Time and Place    Instructor: Gary Marchionini
6 :00-8:15 Wednesdays   Email: march@ils.unc.edu
Room 307 Manning Hall   Office 203 Manning Hall
Phone (919) 966-3611

Brief Course Description

This course is concerned with the behavioral, cognitive and affective activities of people as they interact with information, with particular 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.

Course Materials
No textbook is required.  Readings are on reserve in the SILS Library (see Reading List ).

Class online discussions: Discussion Forum.

Assignments and Evaluation
Activities include a set of readings, an in-class debate, 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 and special activities which contribute to the learning experience of other students (e.g., forums, MOOs, out-of-class meetings, etc).

Scholarly Policies and Honor Code
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.

 Tentative Schedule

Wed. Aug. 22: Course Introduction and Overview
Overview of course
Assignments and labs
Introduce 1-min paper

Assignments:
Subscribe to list, send favorite definitions (communication, information, interaction)
Term Projects
 Media structures (Mid-term project)
 Final Project
Read for next meeting:
Pierce, J. (1972) Communication.  Scientific American, 227(3), 31-41
Schramm, W. (1973). Channels and audiences.  In Ithiel Pool, Wilbur Schramm, Nathan Maccoby & Edwin Parker, (Eds.), Handbook of communication.  Chicago: Rand McNally.  116-140.
Optional:  Weaver, W. (1949). Recent contributions to the mathematical theory of communication.  In, The mathematical theory of communication.  Urbana, IL: U. of Illinois Press. [Read Chapter 1]
Day 1 Notes

Wed.  Aug. 29.  Fundamentals of Interaction and Communication
Discuss definitions
Discuss readings:
 Pierce:
 Schramm:

Read for next meeting:
Tannen, D. (1995). The power of talk: Who gets heard and why.
Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations. pp 1-37. (Note: this item is on reserve in the SILS library.)
Arkin, E. (1999). Cancer risk communication—What we know (online in UNC ejournals)
Maibach, E. (1999). Cancer risk communication—What we need to learn (online in UNC ejournals)
Day 2 Notes

Wed.  Sept.  5.  Interaction and Communication Contexts
Oral presentation of project ideas
Discuss readings
 Tannen:
 Rogers:
 Arkin:
 Maibach:

Read for next meeting:
Belkin, N. J. (1980). Anomalous states of knowledge as a basis for information retrieval.
Chatman, Elfreda. (1996). The impoverished life-world of outsiders.  (JASIST online)
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
Day 3 Notes

Wed. Sept.  12.   Analysis of Information Needs
(no class, SIGIR Conference)
Use discussion forum

Read for next meeting:
Dervin, B., & Nilan, M. (1986). Information needs and uses.
Harris, R., & Dewdney, P. (1994). Barriers to Information: How Formal Help Systems Fail Battered Women. Chapter 2.

Wed. Sept.  19.  Information Seeking I
Report on SIGIR
Discuss readings:
 Belkin:
 Chatman:
 Taylor:
 Dervin & Nilan:
 Harris & Dewdney:
 Solomon:

Read for next meeting:
Kwasnik, B. (1992). A descriptive study of the functional components of browsing.
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.)
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 (Athens, July 24-28).  296-303. ( ACM Digital Library).
Day 5 Notes

Wed.  Sept. 26. Information Seeking and Assessing Information Value
Written Project Commitments
Discuss readings:
 Kwasnik:
 Marchionini:
 Harter:
 Schambler et al:
 Amento et al:

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: Cambridge University Press. (Preface ix-xiii, Chapter 1 p 3-15, and Chapter 23 p251-256.)
Optional: Barreau (LISR)
Day 6 Notes

Wed.  Oct. 3.   Information Use
Discuss readings
 Reeves & Nass:
 Barreau:

Read for next meeting:
Travis interviews with Bliss, Curtis, Gordon, Ritchey, & Rosenfeld (ASIST Bulletin, Aug/Sept, 2000 online)
Denn & Maglaughlin (ASIST Bulletin, June/July 2000 online)
Day 7 Notes

Wed. Oct 10: Information Design
Midterm structure assignments due
Discuss readings
 Travis interviews:
 Denn & Maglaughlin

Read for next meeting:
Tibbo, H. (1995). Interviewing techniques for remote reference: Electronic versus traditional environments.
Roloff, M. E. (1981). Interpersonal Communication: The Social Exchange Approach. Chapter 1, Social Exchange: Key Concepts, p13-31.
Dewdney & Sheldrick Ross (1994).  RQ 34(2), 217-30.
Walker, R. D., & Hurt, C. D. (1990). Scientific and Technical Literature: An Introduction to Forms of Communication. Chapter 6, Secondary Literature, p225-63.
Ackerman, M. & Malone. T. Answer Garden: A tool for growing organizational memory.  Proceedings of ACM COIS (Cambridge, MA April, 1990).  P 31-39.   http://www.ics.uci.edu/~ackerman/pub/90b03/cois90.final.pdf
Day 8 Notes

Wed. Oct. 17 Fall Break: No class

Wed. Oct. 24  The Roles of Intermediaries
Discuss structure assignments
Discuss readings:
 Tibbo:
 Roloff:
 Dewdney & Sheldrick Ross:
 Walker & Hurt:
 Ackerman & Malone:

Read for next meeting:
Moorhead, G., Ference, R., & Neck, C. P. (1991). Group decision fiascoes continue: Space Shuttle Challenger and a groupthink framework.
Sonnenwald, D. (1996). Communication roles that support collaboration during the design process.
Pool, I. D. S. (1973). Communication systems. pp 3-36.
Harnad, S. (1990). Scholarly skywriting and the prepublication continuum of scientific inquiry.
Smith, L. C. (1981). Citation analysis.
(Optional) Garvey, W. D. (1979). The role of scientific communication in the conduct of research and the creation of scientific knowledge.
Day 9 Notes

Wed. Oct. 31: Team Interactions, Bibliometrics
Discuss readings:
Moorehead et al:
 Sonnenwald:
Pool:
Harnad:
Smith:
(Optional) Garvey, W. D. (1979). The role of scientific communication in the conduct of research and the creation of scientific knowledge.
Day 10 Notes

Wed. Nov. 7:
(no class, ASIST Conference)
Use Discussion Forum

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.  Cambridge, MIT Press.
Optional: Constant, D., Kiesler, S., & Sproull, L. (1994). What's mine is ours, or is it? A study of attitudes about information sharing.

Wed. Nov. 14: MOO
Meet in SILS Lab (first half)
Debrief on MOO experience
Discuss Readings
 Dibbell:
 Constant et al:
 
Read for next meeting:
Day 12 Notes

Wed. Nov. 21:  Thanksgiving Break

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)
Doctor, R. D. (1992). Social equity and information technologies: Moving toward information democracy.
Anderson, R., Bikson, T., Law, S., & Mitchell, B. (1995). Universal access to e-mail: Feasibility and societal implications.  Santa Monica, CA: RAND  [Read: Summary xiii-xxiii AND Chapter One: Introduction p. 1-12.]

Wed. Nov. 28 : Policy Issues
Discuss readings:
 Gasaway:
 Samuelson:
 Doctor:
 Anderson et al:
Day 13 Notes

Wed. Dec 5: Project Presentations