Scavenger Hunt

Searching for Assignment Information:


Using the ProQuest data base three articles were found relating to the broad topic of "Technology and the Quality of Life". It was my intention to investigate this subject and find an area of interest to hone in on in order to specify a more exact essay question.


The following is summarised from key points found in two academic articles relating to "Technology and the Quality of Life...


TECHNOLOGY STRIKES AGAIN http://proquest.umi.com/pqdwebindex=2&did=1000416361&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=4&VIn st=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1174981422&clientId=13713

• This article discusses the problem of the speed at which technology is advancing. It suggests that most modern technology is not enhaning the ease of living nor the quality of life but rather represents an egotystical society where we are always tryin to go one better.
• Its main argument is that technology is causing more stress then it is relieving, forcing us to become technologically minded and savvy simply to enable the working of a mobile phone which will be updated a week later anyway.

TECHNOLOGY AND PERSONHOOD IN DEMENTIA CARE http://proquest.umi.com/pqdwebindex=1&did=1019254741&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=4&VI nst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&V Name=PQD&TS=1174981422&clientId=13713

• Technology has emerged as a possible solution to meeting the growing needs of an ageing population and allowing people with dementia to stay in their own homes for longer. For example, recent advances in tracking and surveillance technology have the potential to address issues of risk management and safety posed by caring for older people with dementia who leave safe environments unaccompanied. In addition, 'smart' technology can reduce risks in the homes of forgetful older people, through the use of sensors to turn off gas burners and running taps. Finally, memory and communication aids are being developed to support the psychological and social functioning of people with dementia.

• Whilst these developments are welcome signs of increasing attention being paid to dementia, technological interventions are not without problems. The most fundamental issue is whether the intervention is empowering or dehumanising for the person with dementia. One way to address this is to ask, 'what is driving the developments?' Is it the needs and wishes of people with a diagnosis of dementia? Or do developments reflect the priorities and concerns of caregivers? Or are advances determined by the potential of the technology? These three motivations for technological developments have considerably different implications for people with dementia.
  
  

Scavenger Hunt

1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin?
1502 pounds
http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2006/oct/09/worlds_heaviest_pumpkin_weighed/



2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett?
The quickest, most reliable way to contact Grant Hackett would be through posting a comment on his website.
http://granthackettonline.free.fr/



3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
18-20''http://www.qeok.com/other/2843-qeok.html



4. How would you define the word 'ontology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?
In general, ‘ontology’ is the metaphysical study of what entities exist in the universe. It deals with the nature of being and therefore refers to that all encompassing question "What is the meaning of life?"
Ontology also finding a meaning within Information technology. In this usage, an ontology is a set of concepts - such as things, events, and relations - that are specified in some way (such as specific natural language) in order to create an agreed-upon vocabulary for exchanging information.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212702,00.html



5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film?
Transfer (1966)
http://www.northernstars.ca/directorsal/cronenbergbio.html



6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
Jan 8, 1986
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_Manifesto



7. Why do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
Most Hollywood films choose to utilise 555 in their phone numbers as it is a non-existent area code. This prevents viewers from dialling the number of an innocent and unconnected person through using the number seen on screen.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030530/asp/foreign/story_2019662.asp



8. What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?
swim...hard and fast!


9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
I'll Never Find Another You (The Seekers)

http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/topspot/1965.htm

10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?
The Black Assassins
http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm

Search engines continued...<br>

1. A search engine helps internet users find webpages on a given subject using the criteria that is entered. In essence, it is a directory for the internet.
   
   
   
2. There are a vast number of contributors to search engine ranking. The following are the top 10 found at http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors

• Title Tag
• Anchor Text of Links
• Keyword Use in Document Text
• Accessibility of Document
• Links to Document from Site
• Internal Pages Primary Subject Matter of Site
• External Links to Linking Pages
• Link Popularity of Site in Topical Community
• Global Link Popularity of Site
• Keyword Spamming

3. Personally, I opt to use Google 9 times out of ten. I find Google easier to use then other search engines such as Altavista and Askjeeves as I can hone in on topic more succintly and find information that is strictly relevant to the subject matter in question. My preference of Google may also be influenced by its wider coverage and popularity in general which led to its inclusion in a high school computing course I attended, which taught the details of how to conduct more efficient web searching.

4. Owing to the dominance that Google has as a search engine many antitrust lawsuit have been filed arguing that it holds a monopolistic influence over the market. Such debate stems from 2006's statistics that saw Google with 25% of the US online advertising revenue. Despite its formidable influence however, last week U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel dismissed yet another case with the following statement: "[B]eyond making conclusory allegations that Google acts as a monopoly and has denied access to an essential facility, [the plaintiff Carl Person] fails to allege exclusionary or anticompetitive conduct. High prices, by themselves, are not anticompetitive or exclusionary." http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20070322/tc_cmp/198100544 Google lives another day.