My Dream Holiday(:

This time we were asked to find information on our dream holiday. I've always known how my dream holiday will be like and it is to go to Egypt and to visit all the magnificent pyramids. I’ve always been intrigued by the marvelous architecture of these pyramid-shaped structure.  A quick history about pyramids is that they were built mostly as tombs for the country’s Pharaohs. As there are many pyramids found in Egypt, I would like to specifically visit the pyramids in Giza. This is because not only will I be able to view the pyramids, I will also be able to see the Sphinx.

To find out more information on Egypt, I visited Egypt’s travel website. Below are screenshots of the website.

 The picture may be a little small but if you were to look closely, you can see small black dots. When one scrolls over the black dots, more information about that particular structure will be shown. I think this is a really unique feature as it allows visitors to the site to learn more about the structures before choosing the structures they wish to visit.

This website also allows the users to book for their holiday package now and also to learn basic Arabic phrases that may be useful for them. 

 Besides the pyramids, one can also view the other activities tourists can do such as visiting the desert, beaches and shopping establishments. This provides the user with more information other than its popular pyramids.  

I had made use of 2 different evaluation criteria to evaluate this website. 

1.       Presentation & Usability

The website I visited is visually appealing as it uses graphics that were appropriate to the purpose of the website. The graphic made it a more interesting site as compared to the other sites I visited. The headings were clear and the content was also well-written.

2.       Usability

The website is easy to extremely user-friendly.

Practical 7- What I've Learnt

During week 6, we were taught on the various criteria when evaluating internet resources. The main purpose of evaluating internet resources is to determine its quality. This is crucial to ensure that the information obtained from the internet resources is accurate and reliable. There are many evaluation criteria, mainly: Purpose, Coverage, Authority, Accuracy, Currency, Accessibility, Presentation and Arrangement, Usability and Overall quality. One important thing that users should take note is that different internet resources require different evaluation criteria.

For this week, we were asked to evaluate Straits Times Online Mobile Print (STOMP) which is a web portal by Singapore Press Holdings. In order to ensure its credibility, I have decided to use 4 different evaluation criteria. The 4 different criteria are purpose, coverage, accuracy and currency. 

1.       Purpose

From the About Us page, I was able to determine STOMP’s purpose which is to “connect, engage and interact with Singaporeans in a style and approach that is different from conventional news website”. By displaying its purpose clearly, users are able to easily determine if they are using the appropriate site. This means that a user who is searching for credible information for his research should find another site whereas a user who wishes to provide interesting news stories will choose to stay on this site.

2.       Coverage

STOMP covers a variety of areas mainly citizen journalism platform, discussion forums on various subjects, news stories and entertainment. Its intended audience can be inferred from the purpose to be layman Singaporeans as it wants to connect, engage and interact with Singaporeans. By evaluating the coverage, I am able to determine if the subject I am searching for can be found on this site or should I search for another website.

3.       Accuracy

Apart from the news stories section, most of the other areas covered by STOMP are user-generated. This means that the content found are contributed by the public and not from an expert or from a research. As such, one should be cautious when quoting information from STOMP as the information may be bias or inaccurate. However, interesting stories sent in by the public may be accurate as they are often accompanied by images or videos. By using accuracy as an evaluation criterion, I will be able to determine if the information I retrieve from STOMP is reliable and accurate enough to be used for my research.

4.       Currency

As mentioned above, a large part of the content found on STOMP is contributed by the public. These are usually contributed when a person witnesses an interesting incident. The person will likely capture a photo or video of the incident before uploading it onto STOMP. With the technological advancement in Singapore, the person is able to do so almost immediately upon witnessing it. This means that the news is likely to be current. This is an important evaluation criterion especially if one is dealing with issues such as current affairs.

From this activity, I have learned the importance of evaluating the internet resource that I am using. Although it may seem troublesome and time-consuming, I feel that it is worth the effort as it will help ensure the information I obtain is reliable and accurate. This will then ensure the reliability and accuracy of my research. One is also able to save time when searching for information if he evaluates the website before using it. This will allow the user to determine if the information or subject he is searching is found on that website. This is definitely better than searching for information aimlessly.

If I were to create my own version of STOMP, I don’t think I will apply citizen journalism differently from how STOMP applies it. In STOMP, the public is allowed to post their thoughts on a particular subject. In my own version, I will allow users to post their opinions on the consumption of genetically modified food. By doing so, other users will be able to read a more balanced view of the issue. Also, users will be allowed to provide information on the recent trends and developments of the genetically modified food industry. This will help create awareness on this issue which has been relatively unknown.

What I've Learnt-Practical 6

The week before the break, we were introduced to invisible web which is also known as database or deep web or dark matter. Databases are basically test pages, files or other high quality authorative information available via the World Wide Web that general purpose search engines(that is, Google or Yahoo)will not add to their web pages. It works just like the normal search engines which means that one is able to use Boolean operators. One unique feature of a databsae is that the user is able determine which year he wants the data to be from. Some examples of databases are TP's Digital Library Portal Site and TP's E-books database ITPRO.

This week, we were told to evaluate the effectiveness of databases.

After looking through two different databases, i feel that it is more effective to search on the databases rather than on search engines, meta search engines or subject directories. This is mainly due to the nature of my research topic and how the search results from the database differ from those found on the other three internet search facility. Because of the nature of my research topic, information from journals and articles are more relevant and reliable as compared to information from blogs and etc.

Information from EbscoHost were mainly from journals and they were comprehensive and detailed. As I had access to EbscoHost database, i was able to view the full text document. This provided me with more information than i had gathered from searching the different search engines, meta search engines and subject directories.

Another database that i have used for my research is Newslink. Newslink provided me with newspaper articles from The Straits Times or The Business Times on my reasearch topic. It was interesting to read how genetically modified food is impacting the world and the views of journalists and people around the world about it.

Overall, i think that databases are really great as i don't have to worry about the reliability of the information. This is because the journals and articles were from respectable sources which would probably provide information that is accurate. Also, most of the journals and articles found were relevent and i did not have to waste time sorting throught the search results looking for information that is relevant. This managed to shorten the time i spend searching for information.

Although databases are really useful and effective, i think that i will not be using them for research for my diploma. This is because my diploma project rarely require the use of the internet search facilities. Also, the inforomation that i need for them would probably not be found on these databases. As such, i don't think it is appropriate and necessary for me to make use of databases for my projects.

Week 5- What I Have Learnt

This week, we learned about two different types of internet search facilities- meta search engine and subject directory. It was a pretty informative lesson as I never knew meta search engine existed till that lesson.

Meta search engine, also known as metacrawlers or multi-search engines, transmits the search terms simultaneously to several search engines. This means that if you type your search query at a meta search engine, it searches for results from several search engines such as Google, Yahoo and etc. As this is done simultaneously, a lot of time is saved as you need not visit the different search engines to find for information. I feel that this is really convenient as the time taken to search for informaiton is greatly reduced. Also, as results are searched from a few different types of search engines, there are a higher number of search results. This allows me to have a wider variety of search results to choose from. Examples of meta search engines are http://www.vivisimo.com/, http://www.metacrawler.com/ and http://www.mamma.com/.

For my research, I chose to use http://www.mamma.com/. The search results found on mamma.com was quite different from those found on Google. However, it was relatively as reliable and relevant as google. Also, mamma.com recognises the use of Boolean operators. As such, i am able to refine my search query so as to achieve search results that are more relevant. Another feature that i really liked about mamma.com is the tab bar, which is similar to that found on Windows Internet Explorer. This allows me to have a few search query at the same time. However, unlike metacrawler.com, mamma.com does not show the search engines it uses to search for results. It would have been great if they displayed them so that i am able to determine and use the meta search engine that uses the search engines that i would usually use. Also, mamma.com displays links that are sponsored by some companies. Although some of the sponsored links are relevant to me research topic, most of them are totally irrelevant. It got quite fustrating especially when i realised that out of all the search results displayed in one page, about half of them were sponsored links that are not relevant. This could increase the time taken for me to search for information as i have to go through a few pages before i am satisfied with the information i have gathered.

Another internet search facility that we were introduced to is subject directories. Subject directory, also known as subject catalog, is a human-compiled database. There are many different subjects/categories which users can choose and select to browse for information. This search facility is convenient and helpful only to a certain extent as it may be quite time consuming to use unless you are really sure what category/subject to choose. One feature that was helpful is the keyword searches, which is similar to that of other internet search facilities. Examples of subject directories are http://www.galaxy.com/ and http://www.go.com/.

For my research, i have chosen to use http://www.galaxy.com/. I think my experience using galaxy.com was an unpleasant one as it was quite challenging when it came to determining which category to choose. Eventually, i decided to try every category that were highly possible. However, i was still unable to find the desired results. During the lesson, we were told that subject directories have a small number of pages, with search results in the low millions. This was supposed to be more convenient as the results are likely to be more reliable and relevant to the search query. However, i feel that this is a weakness as the number of search results may come up to be too little. In my case, when i choose from one category to another, the number of search results decreased quite dramatically to as low as 2! Even so, it did not provide me with the necessary information. It was at this point of time that i gave up and used the keyword search feature instead which yield reliable and relevant search results.

Shopping Spree 2!

We had another shopping assignment(: But this time, we were supposed to shop in second life instead of at shopping websites like the other time. It was definitely a new and unique experience for me. It was generally fun but there were some parts that kind of made the shopping experience less fun such as navigating from place to place. This may be because I'm really new at this. It got quite frustrating at times but the ambiance and products sold made up for this. So, first up, we had to choose to visit one of the shopping sites listed and I chose Farrah Island.

Farrah Island houses JCNY Collection which offers mostly accessories such as necklaces and earrings which are chargeable. The store is really huge so it's no wonder that it offers almost all the different kinds of accessories. The picture above is, I think, the help desk. There are captions above each object to provide you with some help when needed such as "Click for HELP", "Touch me for Hyper-Gems Guide Book" and etc. It's really useful because things are pretty confusing for me. From the picture, you can also see how well-decorated and beautiful the shop is. It's really soothing to the eyes as there isn't anything glaring. It also somehow makes the shopping experience 'real'. 

Right next to the help desk, there's a directory of the shop. It shows the ten different departments found in the shop such as watches, wedding services, men jewelry and many more. And the cool thing about this directory is that you can click on the individual departments and you will be teleported there. This feature is really useful especially since it's quite difficult for me to navigate around the shop. Also, I like how the shop is organized in such a way that each kind of product sold has its own room. This makes shopping there more convenient and you can just go into the watch department if you're looking for watches instead of having to browse through the whole store.

In this picture, my avatar is looking a poster which shows FashionForLess, which features items sold at a lower price. However, as I am without any Lindens (the second life currency), I am unable to purchase anything. This part of the shop shows how it is similar to a shop in real life as a real life shop will also usually have a small part which features the items on sale.

The two pictures above shows a vending machine which dispenses JCNY shopping gift cards which I assume can be used to purchase items from that store. The vending machines are found all over the store and it's relatively quite easy to use. I think it's a perfect gift for someone on their birthday or some other special occasions. It's really good when you dont know what to get for that someone. So, by giving this gift card, she will be able to purchase whatever she wants. This is really similar to what the shops in real life offer for shoppers. It's really cool that you have to purchase it from a vending machine and not from an avatar.

Next, I'll show some of the different products sold at the JCNY collection.

I think it's not that clear but this picture shows some of the earrings sold at this store. Most of them are really pretty and there's a wide variety of earrings. They have a few different colours of each design so shoppers will have more choices.

This screen shot shows the shoes sold at JCNY. They're mostly high heels, and like the other products sold, there's a wide range of designs. But one thing that could have made this better would be having the shoes standing on it's own rather than having it appear in pictures. That would really make this store cool. 

Another feature that I really like about this store is the pictures which shows all the different products are big so it's really easy to see from even from a distance. And it really catches your eye. You can see how big the pictures are from the screen shot below. 

  Lastly, the last thing that made this shopping experience enjoyable is the rest areas located around the store. It's really nice and convenient as your avatar can rest whenever you want it too, though it's not really needed. If there are rest areas in stores in real life just like in this store, I'm sure there will be lesser complaints about customer service in Singapore.

Though the shopping experience at JCNY was pretty fun and enjoyable, I still prefer shopping at shopping sites as Second life is not user-friendly. it's really difficult to move around the store especially when you have not done this before. Shopping sites, on the other hand, are really simple to use and doesn't take as much effort as shopping at second life. Also, if you were to really buy the products sold at JCNY, you can't really use it as it's only a virtual item for the enjoyment of your avatar. This will definitely make the shopping experience less fun. The things that you buy from shopping sites however, can be used in real life.

Week 3-What I Have Learnt

This week, we learnt the effective way to search for information on the Internet and the functions and features of Google and Google Scholar. It was a very informative lecture as I learnt things that I never knew despite using Google for a long time.

Firstly, we were told that it is important to plan a search strategy as this will provide us with relevant and helpful results. The first step to planning a search strategy is to define the research question. Next, we should translate this into an effective search query by identifying keywords and its variations. For example, if one of the key words is development, its variations could be advancement or improvement. Next, an appropriate search facility should be chosen. A search engine should be used for a familiar topic whereas a subject directory should be used if the topic is unfamiliar. Lastly, perform the search and evaluate the results. One important thing to note is not to use a single keyword when searching for information as this will produce a list of useless results.

There are also other ways to further refine your search query.

1.       Avoid the use of articles (e.g. a, an), prepositions (e.g. in, of), adverbs (e.g. probably, very), common verbs (e.g. see, do) and common adjectives (e.g. fine, happy).

2.      Use search filters or Boolean operators. Boolean operators are words such as AND (must include all the words), OR (include any of the words) and AND NOT (exclude undesirable words).

3.      Use parenthesis to force the order of operation that is searching words inside the () first.

Next, we were asked to use Google and Google Scholar to research on our chosen topic using the method that we were taught. It was much tedious as compared to my usual research method but it provided me with search results that were more relevant and useful.

Some of the features found on Google Scholar that were helpful are the Advance Scholar search and how users are able to specify the internet resources that they wish to search for (e.g. articles and journals). Also, Google Scholar ranks the search results based on where it is published, who it is written by and how often and recent the document is cited in other documents. This will ensure that the search results are reliable and will be useful in my research. Lastly, Google Scholar is also able to locate the full document through the library or on the web. This made my research process more convenient. Google directory was also useful in finding for information as it offers a faster search. It is especially useful when the topic I am working with is quite unfamiliar.

The second part of the lecture was about citation and bibliography. Citation is information which fully identifies a publication. Bibliography on the other hand is an extensive list of sources you have consulted as you worked on or thought about your document. It is important for us to cite so as to acknowledge the source of information and to avoid plagiarism. It is also an essential feature in research work. There are various styles of citation that can be used such as the American Psychological Association (APA) style. The bibliography represents the research we’ve done in preparation for the writing of the report. It will offer the target audience suggestions for further reading on the topic being discussed. There are also certain rules that need to be followed when preparing the bibliography.  

Hopefully, with this new knowledge, I will be able to perform a more effective search when completing my assignments.

What I Learnt- Week 2

During lab this week,  I learnt several things about internet resources. There are basically 11 different types of internet resources which can be classified into different categories such as personal, institutional, research and academic information and etc. Some examples are blogs & wikis, online forums(e.g. http://www.tech-forum.net/), e-journal &magazines and WWW sites. The different internet resources have different features and serve different purposes. Another difference is that some internet reosurces are free whereas others have restricted access.

Some of the different internet resources can be further classified into different categories. WWW sites for example, can be classified into personal, organisational and subject-based. The subject-based sites can then be classified into education, governments(e.g. http://www.gov.sg/), politics, entertainment(e.g. http://www.movieweb.com/), humanitites, history(e.g. http://www.historyforkids.org/) and so on.

The different types of internet resources will assist us in searching for different information.