Course Syllabus
LI 803A
Information Transfer & the Knowledge Society
Feb 9-11 & Internet
Faculty:
Email:
Primary Phone:
Secondary Phone:
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Biography:
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Important info from
ESU:
Herbert Achleitner
hachleit@emporia.edu
(785) 843-3704
(800) 552-4770 Ext: 5329
(620) 341-5233
http://slim.emporia.edu/facstaff/ha.htm
https://elearning.emporia.edu
2.0
Course Syllabus May Change
Fall '08-Spring '09 Syllabus Attachment
LI803
Emporia
Section A
February 9 – 11 & Internet
Spring 2007
Information Transfer and the Knowledge Society
Herbert Achleitner
Email: hachleit@emporia.edu
Primary Phone: (620) 341-5329 Ext: 5329
Secondary Phone: (800) 552-4770 Ext:
Fax: (503) 588-7119
Course Manager: Courtney Schmitt.
Email: cschmitt@emporia.edu
LSSC: 1-888-561-5136
Please use Stumail for your 803 class email. All email will be sent to your stumail email account accessible at
stumail.emporia.edu. If you wish to use an alternate email for the course, you will need to forward your email fro
your stumail to the personal account.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines the significance, context, and dynamics of the information transfer
process. Various models and frameworks for understanding are presented and examined. The
consequences for libraries and information centers are examined.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES : This course will enable students to:
1. Identify and explain the Information Transfer Model, namely the creation, production,
dissemination, diffusion, utilization, organization, and preservation or destruction of information.
2. Understand the role of paradigms as agents of change and their applications to contemporary
issues of information policy.
3. Describe some of the sociological and cultural parameters which affect successful information
transfer.
4. Discuss the implications of contemporary social, political, economic, and technological
changes for library and information management professionals.
5. Understand the relationship between technology and culture.
6. Understand the impact of environmental and policy contexts on the processes of information
transfer and the use of libraries and information systems.
7. Understand the dimensions of paradigmatic shifts upon the role of information transfer in
society.
INFORMATION TRANSFER :
Information Transfer is concerned with the dynamics of societal interaction with information.
1. How people create new information.
2. Produce information.
3. Disseminate information.
4. Organize and Store information.
5. Diffuse and Utilize information.
6. Preserve and Discard information.
COURSE OUTLINE
I. Paradigms, Information, and Society
A. The Day the Universe Changed
B. The Engine of the Information Society
C. Society: Information's Roadway
II. Dynamics of Information in Society
A. Knowledge in Society
B. Impact of Paradigms on Society
III. Elements of Information Transfer
A. The Information Transfer Model
B. Technology and Culture
C. Information Policy
IV. The Dynamics of Information
A. Creation, Diffusion, and Utilization of Information
V. The Economics of Information
A. The Information Economy
B. Implications for Librarians
C. Response of the Librarians
VI. Organization of Knowledge
A. The Control of Information
B. Toward a New Architecture of Information
VII. Information and Context
A. What Have You Discovered?
B. In Summation
REQUIRED READINGS A “Coursepack” is available as electronic reserves through WAWL
http://whitelib.emporia.edu/. Instructions on accessing electronic reserves are found at
http://slim.emporia.edu/resource/itlab/electronic_reserves.htm
Please have the following articles read prior to the first weekend class:
Stacy Schiff. Know it all: Can Wikipedia conquer expertise? The New Yorker. July 31, 2006 . pp. 36 - 43.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060731fa_fact
Kevin Kelly. Scan this book. The New York Times Magazine. May 14, 2006 . pp. 43 - 64, 71.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/magazine/14publishing.html?ex=1305259200&en=c07443d368771bb8&e
5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
The 803 Course Resource Website can be found under the Course Documents button in Blackboard.
COURSE OPPORTUNITIES :
Your learning opportunity consists of two parts: 1) Information Transfer Paper and 2) Chapter
Review and in-class discussion participation.
1. Information Transfer Paper: (60% of grade)
Information Transfer Paper. Choose a discipline or discipline-like area., e.g., physics, history, political science,
music., and analyze the information transfer patterns within that discipline. Describe briefly how knowledge is
created, disseminated, organized, diffused, utilized, and preserved. You may choose your own college major to
illustrate the information transfer process.
We will discuss details in class. If you have questions regarding your topic, feel free to email me via Blackboard
telling me the topic and a brief description of it. The assignment is due midnight , 26 March . Please turn in yo
assignment via the Assignments link in Blackboard.
For Blackboard information, please get in touch with Courtney Schmitt or LSSC (888-561-5136).
2. Chapter Review and Class participation. (40% of grade)
You will be assigned one article or reading from the coursepack and you're to prepare a three page critical review
it. Each group is assigned an article to be discussed; the list of readings with the corresponding assigned group w
appear under "Assigned Readings" on Blackboard.
Please label the following parts of your paper :
1) Introduction
2) Overview/ discussion
3) Analysis - including strengths and weaknesses
4) Implications for information transfer and librarians
5) Conclusion
Note: Please make sure you use the headings cited above in your paper .
Online Blackboard Participation. As we will also be an online learning community, active and meaningful
participation on Blackboard is a must. We'll be discussing many of the implications of the first weekend's topics
We will have a Blackboard discussion on:
1. Wednesday 21 February 7 – 9 (CST)
2. Monday 26 February 7 – 9
3. Wednesday 28 February 7 – 9
4. Monday 5 March 7 - 9
Course Reading List
Rich, Robert. (1979). The pursuit of knowledge. Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization,
1(1), 6-30.
Johnston & Blumenttritt. (1998). Knowledge moves to center stage. Science Communication,
20(1), 99-105.
Brown, Reva. (1994). Knowledge and knowing: a feminist perspective. Science Communication.
16(2), 152-165.
Oluic-Vukovic, V. (2001). From information to knowledge. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology, 52(1) 54-61.
Scullion, P.A. (2002). Effective dissemination strategies. Nurse Researcher. 10(1), 65-68.
Owens, Thomas. (2001). Dissemination: a key element of the ATE program. Retrieved July 30,
2003, from:
http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/ate/ATEpapers/dissemes.pdf
Rogers, Everett. (2003). Elements of Diffusion. In Diffusion of Inovation (pp.1-37). New York:
Free Press
Van Dijck, J. (2003). After the 'Two Cultures': Toward a multicultural practice of science
communication. Science Communication. 25(2), 177-190.
Kramer, D., & Cole, D. (2003). Sustained, intensive engagement to promote health and safety
knowledge transfer to and utilization by workplaces. Science Communication. 25(1), 56-82.
Lievrouw, L., & Pope, T. (1994). Contemporary art as aesthetic innovation. Knowledge:
Creation Diffusion, Utilization, 15 (4), 373-395.
Lessig, L. " Property. In Free culture: How big media uses technology and the law to lock down
culture and control creativity "
Machlup, Fritz.(1993). Uses, Value, and Benefits of Knowledge. Knowledge: Creation,
Diffusion, Utilization. 14(4), 448-466.
Yakel, Elizabeth. (2001). Digital Preservation. Annual Review of Information Science and
Technology (ARIST), 35, 337-378.
O'Connor, B.C. & Copeland, J. H. (with J.L. Kearns). (2003). Foraging for relevance. In Hunting
and gathering on the information savanna: Conversations on modeling human search abilities
(pp. 117-135). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow press.
SLIM Attendance Policy
Students must attend all face-to-face classes.
SLIM Grading Policy
When a student receives one final course grade of “C,” that student will be placed on academic
probation and notified directly of this action. Students on academic probation are required to
meet with their academic advisor to develop an academic improvement plan. When a student
receives a second “C” or a single “D” or “F,” that student will be notified of dismissal from the
SLIM MLS program for academic reasons within fifteen (15) business days after the conclusion
of the semester. The student will also receive a copy of SLIM’s Academic Dismissal Policy. An
administrative hold will be placed on the student’s record to block future enrollment. This policy
goes into effect August 2008. The SLIM Grading Policy affects all SLIM graduate students,
including those who have passed into degree candidacy at the completion of SLIM’s Progress
Review.
Faculty-Initiated Student Withdrawal Procedure
Students should be aware that your instructor follows the university’s policy of faculty-initiated
student withdrawal. It reads as follows: “If a student’s absences from class or disruptive behavior
become detrimental to the student’s progress or that of other students in the class, the faculty
member shall attempt to contact the student in writing about withdrawing from the class and
shall seek the aid of the office of Vice President of Student Affairs to help insure contacting the
Student. The Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs shall provide the student
information about the existing appeals procedures. Upon receiving a written report from the
faculty member, the Vice President of Student Affairs may initiate a student withdrawal from the
class. None of the above implies or states that faculty members are required to initiate the student
withdrawals for excessive absence. [Policy and Procedures Manual 43.11]
"I" Incomplete Grading Policy
The grade of "incomplete" will be given only for personal emergencies which are verifiable and
when the student has done passing work in the course.
Academic Dishonesty
At Emporia State University, academic dishonesty is a basis for disciplinary action. Academic
dishonesty includes but is not limited to activities such as cheating and plagiarism (presenting as
one's own the intellectual or creative accomplishments of another without giving credit to the
source or sources.)
The faculty member in whose course or under whose tutelage an act of academic dishonesty
occurs has the option of failing the student for the academic hours in question and may refer the
case to other academic personnel for further action. Emporia State University may impose
penalties for academic dishonesty up to and including expulsion from the university.
Disabilities Policy
Emporia State University will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented
disabilities. Students need to contact the Director of Disability Services and the professor as
early in the semester as possible to ensure that classroom and academic accommodations are
implemented in a timely fashion. All communication between students, the Office of Disability
Services, and the professor will be strictly confidential.
Contact information for the Office of Disability Services:
Office of Disability Services
211 S Morse Hall
Emporia State University
1200 Commercial Street / Box 23
Emporia, KS 66801
Phone : 620/341-6637
TTY: 620/341-6646
Email: disabser@emporia.edu
Copyright © 2009 ESU SLIM
School of Library & Information
Management
Emporia State University
1200 Commercial Campus Box
4025
Emporia, KS 66801
voice: (800) 552-4770
voice: (620) 341-5203 - other numbers
fax: (620) 341-5233
Content comments for the instructor:
hachleit@emporia.edu
Technical questions:
slimhelp@emporia.edu