Self Assesment

1. What progress have you made this quarter in your information literacy growth?
I have learned new techniques for researching this past quarter. I have learned Boolean Operators and other techniques such as nesting in order to help narrow some of my searches. I have learned out how to find useful information and how to find books and articles using the library database. I have learned how to use different databases to find different views on types of information.

2. What areas of weakness have you identified in your information literacy growth?
I still feel like I have a hard time citing information. I understand the need to cite information, but bibliographically I still struggle.

3. What steps will you take in the next three to six months to continue your growth in information literacy?
I will continue to use the techniques I have learned in order to find better research than I did before this class. I will utilize the library and all that it has to offer to me.

Experiential Exercise

The first beginnings of exchange that we ever heard of was in Belgium in 1531. Paris later followed in the 1600's with merchant's doing their business. A big bang began in London in 1725. It finally was granted the name the stock exchange later in 1773. This is when we first had a taste of what brokers could do with the trading of bonds. It was not until 1792 that the United States took action. The New York stock exchange was created to trade stocks and bonds in a universal place. It was born on Wall St. the place where it remains to this day. Massive amounts of money were being made each day, and it seemed to be a fool proof way to become successful in a growing nation. 1915, 1933, and 1954 proved to be the largest years for the New York stock exchange producing returns exceeding over 50%! But as soon as most people were feeling unbeatable and put all of their faith into the market, disaster struck. The world's worst crash came between 1930-1932. It lasted 813 days, and the total loss came out to be 86%. Today, many people are struggling in the stock market. Many people are getting out, while others are sticking through tough times hoping for the best. The thing is, it is a great place to make money, but it is a large gamble in todays society. I began my research in the library with a hard copy book. I found a book titled, It Was a Very Good Year, and it talked about many of the good years in the U.S. stock market. I started with a book, because I figured it would help me grasp the topic seeing it directly in front of me. I also used the world wide web databases to help me learn about the beginnings of how the stock market originated. I used academic search premeir and JSTOR to find articles dealing with the history of the market. I used Boolean Operators to find information on "Stock Market" AND "history." I found around 25 sources, so I did not revise my seacrh. I found two good srticles that helped me with my research. I found information on how different cities in different countries across the world opened their markets and how we took ideas to make ours even better.
Two Research Questions: 1. How did the stock market develop into what it is today with all of the markets within it?
2. Is there a correlation between our market and the foriegn markets? When we are up, are they?
I would check money magazine and maybe even watch the news or CNN to find out more information on latest stock market news.

Book Library Catalog
Title: It Was a Very Good Year, Extraordinary Moments in the Stock Market.
Author: Fridson, Martin S.
Copyright: 1998
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Academic Search Premier
Title: Lessons from History Back to Basics.
Author: Farrell, Christopher
Published in Business Week 12/29/08

Newspaper database
Title: For 40 Years, Small Caps Still Safest Bet in Stocks
Author: Jeff Cox
Published: 17 March 2009 CNBC Inc.


World Wide Web
Title: Stock Market History (Ads by Google)
No Author
No Publisher
Copyright © 2005 - 2008 Money-Zine.com
Date Accessed 18 March 2009
<http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Stocks/Stock-Market-History/>

Disciplinary data base
Title: Overnight and Daytime Stock-Return Dynamics on the London Stock Exchange: The Impacts of "Big Bang" and the 1987 Stock-Market Crash
Authors: Ronald W. Masulis, Victor K. Ng
Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1995), pp. 365-378
Copyright: 1995American Statistical Association

Log 2

How can a balance be achieved between protecting privacy and meeting the needs of national security? (1 point) Fair use is used in order to help create a balance. Privacy is still protected, meaning other people cannot steal their work. However for certain circumstances, such as teaching, parts of copyrighted work can be used. This is for the benefit of the society as a whole and creates thoughts and puts ideas into other's minds. We make new discoveries based on old thoughts, so therefor fair use is justified.

How did you react to the list of challenged books (were you surprised, for example)? Do you think some books should be banned or should all books be freely available? Why?
Yes I was surprised to see some of the challenged books and authors on the list. Many of the books on the list were ones that we read in high school, many of them being very good novels. I feel as if all books should be freely available, do to all of the freedoms we have as Americans. Authors should be able to write what they wish for their books whether we agree or not. It is not our decision what should be baned or not. We have the final say because we get to choose in the end to read or not to read, and that is the question!

How have your overall ideas about information ethics changed or not changed after completing this unit?
When I hear the word copyright, I automatically think you cannot ever use any part of this work. I have now realized that due to fair use, some parts of works may be used in certain circumstances. I have also learned that copyrights do not last forever. I understand now why things are copyrighted and the exact purpose is actually to help everyone. We can use ideas and parts of other's works in order to build newer ideas for the future.

Log 1

1.The author will get paid for the hard copies of the book he sells. The publisher will be paid for the fees from publishing all of the copies of the book. The library and teachers are able to use sections of the works from the book since they are using it to teach. This follows the fair use copyright. Students will be able to use sections of the book the teachers post for them due to the fair use policy.
2.Course readers and copies of the book will be sold to professors and students. This will give profits to the publisher and author. For those who cannot afford the book, the professor will be able to use information from the book due to the fair use policy. This lets everyone learn, at a price that fits their budget.
3.The challenges are faced in the selling of the book and course readers. We know most students will purchase one of the two, but the struggle is we do not know how much profit the author and publisher will make if any. Teachers and the library will also purchase copies, but it is just uncertain.