MIS101

BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS

School of Information Systems
Faculty of Business and Law

WEEK TWO – PART 1

THE INTERNET AND WEB 2.0
LECTURE OVERVIEW
Critical Thinking:
◦ The Assignment and Toulmin’s Argument Model.

What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 Underlying Technologies.

Web 2.0 Applications.

Categories of Web 2.0 Sites.

 MIS101
BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS
School of Information Systems
Faculty of Business and Law

CRITICAL THINKING
AND THE ASSIGNMENT
CRITICAL THINKING
Critical Thinking – is a reasoning process that consists of critical analysis and evaluation in
order to comprehend, appreciate and improve. There are many uses of critical thinking
and different disciplines have different approaches.

Critical Thinking:

• aids in the development of clear and precise definitions of whatever is being critically
assessed;
• gathers and assesses relevant information, sometimes using abstract ideas to interpret;

• comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant

criteria and standards;
• Is an ‘openminded’ appraisal of sometimes complex problems using alternative
systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, assumptions, implications,
and practical consequences; and,
• communicates effectively with all stakeholders.
CRITICAL THINKING
The Assignment (40%) Motivation:

The ability to determine the validity of an argument, separate fact from fiction, is
pivotal to most endeavours, be they personal or professional. Toulmin’s Model
of Argument is a tool that can aid in assessing the validity of a statement,
whether it is a claim by a provider of Cloud Computing, an article in a
newspaper about the plight of the forestry industry or something said in
parliament.

Someone may construct an argument based on invalid information, their reasoning

may be flawed, or they may simply want to deceive you. Also, devices such as
rhetoric cloud the truth. To maintain the integrity of your knowledge, the basis
for making decisions, it is critical to be able to assess the validity of
arguments.
BACKGROUND: DR STEPHEN TOULMIN
British Philosopher Dr Stephen Toulmin (1922-2009) developed a tool for critcally
assessing the validity of an argument.

In ‘The Uses of Argument’ (1958) he theorised and developed the ‘Toulmin Model
of Argument’ (next slide) because arguments commonly possess six basic
elements:
 Claim;
 Evidence (Facts)
 Warrant;
 Backing;
 Qualifier;
 Rebuttal.
He found his model could be applied to the critical assessment of any argument.

Toulmin, S. (1958). The Uses of Argument, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press
TOULMIN’S ARGUMENT MODEL
(Owlet, Letourneau University))
TOULMIN’S ARGUMENT MODEL
Components:

• Claim – is a statement that you are asking another person to accept and includes the
information you are asking them to believe as true or actions you want them to
accept.

• Evidence – or the ‘facts’ of the argument, refers to the basis of real persuasion and is
made up of the hard data and facts. This is the truth on which the Claim is based and
may include proof of expertise and the basic premises on which the rest of the
argument is built.

• Warrant – is the relational link that connects the Evidence to the Claim, thereby
legitimising and supporting the Claim by showing how the Evidence is relevant. The
Warrant actually answers the question ‘Why does the Evidence, mean your Claim is
true?
TOULMIN’S ARGUMENT MODEL
Components:

• Backing – for an argument gives additional support and credence to the Warrant by
strengthening the Warrant’s expression of how the Evidence relates to the Claim.

• Qualifier – these places some limitation or reservation on the scope of the Claim
and/or the Warrant and/or the Backing and typically indicates how universally the
Claim applies. They may include words like ‘most’, ‘usually’, ‘always’ or
‘sometimes’. Hence, arguments may range from strong assertions to generally quite
loose with vague and often rather uncertain kinds of statement.

• Rebuttal – despite the careful construction of an argument, there may still be

counter-arguments that can be used to counter the Claim and/or Evidence. These
may be rebutted either through continued dialogue, or by pre-empting the counter-
argument by providing rebuttal during the initial presentation of the argument.
TOULMIN’S ARGUMENT MODEL
Underlying Logic Structure: Claim
supported
N
Claim ? Is there
Y Effective
Does
Rebuttal? Y
Warrant Claim not
support supported
Y Claim-
Is the Evidence? N Claim not
Evidence supported
true? N Claim not
supported
TOULMIN’S ARGUMENT MODEL
A Sample Argument: "Smoking in Public Places Should be Banned"

Smoking in public places should be banned because it puts other people, especially children and pregnant
women, at risk of breathing smoke from cigarettes. Smoking in public places can also hurt people who have
damaged lungs. Recent studies show that almost 80% of those who breathe in second-hand smoke from public
smokers have a higher risk of developing health problems than smokers themselves.

Banning an act that causes problems to innocent civilians is helpful in many ways. If smoking in public places is
banned, we actually reduce or totally stop the danger of putting non-smokers at risk of developing lung and
heart problems. Moreover, if we ban smoking in public places, we also stop the smokers from further increasing
their chances of getting health problems themselves.

While it can be said that not all people who smoke in public areas are always causing harm to others, it
remains a fact that smoking is a cause of health problems. It is not enough to say that
one person being put at risk justifies this ban as this would be a blow against civil rights. It is only the case that
smoking in public places, therefore, should be banned.
TOULMIN’S ARGUMENT MODEL
A Sample Argument: "Smoking in Public Places Should be Banned"

Smoking in public places should be banned (Claim) because Research performed by the Anti Cancer Council
showed it puts other people, especially children and pregnant women, at risk of breathing smoke from
cigarettes (Evidence). Smoking in public places can also hurt people who have damaged lungs (Backing). Recent
studies show that almost 80% of those who breathe in second-hand smoke from public smokers have a higher
risk of developing health problems than smokers themselves (Evidence).

Banning an act that causes problems to innocent civilians is helpful in many ways (Warrant). If smoking in
public places is banned, we actually reduce or totally stop the danger of putting non-smokers at risk of
developing lung and heart problems (Backing). Moreover, if we ban smoking in public places, we also stop the
smokers from further increasing their chances of getting health problems themselves (Backing).

While it can be said that not all people who smoke in public areas are always causing harm to others
(Qualifier), it remains a fact that smoking is a cause of health problems (Backing). It is not enough to say that
one person being put at risk justifies this ban as this would be a blow against civil rights (Rebuttal). It is only the
case that smoking in public places, therefore, should be banned.
THE ASSIGNMENT DETAIL
Assignment is worth 40% of your final mark for the unit.

Assignment Word Limit of strictly 1600 words.(to be confirmed)

Written assignment consisting of two parts:

 Part One – Digital Literary
 Part Two – Critical Thinking
Online Submission only via MIBT portal link (1xFile). No hardcopy required.
• Your completed Plagiarism and Collusion Quiz; and,
• Your Assignment file (StudentID.pdf) .
Due in Week Seven … start now, check the due date in the Assignment Details
Document in week 3 of portal and do not be late.
Check the MIBT portal for all assignment information or ask your Tutor or Lecturer.
CRITICAL THINKING AND THE INTERNET
• Tips for your Assignment research:

• The Internet has revolutionised research to students and university researchers and is
extremely useful to access information quickly.

• The lack of uniform standards and the ease of access makes the Internet a powerful
resource, but remains an uncertain medium for quality information.

• It is apparent that students are very eager to use the Internet – and only the Internet –
when conducting research, this can lead to over-confidence in search engine results.

• Research-widely and use your Digital Literacy knowledge and skills to critically
evaluate all the information it provides and that of other information resources.

• The Internet should never be your only information resource.

CRITICAL THINKING AND THE INTERNET
• Of course it’s true … I saw it on the Internet!

• Students typically have difficulty recognising trustworthy sources … am I skeptical?

• Understand that the Internet is unmonitored source of information … can I check claims?

• Student typically have problems differentiating between advertising and fact … is the
information resource biased or trying to sell something?

• Ensure you ‘double check’ the accuracy of your information resources … good, bad, ugly?

• Research-widely and use your Digital Literacy knowledge and skills to critically
evaluate all the information it provides and that of other information resources.

• The Internet should never be your only information resource.

 WHAT IS WEB 2.0 ?
Web 1.0 - command-line interfaces and focused
on the WWW creation and commercialisation
of the Web with static, information only
webpages
Web 2.0 - is a loose collection of information
technologies and applications, and the
Websites that use them. Most common Web
2.0 memes.
© Marek Uliasz/Age Fotostock America, Inc.
WEB 2.0 UNDERLYING TECHNOLOGIES
AJAX.

Tagging.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS).

Weblog - Blogs and blogging.

GeoTagging.
© Panther Media/Age Fotostock
• See Geocaching Websites. America, Inc.

Google’s Web 2.0 suite of products and services include:

• Search, Images, Maps, News, Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Translate, Books,
Shopping, Blogger, Reader, Photos, Videos.
WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS
Wikis.

Netcasting:
• Podcasting (mainly audio files);
• Videocasting (mainly video files).

Social Commerce:
• Is a type of electronic commerce that uses social
media to assist in the online buying and selling of
products and services.

Aggregators:
• Are websites that provide collections of specific content drawn from across the Web.

Mashups:
• Means to ‘mix and match’ content from other parts of the Web that is then
mixed together to create a novel kind of format.
 WEB 2.0 MEDIA
Video

Music

Photographs

Printing-on-demand

Crowdsourcing
 WEB 2.0 MEDIA
Music in the Digital Age:
• Consider the music industry, online content has never been so easily produced, distributed and
accessed by people all over the world.
• Bands, groups and solo artists have the ability to self-promote via social media network and
engage directly with and build their core fan-base without the aid of Record Company support or
contract obligations. Resulting in getting people to their gigs and a freedom to develop their own
unique sound without record company influence.
• However, over promotion and marketing can ‘clog’ up these social media avenues too.

• In 2012 songs such as ‘Gangnam Style’ and ‘Call Me Maybe’ went viral on YouTube making Psy
and Carly Rae Jepsen overnight sensations.
• Scooter Braun discovered Justin Bieber after seeing the 12 year old’s uploaded homemade videos
singing on YouTube and 3 years later Justin Bieber had sold over 15 million albums worldwide.
• The most popular Twitter account in the world is Justin Bieber with in excess
of 60.2 million followers. How many Twitter followers does Lady Gaga have?
CATEGORIES OF WEB 2.0 ONLINE SITES
Social Networking Sites:
• Enables convenient connections to
those with similar interests to create
an online community.

• Some examples include:

• Facebook;
• Flickr;
• LinkedIn;
• YouTube;
• Twitter.

Social Media explained:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgNIIUD_oQg (via YouTube)
THE GOOGLE SUITE
Listing of Google Web 2.0
products and services.

Web
Mobile
Media
Geo
Home & Office
Social
Specialised Search
Innovation
SMALL BUSINESS AND THE INTERNET
Australian Small Business Sector:
• Comprising of the largest part of the Australian business sector;
• Key employer and contributor to the Australian economy.

Small Business:
• Defined as having less than 20 employees (ABS, 2010)
• Made up 95.6% of Australian Businesses:
• 62.7% majority were sole operators employing no staff.
• 25.3% employed one to four staff.
• 11.9% employed five to nineteen staff.

• Having an online presence enables small business to expand the reach of

their
products and services to a wider range of potential consumers.
SMALL BUSINESS AND THE INTERNET

The Internet is an affordable and effective place for small businesses

to sell and promote their goods and services.

However, the Internet also provides opportunities fraudulent

behaviour - unauthorised access - to both business and client
data.

Attacks on business systems can have immediate and ongoing effects

such as targeting customers for identity crimes or infecting website
visitors with malicious software.
YOURSELF AND OTHERS ON THE INTERNET
Protecting your digital reputation:
• The Interview (ACMA via YouTube)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SuUghBAC7o&list=UUdv8domEzeDFPchhXk56V4
w
• Followed (ACMA via YouTube)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4ZonOQlyZs&list=UUdv8domEzeDFPchhXk56V4w
• Cyberbullying (ReachOutAus via YouTube)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBGPK-Kb2s8&list=FLdv8domEzeDFPchhXk56V4w
• Exposed – UK (via YouTube)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ovR3FF_6us&list=FLdv8domEzeDFPchhXk56V4w
• Tagged - full (ACMA via YouTube)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtEGAcLBTTA&feature=watch-vrec
• Cyber Slap (ACMA via YouTube)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTLBQBYX2MQ&list=UUdv8domEzeDFPchhXk
56V4w
USING THE INTERNET
Ten Safe ‘Surfing’ Tips:
1. Don’t give out your personal information.
2. What goes online, stays online.
3. Check your security and privacy settings.
4. Password safety.
5. Always protect your mobile device.
 USING THE INTERNET
Ten Safe ‘Surfing’ Tips:

6. Don’t talk to strangers online or offline.

7. Listen to the people who know.

8. Be wary of unsecured or unknown websites.

9. Be careful what links you click on.

10. Make sure your security software is up to date.