Understanding information systems : what they do and why we need them /
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| Author / Creator: | Ratzan, Lee. |
|---|---|
| Imprint: | Chicago : American Library Association, 2004. |
| Description: | xvi, 253 p. : ill. ; 26 cm. |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | |
| Format: | Print Book |
| URL for this record: | http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/5147521 |
Table of Contents:
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1. Describing Information
- What Is an Information System?
- What Is a System?
- What Is Information?
- Working Definitions of Information
- Information Distortion
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 2. Representing Information
- The Cumbersome Decimal System
- The Simple Binary System
- Converting Binary to Decimal and Back Again
- The Hexadecimal System
- Number Humor
- How Did the Romans Deal with Fractions?
- Prefix and Postfix Representation
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 3. Organizing Information
- Fundamental Information Structures
- Who Wants Short Sorts?
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 4. Retrieving Information
- The Nature of Information Retrieval
- Boolean and Beyond
- Vector Methods (Simplified)
- Fuzzy Information Retrieval
- Inverted Files
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 5. Networking Information
- Network Topologies
- Bridges, Switches, Routers, and Gateways
- 6. Securing Information
- Physical, Data, Server, Backup, and Network Security
- First Line of Defense: The Lowly Password
- Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, Logic Bombs, and Other Nasties
- A Dangerous Script
- Misdirection
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 7. Concealing Information
- Codes and Ciphers
- Key Issues
- The Unbreakable One-Time Pad
- Symmetric (One-Key) Cryptography
- Asymmetric (Two-Key) Cryptography
- The Secret History of Public Key Cryptography
- Other Cryptographic Systems
- Steganography: Hiding Information in Plain Sight
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 8. Measuring Information
- Bibliometrics: Measuring the Printed Word
- Sabermetrics: Measuring Baseball Information
- Web Metrics
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 9. Counting Information
- Counting Tools
- Counting Methods
- Counting Things
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 10. Numbering Information
- Prime Cuts
- The Intriguing Nature of Pi
- Pascal's Triangle
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 11. Managing Information
- Characteristics of a Successful Information System
- Building a Successful Information System
- Why Things Go Wrong
- Costs and Risks
- 12. The Computer as an Information System
- How Big Is an Exabyte?
- Data Compression: Reducing Redundancy
- Information Issues in the Background
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 13. The Internet as an Information System
- Basics of Internet Protocol Addressing
- Addressing Schemes
- The Internet Metaphor Project
- Is Internet Access a Privilege or a Right?
- Other Internet Issues
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 14. Music as an Information System
- The Nature of Music and Sound
- Tuning Information Systems
- How Many Tones Belong in a Scale?
- Making Cents of It All
- Melody Machines
- Fundamentals of Music Information Retrieval
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 15. Interpreting Information: Numbers as Meanings
- Gematria
- The Numerology of 666
- Exercises and Research Questions
- 16. Counterintuitive Information
- Not Quite Paradoxes
- The Trouble with Infinity
- Exercises and Research Questions
- Appendixes
- A. Which Librarian Has the Server?
- B. The Square Root of Two Is Irrational
- C. Who's on First?
- Answers to Selected Exercises
- References
- Index
