CONTRIBUTION OF ICT IN INFORMATION SOURCING AND RETRIEVAL

DEFINITION OF INFORMATION

Information has been defined severally by different scholars. It is view from diverse angles of its usage. The meaning and value of information is then user oriented i.e. the person who use it is the best person who can define what an information represents. Nonetheless, an attempt would be made to look at some definition of information.

Meadow and Yuan (1997) view information as “a message that changes the recipient’s knowledge base.” This implies that information adds significantly to the existing knowledge of the user. Buckland (1991) defines information as a process which occurs in the mind when a problem is united with data that can help solve it. Information is part of a process converting messages received into knowledge. Aiyepeku (1992) views information as something that reduces uncertainty in decision-making.

Budd (1992) defined information as “one of the building blocks in which data are ore (raw materials) followed by information which then leads to knowledge and this in turn gives rise to understanding which the leads to wisdom and consequently to decision-making.” From these definitions, it is clear that information is very important in Man’s activities, and without it, nothing or less may be achieved. Some of the essentials that information is attached to are: data, information, knowledge, wisdom, problem-solving, decision-making, e.t.c

INFORMATION SOURCING.

This is a process of searching for useful information from different sources. It must be well explained that information sources can be classified into two namely; formal and informal, internal and external. In some cases, sources of information could be from: Printed, Graphics, Oral, and Electronic sources. The system of searching through these sources by an information seeker, so as to retrieve the one that would help in decision making is called information sourcing.

Sourcing information products is a complex exercise involving many variables. In today's uncertain business climate, information budgets are sensitive to scrutiny and constantly under threat. In many cases, information professionals are faced with trying to get more value from suppliers with a flat or reduced budget or contending with a "now we have it, now we don't" scenario. What's more, there is a lot of rival content available from the Internet, making it more difficult to justify expenditure on pricey products.

As a category, information products pose a number of challenges to the information professional tasked with sourcing them. Information products constitute a complex category because they are difficult to compare on a feature-by-feature basis. Although there may be considerable overlap among the content offered and the products purchased, each one has certain unique features and a core group of users who consider these different products indispensable to their work. User needs can differ too, adding to the difficulty of comparing one product with another. In some segments of the market (real-time stock market data, for example) there is a virtual monopoly, which limits the relative power of the buyer. In the case of online news services, the tool itself, as well as the content, must be evaluated.

The practices of information sourcing maintain the following: starting, chaining, browsing, differentiating, monitoring, extracting and verifying. All the just mentioned points are in stages which an information seeker would observe in the process of information sourcing.

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

This has been defined by numerous scholars in the field of information science. Information retrieval (IR) is the science of searching for documents, for information within documents, and for metadata about documents, as well as that of searching relational databases and the World Wide Web.

An information retrieval process begins when a user enters a query
into the system. Queries are formal statements of information needs, for example search strings in web search engines. In information retrieval a query does not uniquely identify a single object in the collection. Instead, several objects may match the query, perhaps with different degrees of relevancy
.
An object is an entity that is represented by information in a database.
User queries are matched against the database information. Depending on the applicationInformation retrieval applicationsAreas where information retrieval techniques are employed include :-General applications of information retrieval:* Digital libraries* Information filtering** Recommender systems* Media search...
The data objects may be, for example, text documents, images, audio, mind maps or videos. Often the documents themselves are not kept or stored directly in the IR system, but are instead represented in the system by document surrogates or metadata.

Most IR systems compute a numeric score on how well each objects in the database match the query, and rank the objects according to this value. The top ranking objects are then shown to the user. The process may then be iterated if the user wishes to refine the query. Information retrieval (IR) has changed considerably in the last years with the expansion of the Web (World Wide Web) and the advent of modern and inexpensive graphical user interfaces and mass storage devices.
As a result, traditional IR textbooks have become quite out-of-date which has led to the introduction of new IR books recently. Nevertheless, we believe that there is still great need of a book that approaches the field in a rigorous and complete way from a computer-science perspective (in opposition to a user-centered perspective).
Mainly, information retrieval (IR) is the process of actual having and obtaining the needed information, after searching for such from available sources so as to use it for problem-solving. Information retrieval is equally important to an information seeker. This for the reason that, many times, the format in which an information is found, made it difficult to be retrieved. This means that, not all information sourced for may be retrieved and useful but un-retrieved information is useless to the user. Consequently, user’s ability to retrieve valuable information is of great concern.
ICT-BASED INFORMATION SOURCES
Information Communication and Technology (ICT) has brought a lot of development into the field of information. ICT came, and touché all aspect of information management which covers information life cycle. ICT-based information sources arrive in a wide diversity of forms and are accessed in diverse ways. To access the wide range of ICT-based sources of information, firstly, you need a computer with a telephone link, or access via your television or mobile telephone to the internet.

The range of ICT-based information sources includes; CD-ROM, teletex, viewdata, bulletin boards, online databases, intranets, the internet, CD-ROM encyclopedia, e.t.c.

THE ROLES OF ICT IN INFORMATION SOURCING

• It helps to understand the purpose of a range of ICT-based information sources.
• It aids the understanding of these different sources.
• ICT helps to decide what equipment and software you will need to access these different sources.
• It affords information seekers to be well exposed to much information, from which best is chosen.
• It helps information users to rightly judge different available sources, when compare and contrast.
• It (internet) is available all the time. It is ever ready.
• ICT made information seekers know that not all information is completely free.
• It helps to understand that information can be structural in different ways.
• It teaches confidentiality of information.
• It saves time.

THE ROLES OF ICT IN INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

• ICT allows more than one information seekers to retrieve the same information at the same.
• It helps to understand that some online databases are public and that some are private.
• It saves time and energy.
• It provides offline access to information, using flash drive, memory cards, and e.t.c.
• It provides large capacities of storage devices.
• It aids preservation of information for posterity.
• It helps accessibility of information at anytime or anywhere. Once it is downloaded from the internet, and is saved on the computer or other storage device.

REFERENCES

http://findarticles.com/articles
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics
http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu

PRESERVATION OF INTERNET-BASED RESOURCES

INTRODUCTION

Libraries and information centers plays important roles in the work, education, and recreation of millions of people. It is a place entrusted with the provision of means and source through which information need of people could be met, as well as helping them in decision making. Libraries and information centers also help in national building, sustenance and development which come in various ways through the availability of information resources, which the users draw on.

LIBRARY AND INFORMATION RESOURCES
Information services are largely dependent on information resources. They are those materials that compliment and supplement library and information services. Information resources mean the resources that information seekers can consult or use in the quest to get relieved and at the same time suppress threats that emanates as a result of their information needs. In the Library, the services rendered to the users include technical services, indexing and abstracting, selective dissemination of information (SDI), and e.t.c.

Information resources in the library and information centers are made up of different types, which are;
• BOOKS (printed materials): Fictions, non-fictions, periodicals, e.t.c.
• NON-PRINT MATERIALS: Microforms, CD-ROM, Discs
• ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: Computer, Television, Tape recorder, e.t.c.
It is worth notice that these resources plays specific roles in meeting information needs of the information seeker. Also, each user has his preferred format in which information to be used by him should be packaged.

THE INTERNET

Internet is a vast network of computers that connects many of the world’s business, institutions, and individuals. The internet, which is short for interconnected network of networks, links ten of thousands of smaller computer networks. It enables users of computers and other networked devices throughout the world to send and receive messages, share information in a variety of forms, and even play computer games with people living in other countries. Other devices require special hardware and software to connect to the internet, e.g. modem, network interface card, e.t.c.

The development and rapid growth of the World Wide Web (www) transformed the presentation of information on the internet. This enhances the use of multimedia-photographs, sound, and text. The web consists of millions of websites, collections of information at specific electronic addresses. It in turn contains web pages that hold multimedia or text-only information. Web sites and their pages reside in computers connected to the internet. Uses of the internet include; communication, research, publication, business transaction, push technology, e.t.c.

INTERNET-BASED RESOURCES

Internet-based resources are basically virtual resources which help in information acquisition. They are websites where information could be obtained, to meet several and various information need of information seekers. These resources are based on different level of coverage, namely;
 General sites
 Professional sites
 Subject-based sites
 Career sites
 Health sites
 Sport sites
 Miscellaneous sites
Consequently, the major internet based resources are Google, yahoo, virtual internet libraries series, wikipedia; archivex, wikitionary, Amazon online, e.t.c. Feature and nature of internet based resources are the following among others:

• Essential element in evaluating the appropriate system
• Help in research process
• Assist in comparability of different version of system.
• It can be accessed anytime-timeless
• Aid assess current and organizational needs
• It is electrically based
• It is convenient
• It is flexible
• It is instant, quick and accelerated

PRESERVATION OF INTERNET-BASED RESOURCES

The rapid growth in the creation and dissemination of electronic information has emphasized the digital environment’s speed and ease of dissemination often with little regards for its long-term preservation and access. But, electronic information is fragile in ways that traditional paper-based information is not. Metadata creation and format standards have all contributed increasingly as reflected in system software that can be geared to local needs. Hence those systems provide an indication of the trends and issues remaining in the area of digital preservation and permanent access to electronic resources.

Preservation is a subset of conservation. It involves all activities and financial plan that ensure maintaining physical features, as well as protecting the intellectual content that a material contained. It comprises the act of reducing the cause of deterioration, ensuring good handling and storage, as well as reformatting the spoilt ones.

Instit6utional views of preservation requirements and what is meant by preservation can vary. It is important for those involved to ensure that, broadly, they share the same views and agree on what resources will be included for capture, management, storage, or preservation.

Managed Resources: We must manage resources in order to preserve them. An unmanaged resource is difficult, if not impossible, to preserve. Information lifecycle management, if adapted, can help manage web resources. A records management approach may help to enact preservation for business records or legal reasons, even if you don’t intend to keep the resource beyond its expiration.
Protection: Protecting a resource from loss or damage, over the short-term, is an acceptable form of preservation, even if you don’t intend to keep it for longer time.
Permanent Preservation: This means preservation as defined by OAIS model, which is published and internationally accepted as a feasible model for digital preservation. For web resources, we would assume, in this case, that an institutional decision has been made to keep the resources permanently.



RESOURCES TO BE PRESERVED

As a starting point, it is proposed that particular attention be paid to publications and records. Any other web content worth preserving might be considered an artifact with some fundamental interest. Deciding this will help to know what kind of approaches to adopt, when considering web resources for preservation purpose.

PRIORITIES: Prioritization is fundamental to successful preservation-keeping everything is rarely possible. Without policies, practitioners have little to guide their decisions about what must, should, could, and wont be preserved, let alone how. To decide what to preserve, MSCW method can be adopted, which is broken down as:
 M-Things your organization must preserve
 S-Things you should preserve, if at all possible
 C-Things you could preserve, if it does not affect anything else
 W-Things you won’t preserve
It is imperative to know that the enormity of website preservation and other web resources preservation is not as daunting as it might appear, and for these reasons;
• Preservation will not apply to all your web resources, because preservation of web resources will recommend a selective approach.
• Preservation won’t necessarily mean preserving every single version of every single resource.
• It may not always mean ‘keeping forever’ as permanent preservation is not the only viable option.
• Your preservation actions don’t have to result in a perfect solution.

CONTENTS OF INTERNET RESOURCES

Internet resources (websites) are likely to contain the following:
• Organizational records
• Contents affecting students, e.g. project, prospectus,
• Online libraries
• Digital collections
• E-learning objects
• Administrative outputs. E.t.c.
In addition, issues associated with website are:
 Frequency of change
 Access provision
 Right of ownership
 Streaming and multimedia
 Databases and deep websites
 Continuity

WEB ARCHIVING REQUIREMENTS

The process of web archiving requires the following:
 Knowledge of the organizational structure and its aims
 Awareness of the policies and drivers for preservation
 Sound understanding of legal record-keeping requirements
 Use made of web resources
 Potential re-use value of resource
 Knowledge of stakeholders and their needs

WEB CAPTURE: WHAT AND HOW?

The elements of web resources that need to be considered are: Content, Appearance, and Behavior. It is possible to imagine three points in the journey of a web page form server to user, where its capture, is likely to be most feasible and fruitful. These include capture within the authoring system or server, capture at the browser, and harvest content with crawlers.

APPROACHES TO WEB PRESERVATION

Successful web preservation is most likely to be achieved by a mix of skills from information management professionals. A variety of approaches are described below, where two main classes of approach are listed:

What to do approach: This include quick win solutions, actions that can be performed to achieve effective results in the short-term, and to rescue or protect resources identified as being most at risk. Actions to be taken include domain harvesting, pilot projects, and use of an EDRMS. They may become expensive to sustain if they do not evolve into strategy.

Strategic approaches: This includes longer-term strategic solutions, which take more time to implement. It involves some degree of change, and affects more people in the organization. These approaches are adapted from information lifecycle management and records management, and also approaches which involve working with external organizations to do the work (or some of it) for you. The pay off may be delayed in some cases, but the more these solutions become embedded in the workflow, the more web archiving and preservation becomes a matter of course, rather than something which requires reactive responses or constant maintenance, both of which can be expensive, resource-hungry and risky methods.

VALUE OF WEB RESOURCES

In cases where there are no clear and compelling reasons for retention, you need to assess the value of web resources in an objective way, thus ensuring that the value of the resource justifies the costs of continued preservation for retention. Some questions to be asked which will help to decide are:
• Is the resource needed by staff to perform specific task?
• Is the resource the only known copy, or the only way to access the content?
• Is the resource part of the institution’s web publication scheme?
• Can the resource be re-used or repurposed?
• Does it have potential heritage or historical value?
• Are there legal reasons for keeping the resource?
• Has the resource been accessed in the last six months?
REFRENCES
1. The World Book Encyclopedia (2006), Volume 10
2. http://portal.acm.org/citation
3. http://www.mottobiz.com
4. http://jiscinvolve.org

INFORMATION SOURCE RELEVANCE AND USE IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

INTRODUCTION

In this world of complexity and ambiguity, there is one among other major things which can basically and absolutely provide individuals with answers to the questions that arose as a result of their level of uncertainty, and the only thing is information.

People, Companies, Groups, Government, Schools, Ministries, e.t.c. embark on researches, take statistics, survey, evaluate, and assess their product and services, because the feedback they intend to get will serve as graphical status of the company, which is information.

Also, every innovation and development that gets rooted in anyone drew its source from information, because the major focus of information aimed at development. Hence, information teaches, equip, endorse, discern, empower, renew, and transform.

Information in the economy growth and development is as important as other factors of production (Land, Labour, Capital, and Entrepreneur), because information is the fixed factor that facilitate and enhance the acceleration of other factors of production.

Moreover, information sources that are made available for policy makers and developmental planners are many and exist in different form. Obviously, it is required of policy makers and other stakeholder in information sector to be manful enough, so as to source for, preserve, and disseminate information that are from the reliable sources, and that can meet the information needs of its users. Doing this will reduce (if not complete avoidance) high level of complexity and ambiguity.

Business Organization in the world at large is an economy agent, which aim at making profit through production or sales of goods and services, for the development in economy of a Country in which it operates and the world in general.

It is incontrovertible that when vibrant business organizations are in existence, there would increase in real Gross National Product (GNP) per head of population, and so is dependent on both consumption and investment. Sustained economic growth hinge largely on adequate level of new investment. (Popoola, S.O 1996)

Therefore, economic re-organization, growth and development can only be achieved when there are on ground, factors facilitating production which aim at development, these are:
 Information
 Land
 Labour
 Capital
 Entrepreneur
The type of information upon which a business organization is operating will affect both the staffs and members of the community of its operation. The type of information they hunt for, determines the output of their goods and services. So it is imperative for business organization to cultivate the right information seeking behavior.

INFORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Information is made available only when there is need for it, even when it is openly displayed, only people and individuals that is concerned with such information will take note of it. Its availability fills certain gap and solves all problems of uncertainties and ignorance.

Information is an essential commodity which has become an indispensable companion that can not be compromise for anything. It also ready to answer questions of different form which emerged as a result of our visions, plans, projects, and other required area. Anything in individual that produces words or saying like: What? , Where? , How? , When? , e.t.c. needs answers. The answers provided to those words are called Information which can be in any form.

Hence, Popoola, S.O (2008) said “Information is the fixed factor of production which develops almost all things in a certain place”. Aiyepeku (1992) submitted, “That which reduces the User’s level of uncertainty in a particular decision-making is information”

In his scientific view, Hawson (1973) concluded that “Information is normally intended for use rather than interest. The final users seek it for a particular purpose in a circumstance”.

In another development, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (1995) defined information as facts or a detail that tells you something about a situation, person, event, e.t.c. Also, information is a processed data that has meaning to the recipient.

However, Information could said to be “a processed data drawn from a reliable source, and is relevant to meet and mostly answers the query of the Users at any given time in any format it might appear.

Development in its simple term means “event or incident that changes a situation”. While mentioning development, we talk of advancement, progress, expansion, improvement, increase, e.t.c.

Information and Development are not isolated from each other, this because any time information is sought for, and it aims at bringing certain changes or development into a particular system or organization.

Development comes as a result of information, and information by nature triggers development. A Country could not experience growth and development outside information. Hence most developed countries like China, Spain, and e.t.c. are those that invest much on information sector of their countries.

INFORMATION AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

Literarily, business simply means “the art of buying and selling of goods and services”. And the sole aim of any business is to make profit at the end of any financial year or term. In achieving this, all the policies and principles of the organization would be profit driven and oriented.

In the world today, business activities is not limited to be performed by companies alone, groups, and individuals also get involved. The size, Labour strength, and equipment capacity of any business would be determined by the capital used to start such a business. Hence, we have large, medium, and small scale businesses, and all these scales in their capacity contribute to the growth and development of economy of the country where they operate.

Organization connotes with a group such a club or business that has formed for a particular purpose. It also involves the way in which the different parts of a system are arranged and work together through effective planning.

In another development, business organization could be defined as “the process and state of organizing, planning, and arrangement of both human and non-human resources in a system for the purpose of buying and selling of goods and services.




BUSINESS INFORMATION

Business information is one of the main segments of the information industry. The other two segments are scientific which include: Technical and Medicals (S.T.M). Business information industry is presently estimated to be more than $358 billion market, where much of the revenues are advertising-driven. Business information segment remains largely driven by paid content, either via subscription or transaction (pay-per-view).

More over, business information contains the complete content and parts of the business it promotes or explores. This type of information at times traces the origin of either or all about business operation, system, staff capacity, non-human facilities, achievements, challenges, financial statement, and e.t.c. It is therefore imperative to be conscious of the fact that all the business information is geared towards promoting the image of the business as working towards the attainment of the pre-stated objectives and goals of the business.

FORMS AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

Information sources made available to business organization and developers for effective management and development are in different form from various sources. It is of the essence to note that each form of information is attached and suitable to reduce Use’s level of uncertainty in finding a lasting solution to a certain problem.

The form of any information could be in any of the forms below:

PRINTED: Information to be used for problem solving in business organization could be in printed form. Most of the information used in organizations is in this form, reason may be because of its easy conveyance within the organization. These include but not limited to: Year book, Internal and External memorandum, Newsletter, Statement of account, Staff register, and e.t.c.

GRAPHIC: Information may be communicated to the users graphically, this involve vivid descriptive using drawing, painting, diagrams, erecting of images, e.t.c. Once the examples mentioned above are seen, it passes certain information to the viewer without anybody telling them.

ORAL: Information for developmental decision making in business organization could be in oral form. In this form, no write pr graphic form is involved, it only entails verbal communication within the organization, and this could be done in: giving instruction, gist, e.t.c.

Information in business organization comes from multiple sources. The challenge for an organization is to capture and use information that is relevant and reliable. These sources of information may be INTERNAL (within or inside the business) and EXTERNAL (outside the business).

INTERNAL INFORMATION: Accounting records are a prime source of internal information; it provides the details of the transactions of the business in the past, which may bee used as the basis for planning for the future (preparing for financial budget or forecast).

The accounting records are initially used to record what happens to the financial resources of a business. It raises questions like, how cash is obtained and spent, what assets are acquired, what profit and losses are made on the activities of the business.

More over, accounting records can provide more than financial information; it gives information on the following:
• Details of the product manufactured and delivered from factory.
• Data analyzed from customers’ sales invoices, all these can provide useful information about whether quality standards are being met and also provides a profile of what and to whom product are being sold to.
Adding to the above points, below are the internal information connected to accounting system:
 Record of the people employed by the business.
 Data on the costs associated with business process.
 Data from activities in direct contact with the customers (e.g. analysis of calls)
 Data from production department.

Buttressing the afore said points, internal information in business organization may be provided or sought for informally, this may be done through regular meetings of staff and management, which will result in the communication of relevant information.

EXTERNAL INFORMATION: This type of information as the name suggested is obtained outside the business. There are categories of external information, namely;
a. Information relating to ways a business should undertake its activities: Business need to keep records so that they can collect taxes on behalf of the Government. Therefore a business needs to obtain regular information about the taxation system (e.g. PAYE, VAT, and Corporation Tax) and what actions it needs to take. Progressively more, this kind of information is provided in digital format.
b. Information relating to new innovations and ideas: Business is a developing organism attached to timely growth, consequent upon the arrival of new ideas, strategies, and innovation. Development planners and business developers must ensure to be aware and acquire this innovation for business growth, as such is relevant and appropriate for the information needs of the business. Information of such may be obtained from seminars, newspapers, magazines, researches, manuals, computer print out e.t.c.
c. Information relating to quality of goods and services rendered: This record need to be kept also; because it would be useful for future plans of the business. This type of information could be best obtained from the users or consumer of the goods and services been produced. Such information is provided orally, through phone calls, e-mail, and in written format, and is used to maintain and where necessary improve the quality of goods and services rendered.

EVALUATION OF INFORMATION SOURCES IN BUSINESS ORGANISATION

Evaluation of information sources for the development and growth of any business is imperative. This is because, information (sources inclusive) that are made available to developmental planners is from various sources and of different format, and not all is capable of solving an existing problem. Hence, information to be used must be; financially profitable, socially established, and locally tested. In concluding on which information to be used, the process of researching into the source of such information is significant and supportive. Below are the factors to be considered in evaluation of information sources.
i. ACCURACY: Any useful information must be accurate, among much information that would be supplied; the accuracy therein must be sought for, in order to determine if there are mix-ups. Accurate information puts the users’ mind at ease.
ii. RELIABILITY: The source of any information to be used must be reliable enough. Reliability is linked with; who supplied the information, where and how the information is obtained.
iii. TIMELINESS: Every information has its time dimension and expiring time for its usefulness. Timeliness in this context relates to getting the information at the exact time when it is needed.
iv. COST EFFECTIVE: The cost of obtaining the needed information must be bearable, because organizations do not like spending huge amount of money before obtaining particular information.
v. UNAMBIGUOUS: Good information must be straight forward and easy to understand. It must be free from all unwanted materials, as such wastes much time at dissemination stage.
vi. CURRENT: The source of any information that will mostly relevant to the information needs of the business organizations must be current and update, and must not be far from being current.
vii. SUFFICIENCY: Information must be efficient to meet and solve emerging problems in business organizations. It must have the ability to solve the problem it is obtained for.
viii. CONCISENESS: In the business context, long information attracts little or no interest by the users. This may occur because of little time that the users (Business developers inclusive) has. Hence, the information should be brief and clear.
ix. PERTINENT: Information to be considered must be relevant to the problem it wanted to solve. It must not be just any information, but the one that has to do with a certain problem and designed for it.
x. DETAIL: Good information must be detailed. This will aid wide and fast understanding it contained. While necessary facts should not be left out, it must be free from ambiguities.
In another development, the quest to determine the relevance of an information sources to solve certain problems is synonyms to evaluation information sources. The above point apart, below is the question method by which information sources could be evaluated:
a. Is the format or medium of the information useful to your needs?
b. Is the information comprehensive enough for your needs?
c. Is the information directed to general or specialized audience?
d. Does the information express a particular point of view?
e. Is the information appropriate for your needs?

INFORMATION SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS ORGANISATION

Information services and technology are the sub-sector of information sector, which is also called intangible goods. The presses, Libraries, Broadcasting houses, Research, Archives, Publishing houses, printing, e.t.c. among others are the product of information services.

In today’s world of information age where knowledge is power, businesses are using information services and technology to gain and to sustain competitive advantages more than ever before. This is done because they (business managers) understand that what they do not know can become a set back and a source of advantage for the competition, hence value is extremely placed on information.

To be successful in business today, you‘ve got to understand and operate effectively within a dynamic, fact-placed, and changing economic. For this to be achieved, business must do the following:
• Know their competitive intelligence.
• Know their customers.
• Work closely with their business partners.
• Know how each and every part of your organization works together to provide its products and services (Stephen Haag et.al 2004)
Information technology most often time aid information services. It is indeed a key organizational resource. “Any consideration of service sector must necessarily take account of developments in the technology of information processing and communication, and the uses to which the technology is put that are important” (Popoola, 2002)
Business Organizations could access any information for its development using the services produced with the aid of information technology. It made business to enjoy new innovations and development which has moved its operation to global relevance using; e-mail, fax, telephone, computer, and scanner e.t.c also with the help of internet
Its (information technology) advantages and problems include but not limited to the following:
 It helps the productivity of the business
 It aid global scale, capacity, and reach through global delivery system.
 Creates business partnership and alliance.
 Facilitates organizational transformation.
 Enhance decision making.
 Enable global reach.
 Improve team collaboration.
 It reduces business costs, and control operational risks.
 It saves time and improve compliance
 It helps in shifting organizational focus from maintenance and support to strategic initiatives.
 It enhance rapid business growth
 Most of these technology are costly
 Skilled man power is a problem, mostly in developing countries.
 Instability of electricity supply in under-develop and developing countries remains the principal problem for the use of these technology.
In making do with information technology for service provision in business organization, electronic commerce will make serious winners out of some businesses and losers out of others. Most of the companies are out of business today because of their inability to put into correct use of those technologies. In business development, it is imperative to adopt and use sound business principles and guidelines instead of focusing solely on the technology. It is a wrong application that will lead to nothing but failure. Though information technology is a key organizational resource, yet it is one out of many.
Consequently, business must at first consider information-literate knowledge workers. Above all, no matter how profit and innovations technology brings, manpower is still needed in business, as many are tasks that can only be performed by people, and not within the capability of the technology, besides no technology will operate and even it does, program itself.
SERVICES REQUIRED OF INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
Information professionals are the developmental planners who are vested with measureless responsibilities of planning for the future of the business through the process of identifying, initiating, analyzing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and review of policies that guides the growth and development of a business organization.
More over, with the doors of much information opened to them, yet ensuring the information that has quality the attribute is one of their key duties. To asses, monitor and improve the operational effectiveness and management’s internal control for optimal and efficient investment operations.
Also to prepare and provide a single frame work through which all information assets and activities within the business organization can be governed. Information professionals provide the optimum capability for meeting the organization objectives in term of functionality and security.
Helping the organization in decision making is another major service required of information professional. This is done because, investment decision is one of the most visible and controversial key decision in an enterprise, as there is need to be an approach for measuring and comparing different alternatives and how they meet business objectives of the enterprise.
To identify non-financial metrics, analyze risk, and to search through governance effectiveness. Information professionals are to link the users with the appropriate information in business organization, so as to give answers to their questions, regardless of its complexity or time it takes. It could be retrospective search services, or current awareness services, or even selective dissemination of information (SDI).
PROBLEMS OF INFORMATION IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
Globally today, there are rapid change in technology, and unhurried in information technology. This has negatively affect information and its service delivery. The identification of the long standing problems below has demand urgent solution, as it affects the way we manage and deliver information services.
Managing information as technology: Information technology has been operating as an exception since its introduction, because the technology was specialized on. Now that the technology is common, many organizations manage information as technology, which is not. A problem has been identified, where Chief Information Officer (CIO) does not have natural aptitude to manage strategies, system development and technology operation.
Management problems exposed by the credit crunch and bankruptcies: 20th century management lays organization and management structures over the business to manage the enterprise arbitrarily, rather than managing the business. Management does not manage important result metrics lie; result value, result volume, result risk, e.t.c. and even important performance indicators. The current financial crisis being experienced today invariably point to the lack of information and management of returns on capital investment, planned and current capital solution worth, capital amortization, new product result value and other information needs that are blocked by 20th century management methods.
The alignment problem: Alignment problem is also rampant in the world today. This problem is caused because many businesses are not organized. Alignment problem arise form actual business change in result produced and capital utilized as performance solutions, which remains unidentified and unorganized. The alignment solution attempt to align organization and management structures with each other with nothing to align against.
Information complexity: Management at times does not manage the actual business, but manage enterprise using a multitude of organization process, account, performance and other structures laid over the business. The various structures use different names for the same entity, and different definition for the same part of the enterprise. Information systems computerize the various structures producing enormous amount of incomplete, inconsistent, and inaccurate information, and this has caused the exploding information complexity, which is a problem being faced by information managers and the business.
Information generally is not organized: Information capital management is not well organized. Accounting is responsible for financial records; information technology may perform data management and record retention. Even with this, there is little management of information for normal application to improve the business. There is structure to relate information with, directly to the business, and no data is collected on the actual business as a related set.
The corporate governance problem: Recurring crisis in corporate governance is constant. Governing the corporation is a big problem, because we can not manage corporate business. We over lay a myriad of contrived structures on the business to organize and to manage various entities. Corporate governance structure laid over the business to extract and reconcile information from other overlaid structures.
SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
Information should be managed as capital utilized by the business to produce a good result
Information capital must be managed as tangible assets by those that manage it and must be used for creation and preservation of information.
Result-performance Management (R-Pm) is one of the main solutions to the current problems, and such future event or crisis.
Alignment problem may be solved by organizing and managing the business through one integrated result-performance business structure.
Corporate governance problem may possibly be solved using governance of the actual corporate business.
Information system acquisition and implementation is justified by the planned result value-added that provides the return on the information and other solution development investment.
Efforts should be made to ensure that information that is relevant to the business organization is documented, and the review of the existing ones must be done, e.g. directories.
REFERENCES
Popoola, S.O (1998) Plan and budget monitoring and evaluation. Ibadan, March 9-30, pp 2&6.
Popoola, S.O (2002) Information and development. Ibadan, Centre for external studies, University of Ibadan.
Simbo, A.B (2002) Production and Operations management. Ibadan, Oluseyi press limited.
Stephen Haag, et.al (2004) Management Information System for the Information age, 4th Ed. New York, McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
www.tutor2u.net/business
www.businesschangeforum.com
The Punch newspaper, Friday September17, 2007

INFORMATION ACQUISITION AND USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SCIENTISTS

INTRODUCTION
The creation of man is coupled with the creation of certain elements with which he can interact with, which will make life easier for him. All these (both man and other elements) were deposited in a certain place called “environment”. With Man’s insufficient awareness, and low-dose exposures that earth (natural resources inclusive) does not have infinite resources. Hence, these limited resources must be conserved, used ones be recycled, and where possible be refined and reused, therefore the art of environmental management is made known.
Man’s act of wastefulness and management imbalances as regards his input and interaction with his environment led to environmental abuse. Though disproportionate pollution in the environmental is caused by many factors, yet Man’s contribution to it would not be underestimated. Therefore the knowledge of environmental management scientist is imperative in providing a lasting solution to environmental problems, and curbing such occurrence in the future using the power of information.
ENVIROMENTAL INFORMATION
Defining environment is complicated because of its nature and views of different experts, scientist, environmentalist, e.t.c. in the field of environmental management. World book encyclopedia (2006) says “environment is everything that is external to an organism”. A man’s environment includes such factors as temperature, food supply, and other people. Both the aboitic and biotic environments interact to make up the total environment of living or non-living things.
Mensah (1992) in Popoola (2006) asserted that “environment consist of all the external factor forces with which one interacts from conception until death”. It includes the physical, chemical, biological, psychological, and socio-cultural dimensions. Environment is defined as all the surrounding conditions which influence growth and development of man”. -Popoola (1995)
Nonetheless, environment can be said to be everything that makes up the surroundings in which a man lives. As such comprises of physical environment- air, water, land, mountains, rivers, climate, e.t.c. and social environment- languages, norms, religion, laws, trade, e.t.c.
Environment may at times determine the ways of life of man-“environmental determinism”. In this state, environment determines man’s occupation, dress, food, language, e.t.c. In another manner, its man that determine his environment-“environmental possibilism”. This allows man to influence his environment (physical and social) for his pleasure and benefit. This aggravated man to produce and manufacture amenities like roads, house, and cars, make norms, taboo, and laws, e.t.c. Many more are components of environment, but the principal ones are: water, land, and air, i.e. (atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere).
The dynamism of its nature makes information to emerge in every human endeavor and activities, especially in finding complete and dependable solution to any question or problems that may emerge as a result of user’s level of uncertainty on a particular concept or problem, or in making a rational decision which would trigger development and innovation. Man’s quest to know more about his environment leads to information acquisition. Information surface in environmental planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation. It is a treasured and important fixed factor of any production, valued by environmental scientists, developmental planners and information professionals.
Being given many definitions, Budd (1992) defined information as “one of the building blocks in which data are the ore (raw materials) followed by information which then leads to knowledge and this in turn gives rise to understanding which then leads to wisdom and consequently to decision-making”.
Also, “information is any processed data, available in different format that is reliable enough in giving response to information needs of its users at a given time. With such increases users’ knowledge on a particular problem and help in future to make decisions.
Environmental Management requires a lot of information, because information aim at development, attached to different human activities, and thus, knowledge of environmental information is necessary. Taiwo (2007) said “Environmental information is the information that has value, capable of being used for rational-decision making and has to be designed to lead to action, i.e. good management of the environment”
Moreover, Popoola (2006) added that “Environmental information can be defined as news, messages, ideas, facts, and processed data obtained form published and unpublished sources that are capable of increasing or improving the knowledge state of users on matters relating to environmental problems and how best to manage it for good living”
In this regard, environmental information relates to:
• The state of elements of the environment- air, water, soil, land, e.t.c
• The state of human health and safety conditions of man’s life.
• Any factor such as substances, energy, noise, waste and other releases affecting or likely affect the state of the elements of environment or interaction between them.
• Emissions, discharges and other releases into the environment.
Hence, environmental information covers:
 The environmental itself; water, land, air, animal e.t.c.
 Things that affect the environment; noise, emission, e.t.c.
 Policies, plans and laws on the environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SCIENTIST
Managing environment for healthy living of its inhabitant is necessary, especially in the today’s changing world. Studies, researches and surveys on the interaction between man and his environment, and how it affect the healthy living of man must be carried out by specialists in environmental management.
Consequently, “Environmental Management Scientist are the specialist who carry out researches on how man interact with his physical and social environment, and how his input to the environmental management affects his life expectancy and total well being”.
The researches to be carried out by environmental scientist could focus, among others on either, or all of the following:
• Precautionary approach
• Corporate priority
• Emergency preparedness
• Contribution to the common effort
• Openness to the public
In achieving environmental objective towards the control of environmental pollutants, environmental scientists need to work in collaboration with environmental engineers, whose work is based on efforts to prevent and control air, water, soil, and noise pollution. And also develop equipment to measure pollution. And conduct experiments to determine the effect of various pollutants.
Environmental Scientist entrusted with the sole responsibilities of environmental researches which would be useful for planning, enforcing, monitoring, and evaluation of environmental policies must possess the following features among others:
 Result oriented
 They must possess team spirit
 Ability to work with less supervision
 High level of creativity
 Academic qualification
 Social and Environmental knowledge
 Computer literacy
 Technological skills e.t.c.
More so, it is with the disposal of environmental scientist to work with the contributions of all branches of scientific study, which is divided into four, namely:
• Mathematics and Logic
• Physical and Sciences
• Life Sciences
• Social Sciences
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Organisms and their environment constantly interact, and both are changed by this interaction. Like all other living creatures, human have clearly changed their environment, but they have done so generally on a major scale than all other species.
With the coming of this pollution, each part of the environment, this depends on each others, and upon the plants and animals living within the environment, and make up an ecosystem is affected.
Pollution can be invisible, odorless, tasteless and colorless. Water and soil pollution threaten the ability of farmers to grow enough food. Oceans pollution causes dangers for many marine organisms. (World Book, Inc. 2006).
Types of environmental pollution are discussed below in brief:
AIR POLLUTION: This is the contamination of the air such substances as fuel exhaust and smoke, which can harm both the health of plants and animals, damage buildings and other structures. Air pollution may be indoor or outdoor.
WATER POLLUTION: The contamination of water by sewage, toxic chemicals, metals, oils, or other substances. It also comes from businesses, farms, homes, industries, and other sources.
LAND POLLUTION: This is the destruction made to the earth’s thin layer of healthy, productive soil, where much of our food is grown. This is caused by overuse of fertilizer, pesticides, poor drainage, and bush burning e.t.c.
SOLID WASTE: Probably, this is the most visible form of pollution. Every year, people dispose of billions of tons of solid garbage. This emanated from industrial waste, wastes from homes, offices, and stores, e.t.c.
HAZARDOUS WASTE: This comprises of disposed substances that can threaten human health and the environment. It is considered hazardous if it wards away other materials. Contributed to the spreading are industrial, hospitals and laboratories.
NOISE POLLUTION: Comes from human beings, motor vehicles, airplanes, industrial equipment, and e.t.c.
SOURCES OF ENVIROMENTAL INFORMATION
In the quest of the environmental scientists to study the long-term consequence of human action on the environment and the environmentalists, advocating ways to minimize the negative impact of human activities on the natural world. Environmental Scientists need to be aware of many ways by which they can source for information in their researches. This is because, the result of conclusion arrived at, will be presented to the environmentalists and information managers for decision making.
Ideally, information sources can be classified into to two namely; formal and informal, internal and external. In most cases, the partition of the information sources of an environmental management scientist can be in another form:
• Personal Sources
• Non personal sources
It must be born in mind that these sources of information available to environmental management scientists could be viewed from another perspective, namely;
 Printed Sources
 Graphic Sources
 Oral Sources
 Electronic Sources (Popoola, 2008:Classroom lecture)


INTERNAL INFORMATION
This starts from individual, possibly from the scientists themselves. Internal information is primarily attached to accounting records. Also this can provide more than financial information. It gives information on:
• Records of people employed by a certain business or organization.
• Data from production department, and records of their sewage disposal
• Records of activities in direct contact with the people in a certain organization, i.e. how they communicate, and its effect on the environment.
• Level of personal hygiene in a particular house.
• Population record of individual houses, offices, stores, e.t.c.
• Information relating to human activities: This has to do with information on people’s movement, their job status, and location of their job, hobbies, social life and other things related to their activities.
• Information relating to quality of life of people: It entails information on their body systems, diet, life expectancy, health matters, distances between their homes to offices, leisure time, e.t.c. Most often time, information to be acquired by environmental management scientist could be from:
 Primary Sources (containing current data)
 Secondary Sources
 Tertiary Sources
Nonetheless, the following are the information sources available and utilized by environmental management workers:
• Journals Directories
• Newspapers Architectural Drawings
• Magazines Books of estimate
• CD-ROM Video Tapes
• Database Constitution
• Diaries Manuals
• Building Plan Computer Printouts
• Statistical Publication Almanacs
• Colleague Encyclopedia
• Map Year Book
• Indexes and Abstracts Photograph
• Policy Papers Visitation
• Archives Documentation Centers
• Radio Television
• Posters Bulletin
PROCESS OF ENVIROMENTAL INFORMATION
The main principles of information is to acquire, process, store, and disseminate it to the intend users. Hence, environmental management scientists are intermediary between information acquired and the environmental information managers, and even the users at times. Therefore, the point of generating information is strongly considered in the classification of information.
The principles of information are observed from the point of acquisition to the point of utilization. Therefore, when information is acquired, the following process must take place before it could be used.
• SORTING: When information is acquired by environmental management scientists, the first process is to sort out the best, to be designed for special task. This involves arrangement by kinds, classes, or in order, or grouping together of things with the same features.
• LABELING: This follows the grouping together of data with similar features, and it entails assigning a call name or mark to it, for the purpose of easy retrieval for further process or use.
• ANALYSING: Environmental management scientist must ensure that all data or information sought for is analyzed in details, so as to show up its elements and also to reveal its camouflage or disguise content.
• EDITING: This is done to shorten the content an information-edit down, or to delete some unwanted element-edit out in information. Also it focuses on avoidance of ambiguity and complexity. This revision act leads to the final form.
• ORGANIZING: It is getting together and orderly arrangement of edited information in order of priority clarity.
• TRANSFORMATION: This is the process of changing the form, state, condition and nature of a data or information from its former nature, and such is converted to another form for a new use or purpose.
• MANIPULATION: Acquired information that gets to this stage of processing is almost ready for dissemination. Just as this required skillful handling, treatment and management of acquired information by the environmental management scientists.
• DOCUMENTATION: Before any information is made available to users, it must be documented. Consequently, environmental management scientists must ensure, for reference purpose, to document all the acquired information in the cause of their researches and findings.
For environmental information acquisition to be effective and capable of managing and solving environmental problems, it must possess the following:
• Project based
• Involvement of the whole inhabitant
• Result oriented personnel
• Integration of findings into knowledge bank
• Reinforcement and modifying known facts
• Respect for the needs and comfort of decision makers
ENVIROMENTAL POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
Environmental pollution refers to all the ways by which human activities harms natural environment. Management of environmental pollution aims at all effort put forth in completely curbing or reduces pollution in Man’s environment. Commenting o difficult management of environmental pollution, Marian R. Cherton, an industrial environmental manager recorded “Nearly everyone would like to have pollution reduced. Unfortunately, most of pollution that threatens the health of our planet comes from products that many want and need, e.g. automobile, factories, industrial processes e.t.c.”
Most Scientists agree that, if pollution and other environmental impediments continue at their present rates, the result will be irreversible damage to the ecological cycles and balances upon which all life depends.
In attempting effective management and control of environmental pollution, the major factor that facilitate environmental pollution must be highlighted, they are majorly include but not limited to: Industrial wastes, indoor air pollution, oil spills, sewage, solid waste, pesticides, smog, fuel exhaust, e.t.c.
Environmental Management Scientists must see environmental management from the point of research to the enforcement level. This is done mostly in developed countries using Earth Observing System (EOS) - an artificial satellite, which collects information about the interactions occurring in the atmosphere, on land, in the oceans, and these data help scientists and law makers in making sound environmental policy and decisions.
Moreover, factors threatening the environment include global warming, depletion of ozone layer in the atmosphere; destruction of the world’s rain forests which scientists believe will reach critical promotion in the coming decades, inclusive of environmental racism.
Nevertheless, in collaboration with research trends and results of and from environmental management scientists that centered at environmental improvement and effective management may be configured as follows:
• INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION AND ORIENTATION: Scientists warns that fundamental and perhaps drastic changes in human behavior will be required to avert an ecological crisis-Zimmerna Michael, 2006. Also people must devise new strategies that network environmental progress with economic growth. To this end, scientists submitted that, the future growth of developing nations would depend upon the development of sustainable conservation methods that protects the environment, while at the same time meeting the basic needs of citizens.
• GOVERNMENT ACTION: World Book Encyclopedia, vol.6, states that “In many countries around the world, government work to help clean up pollution, such effort come from local, state, and national governments. Also, passing of laws will help to limit and prevent environmental pollution.
• SCIENTIFIC EFFORT: Increase passion for environmental protection has caused scientists and engineers to look for ways by which environmental pollution could be managed, with high focus on preventive measures against environmental pollution.
• OTHER WAYS: These among others includes: Recycling, formation of environmental organization, environmental impact statement (EIS), environmental psychology, observation of environmental do’s and don’ts, formulation of environmental policies, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review of formulated policies.
INFORAMTION USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SCIENTISTS
As defined by Losec (1997), “Information is seen as one or more statement or facts that are received by a human being, and have some form of worth to the recipient.” Also it is argued that all acquired information must be to a certain problem that is intended for, so as to determine its effectiveness. Consequently, Popoola (2006) believed, information utilization could be referred to as the actual putting into correct use of acquired information, probably by environmental management scientists.
Information utilization is enhanced by information-seeking behavior of environmental management scientists, which could be within or outside the environment. The utilization of acquired information may be direct or indirect, with such, most often time takes place in form of communication. Hence information utilization is communicable in nature. Environmental management scientists uses information in diverse ways in finding a lasting solution to environmental problems, this is seen as highlighted by Popoola, .O.S (2006):
 Identifying environmental problems
 Advancing or changing knowledge and attitudes of people as regards environmental hazards and risk taking.
 Modifying risk-related behavior of people exposed to hazards.
 Promoting community participation in hazard mitigation
 Facilitating cooperation and joint conflict resolution as regards controversial environmental problems posing threats to people’s health and asset.
 Reducing public funds in managing environment
In another development, information utilization by environmental scientists can be view form general and specific perception. The general use of information by environmental management scientist includes the following:
• It aid research and problem identification
• It enhance the speed of the research
• It helps in choosing research methods and information sources
• Environmental Scientists use it in decision making
• Information is used to monitor environmental policies and program.
Specific use of information by environmental management scientist includes:
 Pre-research use of information
 On-research use of information
 Post-research use of information
Nonetheless, environmental management scientists use information to perform the following tasks among others:
• To know which of the environmental development aspect needs scientists’ attention.
• To determine how to go about solving any emerging environmental problems.
• They use it to know the pace of environmental efforts.
• It is used to monitor the research findings
• It is used in disseminating information to the target group or audience.
As previously said, information utilization, often times take place in form of communication, mostly at the time of dissemination. This is made possible via information superhighways and other communication means which include: print media, electronic media, public information services, expert presentations, e.t.c. and the medium could be through information campaign, conferences, seminars, public hearing, and e.t.c.
The information to be used must be made available to the target audience, which can include but not limited to:
 Industry, companies, factories, corporate organizations, e.t.c.
 Scientific institution
 The law enforcement agents
 Administrative/regulatory authorities
 The general public
Such information could be oral or written; moreover the information use of environmental management scientists should centre on awareness of environmental information for better management of environment.
OTHER AREAS TO FOCUS BY ENVIROMENTAL MANAGEMENT SCIENTISTS
The current trend obtained from the researches in environmental science field focus on the relation of low-dose exposures to human health, the influence of environmental toxins on both male and female reproductive functions, and its potential health implications. On this note, there are many other areas in environmental management, where environmental scientists can also focus, for the acquisition and use of information for the standard management of the environment. Below are the suggested areas:
• ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT: This has mostly been applied to individual projects, and has thus led to various offshoot techniques such as health impact assessments, strategic environmental assessment, and e.t.c. Its sequence steps include; screening to decide if a project requires assessment, preliminary assessment, to identify key impacts, scoping to ensure EIS focuses on key issues, and implementation of the main EIS study.
• ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: It is the scientific study that focuses on the relationship between man and his physical surroundings. Psychologists should study how street noise, heat, architectural designs, population density and crowing affects people’s behavioral and mental health. This study, if strategically carried out with environmental scientists, will help in reducing and even eradication of pollution in the environment.
• ENVIROMENTAL RACISM: This is another area that needs the attention of environmental management scientists. Studies have shown that, not all individuals are equally exposed to pollution. E.g. world wide toxin-waste sites are more prevalent in poorer communities, and such affects the standard of living and life expectancy of people living in such vicinity. Besides, in some countries, the ethnic composition of a neighborhood is most important factor in predicting the location of hazardous-waste. Hence, the need to balance the disposition of waste, not at the expense of others is a major issue in environmental management, which needs scientists’ intervention.
PERSONAL REQUIREMENT AND QUALITIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS
As an individual vested with the responsibilities to manage and solve environmental problems, must possess the following qualities:
 Knowledge of the environment, including exceptional knowledge of science that has to do with water, land, or air quality.
 An understanding of resource management act.
 Knowledge of consequences that commercial activities and development may have on the environment.
 Planning, organizational and research skills.
 Sound skills in analyzing and interpreting research results and other information.
 Practical skills for performing experiment and scientific equipments.
 The ability to think in a comprehensive ways, so as to see the relationship between two different things.
 Problem-solving, communication, writing, and negotiation skills.
 Mathematics and computer skills.
 Must be physically fit and healthy to make field trips and visit sites.

Adding to the above points, environmental management scientists with good personal qualities needs to be:
• Accurate
• Practical
• Able to make good judgments
• Disciplined
• Able to work under well under pressure
• Creative, so that they can develop new ideas
INFORAMTION SERVICES REQUIRED OF ENVIROMENTAL MANAEMENT SCIENTIST
Information services are intangible goods provide mostly by information products, with both contributes to promote trade in information services. Popoola (2006) states that “provision of information products and services for the use of inhabitant and environmental management scientists assists them to improve their work performance”.
Therefore, in a bid to take precautionary and curative measures against environmental management problems, the following services are nothing but indispensable among others:
 Information management consulting
 Records and archives management
 Information broking
 Document delivery
 Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI)
 Current awareness
 Translation
 Indexing and abstracting
 Telephoning
 Online database searching


ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (EMIS)
Environmental information was recorded manually in the past. The development in information and communication sector is used for environmental monitoring and planning. Thus, the movement from manual-based system to computer-based information management called environmental management information system.
Environmental management is seen as the efficient and effective allocation of resources to impose some order on Man’s use of space and land resources for better living. Stroter and Burch (1974) thought “information system is a systematic, formal assemblage, of components that performs data processing operations to meet legal and transactional data processing requirements.
Hence, an environmental management information system is seen as the combination of human and computer based resources that result in the collection, processing, storage, retrieval, and use of information, based on data form internal and external sources. This is done so as to enable the executive personnel in environmental management agencies take rational decisions to solve environmental problems.
In EMIS, the key resources are: information, information technology, and people. Pragmatically speaking, “people and information” are the most important resources within EMIS, nevertheless the three are desirable. T he reason is that, the people referred to here are both the scientists and the target audience. Management Information System (MIS) helps in environmental management in great measures. Though encompasses with challenges and problems, yet, it aid good and accurate environmental management. Also it helps environmental management scientists in their information acquisition and use for proper management and control of the environment.
REFERENCES
1. Adebayo, J.O (2008) Information source relevance and use in business organization. LARIS Department University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
2. Bruckman, Amy S. (2007) Microsoft Student DVD.
3. Popoola, S.O (2006) Information sources and systems in environmental management. Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan.
4. The world book encyclopedia (2006), World book vol. 6, Chicago. World book Inc.
5. World book (2005) Student Discovery Encyclopedia, vol. 4. Chicago, Scott Fetzer Company.
6. www.answers.com
7. www.carrers.com
8. www.mhhe.com
9. Young Scientist (1994) Our World in Danger. Chicago. Scott Fetzer Company.

Remove Anger and Resentment from Your Life

DEAR INFORMATION LOVERS THIS ARTICLE WAS SENT TO ME AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE...JOHN


Remove Anger and Resentment from Your Life with the Squash and Release Technique - By Cassandra Lee

Let me just say this; I am a woman that can hold onto resentment!

When I feel I have been wronged, I will form a "frosty" attitude that not even a polar bear could stand it!

In recent times, however, first-hand experience has taught me that holding onto anger or wrapping myself in a blanket of resentment is not cool.

From an experience with a friend four years ago, I developed a technique I consistently practice called "Squash and Release."

"Squash and Release" is a technique that allows me to discover the REAL issue at hand; analyze my actions that may have caused the issue to arise; and confront the issue through discussion, apology or whatever steps necessary for me to squash my anger and release my resentment. Let me share a true story of how this technique helped me to resolve an issue and release resentment.

My friend and I had attended an event in Elgin, IL. When the event was over, he led me to the highway since I was unfamiliar with the area. As we were driving along in our separate cars, I was pulled over by the police.

Everything turned out okay. The police stopped me to make sure I knew one of my headlights didn't work. Although my friend stopped and waited for me until the ordeal was over, he didn't call me to find out what happened once we pulled back onto the highway. Instead of calling me, he called my passenger and asked her what happened. I didn't get this!

Why didn't he call and talk directly to me? How did he know if I was okay? Didn't he remember that I used an earpiece on my phone for hands-free conversations while driving?

These were questions that raced through my mind as I drove down the highway. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I became so angry that when I did see him face-to-face about two days after the ordeal, I greeted him with such coldness that our communications were frozen shut for over a month!

As the days turned into weeks, the situation really began to disturb me. I knew I had to get a handle on myself because the anger and resentment was causing me major anxiety and putting enormous tension on our friendship.

Eventually, I sat myself down and took some time to think -- long, hard, and honestly about what had occurred.

First, I discovered the REAL issue at hand. I realized that my anger stemmed from the feeling that I did not feel safe and protected with him. By him not calling me directly to find out why the police had pulled me over, I felt that he was not concerned with my well-being and safety.

Next, I analyzed my actions that contributed to my feelings of anger and resentment. I asked myself such questions as, "Had I done anything to cause the issue?" "Did my attitude make the situation worse?" "Was he really being insensitive?" "Was it possible that he didn't remember that I wore an earpiece?" "Was I overreacting?" By the time I was done honestly answering those questions, I realized that I had overreacted and needed to resolve the tension filled situation -- "quick, fast and in a hurry."

Finally, I confronted the conflict in a private, one-on-one, conversation where I explained the reasons for my anger and apologized for my actions. Although he was shocked to hear my voice on the other end of the phone calling to discuss the situation, he was relieved that we were both able to state what caused us to behave as we did -- clearing up all confusion, assumptions and anger.

Needless to say, we had a good time learning from an uncomfortable situation. Apologizes were given and accepted by both parties and our friendship resumed. We never had any such instances again because he went out of his way to make me feel secure, and I went the extra mile to communicate without assumptions.

I encourage you to try "Squash and Release" if you are feeling angry about something or frustrated by someone. All you have to do is:

• Identify the issue: figure out the REAL issue behind your emotions; determine actions or situations that have caused you discomfort; be certain not to allow your emotions to rule you;
• Assess the problem: analyze your actions; make sure you have not done anything to contribute to the problem; be prepared to apologize and change your behavior, if necessary; and
• Confront the conflict: take the necessary actions to assertively and positively handle the person or situation; schedule a private moment to address the person that is frustrating you or the right time to handle the conflict head on.

Although I have found I prefer face-to-face "Squash and Release" resolutions, you can use other methods such as phone calls, letters and personal cards. No matter which technique you use, the end result will be the same -- you will address the situation head-on, get all issues resolved and move beyond the anger and resentment.

As I had to learn, "Squash and Release" is an excellent way to guard your mental space from conflict. Instead of being overwhelmed by negative energy, exercise your mental space with positive and constructive thoughts. Whenever you are having conflict with someone or over something, make sure that you take time to "Squash and Release."

.

About the Author:
A champion for the education and empowerment of audiences worldwide, inspirational speaker, corporate trainer, author, and life coach, Cassandra "D.I.V.A. of Dialog™" Lee uses "Divine Inspiration Vocally Applied™" to provide strategies and solutions for strategic thinking, effective communications and influential leadership via her live seminars, workshops, keynote speeches, training sessions, and one-on-one coaching sessions. To invite her to speak at your next event or to order her FREE special report "Don't Push Them Down a Flight of Stairs! Three Ways to Strengthen Your Work Relationships," visit http://www.divaofdialog.com.

Thanks again for checking out our bonuses, teleseminars, or buying our Top 101 Experts or 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life book package.

If you have a question about our book, our bonuses, our website, our newsletters or virtually anything at all, please contact us at either expert@selfgrowth.com or at 732-617-1030. We want to help you improve your life!

NFORMATION PROFESSIONALS AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

SERVICES REQUIRED OF INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
Information professionals are the developmental planners who are vested with measureless responsibilities of planning for the future of the business through the process of identifying, initiating, analyzing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and review of policies that guides the growth and development of a business organization.
More over, with the doors of much information opened to them, yet ensuring the information that has quality the attribute is one of their key duties. To asses, monitor and improve the operational effectiveness and management’s internal control for optimal and efficient investment operations.
Also to prepare and provide a single frame work through which all information assets and activities within the business organization can be governed. Information professionals provide the optimum capability for meeting the organization objectives in term of functionality and security.
Helping the organization in decision making is another major service required of information professional. This is done because, investment decision is one of the most visible and controversial key decision in an enterprise, as there is need to be an approach for measuring and comparing different alternatives and how they meet business objectives of the enterprise.
To identify non-financial metrics, analyze risk, and to search through governance effectiveness. Information professionals are to link the users with the appropriate information in business organization, so as to give answers to their questions, regardless of its complexity or time it takes. It could be retrospective search services, or current awareness services, or even selective dissemination of information (SDI).
PROBLEMS OF INFORMATION IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
Globally today, there are rapid change in technology, and unhurried in information technology. This has negatively affect information and its service delivery. The identification of the long standing problems below has demand urgent solution, as it affects the way we manage and deliver information services.
1. Managing information as technology: Information technology has been operating as an exception since its introduction, because the technology was specialized on. Now that the technology is common, many organizations manage information as technology, which is not. A problem has been identified, where Chief Information Officer (CIO) does not have natural aptitude to manage strategies, system development and technology operation.
2. Management problems exposed by the credit crunch and bankruptcies: 20th century management lays organization and management structures over the business to manage the enterprise arbitrarily, rather than managing the business. Management does not manage important result metrics lie; result value, result volume, result risk, e.t.c. and even important performance indicators. The current financial crisis being experienced today invariably point to the lack of information and management of returns on capital investment, planned and current capital solution worth, capital amortization, new product result value and other information needs that are blocked by 20th century management methods.
3. The alignment problem: Alignment problem is also rampant in the world today. This problem is caused because many businesses are not organized. Alignment problem arise form actual business change in result produced and capital utilized as performance solutions, which remains unidentified and unorganized. The alignment solution attempt to align organization and management structures with each other with nothing to align against.
4. Information complexity: Management at times does not manage the actual business, but manage enterprise using a multitude of organization process, account, performance and other structures laid over the business. The various structures use different names for the same entity, and different definition for the same part of the enterprise. Information systems computerize the various structures producing enormous amount of incomplete, inconsistent, and inaccurate information, and this has caused the exploding information complexity, which is a problem being faced by information managers and the business.
5. Information generally is not organized: Information capital management is not well organized. Accounting is responsible for financial records; information technology may perform data management and record retention. Even with this, there is little management of information for normal application to improve the business. There is structure to relate information with, directly to the business, and no data is collected on the actual business as a related set.
6. The corporate governance problem: Recurring crisis in corporate governance is constant. Governing the corporation is a big problem, because we can not manage corporate business. We over lay a myriad of contrived structures on the business to organize and to manage various entities. Corporate governance structure laid over the business to extract and reconcile information from other overlaid structures.
SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
• Information should be managed as capital utilized by the business to produce a good result
• Information capital must be managed as tangible assets by those that manage it and must be used for creation and preservation of information.
• Result-performance Management (R-Pm) is one of the main solutions to the current problems, and such future event or crisis.
• Alignment problem may be solved by organizing and managing the business through one integrated result-performance business structure.
• Corporate governance problem may possibly be solved using governance of the actual corporate business.
• Information system acquisition and implementation is justified by the planned result value-added that provides the return on the information and other solution development investment.
• Efforts should be made to ensure that information that is relevant to the business organization is documented, and the review of the existing ones must be done, e.g. directories.

INFORMATION AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

INTRODUCTION

Literarily, business simply means “the art of buying and selling of goods and services”. And the sole aim of any business is to make profit at the end of any financial year or term. In achieving this, all the policies and principles of the organization would be profit driven and oriented.

In the world today, business activities is not limited to be performed by companies alone, groups, and individuals also get involved. The size, Labour strength, and equipment capacity of any business would be determined by the capital used to start such a business. Hence, we have large, medium, and small scale businesses, and all these scales in their capacity contribute to the growth and development of economy of the country where they operate.

Organization connotes with a group such a club or business that has formed for a particular purpose. It also involves the way in which the different parts of a system are arranged and work together through effective planning.

In another development, business organization could be defined as “the process and state of organizing, planning, and arrangement of both human and non-human resources in a system for the purpose of buying and selling of goods and services.




BUSINESS INFORMATION

Business information is one of the main segments of the information industry. The other two segments are scientific which include: Technical and Medicals (S.T.M). Business information industry is presently estimated to be more than $358 billion market, where much of the revenues are advertising-driven. Business information segment remains largely driven by paid content, either via subscription or transaction (pay-per-view).

More over, business information contains the complete content and parts of the business it promotes or explores. This type of information at times traces the origin of either or all about business operation, system, staff capacity, non-human facilities, achievements, challenges, financial statement, and e.t.c. It is therefore imperative to be conscious of the fact that all the business information is geared towards promoting the image of the business as working towards the attainment of the pre-stated objectives and goals of the business.

FORMS AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

Information sources made available to business organization and developers for effective management and development are in different form from various sources. It is of the essence to note that each form of information is attached and suitable to reduce Use’s level of uncertainty in finding a lasting solution to a certain problem.

The form of any information could be in any of the forms below:

PRINTED: Information to be used for problem solving in business organization could be in printed form. Most of the information used in organizations is in this form, reason may be because of its easy conveyance within the organization. These include but not limited to: Year book, Internal and External memorandum, Newsletter, Statement of account, Staff register, and e.t.c.

GRAPHIC: Information may be communicated to the users graphically, this involve vivid descriptive using drawing, painting, diagrams, erecting of images, e.t.c. Once the examples mentioned above are seen, it passes certain information to the viewer without anybody telling them.

ORAL: Information for developmental decision making in business organization could be in oral form. In this form, no write pr graphic form is involved, it only entails verbal communication within the organization, and this could be done in: giving instruction, gist, e.t.c.

Information in business organization comes from multiple sources. The challenge for an organization is to capture and use information that is relevant and reliable. These sources of information may be INTERNAL (within or inside the business) and EXTERNAL (outside the business).

INTERNAL INFORMATION: Accounting records are a prime source of internal information; it provides the details of the transactions of the business in the past, which may bee used as the basis for planning for the future (preparing for financial budget or forecast).

The accounting records are initially used to record what happens to the financial resources of a business. It raises questions like, how cash is obtained and spent, what assets are acquired, what profit and losses are made on the activities of the business.

More over, accounting records can provide more than financial information; it gives information on the following:
• Details of the product manufactured and delivered from factory.
• Data analyzed from customers’ sales invoices, all these can provide useful information about whether quality standards are being met and also provides a profile of what and to whom product are being sold to.
Adding to the above points, below are the internal information connected to accounting system:
 Record of the people employed by the business.
 Data on the costs associated with business process.
 Data from activities in direct contact with the customers (e.g. analysis of calls)
 Data from production department.

Buttressing the afore said points, internal information in business organization may be provided or sought for informally, this may be done through regular meetings of staff and management, which will result in the communication of relevant information.

EXTERNAL INFORMATION: This type of information as the name suggested is obtained outside the business. There are categories of external information, namely;
a. Information relating to ways a business should undertake its activities: Business need to keep records so that they can collect taxes on behalf of the Government. Therefore a business needs to obtain regular information about the taxation system (e.g. PAYE, VAT, and Corporation Tax) and what actions it needs to take. Progressively more, this kind of information is provided in digital format.
b. Information relating to new innovations and ideas: Business is a developing organism attached to timely growth, consequent upon the arrival of new ideas, strategies, and innovation. Development planners and business developers must ensure to be aware and acquire this innovation for business growth, as such is relevant and appropriate for the information needs of the business. Information of such may be obtained from seminars, newspapers, magazines, researches, manuals, computer print out e.t.c.
c. Information relating to quality of goods and services rendered: This record need to be kept also; because it would be useful for future plans of the business. This type of information could be best obtained from the users or consumer of the goods and services been produced. Such information is provided orally, through phone calls, e-mail, and in written format, and is used to maintain and where necessary improve the quality of goods and services rendered.
EVALUATION OF INFORMATION SOURCES IN BUSINESS ORGANISATION
Evaluation of information sources for the development and growth of any business is imperative. This is because, information (sources inclusive) that are made available to developmental planners is from various sources and of different format, and not all is capable of solving an existing problem. Hence, information to be used must be; financially profitable, socially established, and locally tested. In concluding on which information to be used, the process of researching into the source of such information is significant and supportive. Below are the factors to be considered in evaluation of information sources.
i. ACCURACY: Any useful information must be accurate, among much information that would be supplied; the accuracy therein must be sought for, in order to determine if there are mix-ups. Accurate information puts the users’ mind at ease.
ii. RELIABILITY: The source of any information to be used must be reliable enough. Reliability is linked with; who supplied the information, where and how the information is obtained.
iii. TIMELINESS: Every information has its time dimension and expiring time for its usefulness. Timeliness in this context relates to getting the information at the exact time when it is needed.
iv. COST EFFECTIVE: The cost of obtaining the needed information must be bearable, because organizations do not like spending huge amount of money before obtaining particular information.
v. UNAMBIGUOUS: Good information must be straight forward and easy to understand. It must be free from all unwanted materials, as such wastes much time at dissemination stage.
vi. CURRENT: The source of any information that will mostly relevant to the information needs of the business organizations must be current and update, and must not be far from being current.
vii. SUFFICIENCY: Information must be efficient to meet and solve emerging problems in business organizations. It must have the ability to solve the problem it is obtained for.
viii. CONCISENESS: In the business context, long information attracts little or no interest by the users. This may occur because of little time that the users (Business developers inclusive) has. Hence, the information should be brief and clear.
ix. PERTINENT: Information to be considered must be relevant to the problem it wanted to solve. It must not be just any information, but the one that has to do with a certain problem and designed for it.
x. DETAIL: Good information must be detailed. This will aid wide and fast understanding it contained. While necessary facts should not be left out, it must be free from ambiguities.
In another development, the quest to determine the relevance of an information sources to solve certain problems is synonyms to evaluation information sources. The above point apart, below is the question method by which information sources could be evaluated:
a. Is the format or medium of the information useful to your needs?
b. Is the information comprehensive enough for your needs?
c. Is the information directed to general or specialized audience?
d. Does the information express a particular point of view?
e. Is the information appropriate for your needs?

INFORMATION SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS ORGANISATION

Information services and technology are the sub-sector of information sector, which is also called intangible goods. The presses, Libraries, Broadcasting houses, Research, Archives, Publishing houses, printing, e.t.c. among others are the product of information services.

In today’s world of information age where knowledge is power, businesses are using information services and technology to gain and to sustain competitive advantages more than ever before. This is done because they (business managers) understand that what they do not know can become a set back and a source of advantage for the competition, hence value is extremely placed on information.

To be successful in business today, you‘ve got to understand and operate effectively within a dynamic, fact-placed, and changing economic. For this to be achieved, business must do the following:
• Know their competitive intelligence.
• Know their customers.
• Work closely with their business partners.
• Know how each and every part of your organization works together to provide its products and services (Stephen Haag et.al 2004)
Information technology most often time aid information services. It is indeed a key organizational resource. “Any consideration of service sector must necessarily take account of developments in the technology of information processing and communication, and the uses to which the technology is put that are important” (Popoola, 2002)
Business Organizations could access any information for its development using the services produced with the aid of information technology. It made business to enjoy new innovations and development which has moved its operation to global relevance using; e-mail, fax, telephone, computer, and scanner e.t.c also with the help of internet
Its (information technology) advantages and problems include but not limited to the following:
 It helps the productivity of the business
 It aid global scale, capacity, and reach through global delivery system.
 Creates business partnership and alliance.
 Facilitates organizational transformation.
 Enhance decision making.
 Enable global reach.
 Improve team collaboration.
 It reduces business costs, and control operational risks.
 It saves time and improve compliance
 It helps in shifting organizational focus from maintenance and support to strategic initiatives.
 It enhance rapid business growth
 Most of these technology are costly
 Skilled man power is a problem, mostly in developing countries.
 Instability of electricity supply in under-develop and developing countries remains the principal problem for the use of these technology.
In making do with information technology for service provision in business organization, electronic commerce will make serious winners out of some businesses and losers out of others. Most of the companies are out of business today because of their inability to put into correct use of those technologies. In business development, it is imperative to adopt and use sound business principles and guidelines instead of focusing solely on the technology. It is a wrong application that will lead to nothing but failure. Though information technology is a key organizational resource, yet it is one out of many.
Consequently, business must at first consider information-literate knowledge workers. Above all, no matter how profit and innovations technology brings, manpower is still needed in business, as many are tasks that can only be performed by people, and not within the capability of the technology, besides no technology will operate and even it does, program itself.