[Asis-l] Online Intro to IS Course - Discount ASIS&T Members

[Richard Hill]

Professor Anthony Debons to Teach On-line Course, Summer 2008

Information Science is a discipline that looks at the nexus of information,
people, and technology.  Although a relatively young discipline, it has its
roots in the work of philosophers including Aristotle and Plato.  The field
is evolving at an amazing rate, given the deluge of information created
everyday and the breakneck pace of technology development.  An understanding
of the critical foundations of this discipline will help Information
professionals and students to better grasp the fundamental nature of
information.  

This understanding can be acquired by taking the "Introduction to
Information Science" course, offered on-line by the School of Information
Sciences (iSchool) at the University of Pittsburgh.  The course will be
taught by Dr. Anthony Debons, one of the early founders of the Information
Science discipline.  This course, LIS 2970: Introduction to Information
Science, will discuss the key concepts about the human and technological
aspects of data, information and knowledge that are the foundations of
Information Science.  The course will be offered through the iSchool's
FastTrack MLIS Program, an online platform for Library and Information
Science education.  A special discount will be offered to members of the
American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T).  

This course will examine the evolution of the discipline, contemporary
research efforts, professional associations that foster the area of
interest, and the future of careers and research in the field of study.  The
system point of view will be emphasized to provide a structure for the
course.  This view uses a living organism as a conceptual model for
identifying the essential elements that define augmented data, information
and knowledge (ADIK systems).  Information systems are comprised of events,
inputs, and transmission processing.  The course will examine the knowledge
subsystem which includes decision making, problem solving, and
communications.  Dr. Debons will highlight the role of the library as well
as technological developments in ADIK processing - he will also focus on the
human factors which govern all ADIK systems.

Dr. Debons has been researching and teaching in the Information Science
field since 1967.  His contributions to the discipline are numerous and
critical to the development of educational programs about Information
Science.  His research interests include measurement of information and
knowledge; the organization of information and knowledge for creativity; and
theories and principles for the analysis and design of information/knowledge
systems.  His publications include Information Science:  An Integrated View
with E. Horne and S. Cronenweth in 1988.  The book was honored with the Best
Book Award from the American Society of Information Science. 

The course is available online to members of the ASIS&T community.  If
ASIS&T members are interested in taking the course for credit towards a
degree at the University of Pittsburgh or other educational institutions,
they should expect to pay the standard in-state or out-of-state tuition.
However, the iSchool will offer a $500 scholarship towards the cost of the
course.  If ASIS&T members want to take the course on a not-for-credit
basis, there is a one-time fee of $1000.  Please visit
http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~dlis/spotlight/asist/LIS2970.html to indicate your
interest in taking the course and your status as an ASIS&T member.  Since
the course is being offered on-line, you can view the lectures and
participate in discussion boards remotely, which better accommodates your
work or family schedule.

Dr. Anthony Debons, Professor Emeritus, School of Information Sciences,
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Anthony Debons, born in Malta on April 16, 1916, immigrated to the
United States in 1923 and became a citizen in 1941.  He served in World War
II, and saw action in both the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the
Bulge.  Following the war, the army detailed him to complete his
undergraduate work at Brooklyn College.  After the Korean War, he completed
a PhD in experimental psychology at Columbia University in 1954 and held a
number of posts working on visual displays, command and control systems and
decision support systems before he retired from the military ten years
later.
He began his second career in 1964 as a professor and chair of the
Psychology Department at the University of Dayton where he became the first
chairman of the Department of Information Science in 1967.  Then, in 1968,
he moved to the University of Pittsburgh as Vice Chairman, followed by
Chairman, of the Interdisciplinary Department of Information Sciences. 
Since Dr. Debons' retirement in 1986, he has held several visiting
professorships internationally.  When not in residence at other
universities, he continues to work and produce scholarly materials at the
School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.

_____
Richard B. Hill
Executive Director
American Society for Information Science and Technology
1320 Fenwick Lane, Suite 510
Silver Spring, MD  20910
Fax: (301) 495-0810
Voice: (301) 495-0900