BU4045 TOPICS IN MIS

1/30/2007

Everyone is requested to make their own webpage for their MIS coursework.  Please look at the website guidelines from last class.  You should have your own geocities account.  If you have a Yahoo account then you can take advantage of free web hosting on Geocities.

If you have the Textbook please bring it to class.  If you are an MIS major you need to buy the book.

The first 20 minutes of this class will be given to catch up.  In the future please do the class work before class.

If you were unable to signup for a geocities page please see Dr. Ebrahimi.  The website to signup for a geocities account is

WWW.GEOCITIES.COM

TODAY'S MENU

See below for an example of the study done by students last semester.

"Website Error Analysis of Long Island Universities and Colleges"
Student Poster Session and Presentation
SUNY Old Westbury Student Research*

Websites are very important means of communication for colleges and universities. This technology is replacing traditional ways information used to be acquired (i.e.: college catalogue, mail, phone.). Though this technology is revolutionary, there are many hidden errors that are quite critical that should be addressed and corrected. This study examines 20 web systems of colleges and universities located on Long Island. They will cover:

7 layers (appearance)
Search engine evaluation
Security and privacy (database research)

This study will prove that many schools do not test-proof their web system. There is no such thing as a perfect website because perfection is inhuman."

For an example of a poorly designed search engine, the class went to Princeton University's website and typed in Smith.

See below for our search results.

The search engine on Princeton's website is done through Google. This is a problem because academic institutions should be neutral and not tied down to any one specific provider.

We searched for Smith on Princeton's Website and came up with several results that had nothing to do with our search terms.  Oates, Joyce

Now we will try and search for Smith, Abigail F exactly as it is written in their database and will come up with no results?  Why?

The search program is broken, the search only works if the name is written out First Name Last Name, not in the format that data is stored in the database. See below for an example.

We went from Princeton's website back to the project page and looked for inconsistencies in Bill's typing. We found several violations of the seven C's- Bad Bill Bad.

***Extra Points Opportunity***

If you go to MIT's website you have the opportunity to design the graphic for the homepage.  You will be given an extra point if you submit a design to MIT for publishing.  Speak to Dr. Ebrahimi before starting this project.

Academic Institutions should be non-biased.  Using Google makes the College endorse a particular company over another.  Academics should be non-biased and open source in their Information Technology practices.