Sunday, February 28, 2010

Unit 8:

Searching for .gov:

Search Engine Used: Google

Search Strategy Used: (workplace privacy) site: .gov

Website chosen: http://www.eeoc.gov/

The title of the website is the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; it is responsible for enforcing federal laws and gives the expertise to laymen to understand their rights under the law. It is updated continually, and is written by the EEOC Commission; therefore its contents are relevant and timely.

Searching for .com:

Search Engine Used: Google

Search Strategy Used: (workplace privacy) site: .com

Website chosen: EPIC.com (Electronic Provacy Information Center)

EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington DC. They have no clients, customers or shareholders, so they are unbiased. The information they publish is up-to-date and current (they even have a section on their site about full body scanning in airports-this is new since December 2009). They publish a newsletter that is award winning on civil liberties in the electronic age.

Searching for .edu:

Search Engine Used: Google

Search Strategy Used: (workplace privacy) site: .edu

Website chosen: www.law.du.edu/ University of Denver

The Privacy Foundation was created at University of Denver and publishes research findings on its website that is accessible to professionals nationwide on different topics of privacy. They tout themselves as a dedicated, reliable advocate for privacy.

Searching for .org:

Search Engine Used: Google

Search Strategy Used: (workplace privacy) site: .org

Website chosen: privacyrights.org

This website bills itself as a Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. They have automatic email alerts (as recently as Valentine's Day warning warning emails). Their main goal is to protect the public and make them aware of all the ways their privacy can be violated and to give them the tools needed to prevent this. There are no single authors listed on the website.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Search Engines

The search engine I chose was "ipl2', which is a merger of Internet Public Library and Librarian's Internet Index.

One of things I like most about this site is that is has specific search engines for kids and teens.
It is a teaching/learning site
There is an online librarian available to answer questions
Does not include website(s) in search results that cost money to access, i.e. all sites used are free

I am actually adding this website to my favorites because it has received so many awards and kudos from librarians and professors alike.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Unit 6 Assignment

1st Search term: Privacy and Invasion
# of Articles: over 800 (too many, I think!)

Search Term: Privacy and Invasion and Employee
# of articles: 62 (a good number, I think!)

Popular Magazine Annotation:

Time Magazine, September 2006

I picked this article because it specifically deals with employers monitoring internet usage of employees in the workplace. It also dealt with the amount of time that employees spent on the phone. What was really good about this article is that it used data and statistics to back up its assertions.

Works Cited:

Dell, Kristina, and Lisa Takeuchi Kullen. "Snooping Bosses." Time 168.1 (2006): 62-64. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Feb. 2010.

Scholarly Journal Annotation:

Computer Law & Security Report, May 2005

This was a good article, because again, it deals with people in the workplace using company resources for personal business. It explains that with the advent of more and more technology employees are spending more and more time using the internet, phone, etc. for personal uses. Internet surfing is one of the most common sources of time wasted at work. It also covers from a legal prospective if tracking employee us of these company resources is an invasion of employee privacy or the right of an employer.

Works Cited:

Kierkegaard, Sylvia. "Privacy in Electroni Communication: Watch your email: Your Boss is Snooping!" Computer, Law & Security Report 21.3. (2005): 226-236. Academic Search Premeir. EBSCO. Web. 14 Feb. 2010.


Newspaper Annotation:

This article is a little different take on invasion of privacy in the workplace and was taken from the Wall Street Journal. The articles states that US customs officials and police officers are more and more searching laptops and cell phones for information that can then be used to arrest people. These searches are taking place without a search warrant and are a direct violation of privacy for individuals.

Works Cited:

Searcey, Dionne. "When the Police go Through you Email: Quirk of Search Law Sets Off Alarm Bells. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition. 30- Oct. 2008: A14. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Feb. 2010.

Jessica's Summary:

This was actually a good review for me because I am working on a big research paper and I have to find different types of articles and use the MLA standard for citing works. I did pretty well with the search for the first two articles, but for the newspaper article I had to change my search criteria little by adding the "email" and deleting the word "employee". Overall I was satisfied with the articles I chose; a lot of the articles were broader on the subject than I found was useful.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Boolean Search Activity

Search question:

Is it an invasion of privacy to record employees' access on their computers?

Boolean search string:

  • invasion and privacy and "employ* comput* access"