INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SCIENCE: LIBS (301)

DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY,ZARIA

COURSE TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SCIENCE: LIBS (301)

LECTURER: Mal Jibril Abdulrahman

Reg: U13ls2038

NAME: Maisamari Jennifer Ladi

ASSIGNMENTS QUESTIONS

·         What is Network, Networking and Types of Networks,

·         What is Epidemic Analysis, and

·         Five Definition of Information Science.

1.      WHAT IS NETWORK, NETWORING AND TYPES OF NETWORK

NETWORK

According to the Encarta online dictionary, a network is a system of computers: a system of two or more computers, terminals, and communications devices linked by wires, cables, or a telecommunications system in order to exchange data. 

In information technology, a network is a series of points or nodes interconnected by communication paths.(Rouse 2013)    also further defined, A network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications. The computers on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams (Winkelman 2014)

NETWORKING

As an act of linking computers: the act of linking computers so that users can exchange information or share access to a central store of information (Encarta, (2009).

Different types of networks

Different types of (private) networks are distinguished based on their size (in terms of the number of machines), their data transfer speed, and their reach and inclusively are Private networks which are networks that belong to a single organization.

There are usually said to be three categories of networks:

·         LAN (local area network)

·         MAN (metropolitan area network)

·         WAN (wide area network)

There are two other types of networks:

    TANs (Tiny Area Network), which are the same as LANs but smaller (2 to 3 machines),

    and CANs (Campus Area Networks), which are the same as MANs (with bandwidth limited between each of the network's LANs).

LAN

LAN stands for Local Area Network.

It's a group of computers which all belong to the same organization, and which are linked within a small geographic area using a network, and often the same technology (the most widespread being Ethernet).

A local area network is a network in its simplest form. Data transfer speeds over a local area network can reach up to 10 Mbps (such as for an Ethernet network) and 1 Gbps (as with FDDI or Gigabit Ethernet). A local area network can reach as many as 100, or even 1000, users.

By expanding the definition of a LAN to the services that it provides, two different operating modes can be defined:In a "peer-to-peer" network, in which communication is carried out from one computer to another, without a central computer, and where each computer has the same role.

    in a "client/server" environment, in which a central computer provides network services to users.

MANs

MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks) connect multiple geographically nearby LANs to one another (over an area of up to a few dozen kilometres) at high speeds. Thus, a MAN lets two remote nodes communicate as if they were part of the same local area network.

A MAN is made from switches or routers connected to one another with high-speed links (usually fibre optic cables).

WANs

A WAN (Wide Area Network or extended network) connects multiple LANs to one another over great geographic distances. The speed available on a WAN varies depending on the cost of the connections (which increases with distance) and may be low.

WANs operate using routers, which can "choose" the most appropriate path for data to take to reach a network node. The most well-known WAN is the Internet.

Reference

Microsoft Encarta, 2009 Online Dictionary

(Rouse, 2013 http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/network Retrieved 08/01/2015

2.      WHAT IS EPIDEMIC ANALYSIS

Analysis

According to the Encarta online dictionary, Analysis is defined as an assessment, description, or explanation of something, usually based on careful consideration or investigation. A systematic or non-systematic way of gathering relevant information, analyzing and making judgment on the basis of the available information (W.H.O, (2013)

Epidemic

The encyclopedia Britannica defined this as a fast-spreading disease: an outbreak of a disease that spreads more quickly and more extensively among a group of people than would normally be expected, Example the Ebola Virus Outbreak in Nigeria.

EPIDEMIC ANALYSIS

This may be analysis on epidemics  Example can be the Ebola Virus Outbreak in Nigeria. Using various tools ranging from computer network and a online collaborative information sharing platform to communication the averse effect of this diseases throughout the country.

At the long run the information gathered may be collated for the purpose of use in combating the spread of the diseases. Within this process statistical and scientific data are generated.

 A good example of this process is A regression model for the nonepidemic level of influenza-like syndrome has been estimated from the 55,200 cases collected between October 1984 and August 1988 using the French Communicable Diseases Computer Network. The start of a major epidemic in 1988-89 was detected early. The size of the epidemic, for the entire country, was estimated at approximately 4.3 million cases. The excess cost of sick-leave, among those of working age, was estimated at $86 million (Costagliola et...al,(1991).

Reference

Microsoft Encarta, 2009 Online Dictionary

WHO, "2013"http://www.who.int/hac/about/definitions/en/ Retrieved 08/01/2015

3.     Five Definition of Information science.

According to  the  merriam-webster online dictionary, defined the terms as the collection, classification, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of recorded knowledge treated both as a pure and as an applied science. Discipline that deals with the processes of storing and transferring information.

Also, It is an interdisciplinary science derived from and related to such fields as mathematics, logic, linguistics, psychology, computer technology, operations research, the graphic arts, communications, library science, management, and other similar fields. It has both a pure science component, which inquires into the subject without regard to its application, and an applied science component, which develops services and products." (Borko, (1968).

Inclusively it is the conventional academic disciplines that deal with distict parts of the transmision of human knowledge with the storage and retrieval of it in recorded forms, education with the teaching and learning of it, and journalism with the discovery and transmission of news (bates, (1999).

Following the same concept information science is also defined as an interdisciplinary field primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement and dissemination of information (Stock,(2013).

   

Information science is involved with the development and analysis of methods of classifying information as in a library card catalogue as well as the use of computer systems for archiving information, identifying and retrieving information that is relevant to specific purposes (Babangida, (2014).

Reference

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Marcia J. Bates, (1999) The Invisible Substrate of Information Science" http://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/substrate.html: Retrieved 08/01/2015.

Otago, (2014 ) http://nfosci.otago.ac.nz/what-is-information-science/: retrieved 08/01/2015