Week 4 Readings

Database (Wiki)
I did not realize how many types of databases there are. This is probably because I come across only a few types of databases in my daily life. Rather, I am only aware of a few types of databases. The best examples would be the user-end databases like word processors and downloaded files. However, I am glad that databases like operational databases that run computers and in-memory databases that emergency systems use are there as well, even if I did not know that they are classified as databases.

Introduction to Metadata, pathways to Digital Information: 1: Setting the Stage
I thought this article was a good argument for studying information science. The article suggests that the way information is labeled is just as important as the information itself. Furthermore, in the modern academic word, to be “informed” means knowing how to find information as well as understand it.
Key quotes:
*“Although metadata is arguably a much less familiar term among creators and consumers of networked digital content who are not information professionals per se, these same individuals are increasingly adept at creating, exploiting, and assessing user-contributed metadata such as Web page title tags, folksonomies, and social bookmarks.”
*“Metadata is crucial in personal information management and for ensuring effective information retrieval and accountability in record keeping—something that is becoming increasingly important with the rise of electronic commerce and the use of digital content and tools by governments.”

An Overview of the Dublin Core Data Model
I thought the following concept was interesting:
“It is very important that both the writer and the reader of a statement understand the same meaning for the terms used, such as 'Creator', 'approvedBy', 'Copyright', etc. or confusion will result. In a medium of global scale such as the World Wide Web it is not sufficient to rely on shared cultural understanding of concepts such as "creatorship"; it pays to be as precise as possible.”
This adds a new level of complexity to the idea of language. Programmers need to make sure that their commands can be understood by computers and other users.