Human Information Behavior

The readings this week introduce technical and cultural perspectives that will be used throughout the semester to interpret media production, distribution, and reception practices. The goal of this discussion is to discuss what you have learned, make connections to the readings in real-world contexts in your responses, and to share perspectives and ideas with class members.

Readings:
Claude E. Shannon, Warren Weaver. The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Univ of Illinois Press, 1949. (Introduction [pages 32-35] – PDF) Preview the document
Sullivan, John. Media audiences: Effects, users, institutions, and power. SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2019. Chapter 1, pages 2-8. PDFPreview the document
The first reading is Shannon, I’ve uploaded the pdf and the second reading are screenshots and I’ve uploaded as well. It also has audio: https://soundcloud.com/professorfpointer/week-2-media-audiences
https://soundcloud.com/professorfpointer/week-2-the-mathematical-theory-of-communication-by-claude-e

Lecture Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cEi4nH_5es&app=desktop

Supplementary Materials: https://youtu.be/WyAtOqfCiBw

Please post your response to the questions below in your initial posting. Then, reply to at least three other students’ postings. Please post and comment on the due dates and times. Feel free to “like” a student’s posting!
Important Tips to Help You Do Well in all Discussions:

Please adhere to the due dates AND times. The “initial postings” are due BEFORE the 2+ replies so students have adequate time to read and reply to your initial postings.
If you make your initial posting after the initial due date, you will have points taken off.
If you make your 2+ replies to students too close to the final due date/time, again you will have points taken off because you did not give other students adequate time to read and reply to your comments. Point deductions for “Timeliness” can add up to significant deductions that will impact your grade.
Be sure to answer ALL questions so you will not have points deducted for incomplete responses. Make connections by citing readings, media, and/or lectures, if indicated, to support your perspective.
Be sure to read and follow the instructions carefully.
Remember to always write, and save a copy of, your Discussion posts in another location (notes, MS Word, Google), so that you have a copy of your work backed up in case of accident or session time-out.
Please respond to the following questions in ONE posting and NUMBER your responses:
Tip: Copy-and-paste these questions in your initial posting and respond to each one. Cite/make reference to the readings using direct quotes to support your responses and perspectives.
1. What effects have the mathematical theory of communication as outlined by Shannon and Weaver had on the ways in which we communicate with one another?
2. Choose one information technology that you use every day and describe its general significance from both technical and cultural perspectives.
3. How does your chosen technology use a mathematical approach to communication in order to transmit content (cite Shannon and Weaver)?