouraged to cooperate
and assist one another and share insights and respective expertise in this
course. I expect that you will
acknowledge the support you receive from your colleagues (this may be done in
acknowledgements at the end of assignments or projects). It is crucial, however, that in every case where you use the actual
written words of others, that these be properly quoted and cited. When you build arguments upon the ideas of
others, the originators of those ideas should also be cited. You should adopt a style guide (e.g.,
American Psychological Association, Council of Biology Editors, Modern Language
Association, Chicago, Turabian, etc.) and use it for
your written work. Any style guide is
acceptable, as long as you use one and follow it consistently. As you use the SILS library and lab
resources during the course of the semester, please remember that many of your
fellow students also need to use the same material. Be considerate of others and follow the
proper checkout procedures, return materials promptly, and share workstation
time if necessary. Please also conserve
resources by consciously managing your printing in the labs.
Overview of course
Assignments
Discussions
Introduce 1-min paper
Assignments:
Subscribe to list, send favorite definitions (information, communication,
interaction)
Term Projects
Media structures (Mid-term project)
Final Project
Read for next meeting:
Pierce, J. (1972) Communication. Scientific American, 227(3), 31-41 [consider the lens
of 30 years]
Schramm, W.
(1973). Channels
and audiences. (p 116-129 only) In Ithiel Pool, Wilbur Schramm, Nathan Maccoby
& Edwin Parker, (Eds.), Handbook of communication.
Pool,
Optional: Weaver, W. (1949). Recent
contributions to the mathematical theory of communication. In, The mathematical theory
of communication.
Discuss definitions
Biological communication and
interaction (ISEE)
Discuss readings:
Pierce: Andrew Phillips
Schramm: Amy Willis & Jun Wu
Pool: Martha Preddie
Read for next meeting:
Tannen, D. (1995). The power of talk: Who gets heard and
why.
Chatman, Elfreda.
(1996). The impoverished life-world of outsiders. (JASIST online)
Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations. pp 1-37. (Note: this item is on
reserve in the SILS library.)
Optional: Roloff,
M. E. (1981). Interpersonal Communication: The Social Exchange Approach.
Chapter 1, Social Exchange: Key Concepts, p13-31.
Oral presentation of project
ideas
Discuss readings on Context
Tannen: Tom Tolleson:
Chatman: Claire Eager & Jessica Eakin
Discuss reading on Diffusion
Read for next meeting:
Belkin, N. J. (1980). Anomalous states of knowledge as a
basis for information retrieval.
Taylor, R. S. (1968). Question-negotiation and information seeking in libraries.
Optional: Solomon, 1977 Conversation in
information-seeking contexts: A test of an analytical framework (LISR, 19(3),
217-248
Defining information needs
Assessing information needs
Discuss readings:
Belkin: Rachel Dickey & Evelyn Dorenkamp:
Read for next meeting:
Dervin, B., & Nilan, M. (1986). Information needs and uses.
Marchionini, G. (1995). Information Seeking in Electronic Environments. pp 27-60.
(Note: this item is not in the reading packet, and may instead be found on
reserve in the SILS library. The book is located behind the reference desk.)
Human-centered information
seeking perspective
Implications for design
Discuss readings:
Dervin & Nilan: Debbie Glackin & Gregory Gooding:
Marchionini:
Read for next meeting:
Harter, S.
P. (1992). Psychological
relevance and information science.
(JASIST online)
Schamber, L., Eisenberg, M. B., & Nilan,
M. S. (1990). A re-examination of relevance: Toward a dynamic, situational
definition.
Amento, B., Terveen, L., & Hill, W. (2000). Does ‘authority’ mean quality? Predicting
expert quality ratings of web documents.
Proceedings of ACM SIGIR (
Written Project Commitments
Relevance, authority, and
value
Discuss readings:
Harter: Julie Kimbrough & Megan Lafferty
Schambler et al: Li Wen & Mary White
Amento et al: Marlan Brinkley
Read for next meeting:
Reeves, B.
& Nass, C. (1996). The media equation: How people treat computers,
television, and the new media like real people and places. NY:
McInerney, C. (2002). Knowledge management
and the dynamic nature of knowledge.
JASIST. 53(12), 1009-1018.
Optional: Barreau
(LISR)
Using information and
applying knowledge of how people use information
Knowledge management
Discuss readings
Reeves & Nass: Jennifer Shoaf
McInerney: Xiaohua Luan & Margaret Murray
Read for next meeting:
Rosenfeld, L. Information
architecture: Looking ahead. JASIST,
53(10), 874-876.
Midterm structure assignments
due
IA discussion
Discuss readings
Rosenfeld: Anita Sundaram & Megan VonIsenburg
Read for next meeting:
Janes, J. (2002). Digital Reference: Reference librarian’s
experiences and attitudes. JASIST,
53(7), 549-566.
Dewdney
& Sheldrick Ross (1994). Flying a light aircraft: Reference service evaluation from a user’s
viewpoint. RQ
34(2), 217-30.
Discuss structure assignments
Discuss readings
Janes: Lee Lambert & Trish Losi
Dewdney & Sheldrick
Ross: Sarah Hays
Read for next meeting:
Smith, L. C. (1981). Citation analysis.
Library Trends, 30(1), Summer 1981.
83-106.
Ackerman,
M. & Malone. T.
Optional: Garvey, W. D.
(1979). The role of scientific communication in the conduct
of research and the creation of scientific knowledge.
Optional: Harnad, S. (1990). Scholarly skywriting and the prepublication continuum of scientific
inquiry.
Spring Break:
March 10-14
Citation, co-citation,
research fronts, and recommender systems
Discuss readings:
Smith: Christine Cerny & Jenny Emanuel
Ackerman & Malone: Kim Brederson
Read for next meeting:
Optional: Sonnenwald,
D. (1996). Communication roles that support collaboration
during the design process.
Optional: Constant, D., Kiesler, S., & Sproull, L.
(1994). What's mine is ours, or is it? A study of attitudes
about information sharing.
Guest lecture: recommender
systems
Discuss readings:
Moorehead
et al: Michael O'Connell
Read for next meeting:
Dibbell, J. (1996). A rape in
cyberspace: How an evil clown, a Haitian trikster
spirit, two wizards, and a cast of dozens turned a database into a
society. In Mark Stefik
(Ed.) Internet dreams: Archetypes, myths, and metaphors.
Thur. April 3. Computer-Mediated Communication
MOO
Discuss readings:
Dibbell: Wing Ho
Read for next meeting:
Gasaway, L. (1998). Copyright, the Internet and other legal
issues (JASIST online)
Samuelson, P. (2001). Toward
a new politics of intellectual property (ACM DL)
Discuss
Samuelson: Tammy
Wells-Angerer
Gasaway: Shan Jiang
Thur. April 24. Project
Presentations