LAR2003

Information processing

F Upward and J Anderson

8 points - 4 hours per week - First semester - Clayton - Prerequisites: LAR1001 and LAR1002

Objectives At the completion of this subject students should have knowledge of the role of categorisation of information in society, organisations and inter-organisational contexts; the principles invoked when ordering various types of recorded information; the broad processes for managing storage, recall and disemination of recorded information; tools and techniques suited to specific forms of recorded information. Students should have an understanding of the requirements of different users for categorisation based on storage, recall and disemination, the processes of managing recorded information built upon categorisation skills and categorisation in different contexts to suit the different user group's requirements.

Synopsis This subject deals with categorisation of information, which comprises complex sets of philosophical ideas and practical applications. The categorisation of knowledge and information is an age old human endeavour. In managing information particularly in the days of information overload, categorisation skills are a vital tool. This subject approaches categorisation of information from the general to the specific, quering the uses of categorisation and how these uses affect the nature of the categories applied. This subject particularly focuss on the principles and processes commonly used by people and computers in labelling, storing and retrieveing recorded information. The content of this subject is based on the premise that there is a core (but ever-developing) set of these principles and approaches which form a 'tool-kit' for the information professional. The information professional needs to be able to select, modify and apply approaches appropriate to the given context and user group(s).

Assessment Project work: 60% - Examination: 40%

Recommended texts

Henniger M Don't just surf: Effective research strategies for the net UNSW Press, 1997
Kennedy J and Schauder C Records management: A guide to corporate recordkeeping 2nd edn, Addison-Wesley Longman, 1998
Rowley J E Organizing knowledge: An introduction to information retrieval 2nd edn, Gower, 1993

Back to the 1999 Information Technology Handbooks